LinuxWorld — (press release) — ParView, a developer of golf course management systems, and Applied Data Systems (ADS), a developer of application-ready embedded boards and systems, will introduce an embedded Linux golf course management system at LinuxWorld Expo in San Jose. The system uses the StrongARM-based ADS Graphics Client Plus single-board computer plus an active color 10.4″ touchscreen LCD… display. ParView has integrated its golf course management software into the system, which gets installed in the front panels of golf carts. The golf cart system will be introduced commercially starting Q3'00 at golf courses in the South and West (US).

Based on its knowledge of the golf cart's position — thanks to a built-in GPS receiver — the golf cart system provides golfers with graphical hole and green overviews that include exact distancing (see photo). Other golf cart system features are electronic scoring, a live tournament leader board, weather and safety messaging (real time updates of storm warnings), two-way radio communication, and food and beverage ordering capability from the cart. To help generate revenue from the systems, the course management software can be configured to automatically present customized advertising, such as ads from food and beverage companies, that are synchronized for the ninth and eighteenth holes.

The embedded Linux golf cart application features one of the largest active color LCD touchscreens on golf carts, with a 10.4″ diagonal screen size. ParView's application showcases ADS' utilization of the Intel 206 MHz StrongARM SA1110 processor, along with its power management and flat panel drivers.

One of the advantages using the Intel StrongARM processor is its power requirement capabilities. The golf cart application takes less than 2 Watts at full operation, and has an automatic idling feature that suspends power to the LCD when the cart is not in active use. The system's three serial ports are allocated to GPS, radio connections, and one is a spare for future expansion. Other functions implemented on ADS' Graphics Client Plus single-board computer include PCMCIA, a Codec, digital I/O, and analog inputs.

About ADS (www.applieddata.net)

ADS is a supplier of RISC-based single board computers for the embedded systems market. Applications include medical devices, process control, vehicle / asset management, GPS, electronic signage, check approval, mail extraction and information displays.

About Parview, Inc. (www.parview.com)

Founded in 1995, ParView, Inc. is a privately owned company and has corporate headquarters in Sarasota, FL. ParView was named in Digital South as “One of the top 50 companies to watch” and its founder, David Chessler, was a finalist in Ernst and Young's, Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the State of Florida. For more information visit the website at .

 
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