The handheld platform combines dual RP2350 MCUs, FPGA logic, Linux, wireless interfaces, analogue I/O, CAN FD, sensors, and programmable power.
FREE-WILi 2 is a handheld electronics development platform designed to combine the functions of an electronics lab, wireless testing tool and embedded development system in a single device. The platform integrates multiple processors, an FPGA, wireless interfaces, analogue and digital I/O, automotive communication, sensors and onboard debugging hardware into a 152.4 × 78.9 × 22.3 mm enclosure weighing about 290 g.
At the centre of the platform are two Raspberry Pi RP2350 microcontrollers. One RP2350 handles the main I/O and scripting functions, while the second controls the display, buttons, audio and DVI output. Each MCU has 8 MB of SRAM and 16 MB of flash. The platform also incorporates a Lattice iCE40UP5K FPGA with 8 MB of SRAM, which can handle functions that are difficult to implement using the RP2350’s programmable I/O alone, including SPI-slave emulation and RISC-V-based I/O processing.
A Raspberry Pi CM0 provides an additional Linux computing environment for applications requiring Python, larger software libraries or CPU- and FPGA-development tools. Wireless connectivity comes from an ESP32-C5, providing 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE, and support for IEEE 802.15.4 protocols such as Zigbee and Thread. The ESP32’s USB connection also provides access to its JTAG and serial interfaces for development.
The handheld device includes a 3.5-inch 480 × 320-pixel capacitive touchscreen, five-way D-pad, four backlit A/B/X/Y buttons, five context keys and additional input controls. Audio hardware includes a 0.5 W speaker, a four-microphone phased array and a 3.5 mm audio jack. The microphone array can also be used for beamforming.
For wireless and identification experiments, FREE-WILi 2 combines several radio technologies. A CC1101 and LoRa radio provide sub-GHz connectivity, while an external antenna is shared between the radio paths. The platform also supports Meshtastic. NFC and 125 kHz RFID are available through internal antennas, with the NFC interface based on an ST25R3916B. Infrared transmit and receive hardware is included as well.
The I/O section gives the device capabilities closer to a portable electronics test bench. It provides SPI, UART and I2C interfaces through its expansion connectors, along with 0–5 V analogue inputs and analogue outputs reaching about 4.84 V at up to 25 kHz. The analogue inputs use buffered op-amp stages and the RP2350 ADC, with a programmable-gain stage available for lower-level signals such as bridge sensors and current shunts.
FREE-WILi 2 also includes a programmable 1–5.5 V, 1.5 A power supply. A MOSFET crowbar circuit enables voltage-glitching experiments, while the I/O voltage can be selected in software from different supply rails and measured through the onboard ADC. For automotive and industrial electronics work, the device supports CAN FD at up to 8 Mbit/s through a CAN SIC transceiver.
Several sensors are integrated into the platform, including a BMI323 IMU, BMM350 magnetometer, OPT4001 ambient-light sensor, and SHT40 temperature and humidity sensor. These allow the handheld unit to act as a sensor platform without requiring an external development board for basic motion and environmental experiments. Additional sensors can be connected through the I2C-capable expansion interface.
Power management is handled separately through a dedicated ultra-low-power microcontroller that manages 17 power zones. The system uses a 3000 mAh battery and can independently switch power to different sections, including the Linux subsystem. This allows higher-power blocks to remain disabled when they are not required.
The hardware is designed to be expanded through two connectors, including a 20-pin interface and a 10-pin analogue connector. The manufacturer calls its expansion modules Orcas, while developers can also design their own add-ons using the corresponding development resources. The documented interfaces allow users to build additional hardware around the platform rather than treating it as a closed appliance.
On the software side, FREE-WILi 2 supports a range of development approaches. Its firmware provides a USB command-line interface, graphical interface and OneWili API, while rThon offers Python-like real-time scripting. WiliBlocks provides point-and-click programming, and ZoomIO uses the RISC-V processing resources for sub-microsecond timing control. A WiliWASM engine also allows Rust and C++ applications to run through WebAssembly.
The device includes an onboard Raspberry Pi Debug Probe, allowing developers to flash and debug the RP2350 processors and LoRa processor without requiring separate debugging hardware. Applications can also be loaded through the SD-card-based UF2 bootloader. The documented hardware interfaces and example projects are intended to allow developers to create their own firmware and applications.
AI tools are integrated into the development workflow rather than being the main computing architecture. FREE-WILi GUI supports services such as Claude and LM Studio, allowing AI agents to assist with writing and debugging embedded applications. The platform’s documentation is structured so that AI coding tools can access hardware information, while the onboard debug hardware provides a route for testing generated firmware on the physical device.
FREE-WILi 2 also supports DVI output and USB host functionality for devices such as keyboards, mice and game controllers. Its display subsystem is designed to be largely compatible with Adafruit’s Fruit Jam platform, while the hardware has also been demonstrated running PICO-8 and Doom.
With its combination of MCUs, FPGA, Linux computing, wireless radios, analogue measurement, programmable power, CAN FD, sensors and onboard debugging, FREE-WILi 2 is positioned as a compact development platform for embedded systems, electronics experimentation, wireless projects and hardware prototyping. The platform is currently available for preorder, with the manufacturer stating that the Founders Edition is scheduled to ship in Q4.
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