New Product Friday: The MiniPost
Friday is the best day of the week. The weekend is close and the new products are many.
Good riddance to May and bring me June. We're slowly approaching summer, but that doesn't stop us from having new products. This week we have a few products to tell you about, including the long-awaited MiniBot. Let's check out the video(s), and then the products.
Vimeo version here!
For more information on the MiniBot, check out the video below which goes into a bit more depth. We should have an assembly video coming along in the next couple weeks as well.
We're pretty excited about the MiniBot and are looking forward to what people will end up using it for. Stay tuned for the assembly video!
And here it is - the ProtoSnap MiniBot, a self-contained robotic development platform. The main board includes a motor driver, an FTDI basic, an Arduino Pro Mini, a couple of infrared sensors, and some space for prototyping. Bolt on the included gearbox, motors, and you have a simple development platform. And once you're done, you can snap it apart use the parts individually.
Our Arduino and Breadboard holder has been pretty popular, but many people were frustrated by the tabs that could break off too easily. We've revised the holder to use screws which solves a few problems. Now you can use almost any board that shares the same footprint as the Arduino and there's nothing to break. And because there aren't tabs, you can even mount a Mega to this (although it will hang off the end a bit).
With the announcement and release of the Arduino Leonardo, people are chomping at the bit to try out the new ATmega32U4. We are using it in our Pro Micro line, but now we have it in a simple breakout board. The ATmega32U4 Breakout Board should give you an easy way to play around with the new 32U4 before the Leonardo starts shipping in a few weeks.
Speaking of ProtoSnap, we now have the ProtoSnap Pro Mini as a retail product. Eventually, you will see the entire ProtoSnap lineup at your local SparkFun retailer.
Well, that's all we have for this week. Be sure to check back next week for more new products and a special demonstration of a very exciting new product. See you then.
