mbed is a tool for Rapid Prototyping with microcontrollers.

Microcontrollers are getting cheaper, more powerful and more flexible, but there remains a barrier to a host of new applications; someone has to build the first prototype.

There is no reason why it has to be so hard, but without the right tools, it really is. So mbed has tackled this by being a tool focused on developing prototypes. We haven't had to dumb down the technology; it's all built on industry standard stuff. We've just done a lot of the groundwork for you, and made the trade-offs and choices appropriate for the task, so you don't have to.

With the right tools for the job, we hope you'll be more adventurous, inventive and productive. But best of all, you'll love building things with microcontrollers again. (We built it for ourselves really!)

This should give you a feel for what mbed is about:

And here are some of the key components which make up mbed...

mbed Microcontroller¶

The mbed Microcontroller is made for prototyping, and comes in a 40-pin 0.1" pitch DIP form-factor so it's ideal for experimenting on breadboard, stripboard and PCBs.

It supports lots of interfaces, so you can connect it to all sorts input and output circuits and modules.

And downloading programs is as simple as using a USB Flash Drive. Plug it in, drop on your program binary, and you're up and running!

mbed Compiler¶

The mbed Compiler lets you write programs in C++, and then compile and download them to run on the mbed Microcontroller.

It's all online, so you don't need to be a sys-admin to start. Infact, you don't have to install or setup anything to get running with mbed.

Your workspace is also in the cloud, so you can login from anywhere and carry on where you left off.

And because it is a web app, we don't care if you work on Windows, Mac or Linux. Or all three. Here it is in action...

mbed Library¶

The mbed Library gives you an API-driven approach to coding for the mbed Microcontroller.

We've done all the hard work of implementing drivers, so you don't have to. It is liberating to fire up an interface, knowing it'll just work!

You code using meaningful abstract objects and API calls, so you don't need to learn the microcontroller hardware details to get going.

And there is even a "Hello World!" example for every peripheral, just to get you started before you know it.

For more on the libraries, see the Handbook.

mbed Website¶

The mbed Website is where everything lives. You've got things like the mbed Handbook for documentation and examples, and the mbed Forums for getting advice from other mbed users.

But you can also add to the website, and use what others have contributed! There is a central Cookbook for collecting together useful libraries and information, and everyone also gets their own Notebooks for keeping logs of what you are up to.

And you can even publish projects directly from the compiler to share code with others, or pull in some of the existing ones.

And of course, the mbed Compiler lives there, ready for whenever and wherever you feel the need to do some coding!

Is mbed for me?¶

The mbed is now available to order, but before you do, check it is for you!

What mbed is not good for!¶

mbed is not a replacement for professional embedded development tools or evaluation boards. It is missing a lot of features those tools naturally come with, like a JTAG interface, a breakpoint debugger, integrated peripherals, or even a standard offline compiler. We are not trying to replace these tools, so if you need these sorts of features, mbed is not for you!

In this case, and for turning prototypes in to products in general, we'd recommend you choose one of the many great existing solutions for working with ARM Microcontrollers, and you'll be much happier.

What mbed is good for!¶

mbed is designed for quick experimentation and iteration, where the focus is trying something out rather than optimising a solution. And that means it is good for anyone from professional embedded engineers to people with expertise outside embedded exploring it for the first time. Think of it as a pencil and paper, compared to a CAD program (the professional tools).

If you think it is for you, you can go ahead and order one!

More Information¶

For more information, details on the background of the project, and for press material, see the about mbed page.

If you have any other questions about mbed please email support@mbed.org