Cup Compute

Cup Compute is the marketing name for our entry level compute station that:

  1. costs LESS than a cup of coffee
  2. customises in LESS time than making a cup of coffee.
  3. fits INSIDE a coffee cup

*based on price of a cup of coffee at AU$4 and making a cup of coffee takes 5 minutes.

1. Version

For the year 2025, Cup Compute is our Wireless Station 2025a (WS25a).

2. Purpose

Cup Compute makes it affordable for everyone to start REAL ownership of infrastructure at home.

No more paying for home devices that are actually controlled by Cloud Compute remotely, with Cup Compute you can experience the advantages of having full control of the device you paid for.

Beside its cost and size, the most important feature of Cup Compute is how easy it is for everyday people to INDEPENDENTLY control 100% what it will or will not do.

Most Cloud Compute devices cannot be changed to function exactly as you like and probably will no longer work if the Cloud Compute is not available.

3. Advantages

  1. Cheap Postage
  2. Low Cost
  3. Small Size
  4. Low Power
  5. Battery Optionsl
  6. Build Clusters
  7. Free Samples (limited time)

Cheap Postage

Beside being cheap itself, the Cup Compute is also very cheap to ship, as it fits into a small letter envelope.

In Australia sending a small letter only costs AU$1.50 to anywhere in Australia.

Notes:

  • the AU$1.50 postage does not include the actual envelope which we assume you have a spare one lying around ...

  • 2 rows of pins are shipped but NOT soldered onto Cup Compute, they are not normally needed for most applications.

Low Cost

As of 2025-01-23 it costs only AU$3.51 per unit (including tax and freight from China to Sydney if purchased in lots of 15) on AliExpress.

We expect the fully delivered cost of Cup Compute to remain around the price of a cup of coffee in other countries.

Considering that Cup Compute can replace all QR code and Bluetooth Apps used during COVID to can help eliminate any future pandemic, it is a worthwhile investment for all governments for a the price that substantially LESS than that of a single vaccine shot.

Small Size

Not only does Cup Compute fit inside a coffee cup, it even fits when the optional 2000 mAh rechargeable battery is plugged in.

Cup Compute's onboard battery charger support larger batteries, but 2000mAh is more than enough power for 24 hours of continuous operation for use in mobile and solar-powered applications.

Low Power

Cup Compute is not only one of the cheapest compute station to buy, it is also very cheap to run even non-stop 24x7.

Even with BOTH activity marker transmission and reception functions actively running, its current consumption averages to only 60mA.

To reduce consumption further, it supports reducing of activity frequencies as well as turn on of deep sleep modes.

Battery Options

A range of rechargeable batteries are available to power your Cup Compute when there is no access to mains power.

Polymer Lithium Ion

JST-PH connector
Nominal Voltage 3.7V
Charged Voltage 4.2V

Capacity Size Weight Charge Current Sample Price
2000mAh 50x34 34g 400mA $10.90
3000mAh 50x50mm 54g 600mA $11.90
4000mAh 90x60mm 72g 800mA $13.95
6000mAh 90x60mm 95g 1200mA $20.90
8000mAh 100x60mm 120g 1600mA $23.95

*Sample Prices in AUD as at 2025-03-05

Build Clusters

Cup Compute makes it easy and cheap to startup a community cluster in your local area.

The compute income you will earn from the WS25a depends on many people (including yourself) make use of the Activity Marker signals it transmits and receives.

Free Samples

We are sending out 50 Cup Compute per country to pioneers who are the FIRST in their district entities to request one for either their residential or commercial venues.

Sample USB-C Cable

Most owners would already have USB-C power supplies laying around, in those cases there is NO NEED for USB-C power cables, since they can just plug the Cup Compute directing into any available USB-C power supply.

For owners do NOT have available USB-C power supplies, they can supply power to their Cup Compute using low-cost USB-C cables to connected their Cup Compute to other devices for power.


USB-C to USB-A cable


USB-C to USB-C cable

This USB-C power cable is NOT normally supplied with the free sample. The USB-C cable of the right lengths and connectors (USB-C or USB-A) should be available at very low cost in your local area, most people will lightly have some lying around gathering dust ...

If you really cannot source an USB-C cable, you can request a 0.5m cable to be sent with your free Cup Compute sample:

  1. USB-C to USB-A cable (0.5 metre)
  2. USB-C to USB-C cable (0.5 metre)

Note these sample cables are NOT free and any increase in shipping cost needs to be paid for.

Sample Accessories

There are other accessories we can also shipped with the free sample, however just like the 0.5m cable, these accessories are NOT free and any increase in shipping cost needs to be paid for:

  1. USB-C 5V 3A supply (Raspberry Pi Official Supply)
  2. 3.7V 2000mAh Li-Po battery with a JST PH 2.0 connector
  3. 50 x 75 mm resealable plastic bag (to protect Cup Compute with a battery plugged in)

Fast Customisation

To customise your Cup Compute, just plug it into the USB of your computer and install new firmware through a web browser in 3 steps.

  1. Generate Firmware
  2. Install Firmware
  3. Setup Firmware

You will need either Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge for Step 2.

Generate Firmware

Install Firmware

by going to a team compute site e.g.

https://flash.aunsw.88.io

You can also use open source esp32 firmware installers e.g.

Setup Firmware