The mbed Hardware Development Kit (HDK) provides full microcontroller sub-system design files and firmware for building development boards and custom products that benefit from the native support of the mbed SDK and free mbed Online Compiler and mbed Developer Platform.

The mbed HDK specifies all support components and circuits including the CMSIS-DAP Interface design that provides simple USB drag-n-drop programming and CMSIS-DAP debug interface for the target microcontroller.

Development boards that are already based on the mbed HDK are the quickest way to get started with the mbed platform. We manufacture official mbed Microcontroller modules that are specifically optimised for flexible rapid prototyping, and are available from distributors worldwide. Our partners are now also creating mbed-enabled hardware such as ultra low-cost ARM evaluation boards in the popular Arduino form-factor.

Microcontroller Sub-systems¶

Each of the subsystems designs include

• Hardware design schematics (Eagle format)
• Interface binary for the CMSIS-DAP interface

An example of how a microcontroller sub-system might be used to build an evaluation board.

CMSIS-DAP interface¶

The CMSIS-DAP Interface is a microcontroller based single chip solution that provides, Drag and Drop programming, CMSIS-DAP debugger and USB serial interface to a range of Cortex-M based microcontrollers.

The small footprint, low number of passive components and rich feature set provide a low cost, low overhead solution that can easily be integrated on a PCB.

The firmware required to turn the low cost microcontroller into a powerful programming, debug and communication interface, is included witht eh HDK and can be used freely, including for use in commercial products.

The CMSIS-DAP interface provides three main functions over a single physical USB connection :

• USB Disk “drag and drop” programming - ideal for fast turn around prototyping, or in-field upgradable products
• Debug interface using the CMSIS-DAP - Provides full debug capability with tools like Keil MDK
• USB Serial interface between the host computer and the target

Benefits of the HDK¶

There are various benefits to building a custom design onto of the mbed HDK. The ready made schematics are a great short cut, so you can get started on all the things that make your design, without worrying if you've correctly implemented all the "necessary bits" of the design. The mbed HDK incorporates the CMSIS-DAP interface. This provides USB drag and drop programming, CMSIS-DAP debugging and USB serial communication. The mbed SDK supports each of the exact configurations of HDK designs, and libraries that have been written to the APIs in the mbed SDK are highly reusable. Lastly, the mbed community has developed a wealth of libraries, applications and code examples using the SDK/HDK, and this active community offers a lot of opportunities for support and even hiring in required skills.

Using the mbde HDK in custom designs¶

The mbed HDK currently supports

• LPC812M10
• LPC1768
• LPC11U24 (This "lite" version uses LPC11U24 on chip bootloader, no CMSIS-DAP interface required)

Downloading the mbed HDK¶

The mbed HDK can be downloaded from the repository :

• mbed-HDK

CMSIS-DAP Interface Firmware¶

The sources of the CMSIS-DAP Interface Firmware:

• CMSIS-DAP Interface Firmware