Embest Gertduino ATmega Add-On Board for Raspberry Pi

The Embest Gertduino is an Arduino Uno compatible add-on board designed for the Raspberry Pi, equipped with dual ATmega microcontrollers. It enables students, makers, and educators to run Arduino shields and integrate hardware-level infrared and real-time clock functions. The board can be programmed directly from a Raspberry Pi or detached for standalone development.

Dual microcontroller architecture

The Gertduino features a primary ATmega328 running at 5V with a 16MHz oscillator alongside a secondary programmable ATmega48 microcontroller. Both microcontrollers can be programmed directly from the Raspberry Pi, with built-in protection against 5V signals on all Pi connections.

Arduino compatibility and onboard controls

Offering full connector compatibility with the Arduino Uno, the board includes a reset switch, two user push buttons, and six status LEDs. An onboard RS232 level converter can convert and invert UART signals for standard RS232 voltages across the Raspberry Pi and both microcontrollers.

Real-time clock and infrared capabilities

The secondary ATmega48 MCU features a high-precision RTC crystal, battery backup power supply, and a dedicated TSSOP4038 IR device on pin D3 supporting standard 38kHz infrared protocols. The ATmega48 I2C interface is permanently connected to the Raspberry Pi to offload processing tasks.

Flexible standalone use

In addition to operating as a stacked Raspberry Pi expansion board, the Gertduino can be removed from the Pi and powered independently as a standalone development board.

Downloads

• Datasheet
• Gertduino Software Download