Ashet Home Computer
Bridging the Gap Between Learning and Making
Subscribe! Our Vision Features
The Ashet Home Computer is an expandable and hackable computer in the spirit of the 80's home computers. Fully understandable by a single person, yet powerful enough to run a graphical desktop OS, it tries to bridge the gap between Arduinos and a RaspberryPi. It is designed and engineered for fun and learning, which go best hand in hand.
Features
- Dual Core CPU with 150 MHz
- 16 MB Flash
- 8 MB RAM
- Modern Connectivity (USB, Ethernet, DVI)
- 7 Expansion Slots
- Many Expansions Available
- Hackable Operating System
- Handcrafted Expansions Possible
- Fully Open Architecture
- Built-in Debug Probe
- Fully Documented
- Decision Making Documentation
Project Status & Roadmap
Design
The Ashet Home Computer has completed its design phase, and a practical, achievable hardware concept is now finalized.
There are still many smaller design components to be refined, but the overall concept is done.
Check out the hardware design to learn more about the system.
Prototyping
A functional cable clutter prototype has been created which validates all of the design ideas.
This includes:
- PSRAM Support
- DVI Video Generation
- Backplane Communication
- Expansion Card Drivers
- Ethernet
- I²C Subsystem
Currently, the RP2350 processor successfully boots the operating system and supports launching desktop applications.
The mechanical design is also validated by building a mock-up of the final hardware and case assembly.
Check out the prototype images and videos in the gallery!
Engineering
The next stage after prototyping will be the actual engineering. This includes creating schematics, pcb layouts, evaluation of hardware limits and EMI emissions.
In this phase, the fully production-ready computer will be built.
To fund development for this critical next stage, we will launch a crowdfunding campaign on a platform such as Indiegogo or Kickstarter.
Subscribe to our newsletter to get notified when the fundraiser starts!
Production & Release
In parallel to the engineering, a manufacturing partner must be found that will produce and distribute the Ashet Home Computer.
One of the goals is to make the computer available for 250€ or less, but if that’s possible depends on so many details that it’s hard to tell in the current phase.
No matter what’s the outcome of this phase, the whole computer design will be available for free under a permissive licence and can be built by everyone.