mbed NXP LPC1768 Microcontroller Board module
mbed (mbed.org) is a next-generation 32-bit microcontroller platform. It’s a prototyping and teaching tool somewhat along the lines of Arduino. On steroids. With claws and fangs. Other contenders in this class include the MAKE Controller, STM32 Primer and Primer 2, Freescale Tower, and Microchip’s PIC32 Starter Kit. The mbed hardware has a number of advantages (and a few disadvantages) compared to these other platforms, but what really sets it apart is the development environment: the entire system — editor, compiler, libraries and reference materials — are completely web-based. There is no software to install or maintain on the host system.
A 60MHz NXP LPC1768 based on the eminently capable 32-bit ARM Cortex-M3 core, sporting 64K of RAM and 512K flash, and rounded out with an embarrassment of peripheral riches: Ethernet, USB (host, device, and to-go), CAN bus, multiple serial, I2C and SPI buses, 12-bit A/D and even a 10-bit D/A converter and realtime clock/calendar. Also on top is the USB connector (mini-B), some power regulation circuitry (operating on 4.5 to 9 volts DC, or USB power), several indicator LEDs, and the reset button (a plain vanilla tactile switch on our purchased unit, not the candy-like blue button seen in product shots).
The underside conceals an Ethernet transceiver chip (requiring only the addition of an RJ45 jack to get the board on a network) and a DiskOnChip-style component that provides a small (about 2MB) FAT filesystem when attached to a host system through USB, much like a thumb drive.
