ftDuino - Arduino for fischertechnik

The ftDuino bridges the gap between the popular Arduino controllers and the versatile fischertechnik construction toy.

The ftDuino is meant for beginners who wants to get a first glance at "real" programming and who want to control their fischertechnik models in a prefessional way. It's also perfect for Arduino professionals who want to make use of the powerful fischertechnik system for complex mechanical models.

The ftDuino does not require any soldering and the fischertechik system makes the mechanical part a piece of cake.

News

December 2020
Special ftDuino Bluetooth Module now available.
July 2020
Bluetooth for the ftDuino.
June 2020
The TX-Pi HAT integrates the Raspberry Pi into the fischertechnik world as well. Raspberry Pi and ftDuino can of course be connected via USB and be used together.
May 2020
The ftDuino is being mentioned in the book fischertechnik®-Roboter mit Arduino.
April 2019
New: the ftDuino servo adapter
March 2019
The ftDuino supports Scratch3.
The ftDuino is being mentioned in the Raspberry Pi Geek Magazine
Febuary 2019
The ftDuino is mentioned in the fischertechnik catalogue.
December 2018
The ftDuino can be controlled from within Minecraft and connects the game with the real world.
October 2018
The ftDuino supports Scratch for Arduino and can thus be controlled using the popular scratch environment.
August 2018
The ftDuino supports the new fischertechnik environmental sensor from the new Smart Home and IoT Sets.

Specifications

  • mechanically and electrically compatible with the fischertechnik TXT controller
    • 8 universal analog inputs I1 to I8
    • 4 fast counter inputs C1 to C4
    • 8 analog outputs O1 to O8 which can be combined as motor outputs M1 to M4
    • supports all current fischertechnik actors and sensors
      • motors
      • switches and buttons
      • temperature and optical sensors
      • line, distance and orientation sensors
      • much more ...
  • I²C connector
    • fischertechnik TX compatible
    • master/slave capable
  • compatible with all current fischertechnik 9V power sources
  • voll kompatibel mit der Arduino-IDE
    • specially adopted code libraries
    • many examples

Attention: The ftDuino is not compatibel with the old power supplies 30090 and 30180 which aren't sold anymore.

Quickstart

A detailed description can be found in the german manual.

A previously installed arduino IDE is required. If it's not yet install then it can be downloaded and installed from the Arduino website.

In the preferences of the arduino IDE the URL

https://harbaum.github.io/ftduino/package_ftduino_index.json

needs to be configured as depicted below:

Afterwards the ftDuino shows up in the board manager. A click on "install" will include the ftDuino support into the arduino IDE.

After successful installation the ftDuino board can be selected. If everything is setup correctly then the ftDuino examples will now show up in the IDE. They can directly be opened and be downloaded onto the ftDuino.

Driver

Windows 10, Linux and MacOS already include the matching drivers and the ftDuino can be used immediately. Windows 7 needs the installation of an INF file.

Purchase your own ftDuino

The ftDuino is professionally manufactured and comes fully assembled inside a robust injection moulded case. The manual is available for download.

The ftDuino is a hobby project and is being produced depending on demand. Thus price and availability may vary a little bit.