tinusaur Archives - Page 2 of 10 - The Tinusaur Project

Tinusaur Selected as Best National Digital Solution for International World Summits Awards in the Category Learning & Education

Posted on 2018-10-242022-01-01 by neven

TINUSAUR SELECTED AS BEST NATIONAL DIGITAL SOLUTION FOR INTERNATIONAL WORLD SUMMITS AWARDS IN THE CATEGORY LEARNING & EDUCATION

Veliko Tarnovo/Salzburg, 2018-10-24

TINUSAUR was nominated as the best national digital solution for BULGARIA for the international World Summit Awards (WSA). The World Summit Awards are a global initiative selecting digital innovation making a positive impact on society. With this nomination in the Category Learning & Education TINUSAUR qualifies for evaluation among over 400 international projects by the WSA Jury 2018.

TINUSAUR was nominated as the best national digital solution for BULGARIA for the international World Summit Awards.

The Tinusaur is an educational platform and set of tools that focus on programming, robotics, and electronics and applying modern learning methods in an effort to present science and technology in an interesting and entertaining way to the students. It is a mixture of software and hardware. Here it is described in 3 simple steps: (1) you assemble your hardware yourself by soldering your board; then (2) you learn how to program it using puzzle-like blocks; then (3) you learn how to write C code. … After that, your imagination is the limit.

The Tinusaur project and its tools are currently being used in universities, schools, and as part of other educational initiatives all around the world. In such environments, the students get to keep their broads for themselves, take them home, play with them, make things and write programs. This is unlike many other similar products and solutions that are so expensive that there are just a few per class or school and the teachers keep them within the facilities.

The WSA nominees 2018 show the richness, diversity, and innovation of digital solutions on a global scale and prove how digital technology can improve society on each corner of the world. The WSA 2018 nominees will be evaluated based on seven fundamentals criteria: Content, Functionality, Design, Technology, Innovation, Impact and Global/UN value.

Each year, WSA nominees are selected by the WSA National Experts from more than 180 UN member states. The WSA National Experts nominate up to eight projects for each country – one for every WSA category.

A nomination to the WSA hence is already an award in itself – the qualification to compete and be presented on an international level and being the best practice in Learning & Education nationally.

About the Tinusaur OOD

The Tinusaur OOD, the Bulgarian company established earlier in 2018, is currently selling products and generates revenue that ensures the future of the project. It received an investment from 2 private individuals and has developed plans for the next 2 and 5 years as part of the planning for the next round if funding.

About the WSA

The World Summit Award is a global initiative within the framework of the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). WSA is the only ICT event worldwide, that reaches the mobile community in over 180 countries. WSA highlights digital content improving society and focusses on local content with global relevance.

Visit us on www.worldsummitawards.org, Facebook and Twitter, #WSA18

Media Contact World Summit Award:
Manuela Wagner
Network Development & Communications,
World Summit Awards
manuela@worldsummitawards.org
+43.660.630408.7

How to Assemble Your Tinusaur Shield LEDx2 – Guide (slides)

Posted on 2018-09-022022-10-08 by neven

Tinusaur Shield LEDx2 - Assembling (slides)

We have just finished another guide – this time about how to assemble your Tinusaur Shield LEDx2.

The file in PDF format is available at this location: Tinusaur Shield LEDx2 – Assembling (slides).

Please, download it and take a look. If you feel that there’s missing something or wrong, please, let us know.

When we update the files we will commit changes in this repository: https://gitlab.com/tinusaur/shield-ledx2-docs/.

We have just made Blocktinu Windows app better

Posted on 2018-08-262022-01-01 by neven

Here are the changes:

Fixed bug that caused an error message when there is a space in the name of the HEX file or in the path to your user folder.

Now, the juicy part …

This is the first version of the Blocktinu Windows Desktop Application.

How, as part of the app, there are 2 pre-compiled programs that you could conveniently use to test your newly assembled board.
1. Just an empty app that will allow you to see if the binary code goes from the your computer (if drivers have been installed correctly) through the USBasp ISP programmer and, into the microcontroller. That could also be used to check if the board has been assembled correctly.
2. The other one is a simple app that will make any LED connected (through a resistor, of course) to any of the 5 available I/O pins – PB0, PB1, PB2, PB3, PB4 – blink. That could be used to test if the boards and the shields have been assembled correctly.

Using these 2 pre-compiled programs does not require anything that just pressing the “Upload” buttons on the screen – no writing code, no compiling, building or downloading.

There is also a button on the app to launch the website with the Blocktinu development environment. That’s not a big deal, but it is convenient.

The latest version is available for download at: https://bitbucket.org/tinusaur/blocktinu-tools-win/downloads/blocktinu-tools-1.1.1-install.zip

More and up to date information is also available at blocktinu.com.

Please, let us know what do you think.

Tinusaur Board 3 STD – Assembling (slides)

Posted on 2018-08-182022-01-01 by neven

This is the Tinusaur Board 3 STD Assembling Guide. It is at the moment in PDF format but the plans are to generate a video and add a voice-over.

The file is located here: Tinusaur Board 3 – Assembling (slides).pdf
(NOTE: File name was changed and link updated here)

We would like to ask you to download it and take a look. If you think that something should be added or changed please leave a comment below this post.

We’re already working on similar guides for all other boards, bundles, and kits.

Almost at the end of our Indiegogo campaign

Posted on 2018-05-072022-01-01 by neven

We’re almost at the end of our Indiegogo campaign and as you might be aware there is a delay in the production of the kits.

At TINUSAUR we strive to achieve the higher quality of the products. Unfortunately, while making the PCBs, the most important part of our boards, and working with some new suppliers, we were not happy with the quality of the production. Luckily, the great guys at OSHPARK jumped in and helped us get the PCB we need at the cost we could afford to keep the price points of our product low and affordable.

Good news – all the PCBs arrived a few days ago. We’ve assembled few pieces of them to make sure everything is fine and, with the exception of few minor glitches, all is good and ready to go.

This week we are packaging the broads and the components.

Next week we will start shipping the first batches of kits to the supporters.

BLOCKTINU – The Development Environment for the Tinusaur – ATtiny85 Microcontroller Board

Posted on 2018-02-182022-01-01 by neven

The Blocktinu is the development environment for your Tinusaur microcontroller boards where you could use blocks to produce real C programming language source code.

As you move your blocks (on the left) to implement your algorithms, the source code (on the right) will be automatically updated. Pretty neat, huh?

Now you can start learning the C programming language by playing with the blocks and looking at the changes in the source code that has been generated.

Once your program is ready it will be compiled in the cloud so no installation of any SDK will be necessary. The resulting binary code for the ATtiny85 microcontroller will be returned back to you.

The Blocktinu is part of the Tinusaur project.

The Blocktinu and the Tinusaur are open source projects. Both the software and the hardware!

The Blocktinu is almost ready for public use.

The Blocktinu is part of the Tinusaur crowdfunding campaign that we have launched on January 22nd, 2018.

Support our crowdfunding campaign. Get yourself a Tinusaur microcontroller board. You will receive early access to the Blocktinu development environment.

We have just passed the 10% mark!

Posted on 2018-01-272022-01-01 by neven

Dear friends,

Thanks a lot for your contribution to the campaign and for the support of our project. We have just passed the 10% mark! As usual, our campaign goes slow but steady.

Please, if you can, spread the word about our project, share it with people that might be interested.

All the best,
Neven Boyanov
The TINUSAUR Team.

https://igg.me/at/tinusaur

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Tinusaur Crowdfunding Campaign on January 22nd 2018

Posted on 2018-01-182022-01-01 by neven

Campaign link: http://igg.me/at/tinusaur
Project link: /

A small robot car that you could build yourself and program it to follow a black line on the floor.
A small game platform, that you could build and program yourself.

Those are the Tinusaur project goodies. They can help you learn, teach and make things with microcontrollers, and have fun at the same time. This is what the Tinusaur project is about.

Next Monday, on January 22nd we are launching a crowdfunding campaign to make more of those fun projects.

Join us at http://igg.me/at/tinusaur and subscribe for updates about the launch.

GAMETINU – Small Game Platform, Powered by the Tinusaur – ATtiny85 Microcontroller Board

Posted on 2018-01-142022-01-01 by neven

The Gametinu is a small game platform that you could build yourself. But don’t worry, it isn’t that complicated. This circuit is very simple, and there are very few things that could go wrong. The “brain” of the Gametinu is the Tinusaur board, powered by the popular Atmel ATtiny85 microcontroller.

Once your Gametinu is ready you can start programming it.

On the frame, you have a small 64 LED display. Beneath the display, you have a button and a buzzer.

You can program the Gametinu to run one of those no-player games such as the “Conway’s Game of Life“. You could also program it to run simple one-button games such as the Stacker Game.

The Gametinu is part of the Tinusaur project. It is important to mention that the Tinusaur and the Gametinu are open source projects? Both the software and the hardware! You can buy all parts, fabricate the PCBs, and assemble them yourself.

The Gametinu is almost ready for production. It is now part of the crowdfunding campaign that we are launching on January 22nd, 2018.

Sounds interesting?

Subscribe to get updates about the launch. Link to the campaign: http://igg.me/at/tinusaur

More information about the Gametinu will be posted on its page.

CARTINU – Small Robot Car, Powered by the Tinusaur – ATtiny85 Board

Posted on 2018-01-102022-01-01 by neven

The Cartinu is a small robot car that you could build yourself. But don’t worry! It isn’t that complicated – this circuit, is so simple, that there are very few things that could go wrong. The “brain” of the Cartinu is the Tinusaur board that is powered by the popular Atmel ATtiny85 microcontroller.

Once your Cartinu is ready you could start programming it.

On the chassis, you have 2 powerful planetary gear motors. You also have 2 infrared proximity sensors on the bottom of the chassis. That allows you to program the Cartinu to follow a black line on the floor.

The Cartinu is part of the Tinusaur project. It is important to mention that the Tinusaur and the Cartinu are an open source project? Both the software and the hardware! You can buy all parts, fabricate the PCBs, and assemble them yourself.

The Cartinu is almost ready for production and is part of the crowdfunding campaign that we are launching on January 22nd 2018.

Sounds interesting?

Subscribe to get updates about the launch.