Linux Kernel Source Code and Chromium OS Overlay for Rockchip RK3288

A few days ago, we’ve seen Chromium OS running on Rockchip RK3288 development platform. I’ve been informed the source code could have already been released via the newly registered rkchrome github account with Linux kernel 3.10.30 and the overlay files to build Chromium OS for RK3288. There’s also a u-boot repository but it is currently empty.  This Linux kernel can also boot Rockchip RK3188 based Radxa Rock development board, but more tests are needed to see if it’s really usable. I’ll have a look at the Linux kernel, and try to build it, and leave the Chromium OS part for later or other people. Let’s retrieve the source code:

We’ve got two kernel config files related to Rockchip in arch/arm/config:

But since this is a recent 3.10 kernel with support for Flattened Device Tree support, and multi-platform support, there’s not much to be seen in these files, and […]

Phytec phyBOARD WEGA Industrial Pico-ITX SBC Features Texas Instruments Sitara AM335x SoCs

Phytec has recently announced phyBOARD WEGA board powered by Texas Instruments AM335x Sitara ARM Processors via their phyCORE-AM335x SoM, which comes with up to 1GB DDR3 SDRAM, and up to 2GB NAND Flash. This single board computer targets industrial HMI (Human Machine Interface) and is suitable for various automation and display applications. PhyBOARD WEGA specifications: SoM – phyCORE-AM335x with: SoC – Texas Instruments Sitara AM355x ARM Cortex-A8 processor @ up to 1GHz, with PowerVR SGX530 GPU System Memory – 256 MB DDR3 RAM (Max: 1GB) Storage – 128 MB NAND Flash (Max: 2GB), optional 8 MB NOR Flash, 4KB EEPROM External Storage – micro SD card slot Connectivity – 2 x 10/100 Ethernet USB – 1 x USB Host, 1 x USB OTG Display I/F – 24bpp TTL Communication Interfaces – 6 x UART, 3 x I2C, 2 x SPI, 1 x CAN Expansion Connectors – 1x ADC(12Bit, 8Channel), GPIOs, […]

SolidRun HummingBoard is a Raspberry Pi Compatible Board Powered by Freescale i.MX6

Yesterday, I wrote about Banana Pi, an AllWinner A20 powered development board that’s mechanically and electrically compatible with the Raspberry Pi so that you can keep using your existing R-Pi accessories. It turns out another company is working on a similar concept. Solidrun who has brought us Cubox and Cubox-i in the past, will soon launch HummingBoard, a Raspberry Pi compatible board powered by Freescale i.MX6 solo/dual/quad SoC, bring even more power than the AllWinner A20 dual core Cortex A7 SoC found in the Banana Pi. The HummingBoard, previously known as Carrier One, is composed of a baseboard and SolidRun microSOM (micro System-on-Module) have comes with the followings specifications: SoC = Freescale i.MX6 Quad @ 1 GHz with Vivante GC2000 3D GPU. The microSoM also comes in solo and dual flavors, and although it’s likely the HummingBoard will be sold with these variants too, it’s not 100% confirmed System Memory […]

Banana Pi is a Raspberry Pi Compatible Board fitted with an AllWinner A20 SoC

So you’ve got a Raspberry Pi board, an enclosure, and a few add-on boards. Your application would however do with some more processing power, or you’d like to run Android, but you don’t want to have to purchase accessories all over again for another board. Banana Pi could be the solution, as it’s apparently [Update: it’s not. See comments] mechanically and electrically compatible with the Raspberry Pi, and comes with a dual core Cortex A7 AllWinner A20 SoC with 1GB RAM, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and a SATA port, among other things. The board does indeed look familiar, with all external connectors at the exact same positions, but the hardware specs are fairly different: SoC- Allwinner A20 dual core Cortex A7 processor @ 1 GHz with Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 1 GB RAM Storage – SD card slot, SATA connector Video output – HDMI, Composite, and LVDS/RGB Audio I/O […]

Embedian SMART MEN and SMART BEE SBCs Feature a TI Sitara SMARC CoM

Embedian, an embedded company specialized in computers-on-module and single board computers, has recently unveiled SMART MEN and SMART BEE single board computers powered by their SMARC-T335X computer-on-module, compliant with the SMARC (Smart Mobility Architecture) standard, and based on Texas Instruments Sitara AM335x SoCs. SMART MEN SBC SMART MEN single board computer specifications: SoC – Texas Instrument Sitara AM335X ARM Cortex-A8 at 600MHz, 800MHz or 1GHz System Memory – 512MB DDR3 (303Mhz x 2) Storage – 4GB eMMC Flash (eMMC 5.0), 4MB SPI NOR Flash, AT24C32 EEPROM, and SDHC/SDIO slot Connectivity – 2 x 10/100 Mbps Ethernet (vertical RJ45) Display – single channel LVDS 18-bit color depth, single channel LVDS 24-bit color depth. LCD LED backlight driver onboard USB – 2 x USB 2.0 Host, 1 x USB 2.0 OTG, 1 x Serial-to-USB (Client) Additional Interfaces: 6 x RS232s (transceiver onboard, two with handshaking and one can be configured as RS422/RS485),  […]

Embedded Linux Conference 2014 Schedule

The Tenth Embedded Linux Conference (ELC 2014) will take place on April 29 – May 1, 2014 at the San Jose Marriott in San Jose, California. The event will feature 90+ sessions on embedded Linux, Android and IoT with over 450 attendees expected to attend. It will also be co-located with Android Builders Summit and the AllSeen Alliance Hackfest. Even if you can’t attend it’s still interesting to see what will be discussed at the event to get a grasp of on-going developments, learn a few things about different optimization techniques, and so on. So I’ve gone through the sessions’ description, and I’ve designed my own virtual schedule with sessions that could be of interest. April 29 9:00 – 9:30 – Keynote: The Paradox of embedded and Open Source by Tim Bird, Sony Mobile Linux has taken the embedded world by storm.  Billions (with a ‘B’) of devices have now shipped […]

BeagleBone Black Gets 4GB Flash, a Price Increase, and Better Availability

The BeagleBone Black has been launched about a year ago, and this low cost ARM Linux board has become pretty popular with hobbyists, robotics courses at universities, and even people making products. The downside is that it has been difficult for CircuitCo, the manufacturer, to keep producing enough boards to match the demand while keeping the price at a low $45 with very little margin, and there are currently about 150,000 boards on distributor back-orders. To improve availability, Beagleboard.org has announced Revision C of the BeagleBone Black with a 4 GB eMMC, which may be easier to source over time than the original 2 GB eMMC, and that will sell for about $5 to $15 more than the previous version, or between $50 and $60. The rest of the hardware specifications remain identical. There’s also a change on the software side, as the board will be pre-loaded with Debian, instead […]

Intel Announces its First “Bay Trail” Fanless NUC Kit

Intel already announced a Bay Trail NUC selling for $140 earlier this year, but despite the low power dissipation (7.5W TDP) of the Intel N2820 processor, it requires a fan for cooling. The company has now unveiled its first fanless mini PC with Intel NUC Kit DE3815TYKHE powered by Intel Atom E3815 Bay Trail-I processor with 5W TDP. This NUC is destined for industrial and enterprise solutions such as digital signage, point-of-sales, kiosks, and thin clients. Here are the specs of this tiny x86 computer: SoC – Intel Atom E3815 single core processor @ 1.46GHz single core with 512KB cache and 5W TDP, coupled with Intel HD Graphics up to 400 MHz. System Memory – Up 8 GB 1.35V, 1333/1600 MHz (down clocked to 1066 MHz) DDR3L SO-DIMM Storage – 4-GB eMMC, support for one internal 2.5″ SATA HDD or SDD (up to 9.5mm thick) Video Output: 1x HDMI 1.4a 1x […]

EmbeddedTS embedded systems design