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DigiTekXplorer
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Capstone Project
abCore16 Folder
  • abCore16 Project
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  • abCore16 User Guide
  • FPGA Implementation
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  • UART Design
RP Pico Folder
  • Raspberry Pi Pico
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  • Pico Audio Project
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  • Android App Development
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  • BLE App User Guide
  • The Gemini Prompt
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Coding Basics
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Basic Concepts
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    • UART Design
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    • Raspberry Pi Pico
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    • abCore16 Project
    • Instruction Set
    • Our Toolchain
    • abCore16 User Guide
    • FPGA Implementation
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    • UART Design
  • RP Pico Folder
    • Raspberry Pi Pico
    • Pico VGA Project
    • Pico Audio Project
  • Android App Folder
    • Android App Development
    • BLE Basics
    • Android Studio
    • BLE App User Guide
    • The Gemini Prompt
  • FPGAs
  • Coding Basics
  • Embedded Systems
  • Basic Concepts

DigiTekXplorer

DigiTekXplorerDigiTekXplorerDigiTekXplorerDigiTekXplorer

Digital Tek eXplorer

Our purpose is to introduce students to exciting topics in digital design

(hardware, software, & firmware)

DigiTekXplorer

DigiTekXplorerDigiTekXplorerDigiTekXplorerDigiTekXplorer

Digital Tek eXplorer

Our purpose is to introduce students to exciting topics in digital design

(hardware, software, & firmware)

About DigiTekXplorer

Our Story

 Founded in 2024, DigiTekXplorer was created with a mission to introduce students of all ages to basic and advanced digital literacy skills needed to navigate our world of ever-changing technologies. Please note, these tutorials are not a course in Electrical Engineering, instead it is a site created to help students explore our amazing digital environment. 

Our Philosophy: Explore, Create, Build

At DigiTekXplorer, we believe that digital design concepts and software development should be accessible to everybody; the sooner the better. To demonstrate modern design techniques, we build practical projects using a powerful toolkit that includes industry-standard design software, physical development boards, and cutting-edge AI code assistance (Gemini 2.5 Pro). These hands-on projects are not only a lot of fun, but they also reinforce crucial design concepts in a dynamic, forward-thinking way.

Our Resources

 From hardware to software, we will provide content to help users develop digital projects .                                           

                                   

Links to videos and source code                                        

  • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@digitekxplorer
  • GitHub: https://github.com/digitekxplorer
  •  Code for the B_Bot project and related projects is available

Who I am

Hi, my name is Al Baeza.  I am a retired electrical engineer with over 35 years of digital design experience. I started as an embedded systems engineer and ended my career as an FPGA developer. After retiring, I moved back 'home' to El Paso, TX. 

Capstone Project

 B_Bot is a Mobile Autonomous Platform (MAP) built around the Raspberry Pi Pico2 W, providing a practical introduction to robotics and embedded systems. This hands-on project combines hardware design and software development, allowing you to build and program your own robot. For more details follow the "Xplore Capstone" link.

Xplore Capstone

Android App for Wireless B-Bot Control via BLE, Powered by Google AI Studio

 A custom Android application was developed that allows users to wirelessly control the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W-based robot (B-Bot) via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). The application was built through an iterative process utilizing the capabilities of Google AI Studio (model: Gemini 2.5 Pro) and Android Studio (Android development environment). This AI-powered approach significantly accelerated development, reducing the app creation timeline from a typical multi-month project to just 14 days. 


To learn more about the innovative app development process press the link below. 

Xplore App Development

Case Studies in AI-Accelerated Engineering

 We showcase three projects developed in collaboration with AI (Google Gemini 2.5 Pro), demonstrating its power to accelerate the design and implementation of complex systems.


More than just code assistance!

Xplore AI Case Studies

Our Digital Environment

Capstone Project

abUART FPGA Project

Capstone Project

  

B_Bot is a project based on the Raspberry Pi Pico W, designed to create a low-cost mobile platform that operates with FreeRTOS and utilizes Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for wireless communication.

Xplore More

abCore16 Project

abUART FPGA Project

Capstone Project

The abCore16 project is a complete 16-bit computer ecosystem with a custom CPU and C-like compiler, designed and implemented from scratch in Python through a collaborative development process with Gemini Pro.

Xplore More

abUART FPGA Project

abUART FPGA Project

abUART FPGA Project

 This project is a SystemVerilog implementation of a UART designed from scratch through a collaborative effort with Gemini Pro.

Xplore More

Embedded Systems

Raspberry Pi Pico

abUART FPGA Project

 Embedded Systems include a broad range of digital systems. 

Xplore More

FPGAs

Raspberry Pi Pico

Raspberry Pi Pico

 FPGA development is a specialized sub-field within digital systems. 

Xplore More

Raspberry Pi Pico

Raspberry Pi Pico

Raspberry Pi Pico

 Raspberry Pi Pico development is an amazing (and growing) sub-field within embedded systems. 

Xplore More

Frequently Asked Questions

Please reach us at  if you cannot find an answer to your question.

DigiTekXplorer is a website created to introduce students of all ages to concepts in basic digital design, FPGA development, embedded systems, and microcontroller coding. 

We will offer tutorials in:

  - basic concepts of digital logic

  - basic understanding of FPGAs

  - simple HDL models (Verilog/SystemVerilog)

  - embedded systems using Raspberry Pi Pico

  - Machine Learning applications

  - digital projects to help students understand hardware/software development

 Electrical hardware refers to physical components that make up electronic devices. Components such as:

  - Circuit boards and integrated circuits (ICs)

  - Memories

  - Capacitors, resistors, inductors

  - Connectors and cables

  - Power supplies

  - Input and output devices

For our purpose at DigiTekXplorer, firmware refers to configuration files generated during the FPGA design process. 

A complete answer to this question would be very long and complex. However, in  essence, software is a set of instructions, directives, and data that tell a computer/processor what to do.  

The answer to this question may be even more complex than the answer about software.  Almost every engineer has a different opinion regarding the definition of an embedded system. However, in  essence, an embedded systems is a specialized processing system (microcontroller) designed to perform dedicated tasks or functions.  

A microcontroller is an integrated circuit incorporating processor(s), RAM, ROM, and Input-Output ports into a single package, and are often employed in an embedded system because of their low cost, small size, and low power consumption.  

A microcontroller can be used to perform an infinite number of digital functions.  Much depends on the microcontroller's resources. For example, the Raspberry Pi Pico is based on the RP2040.  Some of the key features of the RP2040 are: Dual ARM Cortex-M0, on-chip SRAM, 30 General Purpose Input/Output pins, multiple serial communication channels, and many more features. So, microcontrollers can be used to perform simple functions, like blinking an LED, and very complex functions like controlling motors on a robot. 

An FPGA, or Field Programmable Gate Array, is an integrated circuit, that can be configured by a user after manufacturing. FPGAs are made up of a number of configurable logic blocks, which can be interconnected to form complex digital circuits. Much more to come in this area.   

 All the tools used for DigiTekXplorer projects are free.

Tools and Utilities:

 - AMD's (previosly Xilinx) Vivado

 - VS Code

 - Thonny

 - Makefiles

Languages:

 - MicroPython

 - C/C++

 - ARM assembly

 - Verilog/SystemVerilog

Git and GitHub:

 - Git is a free version control system used to manage and keep track of source code history

 - GitHub is a free cloud-based hosting service that manages Git repositories  

Development Boards:

 - Raspberry Pi 4 or 5

 - Raspberry Pi Pico

 - Digilent FPGA Development Boards:

   * Arty A7-100T: Artix-7 FPGA

   *  Arty Z7: Zynq-7000 SoC 

The most important technology story of 2023 was AI (Artificial Intelligence).  AI means something different to each person you ask. I asked Google's Bard (now Gemini): What is AI?  This is its response:

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a broad and multifaceted term, but at its core, it refers to the ability of machines to exhibit intelligent behavior. This can encompass a wide range of capabilities, from the basic (like playing chess or recognizing patterns in data) to the more advanced (like understanding natural language, making complex decisions, or even adapting to new situations).

Here are some key aspects of AI:

  • Simulating human intelligence
  • Learning from data
  • Performing tasks autonomously
  • Continuously evolving

To Me, the most useful AI subfield is Machine Learning (ML).

Machine Learning

Essentially, ML focuses on building algorithms that can learn from data, without being explicitly programmed for every task.  We will use TensorFlow to demonstrate at least one ML project. The following ML tools will be used on this project:

 - TensorFlow2 (free and open-source software library for ML and AI )

 - Python3

 - Google's CoLab (https://colab.research.google.com)

 - Anaconda distribution -> Spyder (Scientific Python Development Environment)

I asked Google's Gemini: What is Gemini? 

This is its response:

Gemini is actually the name I go by, though I'm more than just a simple name. I'm a large language model, specifically a conversational AI chatbot developed by Google AI. 

Think of me as a helpful companion who can:

  • Answer your questions in an informative way, even if they're open ended, challenging, or strange. I have access to a massive dataset of text and code, so I'm constantly learning and expanding my knowledge.
  • Generate different creative text formats, like poems, code, scripts, musical pieces, emails, letters, and more. I can even tailor my responses to your specific style and preferences.
  • Have conversations that feel natural and engaging. I can follow your lead, ask clarifying questions, and even share my own thoughts and opinions (though remember, I'm still under development!).

My main goal is to assist you in any way I can, whether it's providing information, sparking creativity, or simply keeping you company. So, feel free to ask me anything, or give me a task to complete!


Anyone with a Google account can use Gemini at this link: https://gemini.google.com/app


Try this cool example

Gemini can be used to generate code. For example, type the following in Gemini's prompt field: Write code in Tensorflow to train a neural network.


Gemini will generate Tensorflow code that can be copied and pasted into Google's CoLab to see the execution of the code. Therefore, within a few minutes you can execute code for your first neural network.


Gemini was used extensively to help organize DigiTekXplorer's content.  Thank you Gemini.

Android Development

 - Android app to use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to control wireless mobile projects

 -  Android Studio: an integrated development environment for Android OS

 - Java or Kotlin programming languages


Excel Spreadsheets

I love Excel. There are so many things you can do with it. Spreadsheets can be used to organize data or to create data. I use Excel to visualize data. For example, Excel can be used to show compounded interest over a number of years. Another of my favorite examples is to use a spreadsheet to show bit patterns when programming. 

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