Red Pitaya STEMlab Gen 2 Multi-Instrument Boards

Red Pitaya d.o.o., based in Solkan, Slovenia, with a US office in Dallas, makes open-source, FPGA-based instrumentation boards often described as a Swiss army knife for engineers. The boards replace several bench instruments with one networked device, which lowers the cost of test and measurement for labs, schools and product developers.

The STEMlab 125-14 Gen 2 series, launched at Embedded World 2025, includes STEMlab 125-14 Gen 2, PRO Gen 2 and PRO Z7020 Gen 2 with improved RF input performance, USB-C multi-board synchronisation, eMMC storage and up to 1 GB of memory. Web-based apps turn each board into an oscilloscope and signal generator, spectrum analyzer, logic analyzer, Bode and impedance analyzer, LCR meter, vector network analyzer or SDR transceiver, with streaming and Python-based control. The company reports more than 45,000 customers and over 400 universities and schools.

• STEMlab 125-14 Gen 2: base board with lower noise, cross-talk and distortion on RF inputs.
• PRO Gen 2: E3 connector, eMMC boot, external clock selector and USB-C synchronisation.
• PRO Z7020 Gen 2: larger Zynq 7020 FPGA and 1 GB memory for longer captures.
• Measurement apps: oscilloscope, generator, spectrum, logic, Bode, impedance and LCR tools.
• RF and data apps: vector network analyzer, SDR transceiver and high-speed data streaming.
• Open programming: open-source FPGA design and Python-based control such as PyRPL.

A Vietnamese university can equip semiconductor and electronics training labs with multi-instrument boards instead of separate scopes and generators. An electronics manufacturer can build low-cost automated test stations around OEM boards. An R&D team can prototype radar, sensor or SDR systems on the FPGA platform.

One board covers many bench instruments, reducing equipment spend for labs and production test stations. Open-source FPGA and software let engineers build custom measurement or control applications. Gen 2 boards are backward compatible, so existing code and setups carry over. OEM versions allow the board to be embedded in customers' own products and test rigs.

Software-defined, FPGA-based instruments are replacing fixed-function bench equipment in labs and automated test, and are being embedded directly into OEM systems. Vietnam and Southeast Asia are expanding semiconductor and electronics engineering education and R&D, creating demand for affordable, programmable instruments for training labs and prototyping.

Red Pitaya d.o.o. is located at Velika pot 21, Solkan, Slovenia, with a US office in Dallas, Texas. Products are sold through its online store and distributors DigiKey, Mouser and Farnell. Users cited include NASA, Apple, Toyota, CERN and MIT.