ItsyBitsy M4 Express - ATSAMD51 Cortex M4 - CircuitPython

Adafruit ItsyBitsy M4 Express - for CircuitPython, MicroPython & Arduino IDE

Between the all in one "Feather" and the super mini "Trinket", Adafruit do also "ItsyBitsy" microcontroler line.

Here is Adafruit ItsyBitsy M4 Express, a small but powerful development board based on the ATSAMD51 Cortex M4 running at 120 MHz. This ultra fast microcontroller is perfect when you need the horsepower with lot of pins inside a very compact board. This Itsy is like a bullet train:

• 120MHz Cortex M4
• floating point support
• 512KB internal Flash
• 192KB RAM.

Your code may be too fast for you! Wait... the M4 do also have a bunch of peripherals. This chipset offers a power somewahet similar to the our beloved Pyboard.

ItsyBitsy M0 Express fits 6 power pins, 23 digital GPIO pins inside a package of 36mm long and 18mm wide. The 23 IO offers access to 7x analog input, 2x analog output DACs @ 1 MillionSamplerPerSecond and 18x PWM output.

This chipset is also used on the Adafruit Metro M4. So The ItsyBitsy M4 is a good option transform a prototype into a final and compact implementation to have a smaller project. This express version of the board embeed 2MB of External Flash (SPI Flash) which is great for data logging, file storage or Python script.

The ItsyBitsy M4 can be programmed with Arduino IDE, MicroPython and CircuitPython. The ItsyBitsy is preprogrammed with the CircuitPython (a derivative of MicroPython). When the USB is plugged on computer the internal MicroPython file system is shown as a very small USB drive where you can modify  the script main.py with your favorite text editor. No needs to install a compiler or an IDE to develop your Python project. When done, eject the disk drive then bring your code with you.

Technical details

• ATSAMD51 32-bit Cortex M4 core running at 120 MHz
• Floating point support
• Cortex M4 DSP instructions
• 512 KB Internal Flash,
• 192 KB RAM
• 2 MB external FLASH (SPI flash, used to storing files and Python code).
• 3.3V logic and power
• Micro USB connector
  
  • Native USB supported by every OS
  • Arduino: as USB serial console, Keyboard/Mouse HID
  • MicroPython/CircuitPython: USB-Serial REPL, Keyboard/Mouse HID, expose little disk drive (for Python scripts storage).
• Arduino IDE - MicroPython - CircuitPython compatible
• 23x GPIO pins:
  
  • 2x TRUE analog Output (12 bits DAC A0 and A1, 1 MSPS Million Sample Per Second).
    Can be used to play 12-bit stereo audio clips
  • 7x analog input
    Distributed on ADC1 & ADC2, a dual 12 bit ADC with 1 MSPS capability.
  • 6x hardware SERCOM.
    SERCOM are used for hardware SPI, I2C and Serial
  • 18x PWM outputs - for servos, LEDs, etc
  • No I2S! I2S is only supported on the SAMD51 with 64 pins (this product uses the 48 pins version).
  • 8-bits Parallel capture controller (for camera/video in)
  • 1x special Vhigh output:  provides output at VBAT or VUSB voltage (usually higher).
    Kindly useful to drives NeoPixels, servos and higher-current devices.
    Digital 5 level-shifted output for high-voltage logic level output.
    DMA-NeoPixel support on the VHigh pin to drive pixels without having to spend any processor time on it.
  • NeoPixels & DotStars : available on any pin. This MCU have enough memory to drive 60000+ pixels.
• Built in crypto engines with AES (256 bit), true RNG, Pubkey controller
• User LED on pin #13 (red)
• Dotstar RGB LED Built in
• Reset button and pin
• Power:
  
  • either USB
  • either external power (such as a battery)
  • automatic switch over
• Comes pre-loaded with the UF2 bootloader, which looks like a USB storage key. Simply drag firmware on to program, no special tools or drivers needed! It can be used to load up MicroPython, CircuitPython or Arduino IDE (it is bossa v1.8 compatible)
• Size: 35.9mm x 17.8mm x 4.2mm
• Weight: 2.4gr

Tutorials

• Introduction to ItsyBitsy M4 (Adafruit, English)
• Alternative languages for SAMD51 boards (Adafruit, English)
• Other tutorials around ItsyBitsy M4 (Adafruit, English)