freescale News - Page 7 of 9 - CNX Software

March 19, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

uClinux Running on Freescale Kinetis K70 MCU (Cortex-M4) Module

Last year, I posted about Linux for Cortex M3 & M4 Micro-controllers and noted it was difficult to find cost effective Cortex-M based boards able to run uClinux or Linux (RAM being the main issue). Freescale TWR-K70F120M is a module based on Kinetis K70 MCU (Cortex M-4) with plenty of RAM (128MB) to run Linux or uClinux. It is available for 109 USD or 179 USD with Freescale Tower system (TWR-K70F120M-KIT). Here are the key features of the module: Freescale MK70FN1M0VMJ12 Cortex-M4 MCU @ 120 MHz (Product Brief) Touch Tower Plug-in Socket General purpose Tower Plug-in (TWRPI) socket On-board JTAG debug circuit (OSJTAG) with virtual serial port 128 MB DDR2 SDRAM memory 256 MB SLC NAND flash memory Three axis accelerometer (MMA8451Q) Potentiometer Micro-SD Card slot I could not find an open source uClinux implementation for Kinetis K70, but emCraft has a Linux Board Support Package (BSP) for the Freescale TWR-K70F120M-KIT […]

March 13, 2012July 17, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

ARM Announces ARM Cortex-M0+ Core to Power the Internet of Things

ARM has just unveiled the ARM Cortex-M0+ 32-bit processor optimized to deliver ultra low-power and low-cost MCUs to power the ‘Internet of Things‘ by controlling connected intelligent sensors and smart control systems in a broad range of applications including home appliances, white goods, medical monitoring, metering, lighting and power and motor control devices. ARM claims the Cortex-M0+ consumes just 9µA/MHz on a low-cost 90nm LP process, around one third of the energy of any 8- or 16-bit processor available today, while delivering significantly higher performance (1.77 CoreMark/MHz). Beside the low power consumption, the main advantage of the Cortex-Mo+ over 8-bit and 16-bit MCUs , is that it can provide low power wireless connectivity to a variety of embedded systems such as wireless sensors. The new processor is based on Cortex-M0 processor but has been redesigned to include a few new features such as: Single-cycle IO to speed access to GPIO […]

February 29, 2012February 29, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Boundary Devices Unveils Nitrogen6X Freescale i.MX6 Development Kit (aka i.MX6q Sabre Lite)

Arrow Electronics and Boundary Devices have launched the Nitrogen6X, a low cost development kit based on Freescale i.MX6 quad-core cortex A9 processor. Here are the technical specifications of the Nitrogen6X board: Quad-Core ARM Cortex A9 processor at 1GHz (i.mx6Quad) 1 GB of 64-bit wide DDR3 @ 532MHz Board Dimensions: 4.5″ x 3″ 2MB Serial Flash Three display ports (PRGB, LVDS, HDMI) Parallel camera port with OV5642 Interface Multi-stream-capable HD video engine delivering 1080p60 decode, 1080p30 encode and 3-D video playback in HD Superior 3-D graphics performance with quad shaders for up to 200 Mt/s Separate 2-D and/or Vertex acceleration engines for an optimal user interface experience Serial ATA (SATA) Dual SDHC card slots PCI express port Analog (headphone/mic) Audio 10/100/1G Ethernet with Power over Ethernet support 2 RS-232 Serial ports 10-pin JTAG interface I2C/GPIO/SPI 3 High speed USB ports (2xHost, 1xOTG) CAN port TiWi 802.11 b/g/n WiFi+BT optional Supports Android […]

February 24, 2012June 4, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

Low Cost Freescale iMX6 Quad Sabre Lite Development Board

i.MX6q SABRE Lite Board is a low-cost development platform based on Freescale Quad Core Cortex A9 i.MX 6Quad Application Processor. This will probably be the first low cost ARM quad-core development board to hit the market. Nvidia has previously announced the CARMA Tegra 3 CUDA Development Kit, but the price has not been announced and when I look at the picture of the board and the specs, “low cost” does not come to mind. Here are the technical specifications for the Sabre Lite board: Quad-Core ARM® Cortex A9 processor at 1GHz per core 1GB DDR3 @ 532MHz 3 display ports (RGB, LVDS, and HDMI 1.4a) Two camera ports (1xParallel, 1x MIPI CSI-2) Multi-stream-capable HD video engine delivering H.264 1080p60 decode,1080p30 encode and 3-D video playback in HD Triple Play Graphics system consisting of a Quad-shader 3D unit, and a separate 2-D and separate OpenVG Vertex acceleration engine for superior 3D, […]

January 25, 2012January 25, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

The Past, Present and Future of Ubuntu for ARM

David Mandala of Canonical talked at Linux.Conf.Au on 18th of January 2012 about Ubuntu for ARM and the move from netbook to server support. You can read my notes below, or jump at the end of this post to watch the presentation. The Past 2008: Ubuntu decides to only support ARMv7 architecture vs. Debian that supports ARMv4 and above. 2009: Ubuntu release for Freescale i.MX51 (ARMv5 built), and then Marvell ARMAVA with ARMv6 and VFP (ARM floating point unit) support. 2010: April (10.04) The first ARMv7 release for OMAP3 (Beagleboard) with VFP, Thunb2, NEON and SMP for ARM and first netbook edition October (10.10) Pandabord (OMAP4) release with initial device tree support for ARM. Starts work with Linaro. 2011: 11.04 (5th release) – Supports OMAP3 and OMAP4 only. The netbook edition is using Qt, further improvement to device tree, further work with linaro and on the way to the Unified […]

January 19, 2012January 19, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Freescale i.MX6 Automotive & Aerospace Infotainment Applications

Freescale showcased i.MX6 Series (ARM Cortex-A9) based in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems at CES 2012. Charbax (armdevices.net) has an interesting interview, where they show IVI products based on Freescale i.MX6 series running QNX operating system with the dashboard, a control panel and a tablet for the back seats. There are also some impressive 3D demos as well as real-time 3D modelling of the car thanks to 360 cameras and OpenCL support in the iMX6 GPU. 3D modelling allows the driver to see a top view of the car while parking in narrow spaces. Freescale provides Long Term Support (LTS) for processors used in the automotive and aerospace industries and the company has committed to 15 years of support for the i.MX6 series. Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews […]

January 9, 2012January 9, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Freescale Announces i.MX6 Lite Series

Last year, Freescale introduced i.MX6 series processors to the market in single, dual and quad core Cortex A9 configurations, today at CES 2012, they have announced i.MX6 Lite Series in single and dual core configuration respectively the i.MX6SoloLite and i.MX6 DualLite. Both processors incorporate ARM Cortex-A9 cores and E-Ink controllers and are especially suited to e-Readers, but Freescale expect the i.MX6 DualLite to also to be used in tablets, IPTVs, IP phones, medical patient monitoring systems and home energy management solutions. The new processors are software-compatible with other i.MX 6 series devices, so that developers can create end-product at different price points using a common platform. Freescale explains that “this scalability enables the rapid creation of complete end-product portfolios that can adjust and scale to meet evolving market demands and requirements”. The two new processors come to replace Freescale i.MX508 device, which is currently used in millions of eReaders. Here […]

January 5, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Intrinsyc Launches OPEN-6 Platform for Freescale i.MX6

Intrinsyc Software International announced the OPEN-6 Design and Production Platform that leverages Freescale i.MX 6 multi-core Cortex-A9 processors. Intrinsyc’s OPEN-6 DPP product line will deliver a platform for device makers focused on tablets, eReaders, automotive infotainment (IVI), and industrial handhelds. The platform will include support for: Android 4.0 or Windows Mobile 6.5 Production BSP Advanced Power Management 3G and 4G communication module options, with Intrinsyc’s RapidRIL technology Combination Bluetooth, WLAN, and GPS Capacitive multi-touch display with multiple options including daylight readability Multiple high resolution cameras Full suite of sensors Device Management through Intrinsyc’s i.Device Manager The OPEN-6 DPP product line includes the following solutions: Licensable Production Package – includes production software in source format and cost optimized hardware design that can be licensed by OEM’s and ODM’s for device acceleration Development Kit – solution for application developers and device manufacturers to evaluate, develop, test, and deploy applications that utilize the […]