Community Ideas: uses for EOMA-68-compliant CPU cards

Please list any ideas that you may have regarding uses for EOMA-68-compliant CPU cards. The general idea of this page is for people to find out if there are others interested in the same idea.

  • Deliver EOMA68 Effort to get the extant EOMA68 hardware to customers' hands. deliver eoma68

  • A CPU card on special purpose carrier-boards for tasks, that are not mainstream. Either special purpose boards, tied to a single task or a board, that has been developed to offer as many high-level I/O as possible by the use of plug-boards (shields in Arduino slang). Depending on the shields the possibilities could be: a generic networking board with one to many LAN ports (low wattage router, firewall, auth-, dns-server, etc). a generic multimedia board, that has I/O for HomeTheater hardware (there is a real need for low power streamers, that we can freely program, the Chinese crap on the market is too superficial). a generic NAS board, that focusses on having as many SATA ports as possible: build a NAS by reusing all your old hard-disks by utilizing software like Unraid, Greyhole, SnapRAID or FlexRAID. Add ATA, SATA, SCSI shields to it and there you go with your 20 hda storage server in the basement, utltra-low power, except the disks ;). a home-control controller/router, etc. Adding a serial console for setup and maintance would be enough for any of these, except the media client. Another option would be active cross-overs for loudspeakers. These could be stand-alone or go as far as having a basic pre-amplifier carrier. I a not sure, whether the CPU and memory access would be fast enough for software like BruteFIR, however.

  • SPI and I2S should be mapped on the GPIOs (lkcl: no. this defeats the object of EOMA-68 being a standard. not all SoCs hae SPI and/or I2S, and if one particular SoC did not have SPI or I2S, then a hardware IC would be needed to provide that functionality, pushing up the cost of that CPU Card to unprofitable levels when compared to SoCs that did have integrated SPI and/or integrated I2S. all in all, USB and I2C was considered to be better to provide than SPI or I2S, because they are both only 2 wires and they are general-purpose multi-device buses, unlike both SPI and I2S. there is however nothing stopping you from going into "non-EOMA-68-compliant mode" by multiplexing any GPIOs to their alternate functions if they happen to provide SPI or I2S: just do not expect to be able to rely on that when talking to EOMA-68-compliant devices).

  • Audio hardware on board for Mic|Line In for audio processing/ Gigabit Ethernet, GPIO connections I2C, SPI, 1Wire, UART headers or connectors, VGA! The DIN rail size is a great idea. FULL DATA on the CPU and any other device on the board, that means PIN OUTS! (TRM SHEETS!!!), 4xRJ45 serial (rs232/rs485) ports, PoE capable, 802.11A! 5.8Ghz (NOT B/G, A!!!) with B/G/N thrown in, bluetooth, 1GB RAM MIN! Don't USE Pop RAM!

  • Leafpad Maple (arduino-like device using the ARM Cortex M3 STM32F) adaptation to connect directly to the EOMA-68 interface

  • Have you thought of building a device with a non-touch screen? Resistive is unusable, capacitive is too expensive. There's a market for an all in one, portable computer, with an external keyboard/pointer.

  • There is also interest in RTAI or Xenomai support for the A10. http://code.google.com/p/miniemc2/downloads/list has Xenomai on an ARM kernel up to 2.6.35.9.

  • Cheap home network appliance. Hook up power - a microUSB connector would help since the adapters are smaller (not sure about the min Amps required), a sub-$10 USB wifi dongle and you're off - print attachments on the network printer from anywhere in the world, home surveillance, NAS (via the sata-II connector), turn on the sprinkler via a dedicated GPIO, etc.

  • DIN-Rail sized industrial controller with 4xRJ45 serial (rs232/rs485) ports, PoE capable 10/100 ethernet RJ45, 2xUSB and VGA. -- mnemoc

  • Include support for HDMI Consumer Electronics Control (CEC). This specification already has some information with an GPL library and an open implementation exists for the Arduino developer board (specifically, cec-Arduino on google code ). details at HDMI CEC page.

  • LVDS support.

  • Tablet/eBook/eReader - modular design using existing tooling (with some minor mods) swappable cpu module, LCD, etc

  • Set-top-box - modular design

  • Cluster/blade/rack/backplane http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/01/wimpy_nodes/

  • Car-PC

  • Touchscreen/Kiosk/All-in-one PC - modular design

  • Industrial PC (convection/conduction cooled sealed case - no fans) IP54, 65 etc

  • Fast Boot Time from power-on to X login or working desktop - A project with clearly defined start and end points for a demonstration of how quickly a system can be up and working (vs ambiguous or vague "ON state") from a powered off (No Power vs almost off) state.

    http://www.coreboot.org/Welcome_to_coreboot
    http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/Linux-boots-in-297-seconds/
    
  • Hardware init and bootloader vs uboot. coreboot was recently ported to ARM and if the current uboot source has no magic then it's probably a slam dunk to just have hardware init and a jump to a kernel vs uboot

  • Smartphone chassis: 100mm x 65mm x 15mm (same size as HTC smartphones) taking an 85x56mm CPU card, having a 3mm LCD, a 2mm high PCB and a 2mm high battery. it's a sandwich but it's just about doable. really, the CPU card needs to be 3.5mm height not 5mm height. TODO: speak to the Gizmo Flow G1.55 guys: http://www.gizmoforyou.net/site/en/blogs/flow-g15-hardware.html

  • A low-power reader for scientific and technical literature. Academics spend their lives printing papers to read - a waste of paper and an organisational pain in the neck as you can't carry it all around. A huge amount of scientific literature is available only in pdf form. Many papers are in two-column format with figures of varying sizes. These can be a nightmare to fit onto a 7-inch screen (I've tried with a kindle touch; display, scrolling and document management are crap and it's a non-paying use case so Amazon have little interest in improving things quickly). Colour would be essential in some fields. So: use a low-power 10-inch colour screen http://www.pixelqi.com/products. 1024*800 at 10 inches would allow reasonable fit-to-width display. The long battery life would be a huge convenience and slow refresh no problem at all. Touch interface, USB connectivity and pdf reader software would be minimum requirements. Other connectivity for smarter document management and a browser to enable reading/downloading from the web would be very helpful. Otherwise make the thing as thin and light as possible. There might be marketing possibilities with publishers (who have far too much money, due to their current monopolies).

  • Laptop based around the CPU card: conversion or creation.

  • A 19-in cluster server box, massive numbers of CPU cards (all upgradeable) on a shared network backplane.

  • ADSL Router motherboard, with free-software-friendly on-board WIFI that can be put into AP mode.

  • FPGA card An eoma-68 card that has an FPGA instead of CPU; it's difficult from an openness point of view to find an FPGA with open tools (are there any?), but at least it's one that people could run openhardware designs on; use one that can be programmed from Linux. (penguin42)

  • SCADA workstation: eoma-68 like cards that are supplied with 10/100/1000Mb ethernet and HDMI can serve as perfect workstations for SCADA systems. Single workstation collects data over network, processes it and displays result straight onto external monitor. Replaceable, power and cost efficient alternative to workstations based on PC.

  • It would be fabulous if someone could produce one with hardware encryption acceleration (AES, hashing, RSA, hardware RNGs, etc.) As tests with VIA's Padlock-enabled CPUs show, this saves on battery life, makes full disk encryption actually usable, and significantly improves the browsing experience on HTTPS websites. It also opens up a whole world of government contractors looking for a low cost solution capable of meeting the NSA's guidelines for non-TS classified materials, without taking a huge performance hit. Hardware-accelerated code signing could also lead to some interesting developments in operating system security. (This wouldn't be DRM, since the end user is in complete control. Instead, this could form the basis of a cryptography-based permission system. If no one else, I think microkernel enthusiasts would appreciate it.)

  • Energy Management/Security system for travel trailer/motor home: monitor battery charging from photo-voltaic panels and stationary power, monitor energy usage, monitor security camera and/or door/window sensors.

  • Astronomical Observatory remote control - monitor temperature/humidity, cloud camera, dome rotation and shutter control.

  • It would be really nifty to have an x86-on-ARM feature, using a trick somewhat similar to the Transmeta Crusoe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmeta_Crusoe Assuming a dual-core processor (i.e. A20), one core would act as an emulation "pre-processor" to translate the instructions from x86 machine language into ARM machine language. There would be a software layer on top to control things (sort of like a second HAL?), and to convince the rest of the computer that it has a single-core processor. There would of course be a performance penalty, in that the SoC/CPU would run a lot slower from the user's perspective, but with an entire core dedicated to the emulation part, it probably wouldn't be as horrendous as the Crusoe's behavior.

  • EOMA-68 to EOMA-200 adapter board. For use of EOMA-68 SoMs on EOMA-200 Carrier Boards. It should be possible, right? with a chip like this yes http://www.plxtech.com/products/usbcontrollers/usb3380. the key thing is that under the EOMA standards there is NO concept of "optional hardware interfaces", unlike pretty much absolutely every single other standard out there. so, EOMA200 has to have a PCI-Express interface. doesn't matter how many lanes, doesn't matter how fast, because the hardware can negotiate that. but you MUST actually have a PCI-Express interface. but, of course, EOMA68 only has up to USB 3.0. soooo, a converter board would have to convert "anything from USB2 up to USB3" to "at least a 1-lane PCI-Express port". that's where ICs like the USB3380 come in.

  • EOMA68 keyboard or monitor, bootable directly from the peripheral. No more need for housings, just plug the card into one peripheral and plug that into another and you're good to go!

Community Ideas with their own page

Parabola Gaming Project

Web site: https://wiki.parabola.nu/Parabola_Gaming_Project

A Libre Project to create retro professional-grade games, consoles and hand-helds.

Posted Thu Dec 15 05:11:11 2016 Tags: community ideas

Hand-held Camcorder

A camcorder that can take an EOMA68 card. Ironically, like the hybrid phone, it would require an on-board processor as well as a dual-input LCD. Likely the same Frida HX8357D-based 3.5in display, which has SPI (can be connected to the on-board processor) and RGB/TTL (can be connected to EOMA68).

Also ironically given that processing images down to MPEG in real-time requires a lot of resources, it's probably necessary to use a full-blown processor on-board the Housing, with its own DDR RAM - current candidates (as they're very low-cost) are the Allwinner ?R8.

By using VPx (x= 9 or what the latest version is.) avoid paying mpeg-al mafia fees :) and for cutting edge compression Opus for Libre audio compression which is also the best, latest compression vs quality lossless audio format. very good for streaming too. WavPack or Flac for libre good lossless. default recording format please :) finally no more space hog wav for lossless!

GPIOs so it can be controlled via switches on a custom hand held camera rig, for example.

Bluetooth 4 with support for APT-X LIVE as this means BT4 APT-X LIVE supporting bluetooth mics can be used. Cheaper yet same quality as top range pro wireless mics? http://www.csr.com/products/59/aptx-live

Wifi for the first camcorder with free software wifi and so no hidden backdoors just good old bugs which can be fixed. Secure, auto sync media to peers/servers. with no built in delete button for uploaded files and plausible deniability somehow so the cops cant delete/censor footage/pics.

Mic input and line-in or support for a external class compliant USB audio interface.

Plug in 3g modem for uploading media or live streaming via mobile network. maybe other mesh net tech can be used too?

Dare i ask for composite video output? old tvs and for small 12v lcd screens for easy cheap external monitor option (diy camera rigs)?

Raw hdmi video out?

A few USB ports :D

Software Related:

tor support for anon, anti censer sharing. http://onionshare.org/ for a starting point. it has a CLI, make a GUI around it? syncthing for auto magic copy to backup computer box. bittorrent streaming?

Posted Fri Sep 16 03:53:14 2016 Tags: community ideas

Portable Handheld QWERTY Computer

The idea is to have a portable (pocketable) handheld device similar in size to a PDA or cellular phone with reduced QWERTY keyboard. Viable form factors (and examples) are:

Mailing List Discussion: - http://lists.phcomp.co.uk/pipermail/arm-netbook/2016-August/011793.html - http://lists.phcomp.co.uk/pipermail/arm-netbook/2016-September/011917.html

Minimum Feature Set

Optional / Extra Features

  • Bonus points if it is also "ruggedized": waterproof, shockproof, etc.
  • Trackpoint or similar, for using the mouse cursor without needing to touch the screen, as on the Pyra
  • Built-in Wifi (SKW17 module)
  • Cellular Phone Module (voice and/or data capability)
  • Sensors
    • Ambient Light Sensor (auto adjust backlights)
    • Accelerometer/Gyro (MPU6050)
  • Vibration Motor
  • GPS module
  • Camera and LED Flash
  • Bluetooth module
  • Audio
    • Line Input
    • Microphone
    • Ear Speaker (for voice calling)

Notes, Comments

Goes without saying that it should be licensed as a Free Cultural Work, i.e. under GPLv3 or suchlike.

Why would it be great? Well, traditionally, people using a PDA had to synchronise their information between their desktop or laptop and the PDA, e.g. via a cable or IrDA or Bluetooth. Now lots of people do this via "the cloud", but that just means going via someone else's computers, so unless that system is implemented on a zero-knowledge basis using client-side encryption basis, then whoever else's computers are being used also gets to see the information. That might be really private stuff, like contacts and appointments and correspondence. With EOMA68, that problem would be solved: while out and about where a laptop would be too bulky but a PDA wouldn't, just have the EOMA68 card in the PDA housing. When at a desk, put it in the desktop or laptop housing. No need to sync!

That means:

  • No loss of privacy
  • Less need for energy-intensive data centres
  • No need to have two computers when one would do (less e-waste)
  • No worries about race conditions due to data getting updated on desktop and PDA before syncing.
  • No headaches, essentially!

Pad listing/discussing specs and questions: https://public.pad.fsfe.org/p/eoma68_handheld (should be imported into wiki at somepoint, theres export options, so it should be copy and paste or direct wiki import maybe? anyway i expect it will work out ;).

Posted Mon Sep 5 23:45:39 2016 Tags: community ideas

Providing USB Ports on the CPU Card

This isn't strictly a suggestion for an application of a generic CPU card, but instead an observation (based on the interview with Liliputing) where a CPU card might itself provide USB ports. Thus, a card could be plugged into an EOMA-capable device and other peripherals attached via the USB ports provided by the card.

This might look something like the following product...

An Adaptec USB2connect for notebooks card

This is an Adaptec USB2connect for notebooks card that provides USB 2.0 ports using a normal CardBus card. Here, only the physical profile is of relevance.

Note: this idea is very similar to the Pass-through card concept

Posted Mon Feb 1 15:44:58 2016 Tags: community ideas

Bitsox - A BitSeed Box bitcoin node. just another little computer to help distribute the blockchain and keep it distributed. instead of leaving on/using your personal computer you would plugin and forgot a bitsox.

Like: https://bitseed.org/

Posted Wed Jun 17 05:31:16 2015 Tags: community ideas

=Ravox - The Rave Box=

a all in one sound system box for raving.

*light weight but industeral,pro robustness. can take a battering and still be carryed by 2 pepole a few KM. *Efficient speaker(s) * eoma-68 provides builtin computer with instant DJ setup. * bay for usb+power/esata/sata drives with shock exserbance to protect hard drives. * touch screen * decent DAC (usb?) * space for dj deck to sit on. * mono I assume or stero? * built in legs so it's not siting on the ground, is speaker a seport box that detaches and sits ontop on a pole to give it height above the people maybe? * lots of usb sockets to charge pocket computers and to access music off smartphones,flash drives, etc. *swapable battery pack? * auto DJ - shove in music and it will play it dj style (Mixxx does this but human has to set the order of the playlist, could some maths try and sort the playlist automaticly? with the option for the human to manualy override the order.) *robust audio outputs and inputs, aux (for playing from other device, goes though computer (so computer can auto mix/dj but also record a copy) but with analog override wheere it goes streight to the amp),lineout,headphones x2,mic x2 * mic inputs have anti feedback loop and again go though the computer so the nights rappers can be recoded. also analog - direct to amp override (with anti feedback loop?) * creates a playlist/archive/folder of the music played that night which can be copied to many randoily pluged-in flash drives also shares via being a piratebox (wifi). * QR code to donate bitcoins to for the currect artist and a qr code to donate to a pool for the nights music, then tracks/artists that have bitcoin/altcoin address get payout at the end of the night. * telescopic pole for small lights like led rgb light panel with decent strobe mode(?), laser telescopic pole colapses into box rgb panel clips onto sie of box or slots into a slot. * option to plugin more speakers

thanks to eoma-68 built in computer/software doesn't get stuck as obsolete. upgradable, better real time video effects to music, faster encoding flacs down to opus for sharing

target ordance more likely to pay £££?

something based on https://www.crowdsupply.com/blueshift/helium ?

Posted Thu Jun 11 08:20:56 2015 Tags: community ideas
mox

=mox= Media bOX

incorporate xD smiley into logo maybe?

===Models:=== built-in mox *built-in to big screen (tv) or projector.

the stick on the back of the big screen(what you use to call a tv) mox * no big hd. maybe a small one or sd cards?

small mox *with a large HD. one or 2?

big mox for the monster movie watcher. dozens of HD's for hundreds of TB's *2 CD drives (or one or both dvd) for ripping? ...and burning for sharing?

Posted Thu Jun 11 08:20:21 2015 Tags: community ideas
fox

=File Box= File bOX

a box to manage, backup your files.

a huge usb hub for plugging in tons of usb hard drives and power to power them ...and a load of built-in sata2usb converters? with power supply for hmm a dozzen HD’s

instead of buying a usb harddrive which gives you just more storage, with a fox you get more storage space but also auto backup/duplication onto other connected hard drives for a 2rd copy via sync and with other foxs via apps like syncthing your HD’s are auto synced/backuped to your other foxs on the other side of the earth to back them up properly so your copies of your data isnt in one place!

plug your camera in via usb and your new photos will be auto downlaoded/imported into photo/video/ collection and then maybe processed? ooh with pagekite you could run a media goblin instance so friends and public and browser your media via your own media portal website interface. that would be great! and if that box is on a slow internet uplink no worries cus if you have one else where, where there is a faster uplink, with your media synced over the media goblin instance is run from there so your viewers get a faster loading of the web pages.

archive youtube and other video hosting site vids, send the link(s) via bonjour -local network instant messaging and it will send it to a youtube-dl and plowdown que manager and so archive that video!
Firefox button to add to fox archive-that-vid que addon? how?

this i guess would be the cheep tons of hard drives storage solution for a poor mans file server. Would do for most people? well i think it would do for me and all my media (around 8 hd’s currently).

  • easy https access via https://pagekite.net ** bundled pagekite service with fox, 3 months included to get ya started.
  • http://tribler.org channel for public shareing via bittorrent (tribler 100% decentralized style woop!)
  • http://syncthing.net/ awesome sync local and over the net thats super easy. no user pass, no account, just sync that gets on with it.
  • aria2c html5 web interface download manager -basic bt,http,ftp-

from a non-evil com that only uses software of freedom therefor no judgement though spying. your cost affective personal space.

Posted Tue Jun 9 02:15:49 2015 Tags: community ideas

15.6in Laptop

Specifications:

  • User-upgradeable EOMA68 CPU Card
  • 15.6in 1366x768 LCD
  • Full-sized Chicony OEM keyboard with numberpad
  • 4.3in Capacitive Touchpanel with backlit LCD as a trackpad
  • 10000mAh battery providing approx 6-8 hrs battery power
  • MicroSD card slot
  • 1 External Full-size USB Port
  • 2 Internal Full-sized USB Ports (for USB WIFI, 3G, Bluetooth, Storage)

Additional pages:

  • Additional Information at the news page.
  • Details on the PCBs at the pcbs page.
  • 3D printing info etc. at the casework page.

Parts

  • Casework: GPLv3 licensed, instructions at the following URL: youmagine - libre-hardware-licensed-parametric-laptop-design
  • LCD: AUO B156XTN02.2 - do not get "or equivalent": get exact part
  • Battery: G-Power EV GPNCM62135160 10Ah - please don't email them asking for 1off quantities: the supply of this EV battery for use in a laptop is an experiment for G-Power, please arrange a group-buy (large order).
  • Keyboard: Chicony P/N MP-03756GB-5287.
  • 3.5in Touchpanel/LCD: Shenzen Frida LCD Co Ltd, P/N 350HV15-CT. MOQs are around 250 units: please don't email them asking for 1off quantities, please arrange a group-buy (large order).
  • 1.5mm 3-ply Plywood - easily found with internet search (Birch, Bamboo usually). Sizes: 2of 169x207mm, 2of 165x189.5mm, 1of 68x138mm, 1of 94x64mm. Model shops typically stock 1.5x300x300mm panels: QTY 4 is sufficient (barring cutting errors) - the offcuts from the larger parts can be used to make the smaller parts.
  • QTY 8of M2 5mm countersunk bolts
  • QTY 2of M2 25mm countersunk bolts
  • QTY 10of M2 hex nuts
  • QTY 2of M3 40mm fully-threaded bolts with a maximum 6mm diameter flat head
  • QTY 4of M3 lock-washers
  • QTY 12of M3 washers
  • QTY 6of M3 hex nuts
  • QTY 15of M2.5 8mm self-tapping screws

Notes on parts

  • Getting hold of the right LCD is critical. Really: don't buy the "or equivalent" parts. The "or equivalent" parts have higher power consumption, higher inrush current, and may not operate correctly at the lower refresh rates which save additional power.
  • Under absolutely no circumstances buy the keyboard from ajarts.co.uk or their aliases. The Chicony keyboard is available on ebay. However, most of the sellers supplying them in the UK are aliases for a single company: ajparts.co.uk. ajparts have failed consistently to even provide the actual part ordered. REPEATEDLY. don't buy from them.
  • M2x25mm countersunk screws are really hard to find (on ebay), but they do exist. Most ebay suppliers only do up to 20mm, which is not long enough. M2 screws in general are not stocked by Ironmongers: they are specialist items. However the LCD bezel specifically requires M2 bolts, and the LCD edge parts thin enough that only M2 hexbolts will fit inside with enough clearance.
  • The inner edges surrounding the base panels contain insets. into which the plywood can be made to fit. The base panels should be expanded by 1mm in every direction on the lower (outer) side - 167mmx191.5mm - and on the upper (inner) side should measure as above (165x189.5mm). The chamfer angle on each edge of the panel should be 45 degrees. A scalpel (craft knife) is sufficiently sharp, and bamboo sufficiently workable, that it's possible to cut through the two upper (inner) layers of the plywood and leaving the last layer untouched.
Posted Tue Jan 13 23:00:21 2015 Tags: community ideas

Micro Desktop

This is a small desktop I/O board, sized around 4.5 x 3in, with all connectors on the top side including 2 USB ports and VGA. It is a simplification of the mini desktop and a small step up from the Micro Engineering Board as, like the Mini Desktop, it has a power regulator that will do from 6v to 21v and comfortably provides 4 amps.

Features

  • EOMA68 CPU Card slot
  • 2 full-sized USB2 Host ports
  • VGA port
  • 20-pin (2.5in dual-row 0.1mm pitch) Expansion Header

Expansion Header

This is the pinouts for the expansion header.

  • 1 GND
  • 3 PWRON
  • 5 SPI_CSK
  • 7 SPI_CSI
  • 9 SPI_MISO
  • 11 SPI_MOSI
  • 13 VESA_SDA
  • 15 EINT0
  • 17 EINT1
  • 19 VCC-5V0
  • 2 GND
  • 4 EOMA68-UART_TX
  • 6 EOMA68-UART_RX
  • 8 VREFTTL
  • 10 VESA_SCL
  • 12 VCC-3V3
  • 14 GND
  • 16 EOMA68-I2C_SCL
  • 18 EOMA68-I2C_SDA
  • 20 VCC-5V0

Casework

Mark at lusis.eu who is a FOSDEM staffer kindly offered his company's services to do the wooden casework.

Information

Posted Thu May 29 17:28:46 2014 Tags: community ideas

EOMA Projector

Instead of having your laptop connected to a projector, you can just pop your computer card into a slot on the projector. No more lugging around your laptop/device to play a movie, display a presentation. Now it's just the projector, speakers and your computer card in your pocket.

Unlike existing projectors that have a built-in PC, the computer doesn't get obsolete. Your not paying a considerable extra for the convenience of a built in PC.

Posted Wed Mar 26 16:31:46 2014 Tags: community ideas

Improv (Micro Engineering Board)

This is a small Engineering Board, details here: https://makeplaylive.com/#/open-hardware/improv

Posted Wed Dec 4 21:01:58 2013 Tags: community ideas

Robotics Board

This is a project by Joe Martindale

Posted Wed Dec 4 20:58:42 2013 Tags: community ideas

Keyboard-based Thin Client

This is a project run by Christopher Thomas. It's a thin client with a built-in keyboard.

Posted Wed Dec 4 20:56:38 2013 Tags: community ideas

Mini Desktop

This is a small desktop I/O board, sized around 4.5 x 4in, with all connectors on the top side including SATA, Ethernet, 4 USB ports, VGA and USB-based Audio. It is a hybrid combination of the router and the kde tablet boards. Also included for educational and experimentation purposes is an Atmel ATSAM4SB, connected to a 44-pin header.

Features

  • EOMA68 CPU Card slot
  • 4 full-sized USB2 Host ports
  • Ethernet port (wired for up to Gigabit Ethernet)
  • 7-pin SATA port
  • VGA port
  • CM108AH AC97-compliant Stereo USB Audio
  • stereo headphones, built-in mic and built-in 0.5 watt Stereo Speakers
  • ATSAM4SB 64-pin Embedded ARM Micro-controller for educational purposes
  • 44-pin (2.5in IDE size) Expansion Header

Expansion Header

  • 1 5V
  • 2 GND
  • 3 JTAG-CK
  • 4 JTAG-MS
  • 5 JTAG-SEL
  • 6 PB5
  • 7 PA1
  • 8 PA30
  • 9 EOMA68 I2C SCL
  • 10 EOMA68 I2C SDA
  • 11 PA28
  • 12 PA29
  • 13 PA6
  • 14 PA27
  • 15 PA7
  • 16 PA19
  • 17 PA8
  • 18 PA31
  • 19 PA11
  • 20 PA12
  • 21 PA26
  • 22 PA25
  • 23 PA14
  • 24 PA24
  • 25 PB2
  • 26 PA13
  • 27 PB3
  • 28 PA15
  • 29 PA16
  • 30 PA20
  • 31 PA23
  • 32 PA22
  • 33 PA18
  • 34 PA21
  • 35 AD4
  • 36 AD0
  • 37 DAC1
  • 38 PB1
  • 39 EOMA68 GPIO2
  • 40 AD0
  • 41 EOMA68 GPIO7
  • 42 EOMA68 GPIO7
  • 43 EOMA68 USB2 DP
  • 44 EOMA68 USB2 DM

Information

Posted Mon Dec 2 19:20:10 2013 Tags: community ideas

Router Concept

The general concept is to provide networking options and some GPIO. Provide basic 4-ports of 10/100 Ethernet, perhaps with the option of plugging in a POE injector daughterboard, and provide the option to plug in a USB-based 3G MiniPCIe with 2 SIM Card slots (selection controlled by GPIO) and a USB-based MiniPCIe WIFI Card.

The router board will conceptually be an expansion of the 2nd revision Micro Engineering Board and so will also provide a SATA interface and a 44-pin header for access to the RGB/TTL and I2C.

Schematics here: http://git.rhombus-tech.net/?p=eoma.git;a=tree;f=pcb/router; Information available at the news page.

Posted Sat Sep 14 01:30:46 2013 Tags: community ideas

"SSD security camera recorder with PIR sensors"

I made a little bit of software that runs on a PC. The PC has one ftp account per camera. The camera Foscam FI8918W can upload 1 photo a second. Every hour the upload sub directory is renamed and every day the upload sub directory is renamed. So if you want to go to a specific date and a specific hour, its easy to navigate the directory and get to the relevant time. Delete older directories and they expire to recycle space. Use the package "feh" to view the images. One camera takes up a few gigabytes per day. Today low power low spec 256GB SSD cost just over $100 and its set to fall dramatically.

So I'm thinking a very low power compact SSD camera recorder with PIR sensors could be feasible product. It could have complete Linux in it to allow decent scripted management of the gazillions of images, say for example making sure the saved pictures are only those just before and just after the PIR sensors stopped reacting. If it needs to be wireless, then just add a wireless dongle to the USB. The full Linux distro running on it should take care of it.

The box takes EOMA, SDCard, SSD and within the box, there is something a little more than MEB with power supply, ethernet, USB, SATA and GPIO brought out for PIR and similar sensors. Just add your own SSD, and its a product.

If you got dozens of these in a building, management is easy - just add more scripts to shuffle images towards the management terminals. Everything made easy with Linux full power of scripting. You could take the PIR data for example and plot it into a graph and put http server into the EOMA to show how busy your shop gets. And it could work over internet with ssh.

I got a few cute foxes in the garden. I'd like to know if they dragged in rubbish that needs disposing. With PIR detector, I'd know they have been in, and I can get me with a script one intelligent email summary containing the PIR activities during night and one or two relevant pictures without having to scan directories. etc.

Posted Thu Aug 29 10:20:45 2013 Tags: community ideas

Carrier Board

Features

  • Dimensions 17.002 x 8.928cm (Half ITX Motherboard size)
  • Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 connector with built-in transformer
  • SATA connector
  • 5V power plug (5.5mm, 2.1mm centre pin)
  • 5V power internal power connector (for SATA or fan)
  • 3x USB3.0 connectors
  • USB5434-JZX USB3.0 4-port Hub
  • 2x USB2.0 Headers
  • USB2512BI-AEZG USB2.0 4-port Hub (Tentative)
  • 44-pin DIL header with remaining EOMA-68 pins (RGB/TTL, GPIO and I2C)
  • ATMEGA32U4 (arduino-compatible bootloader/firmware)
  • CP2114 USB Audio IC
  • Stereo Headphone jack, Mic-In jack

Note: the provision of USB3 and Gigabit Ethernet is for future compatibility with EOMA-68 CPU Cards that have that functionality.

Pinouts

These are the pinouts for the 44-pin connector:

  • Pin 1 GND
  • Pin 2 LCD R0
  • Pin 3 LCD R1
  • Pin 4 LCD R2
  • Pin 5 LCD R3
  • Pin 6 LCD R4
  • Pin 7 LCD R5
  • Pin 8 LCD R6
  • Pin 9 LCD R7
  • Pin 10 LCD G0
  • Pin 11 LCD G1
  • Pin 12 LCD G2
  • Pin 13 LCD G3
  • Pin 14 LCD G4
  • Pin 15 LCD G5
  • Pin 16 LCD G6
  • Pin 17 LCD G7
  • Pin 18 LCD B0
  • Pin 19 LCD B1
  • Pin 20 LCD B2
  • Pin 21 LCD B3
  • Pin 22 LCD B4
  • Pin 23 LCD B5
  • Pin 24 LCD B6
  • Pin 25 LCD B7
  • Pin 26 LCD CLK
  • Pin 27 LCD VSYNC
  • Pin 28 LCD HSYNC
  • Pin 29 LCD EN
  • Pin 30 I2C-SCL
  • Pin 31 I2C-SDA
  • Pin 32 GPIO 0
  • Pin 33 GPIO 1
  • Pin 34 GPIO 2
  • Pin 35 GPIO 3
  • Pin 36 GPIO 4
  • Pin 37 GPIO 5
  • Pin 38 GPIO 6
  • Pin 39 GPIO 7
  • Pin 40 RES1
  • Pin 41 UART_TX
  • Pin 42 UART_RX
  • Pin 43 GND
  • Pin 44 +5V

These are the pinouts for the 26 GPIO for the ATMEGA32U4:

  • Pin 1
  • Pin 2
  • Pin 3
  • Pin 4
  • Pin 5
  • Pin 6
  • Pin 7
  • Pin 8
  • Pin 9
  • Pin 10
  • Pin 11
  • Pin 12
  • Pin 13
  • Pin 14
  • Pin 15
  • Pin 16
  • Pin 17
  • Pin 18
  • Pin 19
  • Pin 20
  • Pin 21
  • Pin 22
  • Pin 23
  • Pin 24
  • Pin 25
  • Pin 26

Feature Requests (already!)

  • USB header (10-pin) for connecting in PC cases to front case USB sockets) even if that means adding an extra USB Hub IC. (Added - See Above -C)
  • Front Panel audio, power, reset switch and LED headers (shared with GPIO?)
  • Power/Reset routed somehow through to the EOMA68 GPIO or some form of power-notification devised (AXP209 PMIC or AXP221 PMIC used?)
  • Proper power/reset control of the USB peripherals.
  • Shrouded internal power header, 4-pin (e.g. AMP 171825-4) for power-up of the PCB (in addition to the 5V power jack)
  • Only put pinholes on the PCB, don't mount DIL headers at factory.
  • a provision for either an onboard battery or a header (or pinholes for user mounted header) to connect an external battery to keep the RTC powered separate from internal power header.
  • Provisions to power everything off of PoE even if it is just a header (or pinholes for user mounted header) to send the current to a daughterboard voltage regulator that would then supply power back to the internal power header.
  • Jumper to disable headphone and Mic-in jacks and enable onboard headers for headphone and Mic-in to route to front case panel or elsewhere
  • Use VGA circuit from http://www.gplsquared.com/eoma_boot/eoma_boot.html#vga move the 5V connector to the back, double-stack USB3. Board then becomes a fully-functioning PC with 2 video outputs.

Pictures

These are very early 3D CAD/CAM prototypes, done prior to the PCB layout

Posted Thu Aug 15 19:54:10 2013 Tags: community ideas

Micro Engineering Board

The Micro-Engineering Board is very simple: it is almost nothing but through-connectors (plus an identifying I2C EEPROM for EOMA-68 compliance). The PCB layout has been completed (as of 2013jun05) and a first prototype will be assembled very shortly.

It is suitable as a test bench, as well as being suitable for experimental purposes as well as having the potential to turn an EOMA-68 CPU Card into a very simple Desktop PC. An Allwinner A10/A20 CPU Card in combination with this board would have SATA, Ethernet, USB Host, HDMI, SD/MMC, USB-OTG and take 5V power, as well as having internal access to 8 pins of GPIO and an I2C interface.

IMPORTANT MODIFICATIONS TO 1ST REVISION

  • remove R2 THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE NEWER EOMA68-A20 BOARDS
  • short out D1 and MAKE SURE YOU USE EXACTLY 5.0V power
  • put a wire between pin 1 and pin 11 on the underside of the PCB, on J4.

Features

  • Ethernet RJ45 connector with built-in transformer
  • SATA connector
  • 5V power connector (with capacitor and zener diode protection)
  • upright USB connector
  • 44-pin DIL header with remaining EOMA-68 pins (RGB/TTL, GPIO and I2C)

All parts are orderable from Digikey and are through-hole (pins) so can be hand-assembled. The gerber files can be made available if anyone wishes to print a PCB.

Pinouts

These are the pinouts for the 44-pin connector:

  • Pin 1 GND
  • Pin 2 LCD R0
  • Pin 3 LCD R1
  • Pin 4 LCD R2
  • Pin 5 LCD R3
  • Pin 6 LCD R4
  • Pin 7 LCD R5
  • Pin 8 LCD R6
  • Pin 9 LCD R7
  • Pin 10 LCD G0
  • Pin 11 LCD G1
  • Pin 12 LCD G2
  • Pin 13 LCD G3
  • Pin 14 LCD G4
  • Pin 15 LCD G5
  • Pin 16 LCD G6
  • Pin 17 LCD G7
  • Pin 18 LCD B0
  • Pin 19 LCD B1
  • Pin 20 LCD B2
  • Pin 21 LCD B3
  • Pin 22 LCD B4
  • Pin 23 LCD B5
  • Pin 24 LCD B6
  • Pin 25 LCD B7
  • Pin 26 LCD CLK
  • Pin 27 LCD VSYNC
  • Pin 28 LCD HSYNC
  • Pin 29 LCD EN
  • Pin 30 I2C-SCL
  • Pin 31 I2C-SDA
  • Pin 32 GPIO 0
  • Pin 33 GPIO 1
  • Pin 34 GPIO 2
  • Pin 35 GPIO 3
  • Pin 36 GPIO 4
  • Pin 37 GPIO 5
  • Pin 38 GPIO 6
  • Pin 39 GPIO 7
  • Pin 40 RES1
  • Pin 41 UART_TX
  • Pin 42 UART_RX
  • Pin 43 GND
  • Pin 44 +5V

Case available

A case is available for the MEB, pictures and example here: http://www.gplsquared.com/eoma_boot/eoma_boot.html

Pictures

These are very early 3D CAD/CAM prototypes, done prior to the PCB layout (which is now slightly different)

This image shows the early CAD/CAM of a Micro Engineering Board with an EOMA-68 CPU Card:

Here's the BOM on mouser.com:

Finished item! Many thanks to Firemoth Industries and to Leo for the work here. It's amazing to see this coming together.

Picture of a suitable MEB case, at gplsquared:

Posted Wed Jun 5 21:25:17 2013 Tags: community ideas

Hand-held Games Console

Web site appears to be: http://ubrew.it

A team in spain is working on a hand-held EOMA-68 games console, with a 5in touch screen. Specifications include an 1280x720 LCD, and a 6000mAh. There will not be a webcam or mic on this version. The EOMA-68 CPU Card goes in the top (middle) so as not to have cables when plugging in HDMI or USB-OTG (or other cables on future cards). The device will also have built-in speakers as well as a Headphone socket, USB 2 (480mbit/sec) Host and volume buttons at the front.

Here are some CAD/CAM Drawings showing the casework, where the buttons, joypads etc. can be clearly seen, as well as a thoughtful layout for convenient handling. The team are in constant communication with games console users, and have been working closely with them to ask for feedback on the design.

Posted Sun Apr 28 12:10:19 2013 Tags: community ideas
> > Use a magjack with POE support, and leave thru-holes or some sort
> > of connector/header to add-in a Silvertel POE module.
>
>  i like that idea.  do you have any circuits kicking around?

This might be a good example:

http://arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardEthernet

Also see http://www.silvertel.com/poe_magnetics.htm

Basically, a POE magjack has 4 extra taps that get
wired to the 4 inputs of a Silvertel 9205 module,
and you get 5v out the other end.

Full datasheets are at:
http://www.silvertel.com/poe_products.htm

http://www.smsc.com/Downloads/SMSC/Downloads_Public/Application_Notes/an1718.pdf

The short version: Make sure the Magjack has transient voltage
suppression built-in, or that you have some zener diodes on
the ethernet phy in case a POE-powered device gets hot-plugged.
Posted Tue Jan 1 11:32:14 2013 Tags: community ideas

7in tablet

  • 7in 800x480 LCD (IPS or non-IPS)
  • touchscreen (resistive or capacitive, if capacitive, how many points)
  • battery life (2000mAh, 3000mAh, 6000mAh)
  • 3D sensor (if any)
  • WIFI (if any)
  • case quality
  • number of speakers (1 or 2)
  • ethernet or SATA or anything else
Posted Sun Nov 11 17:28:47 2012 Tags: community ideas

KDE Tablet

The 7in tablet's codename is now "Flying Squirrel". Many thanks to specing for the random conversation which resulted in this name being chosen.

features:

  • IPS display critical
  • 1024 pixels minimum
  • camera in middle (corner not ok, little bit off ok)
  • 7in 300g,350g target (not including packaging)
  • 9 or 10in, under 600g if possible
  • how does it feel? what does case look like? what shape?
  • single or dual injection moulding?
  • painted or dyed plastic
  • Accelerometer
  • WIFI (PCIe module, ATH9K)
  • Camera 0.3M front only, centred.
  • To decide: Micro Ethernet port
  • To decide: eSATA port

information:

  • For more information, see News page.
  • Schematics are in progress.
  • Separate page for the development of the pcb.
  • List of components for the 7in tablet 7in bom, costings being sourced.

Tasks

To Do:

  • (aaron) Choose Tablet size for KDE product (10in, 7in or even both)
  • (fsf,lkcl,aaron) Confirm specs of tablet(s)
  • (lkcl) Identify designer of tablet casework and I/O board
  • (lkcl) Identify manufacturer of tablet
  • (lkcl) source touchpanel manufacturer
  • (lkcl) Confirm source, supply of A10 EOMA-68 CPU Card
  • (lkcl) Confirm designer, source, supply of AM3892 EOMA-68 CPU Card (mistral?)
  • (lkcl? aaron?) Port OpenEC2 to STM32F (and RTEMS?) on tablet I/O board
  • (aaron) Port Plasma OS to Tablet with A10 CPU Card
  • (aaron) Port Plasma OS to Tablet with AM3892 CPU Card
  • (lkcl,fsf) Write crowd-funding web site for FSF

Completed:

  • (fsf) Choose Tablet size for FSF product (decision: go with KDE 7in size first)

Long-term TODO:

  • (fsf) For (future!) 10in tablet, consider builtin SATA hard drive (or SSD)
Posted Fri Oct 26 15:05:30 2012 Tags: community ideas

Micro-ATX/Mini-ITX/Flex-ATX Motherboard

Create a Micro-ATX/Mini-ITX/Flex-ATX (doesn't matter as long as it's *TX) motherboard that takes the EOMA68 CPU card and breaks out all the required ports and takes power input (4-6V or 10-14V DC, and/or ATX power, and/or PoE). This would have the advantage of fitting into a standard ATX chassis which means re-use of off the shelf components for building things like small rack-mount servers. http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/01/wimpy_nodes/

The Carrier Board project above is within the ITX board dimensions, allowing the mounting within an ITX case using conventional hardware. It can be powered from both an external 6-12vdc power sources, or through an internal onboard molex header allowing the use of a standard ATX Power Supply to provide power with included jumper.

Posted Wed Oct 17 12:42:08 2012 Tags: community ideas

UPS Computer

  • a box which is the computer.
  • External power supply.
  • Main power source fail backup box that the power supply plugins into which the computer box plugs into. This backup power box is basicly an UPS but with out the inverter. If it has some more vots like 12v? Then you could plug some loud PC speakers into it. USB is hocked up to the computer so you have stats. (which is also the power cable for the computer box) Then you can have nice loud alarms for Main power fail, batt fail, low bat, time remaining (txt2speech, fancy countdown sounds)

Solar power management system

  • A bigger UPS like thing for the home to manage solar panels and battery banks.
  • Control a banks of relays to control power collected from solar cells to charge up discharged batteries.
  • Control a bank of relays to connect charged up batteries to power house.
  • Control power delivery intelligently to appliances. Avoid for example draining battery to power up washing machines during their spin cycle by switching to mains electricity. But use use battery power during wash cycles. This greatly extends battery life and also extracts more energy out of a charged battery for some types of batteries.
  • Have facilities for internet management of power configurations.
  • Extensible to add more batteries, relays, batteries and intelligent power delivery schemes.
Posted Mon Oct 8 11:24:23 2012 Tags: community ideas

Plug Computer

An ultra-simple version of the straight Desktop or NAS box EOMA-68 concept, but with a built-in power supply and in form-factor only slightly bigger than an EOMA-68 CPU Card itself (86 x 54 x 5mm).

  • Size appx 2.5in by 3.5in by 1in (or, sufficient depth to contain built-in PSU)
  • RJ45 Socket for 10/100/1000 Ethernet (connected to the EOMA-68 interface)
  • USB 2.0 Host socket (connected directly to the EOMA-68 interface)
  • Optional eSATA socket (connected directly to the EOMA-68 interface)
  • built-in power supply providing 5.0v power for USB2, and also the EOMA-68 Card
  • I2C EEPROM containing EOMA-68 Identification information and devicetree spec

It's really that simple. Suitable applications include use as a FreedomBox (http://freedomboxfoundation.org).

Posted Sun Oct 7 14:24:48 2012 Tags: community ideas

What we want to produce is a small, cheap and power efficient arm machine that can connect to a standard tv set or vga computer screen because in southamerican countries these are cheap and easy to find second hand, also if you import it like one computer you do not need to pay tax. The machine also must support android system (easy to find educational software and games), flash player (for online games and video), linux as option, must have LAN port and also wifi (when you buy internet access the router is free, also the wifi board only add 2 usd ), at least have 2 usb ports, optional support for usb gamepads and webcams.

  • 4-port usb hub ($1 appx)
  • Power Regulator IC (5v, 3A) ($0.30 appx)
  • LDO IC (3.3v, 0.5A) ($0.20 appx)
  • usb jumper to a wifi module ($0.05? appx)
  • 24-pin RGB/TTL to Composite http://www.chrontel.com/products/7015.htm ($1 appx)
  • something for Audio out (STM32F?) ($1.50 appx)
  • an i2c eeprom identifying the I/O board (EOMA requirement) ($0.20 appx)
  • 3 RCA for composite + stereo audio. ($0.20 appx)
  • 2 (or 3) USB connector ($0.50 appx?)
  • 5V power connector ($0.10 appx)
  • internal connector for EOMA board ($1 appx)
  • 4-layer PCB ($1.50 appx?)
  • suitable case fitting the I/O board and EOMA module ($1.50 appx?)
  • WIFI module ($2 appx?)
  • Ethernet RJ45 Jack ($0.20?)
  • Option for VGA (or DVI) use Chrontel or equiv
  • Option for SATA-II (eSATA)

Total comes to about $12.25 very very approximate cost. NREs include appx $2,000 for the PCB tooling, and an unknown (but probably around $10,000) amount for casework tooling and development.

Posted Fri Mar 23 20:13:52 2012 Tags: community ideas

ADSL Router Concept

ADSL modem(s) (also might be nice to have the chance to do Annex B for germany, as well/instead), an Ethernet switch, and some form of wifi (with free software support for AP mode, and hopefully decent mesh abilities as well). I suppose some way of segregating the ports on the switch would be good too.

Investigation of options

ADSL2+ Chip: Infineon PSB 50610 E

A quick search for "ADSL2+ PCI card" came up with a potentially suitable chip. Further investigation of that chip shows that it's used in a GPL-compliant Belkin ADSL2+ / 802.11N WIFI Router.

The only major piece of the missing puzzle, therefore, is how to get this PSB 50610 E connected to an EOMA-68 CPU card. USB? Ethernet? If Ethernet, that would mean having an on-board CPU, which probably means doing exactly the same circuit as already exists in the Belkin F5D8233!


Yes it does have an onboard CPU, it's running Linux in fact. See this link for further information http://tjworld.net/wiki/Linux/Embedded/Infineon/Danube/ADSL2PCI

People have tinkered with it a bit, but considering it's a 2006 chip, personally I wouldn't bother using it for new designs. It's its own device, as all ADSL2+ modems seem to be, and none of them are accessible in any way, nor do they meet minimum quality standards.

Posted Sat Mar 10 14:06:21 2012 Tags: community ideas

FPGA card

  • An EOMA-68 card which contains an FPGA rather than a CPU.

  • All the EOMA-68 pins will be wired to the FPGA (depending on the capacity and capabilities of the FPGA chosen).

Uses

The CPU that can be built on an FPGA is unlikely to be as fast as a SoC, however it's a good target for designs.

Openness difficulties

  • Ideally an FPGA would have a publicly described bitstream format, internal structure and have open source tools to program it; however I don't think there are any that meet those criteria ? (lkcl: there's one which i found when researching the zynq 7030, look it up on the arm-netbooks archives).

  • We would want at least one that has free (as in chocolate) tools, that can run on a free (as in code) OS.


Penguin42

Posted Sat Mar 10 14:06:21 2012 Tags: community ideas

Customised PCB and Connector Assembly

It's also possible possible to have a 180 pin edge connector + two pcb guides and emi shield on card for mechanical sturdiness. It will also have benefit of being easy to produce. If there are so much concerns associated with pin count, it may be a solution.

Push pull edge connectors will have durability equal at least to USB pins. Female type connectors are available with different durability levels.

EMI shield stamping > http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/471801802/hot_stamping_shield.html

Solder on EMI shield are now a stock item in industry. They are damn cheap, even custom ones.

Posted Sun Jan 1 09:32:52 2012 Tags: community ideas

Laptop Ideas

  • Notebook/netbook - modular design using existing tooling (with some minor mods) swappable cpu module, HD, mini-PCIe, LCD, etc The CPU module can jump from a mobile device to a desktop, to set-top-box to a Car-PC.
  • Simple design using sheet metal (lasercut, folding) where possible, minimal casting. Shell can be made from anything; provide 3D Printer files for people to either make their own shells or make their own moulds so that they can create their own shell out of recyclable materials (papier mache impregnated with resins for example: light-weight, very strong).

http://elinux.org/Embedded_Open_Modular_Architecture/EOMA-68/Laptop

Keyboards and trackpads

Sketches

Screen

Hinges

Nuts and Bolts

  • DIN546 is the round nut type with a slot in it. These are needed for joining long bolts together where space is tight

Capacitive Mousepad with LCD

Benchtop plastic injection mould machine

With the cost of tooling at around $USD 20,000, it is worthwhile considering creating (and testing) injection moulding by other than the usual methods.

Ethernet connectors

Microlite portable

  • Starts at netbook sizes with proper keyboard + SSD, but no battery - its function is to be a self contained mains powered portable that resembles a laptop.

Battery

Assembly and Prototyping

Posted Tue Dec 27 01:09:30 2011 Tags: community ideas

Modular Servers

  • 19in rack-mounted chassis for 8 or even 16 CPU cards, with a Gigabit Ethernet switch and front-loading hot-swappable eSATA drives (one per CPU card), maybe even a built-in load balancer on the Gigabit switch. power consumption would be ridiculously low, yet CPU horsepower ridiculously high. Cluster/blade/rack/backplane.

  • Could easily fit 64 of those standing up, top to bottom, in a 19" rack; with shared /usr/ over the network. That would give ~3.75 gflops using ~300 watt. Another idea would be a dedicated disk-rack with one CPU card which slots in to a raid module, with space for 32 2.5" hard drives, standing up, top to bottom, with about 2gb/s aggregate throughput. Maybe both and a 10GigE switch could be put in one rack enclosure, as neither the CPU boards nor 2.5" hard drives are very deep. The entire combined rack would use only about 700 watt. The only major problem i see is cooling. An entire rack full of (24 of) those 2U enclosures would provide .09tflops and 50gb/s for 125K$. Was first of by a factor of 100 wrt flops, not as impressive now compared to a multi-gpu workhorse.

  • 100 megabit switch chip RTL8309 http://realtek.info/pdf/rtl8309sb.pdf is available in quantity 1 for experimentation from future electronics. http://www.futureelectronics.com/en/Technologies/Product.aspx?ProductID=RTL8309SBLFREALTEKSEMICONDUCTOR7787054 capable of VLANs, 802.1q, and trunking two ports together.

Posted Tue Dec 27 01:04:32 2011 Tags: community ideas

Discussion of ideas

  • parts analysis of rbpi idea: PoE idea: good one. not using PoP RAM: good one. Gigabit ethernet, not practical. requires CPU that has Gigabit Ethernet. that means almost exclusively Marvell CPUs, available only under NDA, and expensive. on-board WIFI: requires RF expertise, extra cost (NREs as well as product cost). jeapordises project as a mass-volume product. overall: product idea would be expensive and costly to develop. whereas if done as a Motherboard instead, there is less risk. PoE could be done on Motherboard. RF/WIFI: again on motherboard.

  • regarding LVDS idea: this can be done using a TI LVDS83b, it's a very common IC. we thought about having on-board LVDS (instead of 24-pin RGB/TTL) but: a) if you have only a 320x240 LCD you cannot get low-cost 320x240 LCDs with LVDS, they are all RGB/TTL. if you have a 1024x768 or 800x600 or even 1388x800 you're still ok with one LVDS channel, but when you go to 1440x900 you need 2 LVDS channels, and with 1920x1080 or greater you now need three LVDS channels (which is 30 pins - more than 24-pin RGB/TTL). overall it's simpler and cheaper to do 24-pin RGB/TTL and let the motherboards sort it out from there.

Posted Tue Dec 20 21:43:05 2011 Tags: community ideas

I figure since HDMI is already listed as one of the features supported by the device, it would work better to go ahead and work on improving the device by making sure that HDMI Consumer Electronics Control ( CEC ) is added. This should work out fine since it's only connecting one pin on the HDMI port. As for the use of HDMI CEC it's a in-wire control system used to control devices like dvd/bluray players, televisions, cable set top boxes, sorround sound systems, and numerous other devices. There is already open source work on this using the Arduinoboard ( atmega series chip ) and the TI msp430 chip.

As for the hardware changes, this involves Pin 13 and 17 of the hdmi cable.

As for the library status, Currently a GPL v3 library exists for the TI MSP430 chip, and it can probably be modified to work on the allwinner chip.

Google Code: cec-arduino - Arduino library for communicating with HDMI CEC equipment

FreeDesktop.org - CEC repository- TI msp430 linux changes and CEC library

Wikipedia: HDMI - Details on the hdmi specification.

This would also make the chip ideal for use with XBMC for Home Theatre purposes. Currently an external dongle is required since very few GPUs support this natively see XBMC and HDMI-CEC

Posted Sun Dec 18 04:13:31 2011 Tags: community ideas