Introducing Hail
by BradToday we are introducing Hail, an open source IoT development board that supports Tock! Hail is designed to be a very low-friction way to get started using and creating Tock applications. Simply plug in the Hail module over USB and use the tockloader utility to load and run applications.
In just 1.2 in² Hail packs a lot of features: a 48 MHz Cortex-M4 microcontroller, a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) radio, three sensors (temperature/humidity, light, and acceleration), an RGB LED, a push-button, and USB programming. It also matches the Particle Photon form-factor, so it can be mounted to a carrier board or breadboard with 0.1” headers or soldered directly on with the castellations.
Tock Support
Hail is fully supported by Tock. This includes the Tock OS Book that make it easy to get started with programming Tock applications.
Comparison to imix
Like imix, Hail is a prototyping board for IoT and Tock development. However, while imix gives you complete flexibility by fully pinning out internal and external signals, providing independent power domains, including multiple radios, and supporting Arduino shields, Hail focuses on making it easy to get started creating apps that use sensors and BLE communications. Its compact size makes it portable, and the headers mean it can be integrated as the controller and radio for other projects.
Features & Specifications
- SAM4L Cortex-M4
- nRF51822 BLE Radio
- SI7021 Temperature and Humidity Sensor
- ISL29035 Light Sensor
- FXOS8700CQ 6-axis Accelerometer and Magnetometer
- RGB LED
- User push-button
- USB Programming
- Particle Photon Form-Factor and Pinout