The Calliope mini is a single-board computer developed for educational usage at German primary schools. The goal of the initiative is to provide all pupils as of grade three of primary schools in Germany with a Calliope mini free of charge.[1]

Background edit

Calliope mini was inspired by the BBC micro:bit, which was distributed to pupils of grade seven in Great Britain. The non-profit Calliope gGmbH is responsible for developing and maintaining the Calliope mini.[2]

The name "Calliope mini" is a reference to Kalliope, a daughter of Zeus and the muse who presides over eloquence, science and epic poetry.[3]

Hardware edit

  • Nordic nRF51822 multi-protocol Bluetooth Low Energy / 2.4 GHz RF SoC
    • 32-bit ARM Cortex-M0 processor (16 MHz)
    • 16 kB RAM
    • 256 kB Flash
    • Bluetooth Low Energy
  • 5x5 LED matrix display
  • Accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer (Bosch BMX055)
  • MEMS microphone
  • DC motor driver (TI DRV8837)
  • Piezo speaker
  • RGB LED (WS2812B)
  • 2 programmable buttons
  • Serial interface (USB + configurable ports)
  • PWM output
  • 4 banana plug / crocodile clip connections
  • 4 analog inputs
  • 8–11 input/output connections (depending on software configuration)
  • SPI + I²C
  • USB Micro B connection (programming and power supply)
  • JST battery connector (3.3 V)
  • Banana / crocodile clip connection for 3.3 V (output)
  • 2 Grove connectors (I²C + serial / analog)
  • NXP KL26z (USB and power supply)
  • Flash program memory (optional)

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Calliope mini: Weil coden Spaß macht".
  2. ^ "Founding contract of Calliope gGmbH" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  3. ^ mdr.de. "Für jeden Grundschüler ein Computer | MDR.DE" (in German). Retrieved 2019-01-02.

External links edit