News Archive (1999-2012) | 2013-current at LinuxGizmos | Current Tech News Portal |    About   

Cortex-A8 kit targets medical devices

Jun 5, 2008 — by LinuxDevices Staff — from the LinuxDevices Archive — 7 views

Logic has announced a system-on-module (SOM) and development baseboard aimed at bringing ARM's newest Cortex-A8 architecture to medical devices. Logic's 3 x 1.3 inch “OMAP35x SOM-LV” baseboard and “Zoom OMAP35x” dev kit offer a choice of four Cortex-A8 processors, and comes with a Linux 2.6.22 BSP (board support package).

(Click here for a larger view of the OMAP35x SOM-LV)

The Logic board and dev kit support all four processors in TI's OMAP35xx line, including the OMAP3503, OMAP3515, OMAP3525, and OMAP3530. The chips are nearly identical to TI's OMAP3440, a cellphone-oriented chip that, like them, was launched in February of this year. At the time, TI touted the OMAP35xx parts as availing low-volume embedded customers of the latest technology used in high-volume mobile phone chips.

The 35xx devices are based on 600MHz Cortex-A8 cores, featuring on-chip DSPs and graphics capabilities ranging from SD to HD video. Built with a 65nm process, they incorporate TI's SmartReflex technology for dynamic control of voltage, frequency, and power. Many more details can be found in our earlier coverage, here.

The new Logic dev board uses the company's own “SOM-LV” form factor, which measures 3 x 1.22 x 0.3 inches. The module includes either 128MB or 256MB of DRAM, 256MB or 512MB of flash, and a built-in LCD controller that supports touchscreen displays with a resolution of up to 1024 x 768 pixels. The module also offers 802.11b/g wireless networking, a 10/100 Ethernet controller, and integrated Bluetooth 2.0.


A block diagram of Logic's OMAP 35x SOM-LV
(Click to enlarge)

Other features and specifications cited by Logic for the OMAP 35x SOM-LV include:
  • DM64xx DSP running at 400MHz and supporting multiple codecs
  • I2S compliant audio codec (TI TWL4030 — 16-bit stereo DAC, 13-bit ADC)
  • CompactFlash Type 1 card
  • MMC/SD card support
  • USB 2.0 interface
  • USB 2.0 On-the-Go device interface
  • Three external UARTs
  • RoHS compliance
  • Operating temperature — “commercial” (0 deg. C to 70 deg. C) or “industrial” (-40 to 85 deg. C)

Zoom OMAP35xx dev kit

The Zoom OMAP35x development kit adds a 4.3-inch touchscreen display with WQVGA (400 x 240) display, along with a Zoom LV baseboard (pictured at right) measuring 6.25 x 5.75 x 0.6 inches. “Worldly” connectors on the Zoom OMAP35x include the following:

  • Stereo audio input and output jacks
  • 1 x RJ45 Ethernet connector
  • 1 x USB 2.0 host port
  • 1 x USB 2.0 device port
  • 1 x RS232 port
  • Antenna for 802.11b/g Ethernet and Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR connectivity
  • CompactFlash Type I card
  • SD card

In addition to the above, the baseboard also accepts adapter boards available from Logic. Available boards include an analog adapter board, a high-density breakout board, and an ETM (embedded trace macrocell) adapter board. The Zoom OMAP35x development kit also includes: null-modem, Ethernet, and USB cables; a five-volt power supply; and a Windows CE 6.0 BSP (board support package).

Further Information

The Zoom OMAP35x Development Kit comes with an open source Linux 2.6.22 BSP (board support package), and is compatible with Windows CE 6.0 and Green Hills operating systems, according to Logic. The kit is sampling now and will be available broadly in the third quarter, priced at $995. The OMAP35x SOM-LV on its own sells for $300 with 128MB of RAM, 256MB of flash, and 802.11b/g, or $175 without wireless.


 
This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.



Comments are closed.