MIKROE introduces ClickID for enhanced click board integration

This hardware/software (HW/SW) open source solution, based on a one-wire device, facilitates the hot-plugging of Click or other mikroBUS-compatible add-on peripheral boards into development boards running embedded Linux or similar operating systems.

ClickID introduces a new level of automation and self-diagnosis to embedded tools. When used with Click boards on an embedded system, it enables more complex operations by allowing software to identify add-on board peripheral configurations.

A ClickID demo library is available at https://github.com/MikroElektronika/mikrosdk_click_v2/tree/master/clicks/clickid, compatible with any MIKROE development system. This versatile example illustrates how to read, write, and process data from the ClickID. The complete application code and ready-to-use projects can be easily installed from NECTO Studio Package Manager, downloaded from LibStock, or accessed on MIKROE's GitHub account.

Nebojsa Matic, CEO of MIKROE, commented: “Click boards have always featured the standardised mikroBUS sockets which represented a big step forward in the embedded industry as it enabled embedded boards to be more modular and easily upgradable by quickly adding and changing hardware in the form of mikroBUS-compatible add-on boards such as Clicks. Now, by adding HW/SW support that is automatically recognised by popular OS, such as Linux, we have eliminated the challenge of configuring a huge range of devices at boot-time with device trees, which is time-consuming and error-prone.”

Support for Linux-based embedded systems

ClickID simplifies the integration and operation of peripheral add-on boards for Linux-based systems like BeaglePlay. It communicates with the operating system kernel via the 1-Wire protocol, allowing automatic recognition of silicon ICs on add-on boards. ClickID delivers manifest files to the operating system, enabling the loading of appropriate drivers for interfaces such as SPI, I2C, UART, PWM, ADC.

Christine Long, CEO of BeagleBoard.org Foundation, remarked: “At BeagleBoard.org, we are obsessed with improving developer experiences, especially for new users. We are thrilled to see MIKROE introduce ClickID and to adopt mikroBUS manifests we've introduced for future versions of Linux. This is a big step enabling users of boards like our BeagleBoard.org BeaglePlay to simply use the well-tested code that is already there without needing to search and integrate, just connect and play!"