Summary of Get Creative with the miniSpartan6+ : A Competition with $2500+ in cash prizes!!!
The miniSpartan6+ is a compact, breadboard-friendly FPGA development kit featuring a Xilinx Spartan6 LX9, onboard USB JTAG programmer, USB interface for power and PC communication, HDMI output, 8-channel 1 MSPS 8-bit ADC, 32MB SDRAM, 64Mbit SPI flash, microSD slot, stereo audio via 1-bit sigma-delta DAC, and 24 digital I/O pins. A $30,000 stretch goal funds an online contest with $2,500+ in cash prizes for creative projects using the board; winners chosen by social media polling and expert judges, held one month after board delivery.
Parts used in the miniSpartan6+:
- Xilinx Spartan6 LX9 FPGA
- On-board USB JTAG programmer
- On-board USB interface (up to 480 Mbps)
- HDMI port
- 8-channel 1 MSPS 8-bit analog-to-digital converter
- 32 MB SDRAM
- 64 Mbit SPI Flash
- microSD card interface
- Stereo audio output jack with 1-bit sigma-delta DAC
- 24 digital I/O pins
Comes with all the hardware and software you need to quickly get your FPGA project going. Now you can focus on the real engineering.
Stretch Goal: $30,000
Get Creative with the miniSpartan6+ : A Competition with $2500+ in cash prizes!!!
If we reach our $30,000 stretch goal, we will be able to hold a competition. We will ask backers who have a miniSpartan6+ to demonstrate a creative, innovative application. We will distribute $2,500+ in cash prizes, and winners will be chosen based on polling from social media and experts from academia and the industry.
When? The contest will be held 1 month after we deliver our boards ( if everything moves smoothly, in October 2014.
Where? All around the world – online. Build your project, document it, film it working, and you are in.
Guidelines? No conditions except using your miniSpartan6+ in your project.
Meet the miniSpartan6+ and the Scarab IDE:
When we came up with our board’s design, we looked at what was available in other boards on the market and enhanced it.
Our kit is small, much smaller than the closest thing on the market,it’s smaller than a credit card at only 1.8 in x 3.0 in. That means you can put it inside some pretty small projects. (Here’s something to get you thinking, by 2025 the cost of putting one pound into space is expected to be just $100.)
And our kit is bread board friendly, so you can quickly connect it to a shield or to a bread board.
Now, there’s a handful of other broads with many of these features on the market, but our
miniSpartan6+ costs around half of what its closest competitor does.
The miniSpartan6+:
- The Spartan6 LX9 FPGA from Xilinx, one of the best FPGAs on the market.
- An on-board USB JTAG Programmer to power and program your FPGA with any open source programmer, like the one inside our own Scarab IDE.
- An on board USB interface that powers the board and allows communication with the PC at speeds up to 480Mbps. (That’s fast enough to make a logic analyzer. Check our website for updates on projects and tutorials).
- An on-board HDMI port. Instead of using VGA output on your projects, now you can go HDMI.
- An 8-channel analog to digital converter running at 1 MSPS with 8 bit resolution. So you can start connecting real world sensors to your FPGA kit.
- Memory: 32MB of SDRAM, 64Mbit of SPI Flash and a microSD card interface.
- A stereo audio output jack using 1-bit sigma-delta DAC to start playing your music.
- 24 Digital I/O pins.
For more detail: Get Creative with the miniSpartan6+ : A Competition with $2500+ in cash prizes!!!
- What FPGA does the miniSpartan6+ use?
The miniSpartan6+ uses the Xilinx Spartan6 LX9 FPGA. - Does the board include a programmer for configuring the FPGA?
Yes, it includes an on-board USB JTAG programmer for powering and programming the FPGA. - Can the miniSpartan6+ connect to a PC and how fast is the interface?
Yes, it has an on-board USB interface that powers the board and allows PC communication at speeds up to 480 Mbps. - Does the board provide video output options?
Yes, the board features an on-board HDMI port for video output. - Can I connect analog sensors to the miniSpartan6+?
Yes, it includes an 8-channel ADC running at 1 MSPS with 8-bit resolution for connecting real-world sensors. - What memory options are available on the miniSpartan6+?
The board provides 32 MB of SDRAM, 64 Mbit of SPI Flash, and a microSD card interface. - Is audio supported on the miniSpartan6+?
Yes, there is a stereo audio output jack using a 1-bit sigma-delta DAC. - How many digital I/O pins are available?
The miniSpartan6+ exposes 24 digital I/O pins. - Is the board breadboard friendly and compact?
Yes, the kit is breadboard friendly and measures 1.8 in x 3.0 in, smaller than a credit card. - What is the contest tied to the stretch goal?
If funding reaches the $30,000 stretch goal, an online competition will be held with $2,500+ in cash prizes for creative projects using the miniSpartan6+.
