The Boards Have Left the Building
We're happy to share that Bela Gem boards have made their way from the UK to Mouser in Texas, and shipping has begun. You'll receive tracking information directly from Mouser as soon as your order is on its way. If your shipping details have changed since you placed your order, now is a good time to double-check them. Read the full update.
End-of-Year Status Report on Production, Software Testing, and the New Bela IDE
We wanted to share another update on Bela Gem's progress. Unfortunately, things are taking longer than we'd hoped in the final stages of production. We now expect to ship finished units to Mouser in January, with backer deliveries likely by the end of February. Our sincere apologies for the delay. This update also covers our software testing progress and offers another preview of our the Bela IDE. Read the full update.
Manufacturing Progress & Updated Shipping Schedule
Production is moving ahead smoothly and we’re getting closer to delivery, although shipping will be a little later than planned. Bela Gem units are now being manufactured; we expect to send them to Mouser in early December, with deliveries to backers beginning in early January. Read the full update.
Progress Report - Prototypes, Firmware & Packaging
We've now received the pre-production Bela Gem units and are thoroughly testing every aspect of their design. So far, things are looking really good. This update includes a brief run-down of what we have been up to. Read the full update.
Final Day: Thank You for Supporting Bela Gem
As the Bela Gem campaign enters its final hours, we want to say a sincere thank you to everyone who has supported us so far. Your enthusiasm and belief in the project have helped bring this new generation of Bela hardware into being. Read the full update.
What’s New in the Bela IDE - Faster, Smarter, and Made for Learning
Firstly, thank you all for supporting us in this campaign so far. Our Bela Gem campaign closes on Thursday, July 31st. The campaign is your chance to get Bela Gem Stereo and Multi at the discounted crowdfunding price, so act soon if you haven’t already. With Bela Gem, you're not just getting next generation hardware, you're also getting a complete overhaul of the Bela development experience. At the heart of it all is the new Bela IDE: our browser-based development environment built for writing, compiling, testing and deploying Bela projects in the cleanest way possible. This update dives into what makes the Bela IDE unique, what’s new in the latest version, and how it supports a growing ecosystem of users, from the classroom to the R&D department. Read the full update.
I/O & Parallel Processing
With this update we bring you some exciting news of extra features we have unlocked on Bela Gem Multi. The Multi has always supported DC-coupled audio outputs on eight of its ten channels. With our latest design update, it can also support DC-coupled audio _inputs_ on eight of ten channels. The same change also allows Bela Gem Multi to support digital (PDM) microphones as well as traditional analog audio inputs. Read on for more details! This update also illustrates how to use the multiprocessing capability of Bela Gem Stereo and Multi, which are built on PocketBeagle 2. Read the full update.
Prototyping With Neural Networks
There's growing excitement around running neural networks on embedded systems. As software libraries become more sophisticated and embedded computers more powerful, real-time machine learning on small devices is becoming more practical. Bela Gem offers a compelling environment for working with embedded AI thanks to its power, connectivity and ease of development. This update introduces pybela, a python library that allows real-time communication between a C++ Bela program and a Python script or Jupyter notebook. Read the full update.
What People Are Building with Bela Right Now
Bela Gem is now officially funded and will be coming to you all soon! One of the best ways to understand what Bela Gem is capable of is to see how people are using it in the real world. This week, we're highlighting a few standout recent projects that show Bela at its best, including a beautiful sound installation created by Studio Olafur Eliasson. Read the full update.
Inside Bela: Meet the Team and the Community
To offer some insight into both the development of Bela Gem and its myriad applications, we have put together a series of personal interviews with both the founders of Bela as well as a few select artists, musicians and makers who are experts at employing Bela in deeply creative ways. Read the full update.
A Detailed Look at Bela Gem Physical Construction
In this update (the first of many to come) we will take a detailed look at the Bela Gem hardware and the assembly of each product. Read the full update.
The Bela Gem Campaign is Live!
**Bela Gem Stereo** and **Bela Gem Multi** bring real-time audio and sensor processing to the new PocketBeagle 2, extending the our beloved Bela platform with more power, flexibility, and creative potential. Whether you're building musical instruments, spatial audio systems, interactive installations, or assistive technologies, Bela Gem gives you the tools to prototype and produce with confidence. Read the full update.