Bianchina Test Board — An Open Hardware Debugging Platform

Note

TL;DR - Bianchina is an open hardware test and debugging board by Amarula Solutions, combining a logic analyzer, pattern generator, JTAG programmer, programmable power supply, and bus protocol analyzers in a single USB-connected platform. - We are actively seeking funding partners and manufacturing collaborators to bring Bianchina to mass production.

Download the specifications (PDF)


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Bianchina Test Board — concept and front panel layout

What Is Bianchina?

Bianchina is a multi-function embedded development and debugging platform that consolidates the tools every embedded engineer needs at their bench into a single USB-connected board. Instead of juggling a separate logic analyzer, JTAG debugger, pattern generator, SD card programmer, and lab power supply, Bianchina puts them all in one place with a unified control interface.

The board is built around an ARM9-based Cypress FX3 controller connected to the host PC over SuperSpeed USB 3.0, providing 375 MBps direct DMA data transfer for high-speed logic capture and protocol analysis.


Board Architecture

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Board architecture — Power & Control, Core Logic, and Analysis blocks

Bianchina is organized into three functional blocks:

Power & Control

  • DUT power supply with variable output (1.2V–3.3V, I²C controlled) plus a fixed +5V terminal block output

  • USB Type-C input with PD/QC 3.0 support — powered from a standard phone quick charger

  • Virtual switches: four DSTP relays for remote configuration of jumpers and reset lines

  • Integrated AC/DC measurement (up to 250VAC / 350VDC) via the FX3

Core Logic

  • Cypress FX3 controller (ARM926EJ-S, 32-bit, 512/256 KB SRAM) as the central brain, managing all board functions over USB 3.0/2.0

  • FT2232H-based JTAG programmer — compatible with OpenOCD and urJTAG, supports ARM SWD, FPGA, CPLD, and Flash programming; functions as I²C, SPI, or bit-bang interface at 1.5V–5V target voltage

  • SD-Card Loader & Swap — dual SD sockets with high-speed multiplexing for seamless data exchange to the DUT

Analysis

  • Logic Analyzer: 10 channels @ 100 MSps input, 100 MHz bandwidth

  • Pattern Generator: 8 channels @ 50 MSps, user-programmable LVCMOS (1.2V–3.3V), 5V-tolerant

  • Protocol Analyzers: built-in digital bus analyzers for SPI, I²C, UART, I²S, CAN, and parallel buses

  • Multiple trigger options including pin change and bus pattern detection



Technical Specifications

Feature

Specification

Notes

Power Input

USB Type-C (PD/QC 3.0)

No data on input

Logic Analyzer

10 ch @ 100 MSps in, 8 ch @ 50 MSps I/O

100 MHz bandwidth

Processor

ARM926EJ-S (Cypress FX3)

512/256 KB SRAM

JTAG

FT2232H-based

OpenOCD/urJTAG compatible

Voltage Levels

1.2V–3.3V variable

5V tolerant inputs

USB

SuperSpeed USB 3.0 hub

2 user ports + 2 internal

SD Card

Dual socket with swap mux

SD 3.0 / eMMC 4.41

Relays

4x DSTP virtual switches

FX3-controlled via I²C

Measurement

AC/DC up to 250VAC / 350VDC

Via FX3

Protocols

SPI, I²C, UART, I²S, CAN, Parallel

Built-in bus analyzers

Why Bianchina?

Every embedded Linux developer knows the pain: you arrive at the lab and need a logic analyzer to debug an SPI timing issue, a JTAG probe to reflash a bricked board, an SD card writer to prepare a boot image, and a programmable power supply to test brown-out behavior. Four different tools, four different USB cables, four different software stacks — and none of them talk to each other.

Bianchina consolidates all of these into a single open hardware design with a unified interface. The FX3 controller orchestrates everything, allowing automated test sequences that combine power cycling, logic capture, protocol decoding, and firmware programming.


Open Hardware Design

Bianchina is an open hardware project by Amarula Solutions. The board design, schematics, and firmware are intended for public release, allowing:

  • Community contributions to firmware and tooling

  • Custom derivatives for specific test environments

  • Integration with open-source tools like OpenOCD, urJTAG, PulseView/sigrok, and Labgrid


Call for Partners — Help Us Bring Bianchina to Production

Amarula Solutions has designed and prototyped Bianchina, and we believe it fills a real gap in the embedded development tool ecosystem. We are now seeking:

Funding partners:

Help cover tooling, component sourcing, and initial production run costs.

Manufacturing collaborators:

PCB assembly and test partners who can support small-to-medium volume production with the quality standards embedded engineers expect.

Early adopters:

Teams and organizations willing to test pre-production units and provide feedback that shapes the final product.

Distributors:

Partners interested in bringing Bianchina to the embedded tools market through established channels.

If your organization is interested in any of these roles, we want to talk.

Contact us about Bianchina →


Tip

Amarula Solutions provides custom hardware design, embedded Linux BSP development, and open hardware engineering services. Interested in collaborating on Bianchina or other embedded hardware projects? Contact our hardware team