Pimoroni
Arduino MKR ZERO (I2S bus SD for sound, music digital audio data)
The Arduino MKR Zero brings 32-bit power to the compact MKR form factor, with the standout feature of an onboard SD card connector with dedicated SPI interfa...
The Arduino MKR Zero brings 32-bit power to the compact MKR form factor, with the standout feature of an onboard SD card connector with dedicated SPI interface for playing music and audio files directly — no extra hardware needed. It also supports the I2S (Inter-IC Sound) bus for connecting digital audio devices.
Powered by the Atmel SAMD21 (32-bit ARM Cortex-M0+), the board can be powered via micro USB or a LiPo battery with built-in battery voltage monitoring through the onboard ADC.
Key Features
- Microcontroller – Atmel SAMD21 (32-bit ARM Cortex-M0+)
- SD Card Slot – Onboard with dedicated SPI1 interface
- I2S Bus – For digital audio device connections
- Operating Voltage – 3.3V
- Power – Micro USB or LiPo battery (with voltage monitoring)
- Form Factor – MKR (compact)
Ideal For
- Music and audio playback projects
- Digital audio processing with I2S
- Learning 32-bit ARM development
- Battery-powered portable audio devices
Package Contents
- 1× Arduino MKR Zero
Resources
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- ADC
- An analogue-to-digital converter reads a changing voltage and turns it into a number the microcontroller can use. It matters when connecting analogue sensors such as light, sound, or variable-resistor sensors.
- I2S
- I2S is a digital audio interface used to send sound data between chips, such as from a microcontroller to an audio amplifier or DAC. It matters if your project needs cleaner digital audio output than a basic buzzer or PWM signal can provide.
- LiPo
- A lithium polymer rechargeable battery commonly used in portable electronics projects. It matters because LiPo batteries need correct charging circuitry and care, and this board includes hardware intended for that battery type.
- microcontroller
- A microcontroller is a small computer on a chip that runs your program and controls connected inputs and outputs. For this product, it is the part that reads buttons and sensors, drives the display and speaker, and communicates over Bluetooth.
- SAMD21
- The SAMD21 is a Microchip microcontroller used in many Arduino-compatible boards. It matters here because USB host library support can depend on the exact microcontroller on your mainboard.
- SPI
- A fast serial communication bus often used for displays, memory cards, and sensors. It matters because SPI devices need specific pins for clock and data, plus a separate chip-select line for each device.
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