A three-person engineering company in County Dublin, Ireland is offering expansion board design services for a tiny, gumstick-shaped SBC (single-board computer). At 3.2 x 0.8 x 0.3 inches, Gumstix boards are among the smallest Linux-friendly SBC form-factors available.

Since the tiny Gumstix SBCs lack room for physical I/O ports, they plug into carrier boards and expansion cards via 24-, 60-, 92-, and/or 120-pin board-to-board connectors, depending on the model. Gumstix's off-the-shelf expansion cards include audio I/O, digital I/O, various microcontroller co-processors for robotics applications, and serial and USB expansion.

Where customer requirements are not met by off-the-shelf cards, Orlin can help out, according to spokesperson Richard Rooney. So far, the Irish design firm has developed several Gumstix-based SBCs and expansion boards, Rooney said, including:

• A wearable SBC with GPS and Bluetooth
• A datalogger expansion card for Connex 400 with GSM, GPRS, IMU, Bluetooth, Ethernet, 16 A/D and 4 D/A
• A Geophone expansion for the Connex 400 using the AD1555/AD1556 chipset
• A combined GPRS/WiFI expansion for the Connex 400

“We learned our trade at both US multi-nationals and indigenous high-tech companies in Ireland,” said Rooney. “Our interest and expertise is mainly in portable/wearable and communications; we have no robotics experience and little control experience.”

Rooney added, “We support the Gumstix Linux distribution, and also have [used Windows] CE on a couple of Gumstix-based designs.”

Availability

Waysmall system (Click for details)

Orlin's EDA services for Gumstix products are available now. Available Gumstix models include the Basix and Connex, based on Intel PXA255 processors, and the newly launched Verdex, powered by a PXA270 (Bulverde) processor. Some board models are available with tiny cases, as Waysmall PCs (pictured at right).

Orlin Technology said its three-person engineering team has 60 years experience in EDA (electronics design automation).

 
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