"We do a quick intro to field-programmable gate arrays, and look at a couple including the Snickerdoodle..." "

"Video processing, machine learning algorithms, and networking are all places where big companies use FPGAs to their advantage, but what happens if smaller hobbyists start taking that kind of customizable processing power into their garages?"

"Snickerdoodle is no ordinary maker board… it will let you achieve your wildest maker dreams from robotics to advanced networking!"

"Snickerdoodle sets the stage for the future of making. Often, the only thing that differentiates makers and technology companies is capital. If this project can level the playing field, the world will see innovation like never before."

"Right now the maker movement doesn't really use FPGAs...but if we talk 6 months from now, I think that's gonna be changed."

"Whether it be sparse I/O, limited processing power, hampered image processing, or closed software systems, makers are hitting real road blocks. Take heart, though! These road blocks may soon be removed..."

"Once you’ve built all you can using the Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone and Arduino systems and now you’re looking for a more capable dev board for your next ambitious project, the Snickerdoodle from Krtkl might just fit the bill."

"The Snickerdoodle appears to be the most affordable single-board computers yet to run on the Xilinx Zynq system-on-chip."

"… [krtkl] looks to shake up the dev board world with Snickerdoodle – a (really) low-cost, crowd-funded kit designed to outperform competitive boards while undercutting their pricing."

"Take a Raspberry Pi-sized mini computer, add Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, and an FPGA with a whole bunch of I/O options, and what’ve you got? Apparently a Snickerdoodle."

"… exceedingly cool, and we can’t wait to see what people will build with a small, fast ARM board coupled to an FPGA."

"More than a slice of Pi…. the flexible, abundant GPIO options makes the Snickerdoodle better suited for more complicated tasks that the Raspberry Pi simply can’t handle."

"… [these boards] exemplify what can be done with a configurable Zynq-based system. When all the pins are customizable, then nearly anything is possible."

"snickerdoodle Prime LE is now available for immediate delivery on Digi-Key"

"snickerdoodle Prime LE is now available for immediate delivery on Mouser"

A tiny wireless computer for creating something truly different.

snickerdoodle is a tool for dreamers and creators to build, make, invent, and do things they’ve always been told weren’t possible. It’s for people willing to explore new horizons and challenge themselves to learn, grow, and handcraft great, new things - not because it’s easy, but because it’s worth doing.

Why Do I Need snickerdoodle?

If you are satisfied with what existing low-cost platforms have to offer because they’re “good enough,” or you see no reason to dare to branch out and try something new, or you have never been left thinking “I love [fill in the blank maker / development board], but I really wish it could do [this],” then read no further. snickerdoodle isn’t for you.

We love what Raspberry Pi and Arduino have done for education and the impact they’ve had on the growth of the maker community. We also realize that what fundamentally makes these platforms powerful is what limits them: they are intended to help you take the first step, to get you thinking, to get you writing those first lines of code, to foster confidence and hope and curiosity.

The question is: now what? What if I want to do more? To grow? To create something different? Why is there nothing out there that I can afford and use that lets me make what I want to make?

That is why you need snickerdoodle. To create something different. To make what you want to make. To take back control of your projects. To invent something you will be proud to show your friends, your family, your colleagues. Put another way: snickerdoodle takes all the things that Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and BeagleBone prevent you from doing and allows you to do them.

Open Source Software

snickerdoodle includes support for Ubuntu Linux, ROS, and FreeRTOS so you can take advantage of powerful communities and code bases and quickly port over your own existing projects.

snickerdoodle uses an Eclipse-based development environment for programming in Python, Java, and C/C++. With loads of reference designs and pre-built applications, building and learning are actually fun again.

What Can I Do With snickerdoodle?

With Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Classic, Bluetooth Low Energy, a dual-core ARM processor, and **155 user-customizable I/O** (yes, 155 I/O…across 230 pins…including 76 grounds), snickerdoodle is more than “just another cheap Linux computer.” snickerdoodle gives you the freedom to…

##and for the truly ambitious, build things like

• RADAR-enabled, self-navigating terrestrial robots

• unmanned aircraft with heads up displays and collision avoidance

• wireless facial-recognition security systems

• 6-axis robots and 3D printers

• gigabit networking and high-frequency trading

• computer vision systems for 3D mapping and object recognition

• autonomous underwater rovers

• remote weather stations and sensor clouds

You get the idea…

But How?

snickerdoodle has built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and uses a special ARM processor with software-reconfigurable peripherals and I/O. Think of it as a 3D printer for digital hardware. So whether it’s PWMs, or SPIs, or regular old GPIO, you’ll no longer be held back by the chip or board maker telling you what pins you get, how many, and where - you will always have the pins you need, when and where you need them.

And with the paired mobile app (iOS and Android), you’ll be able to wirelessly upload your projects and hardware configurations on the go. So even if you’ve never worked with reconfigurable hardware before, you can take advantage of dozens of pre-built, open-source peripheral libraries, providing unique, freely selectable “personalities” for your snickerdoodle - all from the friendly confines of your phone/tablet. Just scroll, find, and tap.

Getting Started With snickerdoodle

Paired with a free mobile app and an Eclipse-based development environment, you’ll be able to get from opening the box to running an application in under 15 minutes.

Step One: Connecting to snickerdoodle

If you’ve ever logged onto a Wi-Fi network or paired with a Bluetooth device using your phone or tablet, you already know how to connect to your snickerdoodle and how to connect your snickerdoodle to the ‘net.

Ready?

And that’s it! Yes, seriously - we told you it’d be easy. Next up?

Step Two: Using the IDE (i.e., the Hacker’s Habitat)

snickerdoodle is programmed using a freely downloadable, Eclipse-based integrated development environment (available for Windows and Linux).

So whether you’re working in Python, Java, or C/C++, you’ll be right at home.

You’ll also be able to download all the board support packages (BSPs) and reference designs you need for your application straight from the krtkl and snickerdoodle websites. With everything from pre-built hardware configurations to open source projects, operating systems, and libraries, snickerdoodle starts your project off on the right foot.

*Note: interested in learning more about the IDE? Check out our YouTube channel for tutorials and demos as well as the links provided in the FAQs below.

Who Needs Wires?

Why clutter your desk with more wires when you don’t need to? snickerdoodle can be configured wirelessly so once you’re connected to your snickerdoodle, you’ll be able to load projects, hardware configurations, and reference designs straight from your mobile device.

Off-the-Grid

Of course, wireless isn’t for everybody. Maybe you don’t want your data leaving your bedside. Maybe you’re worried the government is watching your every move. Or maybe you’re stuck inside a Faraday cage in Bermuda. Whatever the reason, fear not…because you can still program your snickerdoodle the “old-school way” - with no wireless connection OR mobile device.

You can:

jack right into the microUSB and use the serial console

load everything onto a microSD card and install it directly into the on-board, locking “captive” microSD card cage

or even set up snickerdoodle to be recognized as a “mass storage device” and “drag and drop” applications right into flash

And for more advanced embedded development, there are dedicated pins (on J2) for debugging via JTAG.

Wait, Where Are the Connectors?

snickerdoodle has seven physical connectors (eight if you opt for the upgraded processor).

Connector Manufacturer Part Number Description J1 FCI 10103594-0001LF USB and Power Input J2 Samtec TFM/SFM-115-01-F-D-A Power, JTAG, Bluetooth Audio, I2C, Analog J3 Samtec TFM/SFM-120-01-F-D-A Microprocessor Subsystem JA1, JA2, JB1, JB2 Samtec TFM/SFM-120-01-F-D-A Reconfigurable I/O JC1 Samtec TFM/SFM-120-01-F-D-A (Zynq-7020 only)

In order to keep snickerdoodle small enough to use in mobile robots, drones, and other size- and weight-sensitive applications - but not so small that you:

a) can’t practically hook anything up out of the box or

b) are forced to buy an expensive baseboard just to get to pins you can actually use

The 0.05” pitch, upright headers can be plugged into directly using a housing+jumper pack, providing 0.1” “maker-friendly” female jumpers for quick prototyping right out of the box.

This is the perfect solution if you neither need nor want any bulky USB, Ethernet, or HDMI jacks in your system, or you’re just looking to hook something up on the workbench and start creating your own gloriously ‘frankensteined’ contraption…

But don’t worry - if it’s more single-board-computer-style connectors or 0.1” headers you’re looking for, we have a solution for that too! Just head on down to our “baseboards” section below…

snickerdoodle: Inside & Out

Below are the high-level technical specifications for snickerdoodle (items in bold are configuration specific):

Dual-Core 667 MHz or 866 MHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor w/430K or 1.3M reconfigurable gates

or ARM Cortex-A9 processor or reconfigurable gates 155 -180 I/O (100 or 125 reconfigurable)

or 512MB or 1GB LPDDR2 RAM

or 2.4GHz 802.11n SISO Wi-Fi or 2.4 & 5GHz 802.11n 2x2 MIMO Wi-Fi

or Bluetooth Classic

Bluetooth Low Energy

3.7 - 17V input

locking “captive” microSD card cage

microUSB 2.0 (w/ serial console and mass storage device)

programmable user interface: 5x LEDs & 2x sealed buttons

2” x 3.5” (50.8mm x 88.9mm)

iOS & Android apps

A microprocessor you can customize!

The workhorse behind snickerdoodle is an ARM-based System on Chip (SoC) from Xilinx called “Zynq.”

These powerful little chips - which have roots in industrial, aerospace, and defense applications - allow hardware to be reconfigured with software, freeing you to accomplish things that simply aren’t possible with regular microprocessors (like those in the Raspberry Pi and Beaglebone - which have roots in DVRs and cell phones).

Unlike a lot of more complicated reconfigurable hardware, the Zynq SoC inside snickerdoodle has a full-blown ARM microprocessor inside meaning you are able to treat it (and program it) as if it were “just another microprocessor”…with a ton of really fast, reconfigurable I/O.

In other words, the development process and tools are very similar to what you’re used to using with other systems like Raspberry Pi.

If you’re interested in learning more about Zynq, check out the free e-book at ZynqBook.com.

One Chip, Two Delicious Flavors

With snickerdoodle, you have three flavors to choose from:

snickerdoodle one comes with a 667 MHz Dual-Core ARM Cortex-A9 processor and 430K reconfigurable gates (Zynq-7010) to give you 155 I/O (100 reconfigurable) and everything you need to get started.

If you need more I/O and 3x the configurability, snickerdoodle prime bumps up to 1.3M reconfigurable gates (Zynq-7020) and 180 I/O (125 reconfigurable).

And finally, if you’re looking for even more horsepower, snickerdoodle black packs a punch with an 866 MHz Dual-Core ARM Cortex-A9 and reconfigurable gates that are 30% faster than snickerdoodle prime (Zynq-7020).

See our FAQs at the bottom of the page for additional hardcore technical details on the exact part numbers, I/O performance, documentation, and more.

Wireless: Can You Hear Me Now?

Sick of putting up with poorly performing dongles or endlessly wrestling with dysfunctional drivers just to get your projects connected to the Internet or your mobile device? snickerdoodle has the cure.

With Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on board and equipped with fully functional networking stacks right out of the box, wireless is no longer an afterthought. Using your iOS or Android device, you and your snickerdoodle will be online faster than you can say, “I love my snickerdoodle.”

Wireless connectivity is provided via a Texas Instruments WiLink 8 Wi-Fi + Bluetooth pre-certified module.

snickerdoodle one uses the WL1801 radio to provide single-band 2.4GHz 802.11n SISO Wi-Fi.

snickerdoodle prime utilizes the WL1831 for 2.4GHz 802.11n SISO Wi-Fi and dual-mode Bluetooth 4.0. Note: snickerdoodle prime LE does not include Bluetooth.

Finally, snickerdoodle black comes equipped with the WL1837 and bumps you up to dual-band 2.4GHz & 5GHz 802.11n 2x2 MIMO Wi-Fi to go along with dual-mode Bluetooth 4.0.

snickerdoodle prime and snickerdoodle black modules come equipped with Bluetooth 4.0, which means they provide both Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth Low Energy. Having both options really opens up communication and control possibilities, simplifies device pairing, and allows for very low-energy data transfers and device interaction – a must for mobile, battery-powered systems.

See our FAQs at the bottom of the page for additional hardcore technical details on the exact part numbers, wireless performance, documentation, and more.

Baseboards

Have a specific application in mind and want a little help getting started? snickerdoodle can be paired with several pre-configured baseboards with no need to hassle with configuration or setup.

Each baseboard has its own on-board memory/identification chip that tells your snickerdoodle what’s plugged in and automatically loads the right package to get all your peripherals working without you lifting a finger.

breakyBreaky Breakout

Did someone say something about 0.1” pins? Well here’s 270 of them! Think that’ll cover it?

breakyBreaky provides the full snickerdoodle pinout on 0.1” headers and comes loaded with:

2.5mm x 5.5mm DC power jack

14-pin 2mm Xilinx JTAG header

0.1" grid plated-through-hole prototyping area

six 2x20-pin male 0.1" pitch headers

one 2x15-pin male 0.1" pitch header

one male 30-pin TFM mating header for snickerdoodle

six male 40-pin TFM mating headers for snickerdoodle

includes: four adhesive-base locking PCB supports

dimensions: 125mm x 100mm

Note: requires snickerdoodle with connectors “down” configuration; not included.

piSmasher Single-board Computer

Or maybe what you’re looking for is gigabit Ethernet, high-speed USB, a bunch of reconfigurable I/O, and…simultaneous HDMI output AND input? Enter: piSmasher… Named “piSmasher” for a reason, you’ll get everything Raspberry Pi provides and more - you can kind of think of it as a Raspberry Pi on steroids.

piSmasher gives you:

1 x standard HDMI Type A receptacle supporting 1080p60 3D video output

1 x standard HDMI Type A receptacle supporting 1080p60 3D video input

2 x RJ45 1000Base-T gigabit Ethernet jacks (routed through programmable logic)

4 x USB 2.0 Hi-Speed standard-A host receptacles

1 x 3.5 mm stereo audio line-in

1 x 3.5 mm stereo audio line-out

1 x 3.5 mm headset jack (stereo audio, mono microphone)

1 x male 40-pin TFM header for access to 25 snickerdoodle JC1 reconfigurable I/O

1 x 14-pin 2 mm Xilinx JTAG header

I2C identification and configuration EEPROM

2.5 mm x 5.5 mm DC power jack

4 x adhesive-base locking PCB supports

Dimensions: 3.5" x 5.663" (88.9 mm x 143.8 mm)

Note: requires snickerdoodle with connectors “down” configuration; not included.

snickerdoodle at Scale (and DIY Baseboards)

One of the beauties of snickerdoodle is that it’s architected, built, and priced in a way that makes it incredibly easy and practical to go from proof-of-concept to production. The minute you’re done prototyping, simply take the snickerdoodle you spent all those hours in the lab with and plug it right into your production system.

Have a killer idea for a baseboard or shield you don’t see? Just follow our baseboard design guide and you can build your own micro shields, breakout boards, interfaces, or whatever you can dream up. And with reconfigurable I/O, the possibilities are practically endless.

Note: for more information on connectors, footprints, and pin-outs, be sure to check out our User Manual linked in the FAQs.

Accessories

Finally, snickerdoodle has a bunch of optional accessories to make your development experience even more awesome…

12V/36W International Wall Wart

Power all your snickerdoodle baseboards with this internationally universal ‘wall-mount’ power supply.

The specs:

Voltage Input: 90 ~ 264VAC

Voltage Output: 12V

Current Output: 3A (max)

Power: 36W (max)

No-load power consumption: 100mW

Cord length: 1.5m (59”)

Includes blades for: North America Europe United Kingdom Australia China



cookieJar Enclosure

Don’t let your cookies get stale… keeps your snickerdoodle safe, clean, cool, and securely mounted in your autonomous cat-herding robot. cookieJar’s are machined out of 6061 aluminum, bead blasted, anodized, and laser engraved. They’ve got an internal boss + thermal pad so the enclosure will act as the heat sink! There are four countersunk mounting holes in the base if you want to strap this thing to whatever you’re driving/flying around… We’ll provide the screws.

Note: the above image is a rendering, final design subject to change. snickerdoodle not included. Production enclosure to be functionally equivalent.

copperHead High-performance Copper Heat Sink

Note: included with snickerdoodle prime and snickerdoodle black

32GB U3 Speed Class microSD Card (Pre-loaded With snickerdoodle Ubuntu Linux)

Note: microSD card manufacturer subject to change. Potential substitute shall be at least functionally equivalent.

Pin Housings + Jumpers

Note: All seven mating snickerdoodle connectors and a 50-pack of (loose) jumpers - see below for jumper description

Jumpers (Pack of 50)

Note: jumpers only. Wires are approximately 7.5” long (19cm), and come with 0.1” female pins & housings installed on one end and crimped pins for installation into mating Samtec housings on the other.

Baseboard Headers

Note: All seven mating snickerdoodle connectors

Who Are We?

We’re a collection of electrical, mechanical, and software engineers based out of San Francisco. With decades of experience in embedded systems, real-time controls, and robotics, we’ve worked on everything from medical devices to consumer electronics. With the mindset that no detail is too fine and “good enough” never is, we live for building products people love and that will make a difference in the world. For more info on our founding team, please visit our website.

Why Are We Doing This?

After several years and thousands of hours developing custom mechatronic and embedded control systems for a range of medical, industrial, and consumer technology companies, we finally got so tired of the lack of an affordable and versatile tool for building robotic systems that we decided to just make one ourselves.

We started by envisioning something that we, as engineers, would actually want to use - something that would make our lives easier and would eliminate the design sacrifices we always found ourselves making as a result of using poorly conceived, underperforming, and overpriced tools. Then we iterated and iterated…and iterated until we landed upon (what we feel is) the perfect combination of functionality, usability, and affordability.

And so, out of a grueling and rewarding two-year “labor of love,” snickerdoodle was born…

Inspired by the idea of what might be possible if the blossoming community of makers, hobbyists, and hardware enthusiasts could get their hands on advanced technologies that would normally be way out of their reach, we ultimately developed a combination of hardware and software that truly levels the playing field. Bringing together professionals and hobbyists using one common platform has the uniquue potential to build a community of creators unlike any before it.

Why We Need Your Help

Simply put: without your help, this project would never be able to get off the ground. Sure, we could ‘do what everyone else does:’ just add a zero to the price tag and build something with this awesome technology…and effectively exclude everyone without a multi-million dollar R&D budget from using it. But we desperately wanted this to be a way for everyone to get their hands on affordable, professional-caliber tools.

So in order to hit our minimum order quantities with the various manufacturers and distributors, along with ensuring we reach the volumes that will enable us to keep prices as low as possible while sustaining the level of support necessary to make your user and development experience as pain-free as possible, we need your help as a customer, evangelist, and contributor to this amazing new community of creators.

And of course, every development platform is only as valuable as the community of developers behind it. We look forward to welcoming you with open arms to - what is about to be - a thriving community of snickerdoodlers. Ultimately, this is all about you - we’re just here to make sure you receive the hardware and software support you need to continue experimenting, learning, building, and succeeding.

We really can’t wait to see what you create.

Manufacturing Plan

We have spent the last nine months leading up to the campaign finalizing part selections, nailing down the supply chain, negotiating with vendors and distributors, evaluating contract manufacturers, and setting up for high-volume production and fulfillment. The minute we hit our goal, we will be placing orders for long-lead-time parts and wrapping up the final hardware details.

Pre-order snickerdoodle volumes will dictate where assembly ultimately takes place. We are planning (and hoping) to have boards (both snickerdoodles and baseboards) assembled by one of our partners in China, but only if volume warrants. Fabrication will take place either in SE Asia or in/near Shenzhen. Cable assemblies are scheduled to be assembled and packaged in China.

Crowd Supply has also offered to assist us with packaging requirements/sourcing as well as domestic and international logistics to ensure you receive the best and most reliable customer service and ordering experience possible.

Thank You!

We’d like to thank some of the people who helped ‘keep the ship afloat’ for the past two (loooong) years. A big, warm, heartfelt “thank you” to:

Bruce Hammond for the dozens of projects he’s helped us with (including this one); Don and CADParts for their amazing work on the layouts…and for always standing by the Bat Phone; Romy for producing our killer video (and for putting up with us); fellow roboticists Leo & co. at SMP Robotics and Adam & Daniel at Modbot; Ryan & Jeff and all the folks at Tempo Automation for getting us out of (more than) a couple prototyping binds; Marie for being our bulldog; Josh & Darrell and the Crowd Supply team; Brad from TI, Justin & Bruce from Avnet, Jahanarha, Elizabeth, & Kristin from Samtec, Ronald & Chris from Norcomp, and Douglas & Monica from Digi-Key for all their ongoing support.

Also, thank you to our investors - you know who you are - for taking a leap of faith and believing in us when we were just three guys in a 140 square foot office armed with nothing but a box of equipment and a dream. And to our friends and families for being there when we needed you most.

And finally, thanks to you, our backers and fans for sharing our enthusiasm for creating new things and for all the words of encouragement - every one of them meant something. This is for you.

Thank you.

Risks & Challenges

Producing hardware in volume carries with it many risks. Potential issues with supply chains, quality assurance, part shortages, and natural disasters are just a few of the obstacles that can get in the way of successful delivery of a hardware product.

Software also carries risks and requires a carefully architected and executable plan. Our first priority is ensuring the highest possible quality of snickerdoodle’s fundamental software building blocks: wireless connectivity, board support packages, mobile applications, backend device management and data security, and baseboard functionality.

Wherever possible, we’ve taken care to allow time for delivery setbacks, quality issues, and other potential hiccups to be ironed out without causing delays in fulfillment. But no matter what, we will always be transparent, responsive, and quick to provide updates along the way so our backers will always know where we are, where we’re going, any challenges we might come across, and how we are working to address them.

FAQs

How does international shipping work?

Worldwide shipping for all baseboards and accessories is 100% covered by snickerdoodle’s shipping charges! International orders just add $10 ($25 total) per snickerdoodle. If your order contains more than one snickerdoodle, your shipping charges will be adjusted after the order is submitted to ensure you are not overcharged. Should you have any questions about international (or domestic) shipping, please submit a question below. Note: any international orders that have already been placed will be adjusted to reflect this change and a new confirmation email will be sent reflecting the reduced shipping fees.

Do you have an Alpha program? If so, how do I get involved?

Yes! If you’re interested in participating, just submit a “question” using the button at the bottom of the campaign explaining how you’d like to get involved; please include some project/experience examples and a link to your resumé and/or GitHub profile would be helpful.

Note: our Alpha customers will get early access to pre-production hardware before the end of the year and will be working closely with us on testing new features and building demo applications. We’re particularly looking for people with experience in Linux, FreeRTOS, ROS, and/or FPGA IP and who are eager to get their hands dirty. Please keep in mind that pre-production hardware and software is likely to be buggy and will require knowledge of how to resolve issues with both.

There are a limited number of spaces available, so don’t wait to apply!

How do I go about building my own snickerdoodle “microShield” or baseboard?

For both plug-in and cable-ready baseboards and microShields, check out our User Manual (linked below) for info on connectors, footprints, pinouts, and more.

Can I order snickerdoodles in large volumes?

Absolutely! Just submit a “question” using the button at the bottom of the campaign and we’ll get right back to you…

Do I have to run Linux?

Nope. Again, there are two “hard” ARM Cortex-A9 processor cores so you can run a wide range of real-time and general-purpose operating systems. Or if you don’t want the overhead of an OS, you can even run “bare metal!”

I noticed you have an STM32 microcontroller in your block diagram but you don’t mention it in the campaign. What does it do and can I run my own code on it?

The STM32 functions as a USB-to-serial bridge, power-supply manager, Bluetooth-integration bridge, boot-source controller, USB boot flash mass-storage-device bridge, LED and button controller, and I2C auto-configuration manager. We provide pre-integrated, functioning firmware for this device, which allows us to implement many of the platform and mobile application usability features intrinsic to snickerdoodle.

However, if you wish to build your own custom firmware for the STM32 device, both ST and ARM provide complete free toolchains and SDKs for the STM32F078, and the STM32 debug pins are fully exposed as well (on J2).

What is snickerdoodle’s standby or “resting” power consumption?

Taking advantage of the STM32-controlled load switches, snickerdoodle’s standby power can get down to 5 milliwatts! (this is with the Zynq off, STM32 in “stop” mode, & Bluetooth in sleep mode).

I didn’t see JTAG on board - where is it??

Well, a couple places actually… For starters, all the JTAG pins are available on J2. Secondarily, you can actually debug over Wi-Fi via the debug agent in Linux. You can also get JTAG over the microUSB port (facilitated by the STM32 companion controller); note that due to the limitations of "full-speed" USB and SPI, this will be limited to approx. 4.8 MHz (as opposed to an external high-speed, pro-style JTAG box that’ll run about $60-250) - a pretty reasonable compromise considering there’s no added hardware cost. :) And, of course, breakyBreaky has "standard" JTAG headers built in.

What is the voltage range for snickerdoodle’s I/O pins?

The voltage levels for the FPGA I/O pins are settable to between 1.2 V and 3.3 V (JA1, JA2, JB1, JB2, JC1).

snickerdoodle has two independent “banks" of 50 FPGA I/O pins and each can be set to any I/O voltage in the aforementioned range. snickerdoodle black adds a third (independent) FPGA I/O bank of 25 I/O pins.

A 3.3 V power supply output is supplied on each FPGA I/O connector, which can be used with a single jumper to set the I/O voltage to 3.3 V for that bank without any additional external components. However, to use an I/O voltage other than 3.3 V (1.2 V to < 3.3 V), that voltage must be supplied to the I/O bank.

The microprocessor I/O (J3) have a fixed voltage of 1.8 V (this is required to support Ethernet on the baseboards as RGMII does not support I/O voltages above 2.5V).

The analog, audio, JTAG etc. I/O on J2 have a fixed I/O voltage of 3.3 V.

What is the temperature range of snickerdoodle? And do you offer an industrial grade version (-40C to 100C)?

Below is a list of snickerdoodle component temperature ranges:

667 MHz Zynq 7010: 0C to 85C 866 MHz Zynq 7020: 0C to 100C

Single-Band WL1831 Radio: -20C to 70C Dual-Band 2x2 MIMO WL1837 Radio: -40C to 85C

LPDDR2 Memory: -30C to 85C

STM32: -40C to 85C

Flash and Crypto EEPROM: -40C to 85C

"Everything else”: -30C to 85C or better (for instance LEDs don’t quite make the full -40C to 85C range)

There is an “industrial” version of the Zynq, however it carries a significant price premium and the processor is (usually) limited to the 667 MHz speed grade. If you do have a volume application requiring an industrial temperature grade snickerdoodle, please let us know by submitting a “question” below.

I’m interested in getting into some image processing and computer vision applications - you don’t have a pre-built camera module I can plug into snickerdoodle, do you?

Let’s just say: if you help us reach our first stretch goal, we will unveil a “solution” we think you might like (that will be incorporated into a subsequent stretch goal)…

Is snickerdoodle “open source?”

All baseboard/microShield schematics, Gerbers, and BOMs are/will be published and publicly available.

The complete snickerdoodle schematics and BOM will be published and made publicly available before the end of the campaign.

Is there a version of snickerdoodle without Wi-Fi & Bluetooth?

We do not currently offer a version of snickerdoodle without wireless connectivity. If you have an application that does not permit or does not require wireless, please submit a “question” below and we will be happy to discuss.

What happened to the other baseboards you show in your video?

Due to lack of demand - and in an effort to simplify the various campaign offerings - we have decided to stop taking orders for shieldBuddy (Arduino shield adaptor), gryphon (autopilot), and whiteRhino (industrial SBC). If you are interested in learning more about these boards, please send us a “question” below. Also, please check out our GitHub profile for schematics of these boards for use as reference designs. Note: if you have already ordered one or more of these boards, we will be contacting you directly for the next steps.

Can I build my own FPGA IP cores? If so, how?

Absolutely! Using Xilinx’s free Vivado WebPACK, you can develop your very own snickerdoodle IP and take advantage of a thriving community of developers. For more info on FPGA IP development using Vivado, head over to Xilinx’s site: Vivado Design Suite Video Tutorials

I know the ARM processor can access the LPDDR2 directly, but can the FPGA?

Yes! LPDDR2 memory controller is accessible by both the "hard" ARM cores * and * the FPGA. There are a 9 uncommitted AXI buses linking the FPGA to the ARM processor.

For very high performance applications, the FPGA can directly stream data to and from the DDR Controller via four 64-bit wide AXI slave interfaces. For medium performance applications, the FPGA can connect to the central interconnect through two 32-bit wide AXI slave interfaces that also provide a path to direct control over hard IP peripherals. The hard DMA controller can also drive transactions to the FPGA via two 32-bit wide AXI master interfaces. See sections 22.3 and 22.4 of the Zynq Technical Reference Manual for very detailed info on the FPGA internal connectivity to the hard ARM processor. For a higher level explanation, please see section 2.3 of the Zynq book which can be freely downloaded at ZynqBook.com.

But wait, I want more specs! How fast are the I/O? What about the memory interfaces? What’s the wireless performance like?

Here’s pretty much everything you need to know…

features snickerdoodle one snickerdoodle black chipset Xilinx Zynq-7010 Xilinx Zynq-7020 CPU 32-bit dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 w/640kB cache and 2x 128-bit NEON coprocessors 32-bit dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 w/640kB cache and 2x 128-bit NEON coprocessors performance 3,335 DMIPS/2.6 GFLOPS@667 MHz 4,330 DMIPS/3.4 GFLOPS@866 MHz flash 16MB XIP NOR + up to 200GB SDIO NAND via captive microSD card cage 16MB XIP NOR + up to 200GB SDIO NAND via captive microSD card cage DRAM/bandwidth 512MB/25.6Gbps 1GB/25.6Gbps SRAM/bandwidth 256kB/28.4 Gbps 256kB/36.9 Gbps reconfigurable hardware 430K gates/17,600 LUT-6 1.3M gates/53,200 LUT-6 32-bit performance 143,150 MIPS@350 MHz 587,575 MIPS@475 MHz distributed RAM 270kB/3,354Gbps 630kB/10,275Gbps DSP performance 74 GMACs/31.8 GFLOPS@461 MHz 276 GMACs/121.5 GFLOPS@599 MHz total user GPIO 155 179 reconfigurable I/O performance 16x ADC/100x GPIO/46.2Gbps 16x ADC/125x GPIO/75.7Gbps fixed GPIO 33x GPIO, 4x I2S audio, 14x I2C, 1x ADC, 2x DAC 33x GPIO, 4x I2S audio, 14x I2C, 1x ADC, 2x DAC Wi-Fi 150Mbps SISO 2.4GHz 802.11n 150Mbps 2x2 MIMO 2.4GHz/5GHz 802.11n Bluetooth - 3Mbps dual-mode Bluetooth 4.0 Classic+EDR/BLE antenna dual-band antenna, switched U.FL ports dual-band antenna, switched U.FL ports serial interfaces 2x gigabit ethernet, 2x CAN, 2x I2C, SPI, UART, USB 2.0 high-speed, microUSB console/JTAG 2x gigabit ethernet, 2x CAN, 2x I2C, SPI, UART, USB 2.0 high-speed, microUSB console/JTAG analog interfaces 2x 1MSPS 12-bit ADCs w/16 channel multiplexer, 2x 1MSPS 12-bit DACs 2x 1MSPS 12-bit ADCs w/16 channel multiplexer, 2x 1MSPS 12-bit DACs other peripherals 5x LEDs, 2x pushbuttons, secure cryptographic key/certificate storage 5x LEDs, 2x pushbuttons, secure cryptographic key/certificate storage software support iOS/Android app, Snappy Ubuntu Core Linux, Python, Java, C/C++, ROS, FreeRTOS iOS/Android app, Snappy Ubuntu Core Linux, Python, Java, C/C++, ROS, FreeRTOS power 5V via microUSB or 3.7V-17V via power pins 5V via microUSB or 3.7V-17V via power pins dimensions 3.5" x 2.0" (88.9mm x 50.8mm) 3.5" x 2.0" (88.9mm x 50.8mm)

What about documentation? Do you have a User Manual or something?

Of course! Here’s a link to the snickerdoodle User Manual. This is a “living” document and will continue to be updated going forward, but this should help answer a lot of the questions you still have.

If you’re looking for more information on Zynq and everything it’s capable of, our good friends at the University of Strathclyde literally wrote the book on Zynq. It’s an excellent resource packed full of useful information and best of all? It’s 100% free! Check it out at ZynqBook.com, (or pick up a hard copy off Amazon).

You can also check out our GitHub profile for a comprehensive list of schematics, manuals, drawings, tables, and other goodies.

Where do I find out more about the IDE you’re using?

For more on the Xilinx SDK, head on over to their website where you can find all kinds of great documentation and other resources: Xilinx SDK Documentation

How do you pronounce “krtkl”?

It’s pronounced “critical” (krĭt′ĭ-kəl)…we just removed the vowels and changed the “c’s” to “k’s!” Written in lowercase, the inspiration comes from us spending our entire professional careers developing “safety-critical” systems.

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