Round Solutions is shipping a Linux-capable processor module targeting custom wireless positioning and monitoring devices. Available with a development “breadboard,” the AarLogic C10/3 measures 4.1 x 2.5 (104 x 63mm) inches, has an Atmel ARM9 applications processor, SiRF3 GPS radio, GSM module, and a 160-pin interface.

(Click for larger view of the AarLogic C10/3 breadboard)

Designed by German M2M manufacturer Round Solutions as a development platform for positioning applications such as vehicle tracking, the AarLogic C10/3 can be bought with a StarterKit “basis board”. The StarterKit (image and details farther below), offers a variety of WLAN, Bluetooth and GPS antennas and I/O ports, with most I/O brought to pin headers. Customers can populate the StarterKit with one of several AarLogic processor modules, the latest and most powerful of which is the C10/3 (pictured above and below).

AarLogic C10/3 diagram, with the Telit module in the middle, and the SD-card slot on the left.
(Click to enlarge)

The C10/3 is based on Telit's GE863-PRO quad-band GSM/GPRS module. This interesting part appears to incorporate two ARM cores — one, likely an ARM7, operates the software-defined radio baseband. The other, an Atmel AT91SAM9260 processor clocked at 200MHz, is described as an “application processor.” Supported by 4MB of flash and 64MB of RAM, it can optionally run Linux, and Telit appears to maintain a Linux 2.6 implementation for it — details may be found here.

Other major components on the AarLogic C10/3 include a 20-channel SiRF3 GPS module, as well as WiFi and Bluetooth components, and interfaces for USB, RS232, and Ethernet. All of these interfaces communicate with an I/O board such as the StarterKit via 160 solder-friendly pins, one of which is available for JTAG access. The breadboard is also equipped with an SD-card reader.

StarterKit board

The StarterKit with Aarlogic C10/3 is said to ship with the following components:

• StarterKit S4 board
• Adapter board with C10/3
• Linux 2.6.24-rc5-rt1 (Debian root) source and development environment on DVD
• Cable RS232 to USB CAB-ROU-232
• Cable CMOS to USB CAB-ROU-200
• D-Sub 9 pinRS232 cable CAB-232S
• Quad-band cellular stubby-antenna ANT-GXH915SMA/M
• External combined cellular-and-GPS antenna ANT-GNR600-FME/F-SMA/M
• GPS patch antenna ANT-NXG3113-UFL
• Quad-band cellular PCB-antenna ANT-GXP115-U.FL
• Embedded ceramic cellular antenna ANT-GXE477
• Embedded ceramic cellular antenna ANT-GXE475
• RF cable CAB-RFR-551 + RFR-553
• Microphone, speaker
• LiPO battery 1350 mA

Stated Harald Naumann, technical director of Round Solutions, “Coupled with a camera or environmental sensors, complex pattern recognition applications, for example, can be executed directly on the board. As the geo-coordinates are also transferred wirelessly, the board is predestined for mobile use.”

Availability

The StarterKit with AarLogic-C10/3 is available now for 450 Euros (about $613 US), says Round Solutions. More information, including detailed specifications and diagrams, may be found here. A cost-free test server for visualization of geo-data is said to be available here.

More about the interesting Telit module, including links to Linux resources, can be found here.

 
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