View source code: https://github.com/flipper-io/flipper

What is it?

Flipper is a new kind of embedded development platform that lets developers use familiar tools to create amazing applications that interact with embedded hardware. Flipper can already be controlled from a variety of popular programming languages and has a growing open source community.

The hardware is simple. It is based on an Atmel ATSAM4S16B Cortex-M4 MCU with 1MB Flash and 256KB RAM. Connected to this MCU is an Atmel ATMega32U2, a USB-enabled microcontroller that handles updating code on the main MCU, updating the operating system, etc. For a detailed list of the specifications of the hardware, see this page.

Both of these microcontrollers come pre-installed with a custom real time operating system called Osmium that enables the device to talk to a variety of higher level libraries written in a variety of programming languages. These libraries contain API that can control the device's hardware peripherals. For example, if you're writing an iOS or macOS app, you can simply drag and drop the .framework into your Xcode project and get started. For a list of language libraries currently being developed, see this page.

Flipper is still under development, so there may be bugs! However, our community is growing every day and we would love for you to be a part of it. Check out our contributing guidelines for more information.

Why did you make it?

Many embedded development platforms are "Arduino compatible", which means they only work within the Arduino ecosystem. I wanted to create an embedded development platform that could be used from any language, on any platform, and from the tools familiar to the user of the platform.

What makes it special?

Flipper is special because it lets anyone control devices in the real world from applications written in any programming language, on any platform, with absolutely zero headache. Developers simply drag and drop our software library into their applications and start hacking. Everything works right out of the box using tools the developer is already familiar with. There is no need to learn how to use a new IDE, no need to learn a new programming language, and no need to focus on what doesn't matter.

I highly recommend reading this wonderful article published by Hackster detailing why the platform is different.