Miniature Arduino

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​The open source Arduino microcontroller has captured the attention of thousands of hobbyists and DIY'ers.  Based on the Atmel AtMega series of microcontrollers, Arduinos are being used in projects ranging from art to robotics to drone aircraft.  The Arduino is distinguished by its user-friendly IDE and a large body of open-source firmware.   Visit www.arduino.cc for an Arduino overview.   Using our fine feature conductors and embedded surface mount components, we have built an AtMega 328P microcontroller module that is highly miniaturized, carries the Arduino bootloader, and is programmable with the Arduino IDE.  The module includes a 3.3V LDO regulator, an inverter chip for interrupt management, and all necessary passives.  In the version shown on the right, the module has 25 I/O connections and is designed to be mounted on a 25 conductor ribbon cable with 0.3 mm conductor pitch.  Similar modules can be mounted on the ribbon cable to attach sensors, wireless links, power sources and other subsystems.

The layout and schematic of the module are available on our Downloads page.  Linked pages describe interfacing of this microcontroller with a wireless transceiver and construction of a complete wireless accelerometer.

The benefits of miniaturization can be attractive to anyone who works with low-power electronics, and, with partial support from the National Science Foundation, we have applied our miniaturization technology to building what may be the "World's Smallest Arduino".  In the spirit of open-source development,  we are making available all layouts and source code used in the project.

A Potomac MesoSystems miniature electronics module mounted on a 25 conductor cable sits beside one of the smaller Arduino versions -- the Pro Mini.