Hey there,

we have just released the version r2.1.1 of Zerynth with lots of new features, enhancements and optimisations.

A detailed list of changes follows.

- Support for JTAG!

We finally added support for JTAG probes! This is an important feature for professional development as it allows faster device registration, virtualization and uplinking both in development and production scenarios. Moreover, you can now use with Zerynth all those devices that do not have a USB serial chipset. Last but not least, JTAG support is a mandatory feature for the next big feature we are going to add: GDB debugging support.

At the moment, the boards with JTAG support are:

When the device needs to be registered, virtualized and programmed using a JTAG/SWD probe you need to configure the connected devices in more details, overriding the automatic discovery process. Zerynth Studio gives the possibility to access to an advanced device management mode selecting the corresponding option in the device management widget. More info here.

Some of these boards don’t even require an external JTAG since all the necessary circuitry is already on the board itself: the Nucleo boards for example, feature a ST-Link V2 that Zerynth supports out of the box.

- Customizable VMs for your own hardware solutions!

Based on feedback from many users we decided it was time to allow you to create Zerynth Virtual Machines for your own custom boards or for not yet officially supported boards.

Custom Virtual Machines can be created and managed directly from Zerynth Studio from scratch, or imported from github or a file. More info here. We’ll publish a detailed tutorial in the next days.

- A new Virtual Machine for ESP32 with Watchdog support

The Secure Firmware module access to secure firmware functionalities specific to the target microcontroller. It can be safely imported in every program, however, its functions will raise UnsupportedError if the target VM is not enabled for secure firmware features (available on Premium VMs only).

In particular, this module allows access to the microcontroller watchdogs and will enable access to anti-tampering features soon. For ESP32 devices the watchdog is implemented using a hardware timer. More info here.

- A new Supported Device: DOIT ESP32 DevKit v1

Another board based on ESP32, the “DOIT ESP32 DevKit v1”, is officially supported.

Refer to the official doc for more info about this board and on how to get started.

- A new Library: Eseye AnyNet AWS

Eseye is a leading global provider of M2M cellular connectivity for the Internet of Things (IoT) specialized in simplifying complex global device deployments for enterprises. Their AnyNet Secure SIM identifies, catalogues and connects IoT devices to AWS IoT cloud, while reducing costs and risks of IoT deployments.

To easily interact with AnyNet Secure SIM exploiting its AWS IoT readiness, an MCU-based AT modem has been developed. The AWS AT modem exposes an MQTT client, connected to AWS IoT, controllable through simple AT custom commands over a serial interface.

The modem can be found on the AnyNet 2G Click Board as a result of the partnership between MikroElektronica and Eseye.

The Zerynth Library “Eseye AnyNet AWS” allows communicating to the modem through an intuitive Python interface. More info and code examples here.

- Bugfixes

I2C stretch on ESP32 based devices

Better stability and an enhanced User Experience

How to update?

Now you need to update all the packages to the version r2.1.1. To do this you have just to:

open Zerynth Studio; click “System Update”; click “Update” and restart Zerynth Studio follow the wizard and enjoy!

Remember to re-virtualize all boards with the new virtual machines!

Happy coding!

As usual, please keep us informed of issues for this update.

If you have any ideas for projects, examples, applications, and how-tos, don’t hesitate to post them on our Hackster page and here on our Community Forum!

And don’t forget to stay tuned and follow us on Twitter @Zerynth and Facebook @Zerynth for real-time updates or subscribe to our newsletter!

Enjoy this new release and happy coding!