Povilas Dumcius Brings the Genesis Kit to Life, As the Crowdfunded Genesis IoT Discovery Lab

Engineer Povilas Dumcius has opened a crowdfunding campaign for his solder-free, modular, plug-and-play hardware development kit — formerly known as the Axiometa Genesis Kit and now launched as the Axiometa Genesis IoT (Internet of Things) Discovery Lab.

"Genesis IoT Discovery Lab is a modular, Wi-Fi-enabled prototyping system built around a standardized AX22 connector," Dumcius writes of the device, developed in partnership with Tomaš Krukovski. "Our ESP32-S3 board provides six Genesis ports that modules plug into directly. The connection standard can be implemented on other microcontroller platforms, making modules compatible across different boards."

"This platform eliminates breadboard wiring for common tasks like sensor reading, display control, and motor driving," Dumcius continues of the device's appeal. "Modules lock securely in place and provide reliable electrical connections. This reduces setup time and prevents connection failure during development and testing."

The heart of the Genesis IoT Discovery Lab is the mainboard, which hosts an Espressif ESP32-S3 microcontroller module with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 Low Energy (BLE) connectivity — giving it a 240MHz 32-bit Tensilica Xtensa LX7 processor and an on-board 12-bit analog to digital converter (ADC). There's 2MB of pseudo-static RAM (SRAM) over a quad-SPI bus, plus 8MB of flash storage — and everything can be powered via USB Type-C or an optional 1S lithium-chemistry battery.

The board also includes eight "AX22" blocks, dual-row dual-header connectors designed for use with compact add-on modules which range from a 5×5 RGB LED matrix to a MEMS microphone, distance sensor, LCD display, temperature and humidity sensor, and even unusual boards like the Traffic Light Module and Street Light Module. Each just slots into place, requiring no soldering or pre-configuration.

Dumcius is funding the first production run on Crowd Supply, priced at $70 for the base starter kit and $49 for an extension kit of more advanced AX22 modules; he has also pledged to make schematics for all modules and the main board available under the strongly reciprocal variant of the CERN Open Hardware License 2.0, though at the time of writing schematics were only available for the modules.