Nerdonic Introduces the Arduino-Compatible Exen Proto Microcontroller

Nerdonic recently launched their popular Exen Mini, which they touted as the “world’s smallest 32-bit Arduino-compatible microcontroller.” The tiny 14.9 X 14.9 X 4.4mm development board is powered by Microchip’s SAM D21 Cortex-M0+ MCU, which made it an excellent platform for projects tight on space, but not so much for others that required more than 8 I/O pins. The slightly larger Exen Proto solves that issue by adding up to 20 digital I/O, while still retaining the SAM D21 of its smaller sibling.

According to Nerdonic:

“The original Exen Mini was a huge success, but due to its small size we could only fit 8x I/O pins onto it, therefore we listened to our customers and got to work on a slightly larger, much more prototype friendly development board.. The Exen Proto!”

As far as the features are concerned, the Exen Proto offers multiple voltage inputs (power-pin 1 @ 3.3–20V, power-pin 2 @ 3.3V, and micro USB @ 5.5V), 20 digital I/O pins, 19 PWM pins, and 11 analog (ADC) pins.

For communication, the board is equipped with a pair of UART headers and up to 5X I2C pin-outs, depending on your project needs. Rounding out the Proto package is a micro USB port, a reset button, and a pair of power and program LEDs.

Like the Mini, the Exen Proto is breadboard-compatible, making it easy to develop any number of projects. It also supports the Arduino IDE and even comes with the Arduino Zero bootloader pre-installed. Nerdonic is currently crowdfunding the Proto on Indiegogo, and those interested can grab one or more with a pledge of $10.50 (US) and up (not including shipping).