Just for hobbyists? Jim disagrees!
First of all let me tell you that I have used a few of the SPLat controllers for special projects and I am a fan both of the hardware and the SPLat development platform.
I am an electrical engineer by training and an engineering manager by trade. I have managed many many embedded system based developments over the last 30 years, with small systems using the PIC micro controllers and the larger ones using an assortment of 16 and 32 bit controllers. I can say that most, if not all, needed a custom I/O design to handle the various input and drive requirements (H drives, PWM, complex analog inputs etc.).
As you well know, as the systems became more complex the challenge to create reliable firmware grew exponentially. Timelines and development costs were fairly simple to keep in line except code development and reliability testing.
Why am I going into this detail? Because I think the real use for the EC1 is as an off-the-shelf embedded core for designers that know they will need to design a custom I/O system, no matter what. While your products like the CC18 are more robust than many options, most users will need a custom I/O anyway, so why not just start with EC1? I know I would have opted for it for many designs just so our team of programmers could get away from RTOS based designs using C++ that were always over budget, late and full for hidden bugs.
You guys are amazing and I do not think the EC1 will be mainly for the hobby market. Just my 2 cents.
Jim Livingston
Manton, CA
Programming
The EC1 is programmed using the SPLat language. If you are familiar with SPLat, you can use your existing knowledge. If you are new to SPLat, the language has been designed specifically for logic control programming (unlike C/C++, which is the language underlying Arduino’s “sketches”). It has built in multitasking (lacking in Arduino) called MultiTrack™. That may seem like something rather esoteric if you are a newbie, but it becomes significant very quickly once you start trying to make your controller manage several activities at once. MultiTrack™ makes it the EasyOne for multitasking. More on multitasking.
Better than Arduino?
SPLat EC1 isn’t better than Arduino, but it is different! Whether or not it’s better for you depends on what you want to achieve. Arduino is a fine concept for hobbyists, and has opened up a new world of fun and experimentation for thousands of people all over the world. It is available in many forms, and has hundreds of add-ons available from scores of companies. Arduino is, however, a hobby product, and not intended for professional use embedded in a commercially sold product.
SPLat is the ideal concept for professional equipment makers who want a cost effective, reliable and robust control solution for their product. It is available in a range of off-the-shelf industrial strength products. We can also tailor make a custom SPLat for you, at a very affordable NRE (Non Recurring Engineering) cost (think payback in less than 100 units compared to using a traditional PLC).
If you start out a control system development with an Arduino, you will likely end up with a cobbled together collection of separate boards, maybe even plug-in bread boards with loose components, before you have a complete system.
Exactly the same thing will happen with the EC1. However, with EC1 the cobbled together collection of miscellaneous boards is the starting point, not the end point of your journey. Because the EC1 is a SPLat, it is the first step along the way to a fully integrated, professional quality controller. You can explore your creativity for less than $30, with the comfort of knowing that you have a clear path to an industrial grade controller system, with full factory backing, and regulatory approvals.
If you are looking for a very low cost entry point, but want to be sure the path you take leads to an industrial grade, fully supported, economical solution, the EC1 is your ideal starting point.
I honestly love SPLat boards much better than Arduino because of your simplicity and more broad spectrum of uses, as apposed to Arduino were everything is specific to one or two functions. The EC1 for example can drive motors, servos, touch screens, it’s bluetooth compatible, it can use Xwire to be a master or slave to another board, it can run 64 processes at once, it’s small, it’s got on board LEDs and button, it’s power efficient and most of all it’s easy to program. The major reason I don’t like arduino is because it uses C++, and I know C++ is supposed to be simple but I never really got the hang of it.
Dakota Clemens
DC Custom Electronics
Bremerton, WA