Murex Robotics, the world’s smallest and cheapest network switch developed by a U.S. high school robotics team, makes the hardware completely open source
High school students can save more than 90% on prices and reduce the space taken up by professional solutions.
No matter what you do in high school, it may not be that cool. Murex Robotics, an underwater robot team at Phillips Exeter College in Exeter, New Hampshire, has created what is said to be the world’s smallest network switch and costs significantly less than any large similar product.
mrxSwitch v2.0 is specially designed for remote control underwater rovers and provides five 100 Mbps Ethernet ports and covers an area of only 44.9 mm x 42.2 mm. Network switches of this size are typically reserved for highly embedded systems; the team prioritizes them for remote-operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) or autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), but IoT devices and other space-limited consumer devices may use such small network switches. Switches in the Murex housing allow a Raspberry Pi, NUC or other computer to communicate with an IP camera, drive motor or any of its other tools to operate the robot underwater.
The five beige 4-pin connectors on the board are network ports, and use Molex PicoBlade connections to save space because multiple RJ-45 ports dwarf the microboard. The on-board integrated chip responsible for switching is smaller than a fingernail, and the largest component, the dual-port transformer, is only longer than the knuckle. mrxSwitch v2.0 reduces the size by 30% and reduces the BOM cost by 15% compared to its predecessor, even with a smart looking custom PCB.
Murex Robotics participates in the High School Underwater Vehicle Competition in the Ranger Group of the MATE ROV Competition. Space inside the robot’s waterproof cabin is very valuable, so micro components are needed. Due to the narrow use cases, most solutions for network switches in this form factor size were highly priced, with Mate-sponsored options ranging from US$75 to US$175, so we decided to design an original solution. The current BOM price for mrxSwitch v2.0 is $7. While you may not see it used in our best network switches (at least not yet), this build is a major victory for the young team.
To gain a deeper understanding of the v1.0 team’s development process directly from the creator, be sure to read the team’s own development blog. For today’s rocket speed standards, 100 Mbps is pretty slow, but you’ll pay at least $7. Don’t forget, last year some enthusiasts purchased a $4,349 “enthusiast class” network switch with fewer ports but the same speed.
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