By Eric Brown
We knew it was only a matter of time before we covered a board from Luxembourg, and that time has come. Rodange, Luxembourg based Upsilon Engineering, which is led by embedded engineer Yann Leidwanger, has gone to Kickstarter to launch its BioControle add-on board for the Raspberry Pi 3. The board can be used as a general purpose I/O and DAQ add-on but is specifically designed as a control board for aquaponics and hydroponics gardening.


BioControle prototype with Raspberry Pi 3 (left) and bare PCB on its own
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BioControle controlling aquaponics system
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BioControle detail views
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- 4x power relays outputs
- 2x inputs/outputs for temperature and humidity sensors
- 2x logical inputs and 2x logical outputs
- Real Time Clock
- EEPROM
- 12-bit ADC
- 12-bit DAC
- 2x power servomotor outputs
All interfaces are said to be protected against reverse polarity, undervoltage, and overvoltage. It also offers “full protection between your application and your Raspberry Pi” with the help of buffers, level shifters, protection diodes, and serial protection resistance,” says Upsilon. The board provides 5 V and 3.3 V power supply supervisors “connected on LED and Raspberry Pi input,” and can run on a standard 230VAC adapter.
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The design includes a cutout that enables easy access to the Raspberry Pi 3’s MIPI-CSI and DSI headers. The open source BioControle is available with schematics, pinout, and Python example codes


BioControle block diagram (left) and upcoming v2.0 design
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Further information
The BioControle is available on Kickstarter for 76 Euros ($89) through Oct. 17. Volume discounts are available, and assuming the project is funded, shipments are expected in November. More information may be found on the BioControle Kickstarter page and the Upsilon Engineering website.
This article originally appeared on LinuxGizmos.com on September 18.
Upsilon Engineering | www.upsilon-engineering.lu
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