Embedded Linux Conference 2012 Schedule

The Embedded Linux Conference (ELC 2012) will take place on February 15 – 15, 2012 at Hotel Sofitel in San Francisco. ELC consists of 3 days of presentations, tutorials and sessions. There will be over 50 sessions during those 3 days. I’ll highlight a few sessions that I find particularly interesting. February 15 10:30 – 11: 30 – Profiling and Performance Measurement Techniques Using Linux Kernel Tools by Govindraj Raja, Software Engineer at Texas Instruments and Partha S Basak, Technical Manager at Texas Instruments. With ever growing features and functionality of Linux kernel, one needs methods to trace and profile parts of Linux kernel for various reasons like performance analysis, debugging etc. This presentation aims at providing an insight into few of these tools and their salient features. Supporting use case data as captured on open source OMAP4 pandaboard is also provided. 14:00 – 15:00 – The Yocto Project Overview […]

Installing Emdebian ARM Cross Toolchain in Debian

I had previously installed Sourcery G++ ARM Linux toolchain in Ubuntu to build some software running in Debian, but I encountered some issues with some libraries (libavg) that use gethostbyname in static libraries without any easy way to make it dynamic. In that case, the library in the rootfs and cross-compiler must match.  So I decided to install Debian Squeeze (6.0.3) and the corresponding cross-toolchain by Emdebian (short for Embedded Debian). First to use this toolchain, add the URL to get Emdebian packages to /etc/apt/sources.list: # # — Emdebian cross toolchains # deb http://www.emdebian.org/debian/ squeeze main Then install Emdebian public key: apt-get install emdebian-archive-keyring apt-get update If you don’t install the key, you’ll get the following error: W: GPG error: http://www.emdebian.org squeeze Release: The following signatures couldn’t be verified because the public key is not available: NO_PUBKEY B5B7720097BB3B58 Search and install packages for the architecture that you need, in this […]

Parrot AR.Drone 2.0: Linux based Augmented Reality Helicopter

Parrot announced a revised version of its Linux-based Parrot AR Drone “quadricopter” flying drone at CES 2012. The drone can now be operated with any Android device such as smartphones and tablets, whereas the previous version could only be controlled by an iPhone or iPad. Another new software features is the auto-pilot. The quadricopter body has been redesigned and reinforced, and fitted with a new 720p HD front-facing navigational camera which can record video and help the pilot navigating the drone. There is also a vertical camera that was present in the first generation. Here are the technical specializations of the Drone’s motherboard: 1 GHz 32-bit ARM Cortex A8 processor (Maybe OMAP3?) 800Mhz video DSP (TMS320DMC64x) 1GB DDR2 RAM USB 2.0 WiFi b/g/n . 3-axis accelerometer 3-axis gyroscope 3-axis magnetometer Pressure sensor for altitude measurement (altitude > 6m) Ultrasound sensor for ground altitude measurement (lower altitude) 60fps vertical QVGA camera […]

2012 Linux and Android Events by the Linux Foundation

The Linux Foundation has announced the list of events it organizes for 2012. Those are mainly technical, but there is also one event dealing with legal issues. Most of the venues are in the US, with 2 back-to-back events in Europe (Barcelona) and 1 in Asia (Japan). If you are one of the first 50 to register for any LinuxCon event, you can get a 35% discount, by registering with the code “12PM35”. List of Events: Android Builders Summit – February 13-14, 2012, Hotel Sofitel SF Bay, Redwood Shores, Calif. A technical summit for OEMs, their device manufacturers, integrators, custom builders, and the growing Android and Linux Kernel developer communities. Embedded Linux Conference – February 15-17, 2012, Hotel Sofitel SF Bay, Redwood Shores, Calif. The premier vendor-neutral technical conference for companies and developers using Linux in embedded products. Linux Storage, Filesystems and MM Summit  – April 1-2, 2012, Hotel Nikko, […]

Develop Android Apps, Deploy on Meego, Tizen, WebOS, Ubuntu and More

OpenMobile World Wide Inc. is demonstrating its Application Compatibility Layer (ACL) technology, capable of running Android apps on non-Android devices at CES 2012 in Las Vegas. The company claims that their solution brings more than 300,000 Android apps to device running on other platforms. The technology allows OEMs of Tablets, Set Top Boxes, smart TVs, Netbooks, In-Vehicle Infotainment devices and more to provide users access to a all Android applications. OpenWorld ACL technology currently works on tablets, STBs and netbooks based on MeeGo, WebOS and Ubuntu. The company also plans to make the technology available for Tizen, Windows, Bada, QNX, Symbian and more. The company claims 100% compatibility for Android apps including those developed using the Android Native Development Kit (NDK). The ACL layer is said not to drain the device resources at all. Device power and memory will be unchanged. Here are the Key Benefits of ACL according to […]

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 […]

OLPC XO-3 Sugar Linux Tablet

The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) foundation has unveiled the OLPC XO-3 Tablet at CES 2012. This Tablet features a 8″ 1024×768 capacitive LCD touch screen running a version of Sugar Linux for Touchscreen. This must be the only tablet ot running Android at CES 2012… This current sample only have a front camera, but the final device will have both a front and rear camera. They also have an optional solar panel cover (4W panel), that can be used to charge the tablet (2W), so in ideal conditions if you charge it for 2 hours, the tablet can be used for 4 hours. Alternatively, you can also charge it for the hand cracker. A Pixel Qi tablet (not shown in the video below) is also available for extra costs (I’ve heard 100 USD extra) for better readability. OLCP did not specify availability. The way OLPC works is that they […]

Advantech ROM-1210 Computer on Module Powered by Freescale i.MX53

Advantech announced today a new Computer On Module (COM), the ROM-1210, powered by Freescale i.MX53 Cortex-A8 Processor clocked at 1 Ghz, with 256 to 512MB DDR3 onboard, 2GB Flash (upgradable to 64 GB) and supporting OpenGL ES 2.0, OpenVG 1.1 hardware 2D/3D accelerators. The module also supports full HD 1080p video decoding and HD 720p video encoding via its hardware engine.  The company targets human machine interface (HMI), digital signage, industrial automation, cloud computing and portable applications with this platform that can run Android 2.3, embedded Linux 2.6 and Windows Embedded Compact 7. Here are ROM-1210 specifications: CPU – Freescale i.MX535 Cortex-A8 1GHz (i.MX536 Cortex-A8 800MHz for wide temp. only) System RAM – 512 MB DDR3 (256 MB as optional) Flash – 2 GB (up to 64 GB) Graphic Chip – 24-bit LCD controller by CPU. Resolution Default 800×480 WVGA (320X 240 ~ 1920X1080 as optional) LCD Interface – 2x […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC