In June 2022, we launched the STEPFPGA board on Kickstarter, and the results were extraordinary, especially in such a niche field. The FPGA Programming Development board has been been loved by all. 

In 2024, we're thrilled to announce our latest work, which once again harnesses the innovative power of the STEPFPGA board. 

Upgrade 1: A Better Tutorial Book

The 2022 edition of Tutorial for FPGA Beginners was the original writing piece and laid a solid foundation. With more feedback collected from readers, we're excited to announce its new edition, Fundamental Digital Design with FPGA where we've taken everything to the next level. 

This latest version boasts numerous enhancements: we've significantly upgraded the image quality for a clearer visual understanding, meticulously corrected typos in both text and code for accuracy, and implemented a more professional layout design for an improved reading experience. 

Update 2: New Features on WebIDE

Simulation is a useful and important technique in digital design, and this has also been demanded by many of our backers who started learning digital design and FPGA Programming. With the great efforts of our programmers Tracy and Xavier, and the senior developer Joey from STEP, we have successfully configured the Simulation tool (based on Altera Multisim) on the cloud and have it easily accessible in the WebIDE.

With this tool, users can study and debug digital signals before implementing into the hardware, making your design process more professional. A concise introductory tutorial of designing test bench for simulations can be found here.  

Besides the simulation, we have also added more commonly used modules in the library for learning and quick designing purposes. We have also upgraded the cloud server to make the IDE faster (average built time reduced by at least 30%) and more reliable. 

Update 3: Refined Hardware Kits

We've refined our hardware modules and kits for greater accessibility to beginners. The soldering process is now significantly simplified, requiring just a few header pins for breadboard circuiting. This means less assembly time and more immediate hands-on testing and programming.

Comparing to the learning kit we initially proposed in 2022's campaign, this new kit has removed some projects involving lengthy building and assembling, and get straight to the electronics modules. Since this kit is designed for beginners, a smooth and accomplishing learning curve is more important, therefore we made this change aiming to have users better focus on the learning process of digital design, and less obstacle by other factors. 

We will also separate out some cool projects, and put more efforts in crafting and making them more suitable for a great stand-alone project for users who endeavor to take a big step of development and creativity. One example is the traffic light project you have seen from our previous campaign. 

Upgrade 4: Easy to Access Learning Resources

All codes are open-sourced, available at our Gitbook documentary: Digital Circuits and FPGA. No logins or registrations required, you can access all codes anytime anywhere. I will not make too many comments here, you guys are welcomed to go ahead and find anything useful there.  

If any of you need some support, or would like to contribute your new findings, share your learning experience or exchange ideas with other peers, I highly encourage you to join our discord community. If you are not a discord user, that's fine, we encourage you to subscribe or stay tuned of our website and social media to learn our latest updates, since some of our future projects (small ones) may NOT launch through Kickstarter due to the policies and regulations of the Kickstarter projects. 

Update 5: Refined Packaging

Packaging was something that we initially overlooked, but as our products journey thousands of miles globally, we recognized the need for robust protection. Consequently, we refine the packaging to enhance the protection of delicate components and modules.

All books will have plastic seals to prevent paper getting damp and scratched during transportation. 

Follow us and join us to the learning journey of Electronics with systematically STEM Kits for smooth experience.