Electronic – arduino – Does the open source project need be Arduino based to be successful

arduinoarmopen source

I am debating which micro-controller to use for a new open source hardware project. Spec wise, I would rather use an ARM Cortex M3, which is at a similar price-point to an Arduino(avr) based solution but with more processing power/peripherals. The only concern I have going with ARM based hardware is I don't want to lose potential contributors/developers who might be put off by working with ARM. Or competition wise–someone reproducing the project but with an arduino instead(e.g. Ardupilot overtaking Paparazzi)

I realize there is no straightforward answer to this question but I would like to hear your thoughts on the topic, and what other factors you think might weigh more on the success of the project.

Best Answer

I think it depends who you're trying to attract. Having an Arduino derivative which can be programmed directly from the Arduino IDE will attract Arduino users.

But, in my experience, the average Arduino user is not neccessarily a skilled developer who will contribute usefully to a project. Of course, there are many expert Arduino users, but it's a device aimed at the beginner.

On the other hand, the kind of user who can get a toolchain and debugger going for ARM Cortex-M3 is also likely to be capable of fixing your bugs for you. But, there are considerably less of them.

I'd say - pick what's right for your project. If it's good, users will get involved.

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Many of the CMSIS software components are now released under a BSD license.

In the official CMSIS package, this is the relevant content of the "CMSIS END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT.pdf":

The package also includes the components contained in the following directories:
(a) ./CMSIS/DSP_Lib - DSP Library sources and examples;
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All of the above components are licensed to you under the terms of the BSD licence,
which is incorporated within or alongside the above components.

We are using many of these CMSIS software components in the open source, Apache licensed, mbed SDK: http://mbed.org/blog/entry/CMSIS-Components-BSD-Licensed/

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