A new Droid project always means chaos — the good kind. I’m deep in getting BπBO ready for two upcoming shows: Maker Central and Evolve26. With luck, I’ll get to meet some of you there!
🌱 New Releases Worth Your Time
🐺 WolfSSL Releases wolfIP
Our friends at WolfSSL have launched wolfIP, a tiny, deterministic TCP/IP stack built for embedded, real‑time, and safety‑critical systems.
No hidden threads. No runtime allocation. Just predictable networking.
I haven’t tried porting it to RP2040/RP2350 yet — but it’s definitely on my list.
🧵 FreeRTOS Kernel V11.3.0
A fresh bug‑fix release is out, including important fixes for the RP2040 port.
I rely heavily on FreeRTOS for POSIX sockets with LWIP on Pico W/2W, plus threaded workloads — so this one matters.
If you want to get up to speed quickly, my FreeRTOS training course on Udemy is still available.
🖼️ LVGL V9.5
LVGL continues its rapid pace with another release. I’ve mostly lived in V8 (thanks to Waveshare integrations), but I’m now migrating to V9 — and you’ll see that journey on the channel.
New in 9.5:
- Blur & Drop Shadow
- Bézier Curved Charts
- 3D Rendering
- GStreamer Audio‑Free Sources (Camera Streams)
- WebP Decoder
🧰 New Tool on the Bench: CrowView 14
Sometimes my Raspberry Pi boards misbehave far from my desk. The CrowView 14 solves that nicely — a laptop‑style shell with screen, keyboard, touchpad, and battery… but no computer inside.
Just plug in whatever board you’re debugging.
And yes — it was a ridiculously good price on Amazon.
🔧 Recent Projects & Videos
March turned into a Pi Day build frenzy, so here’s a quick catch‑up on what you may have missed.
🎥 Custom Display Drivers Explained (LVGL 9.4 Deep Dive)
Porting LVGL to new hardware is easier than you think. I walk through it using the PiMoroni Cosmic Unicorn.
👉 If you’ve ever wanted to write your own display driver, start here.
🎥 Log Sensor Data to SD Card (RP2350 + pico_vfs)
Wi‑Fi isn’t always reliable in the field. SD logging solves that — and with pico_vfs, it’s finally simple on RP2350 boards.
👉 If you’ve struggled with SD card libraries before, this is the fix.
🎥 Load PNG Images from SD Card (Waveshare Touch 4 + LVGL)
Turn a Waveshare Touch 4 into a PNG slideshow device. LVGL makes this surprisingly easy once configured.
👉 Great for UI projects, kiosks, or embedded dashboards.
🎥 Safer Robot Power: Switching to LiFePO4
ReXP1 is moving to LiFePO4 for safer, more manageable power.
New control board, extended features — and a lot of engineering behind the scenes.
👉 If you’re thinking about upgrading your robot’s power system, this is a must‑watch.
🤖 Meanwhile on the Desk: Meet BπBO
Yes — a new Droid!
Inspired by B2EMO from Andor, rolling on Mecanum wheels, and full of personality.
You’ll see much more of him in upcoming videos, but you can meet him early at these events:
✈️ Dr Jon EA Travels
🛠️ Maker Central
📅 Sat 16 May 2026
📍 Birmingham NEC
I’ll be there on Saturday, sharing space with Dan Makes Things.
Come chat robots with us!
🌊 Evolve26
📅 26 June 2026
📍 Brighton, UK
I’ll be there with Breaking Breadboards Brighton, showing both ReXP1 and BπBO.
🎟️ Half‑price tickets with code: BREAKINGBREADBOARDS
I hope to catch up with you in person at one of these events — and until then, happy building!
