USB has established itself as the new standard for connectivity. That is why USB connectivity has become the “holy grail” of most embedded applications.

Well, let me get straight to the point. If you want to start developing projects with USB interface, you want to have  the  proper development tools. To have the tools that you need, you either have to buy or to do-it-yourself.

If you want to build a USB development board yourself, here is one for you.

The schematic can be downloaded here. You will need Eagle CAD to open the schematic file.

This development board features Microchip’s PIC18F4550. This development board is a simplified version of Microchip’s PICDEM Full Speed USB. It has one trimmer for ADC, LEDs, push buttons, and USB connector. Most of the pins of PIC18F4550 are brought out to header connectors. It is powered by USB port. Lastly, it is compatible with Microchip’s MCHPFSUSB USB Framework.

Since this development board is a simplified PICDEM FS USB board, hex files can be loaded to PIC18F4550 using the USB bootloader provided by Microchip. Microchip also provided a software tool to download hex files to PIC18F4550.

Here is a video of my development board in action

Aside from the software tool, Microchip also provides a lot of application notes, sample codes, and libraries to help developers in developing USB embedded applications.

I tried writing a simple code using CDC and here is the video.