Seeed Studio has introduced the launch of the XIAO Debug Mate, a sub-$20 debugging multi-tool powered by the Espressif ESP32-S3 — designed, the corporate says, round group suggestions.
“This all-in-one machine contains a standalone 2.01-inch TFT LCD show, LED standing matrix, and native Seeed Studio XIAO assist,” explains Seeed’s Lily Li of the corporate’s XIAO Debug Mate machine. “It combines three important features that beforehand required separate instruments: DAPLink chip-level debugging, built-in serial monitoring with UART passthrough, and correct energy consumption measurement. Plug-and-play design eliminates complicated wiring for streamlined improvement.”
Seeed Studio is aiming to make XIAO debugging a breeze with its new Debug Mate instrument. (📷: Seeed Studio)
Although designed primarily with the XIAO system in thoughts, Seeed’s impressively-small microcontroller board ecosystem, the XIAO Debug Mate is being positioned by the corporate as excellent for debugging and improvement with a variety of units — together with something supporting Serial Wire Debug (SWD), Arm Cortex-M chips supporting DAPLink, and something with a UART serial bus, in addition to something that wants its energy draw monitoring from 1µA to 1A at a claimed ±10% accuracy down at 1–10µA.
“This challenge began with a easy GitHub dialogue,” Li explains. “In July 2024, group member @rei-vilo opened Dialogue #20 in our repository with an statement that resonated with many builders: ‘A programmer-debugger probe is a really helpful and ‘should have’ instrument for embedded system improvement. At the moment, there is no such thing as a inexpensive supply.’
“The dialog highlighted an actual drawback. The J-Hyperlink Edu Mini had jumped from $20 to $70, placing skilled debugging instruments out of attain for a lot of hobbyists and college students. The Raspberry Pi Debug Probe provided nice worth however didn’t combine seamlessly with the XIAO ecosystem. Present XIAO growth boards relied on fragile pogo pins and solely labored with sure boards.”
Whereas designed with XIAO boards in thoughts, the corporate guarantees the Debug Mate is appropriate to be used with a variety of different devices-under-test. (📹: Seeed Studio)
The XIAO Debug Mate is the results of that suggestions — and comes with the added bonus of standalone capabilities, due to its built-in 240×296 coloration show. This supplies at-a-glance monitoring of energy draw and serial information, even when away from a desktop or laptop computer — and there is a 36-LED matrix for extra suggestions, programmed within the default firmware to show serial baud price data. There is a 14-pin header for a XIAO board because the device-under-test, with pogo pins to connect with its take a look at factors beneath, eight extra growth pins, a four-pin SWD header, and a Grove connector with UART assist.
The board is now obtainable, full with 3D-printed case, on the Seeed retailer at $19.90; the corporate warns, nevertheless, that “the XIAO nRF54L15 [and] ESP32-C3/S3/C6 sequence doesn’t at the moment assist debugging function,” although the XIAO Debug Mate may nonetheless be used for energy evaluation and serial communications.
