SparkFun Electronics Partners with MikroElektronika to Expand Rapid Prototyping Offerings

BOULDER, Colo., March 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SparkFun Electronics and MikroElektronika (MIKROE) have partnered to create two new boards that merge their combined three rapid prototyping ecosystems: SparkFun Qwiic®, SparkFun MicroMod and MikroElektronika's Click boards™. The new boards allow users to quickly click or plug boards and peripherals together for a solderless prototyping experience. The mikroBUS standard, found on MikroElektronika's Click boards, is similar to SparkFun's Qwiic and MicroMod interfaces, making it a perfect pairing on a single board.

The SparkFun RP2040 mikroBUS Development Board is a flexible digital interface featuring the Raspberry Pi Foundation's RP2040 microcontroller. The board combines SparkFun's Qwiic I2C connections with a mikroBUS socket, allowing users to utilize both ecosystems when designing projects with the RP2040. Additionally, the board follows the Thing Plus or Feather PTH pin layout to allow for Thing Plus/Feather shields.

The SparkFun MicroMod mikroBUS Carrier Board utilizes the MicroMod, Qwiic, and mikroBUS ecosystems to allow for easier rapid prototyping utilizing peripherals from any of the three systems. The MicroMod M.2 socket and mikroBUS 8-pin header provide users the freedom to experiment with the MicroMod ecosystem and any Click board in the mikroBUS ecosystem. The inclusion of two Qwiic connectors allows users to seamlessly integrate hundreds of Qwiic sensors and accessories into their projects.

Additionally, SparkFun Electronics will now be a US-based distributor for MikroElektronika with products available for purchase on sparkfun.com.

"We are excited to not only begin offering MikroElektronika's full line of Click boards in the SparkFun catalog, but to also design and release two new development boards in partnership with MikroElektronika," said Glenn Samala, SparkFun CEO. "MIKROE shares our strong dedication to innovation and making prototyping as easy as possible for users. Combining the mikroBUS peripheral with our MicroMod and Qwiic product ecosystems will provide users with billions of combinations to develop whatever they dream up."

"MIKROE and SparkFun share a similar goal: to simplify and speed up the development process," said Nebojsa Matic, CEO at MIKROE. "The new boards that we have jointly developed give designers even more choice. The new distribution agreement will increase our presence in the US market through SparkFun's established community of users. It's a great deal for both companies and our customers." 

About SparkFun Electronics (www.sparkfun.com)
Since 2003, SparkFun has been helping turn ideas into reality – whether you're creating a smart weather station, exploring the frontier of machine learning, or prototyping your first (or tenth) product. No matter your vision, our open source tools, documentation, and online tutorials make emerging technology easy to use, and the road to a finished project shorter.

About MikroElektronika
MikroElektronika (MIKROE) is committed to changing the embedded electronics industry through the use of industry standard hardware and software solutions. In 2011, the company invented the mikroBUS™ development socket standard and the compact Click boards™ that use the standard to dramatically cut development time. Now the company offers 1000 Click boards–ten times more than competitors–and the mikroBUS standard is included by leading microcontroller companies such as Microchip, Renesas and Toshiba on their development boards. SiBRAIN is MIKROE's latest standard for MCU development add-on boards and sockets. MikroElektronika also makes the world's widest range of compilers and additionally provides development environments, development boards, smart displays and programmers and debuggers.

SOURCE SparkFun Electronics