Jupiter Nano looks like one of those small MCU boards, but instead of a microcontroller, it packs a 500 MHz Microchip SAMA5 Cortex-A5 processor with 128MB RAM capable of running Linux or NuttX operating systems.
The board reminds me of the Adafruit Feather compatible Giant Board made by Groboards, with the same system-in-package, but Juniper Nano offers more I/Os via 48 through holes, and its size is said to be similar to Teensy 4.1 board (but not quite).
Jupiter Nano specifications:
- SiP – Microchip SAMA5D27C-LD1G with Cortex-A5 processor running at 498 MHz, 128MB LPDDR2 DRAM
- Storage – MicroSD card socket (bootable)
- USB – 1x Micro USB 2.0 host/device port, 1x USB 2.0 host on header
- Expansion – 2x 24-pin headers with GPIOs, USB, SPI, I2C, up to 4x Flexcom interfaces configurable as SPI, UART or I2C
- Programming – JTAG port, Micro USB 2.0 FS debug console via MCP2200 USB-UART converter chip
- Power Supply
- 5V via USB
- LiPo battery support via Qorvo ACT8945A
- Dimensions – 63.5 x 28.6 mm
The board was designed with KiCAD and runs NuttX RTOS or Linux. It will be open-source hardware with KiCAD files, schematics, project files, and software source code released after funding is completed [Update August 7, 2021: The KiCAD files and software tools have been released on Github]. Compared to Arduino Due, the processor is 10 times more powerful and comes with 1280 times more RAM.
Jupiter Nano board has just launched on Crowd Supply, as part of the “Microchip Get Launched” design program, with the price starting at $65 for the early bird special for the first 50 pieces, and going up to $79 after that. Shipping is free to the US, adds $10 to the rest of the world, and deliveries expected to start in December 2021.
Updated: First published on July 5th, 2021, the post was updated on July 31th, 2021 following the launch on Kickstarter”.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
