A picture is worth a thousand words.

So a video is like, a lot. These videos show the simultaneous view from the board (and my phone), and my PC. A hacky looking board can be seen in the corner there, which can miraculously switch power on and off on any pin, as well as routing power between pins, monitoring pins with an ADC, and a few more neat features to come. If you'd like to see more, leave a comment / email describing your ideal uses.

I am working on a variant with over 128 IO pins, one integrated into the breadboard itself, one with resistance as low as 0.5 Ohm and one with voltages exceeding 12v. I can't get everything done at once, however, so feedback is appreciated!

TLDR Overview

All boards are USB compatible and have onboard 3.3v supply (some also have 12v).

All boards will include a UI and API for tinkerers.

Some boards will have resistance under 1 Ohm.

Some boards will handle in excess of 500mA.

Some boards will handle in excess of 12v.

Some boards will support in over 128 IO pins.

Design

Programmable – our software interface interacts with hardware to cater to the caprice of every programmer. It replaces wires with a programmable switch array. The user interface interacts with the switch array so you can connect channels (effectively "wires") to IO pins without touching your design. It also interacts with the onboard ADC so that you can manipulate your designwith the click of a button and monitor signals in real time, all on the same little chip.

Connectivity – USB and browser based UI! Compatible and portable!

Modular – Easily develop and attach custom features to the board.

Compatible with Arduino

Applications

Replace wires

1. Connect the controller board to your breadboard and PC.

2. Connect channels to IO pins in the user interface.

The user interface will interact with the hardware and implement your configuration on a breadboard via a programmable switch matrix, thereby replacing wires.

Monitor signals

1. Connect the GPIO channel to the ADC channel on the same IO pin.

2. Set the ADC channel on.

Then you can analyze the signal.

Build custom shields

This feature is still in development.

Specs

We are working on specs right now for the current iteration. Expect specs of the standard features by next week.

Block Diagram

The Team

Hi everyone! We are a new startup called Freesearch. We are a team of makers based in Australia. We want to hack your breadboard for the better.

R&D

- Matt Dixon

Project Logs

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Updated project status
Freesearch • 03/14/2017 at 00:59 • 0 comments

Here we are at the end of Q1 2017and what have we got?

We are just finishing up design details for out Beta test devices. We expect to be sending them out for a few lucky people to play with over the next month. If you'd like to have your say on some of the features included, or be one of the testers, head on over to our patreon and cast your vote. https://www.patreon.com/metaboard

While our previous designs have focused on extensibility and modularity (and we intend to do so in the future), we are gearing up these ones for ease of use. Plug&play with as many features to help you test as possible. They look something like this:To give you a short tour, those pins at the end are the IO. Any signal coming in to one can come out the other via an internal channel. The channels are normally available on each side to allow the devices to be stacked together, but in this simplified version, we have only the programming ports on the side (sorry, no USB programming yet!). The five pins in the middle allow you to use a jumper to set the voltage of channel 9 to GND, 3v3, 5v or 12v.
At the moment we have the supply channel, a GPIO, an LED, and an ADC, as can be seen here:
We can toggle the onboard LED (which is internally connected to GND) by connecting GPIO and LED to the same IO, then toggling the GPIO:
Similarly, we can link the GPIO to the ADC and see the waveform:

Most importantly, however, is that you can plug anything in to the IO pins and use our interface to build a circuit around it! Let us know what tools you would find most useful in the Metaboard!

If you like this project, please consider making a tiny donation over at our patreon. We have more exciting projects in the works and we can't wait to bring them to you! (Plus coffee is expensive)

Thanks for joining us :)
Working on v0.3b ... a look back
Freesearch • 02/26/2017 at 09:34 • 0 comments

We are finalising v0.3b at the moment. This iteration simplifies our design. We are offering it to beta testers.
But while you wait, here are some demonstrations of the utility of our tookit:
Connecting channels to IO pins in the user interface
Lighting up an LED on a breadboard and on the controller board using the user interface
Applying logic levels at a click of a button in the user interface
Say yes to crowdfunding
Freesearch • 02/18/2017 at 08:34 • 0 comments
Hi,
So, we are launching our crowdfunding campaign soon. We need funding to improve your prototyping experience and streamline our distribution. To be specific, this campaign will allow us to:
- Finalise R&D in Q1 2017.
- Manufacture and deliver kits to backers in Q2 2017.
- Produce custom shields, such as a higher precision ADC, a DAC, a MIDI controller, an SoC, wifi adapter or an FPGA.
- Secure retail distribution by the end of 2017.
My team can't thank you enough for following this project. Your support makes the development of the MetaBoard possible. You light up our days. We want to light up your days, and your breadboards! Here is how you can nudge us along:
- Spread the word to your friends, family, peers, enemies ... anyone who can put our project out there.
- Let my team know what you think about the MetaBoard. Leave me a message on here or on metaboard.com.au.
- Support my team on Patreon. Any donation encourages us and increases our productivity (especially when we can afford more caffeine).
Once again, our gratitude is ∞. One more thing...
- Yasmine