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To tackle systems with UI and realtime determinisitc requirements Toradex and Antmicro have put together a solution based on a Colibri Vybrid VFxx Computer-on-Module (CoM) using Linux and eCos on a multicore ARM processor.
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Building systems that combined a front-end user interface with real-time processing has often led to awkward and complex trade-offs in performance, architecture and costs.
To tackle these systems Toradex and Antmicro have put together a solution based on a Colibri Vybrid VFxx Computer-on-Module (CoM). Colibri modules are designed to be optimized for low cost and high performance. These small form factor modules are miniaturized and encapsulate complex CoM hardware and software technology for fast and easy embedded product development the companies said.
The Colibri VFxx is suited for a wide range of applications including HMI in appliances and industrial automation, control of infrastructure and manufacturing equipment, energy conversion applications such as motor drives and power inverters, ruggedized wired and wireless connectivity, and control of mobile battery-operated systems such as robots and industrial vehicles.
The Vybrid VF61 is the latest version featuring:
A dual-core (ARM Cortex-A5 plus ARM Cortex-M4) solution with
1 MB on-chip SRAM, DDR3 memory interface
Dual high-speed USB with PHY
Dual Ethernet with an L2 switch
A digital or analog video camera interface
On the software front, Embedded Linux runs on the Vybrid’s Cortex-A5 core with the open-source eCos realtime operating system (RTOS) running on a Cortex-M4 core. This maybe the first all open source solution for the Vybrid. For developers and manufacturers who have a firm open source requirement this combination will make the Vybrid more accessible. eCos is a free open source real-time operating system suited to a wide-range of embedded applications.
With prices starting at 19 Euro, this solution brings down technical and cost barriers, enabling customers to realize an entirely new generation of products with Embedded Linux, leveraging standard technologies for connectivity, data processing and user interfaces.
The porting work, together with a demo application showing the strengths of the entire software stack was exhibited during Embedded World 2014 and done in partnership between Toradex and Antmicro with the help of the emulation framework Emul8, co-authored by Antmicro.
“With an inexpensive module that is both, versatile and easy to adopt, compromise becomes a things of the past.” said Leigh Gawne, CTO of Toradex.
“A fully open software stack combined with an extremely low price paves the way for adopting Vybrid in areas previously reserved for microcontrollers”, added Michael Gielda, Business Development Manager at Antmicro.
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