Blackbeat.io's Blackboard Is a Minimalist Capacitive Input Device Powered by a Raspberry Pi Pico
Featuring a flat black surface with 24 capacitive touch positions, plus a 3x3 LED matrix, this gadget is certainly stylish.
Mexican electronic music specialist Blackbeat.io has launched its inaugural product: the Blackboard, a 24-key capacitive input board powered by a Raspberry Pi Pico at the rear.
"[Blackboard is] the new HID [Human Interface Device] with fully customizable functions," the company claims of its eye-catching yet minimalist design. "You can use the 24 keys at the same time and nine LEDs."
While the front of the board is relatively bare, holding a 3x3 LED matrix to the upper-left and with 24 capacitive keys visible only as printing on the silkscreen layer, the rear shows off a three-chip solution: A pair of Microchip ATtiny microcontrollers handle 12 buttons each, while a Raspberry Pi Pico's RP2040 microcontroller is in charge of the nine LEDs and USB communication to a host device.
The design also leaves five general-purpose input/output (GPIO) pins free for additional hardware, while the Raspberry Pi Pico which powers the gadget can be reprogrammed for a range of tasks using languages including, but not limited to, C/C++, MicroPython, CircuitPython, and Arduino's Wiring.
The Blackboard is now up for sale on Blackbeat.io's Tindie store, priced at $90.