Overview

Introducing the Glyph 2040, a super efficient microcontroller development board packed with features for your next embedded and robotics project! Powered by the robust capabilities of the Raspberry Pi RP2040 chip, the Glyph 2040 brings the determinism and dual-core processing of the RP2040 into the standard Glyph form factor, serving as a powerful upgrade to the compact Glyph-Mini-2040 with integrated battery management and expanded I/O options.

• Dimensions: Measures 50.8mm x 22.8mm x 1.6mm (without headers soldered)
• Processor: Raspberry Pi RP2040 32-bit dual-core ARM Cortex-M0+ processor running up to 133 MHz @ 3.3V logic and power
• RAM: 264 KB on-chip SRAM in 6 independent banks
• Flash Memory: 8 MB on-board SPI Flash
• GPIO: 20 GPIO pins with the following capabilities:
  • 12-bit ADCs
  • I2C
  • SPI
  • UART
  • PWM on all pins
  • Programmable I/O (PIO)
  All the important peripherals, labeled for easy access.
• 10 Solderable Pinouts:
  • Extended Digital GPIOs: D11, D14, D15, D16, D17, D18, D19, and D22
  • Programmable / Debug Pins: SCLK, GND, and SDIO for direct SWD programming and custom protocol interfacing
• Power Management:
  • USB Type-C connector for power, programming, and serial port debugging
  • 3.3V regulator with up to 800mA peak current output
  • Built-in lipoly/li-ion charger with charging status indicator LED
  • Auto Switch between Battery & USB Power (hot-swap support)
  • Ability to Measure Battery Capacity (via MSR pads)
  • Ability to Turn off the battery with the onboard slide switch
  • Reverse Voltage protection with Diode
• Additional Feature:
  • On-board Status LED: Connected to D0 (GPIO 0). There is also a dedicated D0 pinout on the board which acts as an enable pin for the status LED.
  • On-board GLINK connector for easy integration with QWIIC, STEMMA QT compatible sensors & modules.
  • High Quality Reset and Bootloader button for easy access

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Native Bootloader and Programming

The Glyph 2040 features the native Raspberry Pi RP2040 USB UF2 bootloader that makes programming new firmware effortless and keeps the cost of the board down. On first-time use, hold down the BOOT button while plugging the board into USB (or press RESET while holding BOOT), and it will automatically mount as a mass storage device named RPI-RP2 on your computer. Simply drag and drop your compiled .uf2 file onto the drive, and the board will automatically flash the code and reboot! If you face any issues related to hardware detection on your system, please check out our troubleshooting guide here.

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Connectivity

The RP2040 is a powerful microcontroller ideal for high-speed local processing, real-time sensing, and deterministic control. For wireless IoT applications, the Glyph 2040 easily pairs with external communication modules:

• Bluetooth: HC-05 / HC-06 modules
• Wi-Fi: ESP8266 / ESP32 co-processors via AT commands or SPI
• Long Range: nRF24L01, LoRa, or XBee modules

With hardware SPI, I2C, and UART channels readily exposed on the headers and Glink connector, integrating these wireless bridges into your setup is straightforward and efficient.

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Development Support

The Glyph 2040 is supported by a rich, mature ecosystem of development environments:

• Arduino IDE: Full support via the popular Raspberry Pi Pico / RP2040 core by Earle Philhower.
• CircuitPython: Official Adafruit CircuitPython support with hundreds of driver libraries.
• MicroPython: Official Raspberry Pi MicroPython firmware with interactive REPL.
• C/C++ (Pico SDK): Full low-level control, multi-core threading, and DMA support via CMake and VSCode.

With extensive library support and an active global community, getting started with the Glyph 2040 is smooth and straightforward for both beginners and experienced developers.

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Memory and Storage

While the Glyph 2040 features 264 KB of on-chip SRAM across 6 independent banks for ultra-fast data execution and zero-wait-state DMA transfers, it relies on an external flash chip for program and file storage. On this board, there is 8 MB of high-speed SPI Flash memory, which is shared between firmware code, file storage (LittleFS), and application assets.

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RP2040 Chip Features

• Dual-core ARM Cortex-M0+: Dual symmetric 32-bit cores running up to 133 MHz for parallel task execution.
• Programmable I/O (PIO): 2 PIO blocks with 8 state machines that run custom deterministic I/O programs independently of the CPU cores (ideal for custom protocols, bit-banging, DVI/VGA, or LED matrices).
• Flexible Clocking: Internal PLLs allow flexible clock frequency selection and overclocking capabilities.
• Low Power Modes: Sleep and dormant low-power modes reduce power consumption down to ~2 mA for battery operation.

You can read more about it in the official RP2040 DATASHEET.