Introduction - FIGnition FUZE Hardware Reference Manual

Introduction

FIGnition FUZE's hardware contains the essentials of a true computer: a keypad for typing
programs and entering text; a power supply connector; it can output data to the user (via
video and audio); it runs programs from RAM; it has built-in storage for when the computer
is turned off; it has a CPU for running programs and a built-in program which manages all
these features and implements a fully-featured programming language (FIGnition Forth).
All true computers are like this; the only difference is the level of sophistication for each of
these parts. This manual takes you through the design and construction of every aspect of
FIGnition: bottom up from the components themselves to the way they interface to FIGni-
tion's processor chip to the code that manages each part.
FIGnition is a computer designed to be built, programmed and understood. The firmware is
fully open-sourced and the circuit is Open-Source Hardware compliant. This document
covers its operation with a view to understanding it, but it is not a substitute for an electron-
ics or programming course. For this you would find this additional material useful:
• An Electronics Tutorial.
• The User Guide for the AtMega168 and AtMega328.
• The FIGnition firmware source, which is on GitHub at: https://github.com/Snial/FIGnition
• The FIGnition programming Tutorial, Topics and Command Reference guides.