SuperB marries two of hardware’s ubiquitous names - the "Bee" form factor and ESP32. The Bee form factor was derived from DIGI’s XBee industrial grade IoT boards. This form factor has long been used to add wireless connectivity to hardware across the board. But in the maturing market of connected items, two protocols stand as required: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. ESP32 brings both, and in an easy-to-use package - giving maximum flexibility to your existing hardware and for your next generation of modular, extensible products.

Features & Specifications

• Open source hardware
• XBee form-factor compatible (3.3 V levels, UART, SPI and GPIOs broken out to headers)
• Based on popular ESP32 SoC
• Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n)
• Bluetooth (Classic and BLE)
• Programmable with many tools, including Arduino IDE
• OTA (Over-the-Air) flashing capable
• Dual Core processor up to 240 MHz
• Integrated 16 MB flash
• Sleep current is less than 5 μA
• Fully certified with integrated antenna and software stacks
• One programmable LED

External Antenna Availability

We designed SuperB with options to accommodate two styles of antennas. There will be no cost difference between the two antenna options.

Built-in ‘trace’ antenna: This is the original SuperB design. It uses the ESP32-WROOM-32D module, and the antenna is built into the device.

U.FL for external antenna: This option uses the ESP32-WROOM-32U module, and allows you to connect your external antenna via U.FL connector. This option works well when you plan to enclose your SuperB in a metal box, tin foil hat or other material that interferes with antenna reception. Please note that backers need to provide their own antenna solution for this option.

Macchina M2

SuperB was originally designed for use with another Macchina product - the M2, which is the open source OBD2 connector and dev board for car hacking. SuperB was designed based on feedback from the car hacking community, but motivated by our desire to avoid tripping over so many wires ourselves. M2 is also available for purchase during this campaign, so you can get the complete kit. It’s great for vehicle tuning, diagnostics, total customization, security, telematics, or prototyping, and works with just about any car manufactured after 1996.

M2 in Action

M2 Features & Specifications

• Dimensions: 2.22" x 1.60" x 0.62" (56.4 mm x 40.6 mm x 15.7 mm)
• Xbee socket
• 12 V I/O - UART, SPI, I2C, Analog, etc.
• 6x total LEDs (one RGB)
• 2x momentary switches
• 2x CAN transceivers
• 2x LIN/K-LINE transceivers
• Single wire CAN
• J1850 VPW/PWM
• EEPROM
• MicroSD support
• Micro-USB connectivity
• Programmable via Arduino IDE, Simulink, C++, etc.