Capable Robot Components Launches Programmable USB Hub
Capable Robot Components, the startup that brought us SenseTemp, is back with another exciting board — the Programmable USB Hub, which doubles as a development board, and a bridge between your computer and I2C (via SparkFun Qwiic connectors), GPIO, and SPI using its a mikroBUS header.

The Programmable USB Hub features a Cortex-M4F MCU, four downstream USB 2.0 ports, two GPIO headers, and more. (📷: Capable Robot Components)

Actually, the board is capable of a myriad of applications, including being a power supply by providing 5V/6A and 13mA resolution monitoring downstream to connected devices. The Programmable USB Hub can also act as a USB to TTL Serial adapter, as well as a flexible embedded electronics development tool.

The Programmable USB Hub offers an upstream USB connector, USB UART/GPIO connector, I2C USB connector, MCU I2C connector, and MCU USB port for programming. (📷: Capable Robot Components)

The features and specs for the Hub are vast and include a Microchip SAM D51 MCU, four USB 2.0 downstream ports, a USB upstream port, I2C, SPI, UART, and two GPIO headers. It allows you to turn on/off the 5V power on each downstream port, and adjust the current limits between 0.5A to 2.6A as well. As mentioned earlier, the board sports a mikroBUS header, enabling you to add more sensors and connectivity options, and solder jumpers that let the UART and SPI connect to the USB Hub IC or the Cortex-M4F MCU.

The USB Hub controlling and I2C OLED display from the upstream host. (📷: Capable Robot Components)

Capable Robot Components is expected to launch the Programmable USB Hub on Crowd Supply shortly and will ship in an extruded aluminum enclosure with internal status LEDs and cutouts for the connectors and ports. It will also come with open source CircuitPython firmware, which can be updated over the MCU USB connector.

UPDATE: The Programmable USB Hub is now available on Crowd Supply, starting at $140 for a bare PCB, $180 for the PCBA with a custom metal enclosure, light pipes, and rubber feet, and $220 ($200 early bird special) for the kit that throws in a power supply and aux , I2C, and USB cables.
['Cabe Atwell']
['Open Source', 'Microcontroller', 'Hardware', 'Single Board Computer', 'Technology']