Premier Farnell first to stock Microchip and Digilent’s chipKIT 32-bit Microcontroller Development

Platform includes Dev. Boards, Open-Source Software; 32-bit Performance and Low Cost enables academics and hobbyists of all disciplines to integrate electronics into projects

The chipKIT hardware is compatible with existing 3.3V Arduino shields and applications, and can be developed using a modified version of the Arduino IDE and existing Arduino resources, such as code examples, libraries, references and tutorials. The platform provides an unprecedented level of features for the Arduino™ community, and four times the performance of any existing Arduino™ solution at a low price.

“The PIC32-based chipKIT boards are excellent tools for academics and hobbyists from many disciplines, such as mechanical engineering, computer science and even art, who want easy-to-use, low-cost solutions for creating projects,” said Richard Curtin, Global Head of Strategic Supplier Engagement, Premier Farnell. “We are delighted to be the first global distributor to take the first 32-bit platform with Arduino™ form-factor to market, especially by featuring it first on our dedicated chipKIT group on element14, and enabling our customers to produce world class designs.”

“Students, educators and hobbyists, with or without electronic-engineering backgrounds, are looking for inexpensive solutions that will enable them to easily integrate electronics into their projects. The chipKIT meet these needs, providing more features, performance and functionality than other Arduino solutions on the market, at a low cost. The chipKIT platform is the first 32-bit solution of its kind in the industry academics and hobbyists can plug the boards into their design, download the open-source software and have their project up and running in minutes, Farnell understand the importance of having the chipKIT in stock for immediate call off for these customers,” said Mike McGlade, Sales Channel Manager, Microchip.