DFRobot bolsters Farnell's single board computer lineup

The agreement will help Farnell to service design engineers developing high performance Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

DFRobot is a manufacturer of user-friendly robotics and open-source hardware that can form the building blocks for a wide variety of electronics projects, helping inventors to simplify the design process and accelerate time to market.

The company’s Gravity Series toolkit enables users to enhance Ardunio and micro: bit projects with a selection of powerful sensors. For more advanced designers, the broad range of LattePanda boards and accessories are ideal for edge computing, vending, digital advertising signage and industrial automation applications.

Farnell now stocks more than 140 products from DFRobot including:

• Gravity Series: a high quality open-source, modular, plug-and-play electronics toolkit which doesn’t require any soldering and is protected against incorrect connection. It features powerful expansion shields and more than 250 professional function modules which are compatible with Ardunio and micro:bit. Modules include the Ardunio moisture sensor, the Ardunio pH water quality sensor for industrial wastewater testing applications, and infrared human body sensors which can measure heart rate, UV, motion sensors and more. Detailed tutorials including wiring pictures, operation steps, sample codes and schematics are included.

• LattePanda: the high performance, low power, palm-sized SBC is now available with an expanded range of boards and accessories including touch displays, cables, cooling fans and cases, enabling users to maximise the potential of their projects. This powerful development board can accelerate the rate of production for designers and system integrators building IoT solutions. LattePanda boards come pre-installed with Windows 10 or can be run on Linux and include an integrated Ardunio compatible co-processor which can control and sense the physical world. An enterprise edition featuring Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB is available to support more complex projects.

Lee Turner, Global Head of Semiconductors and SBC at Farnell, said: “The increasing adoption of IoT technology and related devices is driving the use of SBCs in electronics design. These systems enable the easy integration of IoT components and are considered among the most crucial components of IoT hardware. DFRobot offers unrivalled compatibility and integration with many of the world’s leading SBCs . Professional engineers and makers who have grown up using these brands can now maximise the potential of their projects with DFRobot’s comprehensive range of toolkits, sensors, robotics platforms, modules and accessories. Farnell’s global availability and comprehensive support for the complete range of LattePanda boards gives our customers confidence when sourcing components for new product development.”

DFRobot was one of the early evangelists of the maker movement and among the first to embrace open-source hardware which can be easily integrated into a range of professional applications.

The DFRobot product range is available from Farnellin EMEA, Newark in North America and element14 in APAC.