SparkFun Electronics

Last updated

SparkFun Electronics
Type Private
Industry Electronics manufacturing and education
Founded2003
Headquarters Niwot, Colorado, United States
Key people
(CEO) Glenn Samala 2016 - Present [1] Nathan Seidle 2003 - 2016 [2]
Number of employees
150+ (2015) [3]
Website www.sparkfun.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

SparkFun Electronics (sometimes known by its abbreviation, SFE) is an electronics retailer in Niwot, Colorado, United States. It manufactures and sells microcontroller development boards and breakout boards.

Contents

SparkFun MicroMod Pi RP2040 Processor Board 17720-SparkFun MicroMod RP2040 Processor-01A (cropped).jpg
SparkFun MicroMod Pi RP2040 Processor Board

History

SparkFun Electronics was founded in 2003 by Nathan Seidle when he was a Junior at University of Colorado Boulder. Its first products were Olimex printed circuit boards. [4] The name 'SparkFun' came about because one of the founders of SparkFun was testing a development board, and sparks flew out; Fun was chosen because the company's self-stated aim is to educate people about electronics. In January 2011, an education department was formed to outreach to local schools, hackerspaces, and events.

Open-source hardware

SparkFun's Inventor's Kit, v4.0 SparkFun Inventor's Kit, v4.0.jpg
SparkFun's Inventor's Kit, v4.0
An accelerometer and magnetic compass board from SparkFun SparkFun 6DoF Magnetometer+Accelerometer LSM303C 13303-01.jpg
An accelerometer and magnetic compass board from SparkFun
Sparkfun debugging rubber duck 24079-Debugging-Duck-Feature (cropped).jpg
Sparkfun debugging rubber duck

All products designed and produced by SparkFun are released as open-source hardware (OSHW), [5] with schematics, EAGLE files, and datasheets posted on each product page. Product images are licensed under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 [6]

During the Open Source Hardware summit in October 2010, SparkFun was one of the contributors in drafting the first OSHW definition. [7] [8]

Contests

Antimov

This contest was based upon violating the 2nd and 3rd laws of robotics, where a fully automated robot would destroy itself after interacting with props and objects in a performance. The competition was retired in 2011. [9] [10] [11]

AVC

AVC 2012 AVC 2012 (7410670484).jpg
AVC 2012

The Autonomous Vehicle Challenge was a recurring contest held annually by SparkFun. The objective is to build an automated vehicle that can circumnavigate a course without human interaction. As of 2015, aerial vehicles are not allowed. The challenge was retired in 2018. [12] [13] [14] [15]

Projects

SparkFun 9-DoF IMU SiP stick SparkFun 9DoF-Sensor-Stick Acc+Gyro+Mag 13944-01.jpg
SparkFun 9-DoF IMU SiP stick

SparkFun has become one of the favored suppliers for those without mainstream suppliers as well as the increasingly popular "Maker" community, particularly for the Arduino and related devices. [16]

Whilst many of the non-component products sold by SFE are from other manufacturers, it does manufacture and sell some of its own complete products:

Trademark dispute with SPARC International

On October 16, 2009, SPARC International sent a cease and desist letter demanding SparkFun stop using the "SparkFun" name and immediately transfer ownership of SparkFun.com to SPARC International. The letter claimed the SparkFun trademark was too visually and phonetically similar for companies in the same industry. [19] [20]

The two companies signed a trademark coexistence agreement on April 2, 2010. [21]

Fluke trademark infringement

On March 7, 2014, U.S. Customs and Border Protection informed SparkFun that a shipment of multimeters meant for sale on SparkFun's website had been seized. The Port of Denver deemed that the yellow protective jackets on the imported multimeters too closely resembled the trade dress of Fluke Corporation's competing multimeters. Rather than pay the cost of shipping the imported multimeters back, SparkFun chose to have them destroyed. [22] In a letter to SparkFun, Fluke announced that they would be supplying the company with a shipment of genuine Fluke products and equipment as a gesture of goodwill and support for the maker movement, which SparkFun accepted. [23]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Instruments</span> American multinational company

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iRobot American technology company that produces consumer robots

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open-source hardware</span> Hardware from the open-design movement

Open-source hardware (OSH) consists of physical artifacts of technology designed and offered by the open-design movement. Both free and open-source software (FOSS) and open-source hardware are created by this open-source culture movement and apply a like concept to a variety of components. It is sometimes, thus, referred to as FOSH. The term usually means that information about the hardware is easily discerned so that others can make it – coupling it closely to the maker movement. Hardware design, in addition to the software that drives the hardware, are all released under free/libre terms. The original sharer gains feedback and potentially improvements on the design from the FOSH community. There is now significant evidence that such sharing can drive a high return on investment for the scientific community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autonomous underwater vehicle</span> Unmanned underwater vehicle with autonomous guidance system

An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is a robot that travels underwater without requiring continuous input from an operator. AUVs constitute part of a larger group of undersea systems known as unmanned underwater vehicles, a classification that includes non-autonomous remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) – controlled and powered from the surface by an operator/pilot via an umbilical or using remote control. In military applications an AUV is more often referred to as an unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV). Underwater gliders are a subclass of AUVs.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robofest</span> American youth competitive robotics league

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">IOIO</span>

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ArduPilot is an open source, unmanned vehicle Autopilot Software Suite, capable of controlling autonomous:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upverter</span>

Upverter is an electronic circuit design system delivered in a web browser, which enables hardware engineers to design, share, and review schematics and printed circuit boards. It additionally features the ability to generate a bill of materials, Gerber files, and a 3D rendering. Upverter provides web-based tools for editing schematic diagrams and for laying out printed-circuit boards. It does not require payment for open-source projects.

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References

  1. "Nate the Engineer Part II: Glenn the CEO - News - SparkFun Electronics".
  2. "SparkFun Electronics 10 Year Anniversary Celebration!". YouTube .
  3. "About SparkFun". SparkFun Electronics.
  4. History of SparkFun Electronics.
  5. Ellzey, curtis. "SparkFun Electronics and Open Source Hardware". Engineering TV. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  6. Clark, Chris. "Open Source ALL the Things!". SparkFun Electronics. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  7. Seidle, Nate. "Open Source Hardware". SparkFun Electronics. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  8. Grady, Emcee. "OSHW Definition V1.0". SparkFun Electronics. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  9. Grady, Emcee. "Antimov!". SparkFun Electronics. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  10. Riddle, Warren. "Self-Destructing Robot Carnage at the Antimov Competition". Switched. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  11. "Antimov Competition - October 16, 2010 - CLS-09975 - SparkFun Electronics".
  12. Grady, Emcee. "Announcing the 2012 Autonomous Vehicle Competition". SparkFun Electronics. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  13. Olsen, Anton (March 14, 2011). "SparkFun To Host 3rd Annual Autonomous Vehicle Competition". Wired. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  14. "Autonomous Vehicle Competition 2015: Rules and Regulations! - News - SparkFun Electronics".
  15. "Autonomous Vehicle Competition at SparkFun Electronics - AVC.SFE". avc.sparkfun.com. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  16. Noble, Joshua (2009). Programming Interactivity. O'Reilly. p. 399. ISBN   978-0-596-15414-1.
  17. Biggs, John (August 24, 2006). "Answer the Phone, and Amaze Your Friends". The New York Times . Retrieved November 21, 2008.
  18. Yamamoto, Mike (May 13, 2007). "A wall version of Tetris for the ultimate fan". Crave. CNet . Retrieved November 21, 2008.
  19. Seidle, Nate. "SparkFun Gets a Cease and Desist Letter". SparkFun.com. SparkFun Electronics. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  20. Marco, Meg (October 26, 2009). "Trademark Wars: SPARC International Tells Small Electronics Website to Stop Existing". Consumerist. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  21. Seidle, Nate. "Coexistence Agreement in Place". SparkFun. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  22. "Fluke, we love you but you're killing us. - News - SparkFun Electronics".
  23. "Fluke Responds to Trademark Problems - News - SparkFun Electronics". www.sparkfun.com. Retrieved December 7, 2015.