looking for a prototyping test bead/board

[Philip McKee]

Hi can anyone give me some advice,

I'm a degree level-computing student, and am looking at a developing a
portable biometrics reader for my final year project.

I am not am electronics engineer, non-are likely to become one. My
main area of strength and interest is in the software development.

What I am looking for is some form of prototyping test bead/board,
containing a CPU and an easy way of attaching input/output devices
such as optical scanners, digital cameras, LCD and a wireless
networking card.

If this is not enough all this needs to be at a reasonable price.

Can anyone suggest where to start looking. I have of course been
looking on the net, and have found many possibilities for any one (or
two) of the above requirements, but am concerned in the difficulty of
getting everything on the one board.

Many thanks for your help in advance.
Regards Phil

 

[Rich Webb]

Hi can anyone give me some advice,

I'm a degree level-computing student, and am looking at a developing a
portable biometrics reader for my final year project.

I am not am electronics engineer, non-are likely to become one. My
main area of strength and interest is in the software development.

What I am looking for is some form of prototyping test bead/board,
containing a CPU and an easy way of attaching input/output devices
such as optical scanners, digital cameras, LCD and a wireless
networking card.

If this is not enough all this needs to be at a reasonable price.

Can anyone suggest where to start looking. I have of course been
looking on the net, and have found many possibilities for any one (or
two) of the above requirements, but am concerned in the difficulty of
getting everything on the one board.

If your proof-of-concept principally involves the algorithms and not the
hardware as such, why not just use an inexpensive notebook PC and do all
the hardware interfacing over USB? Even if you *will* eventually move
this to a custom board, starting in a hosted environment can speed up
development considerably.

Once you drop below the level of "USB port and Window's driver" then the
complexity can grow rather quickly. If you intend to build 100,000 of
these, it's worth the time and effort. If just one, perhaps not.