Logic Product Development says the latest release of the Linux BSP (board-support-package) for Sharp's LH-series Bluestreak SoCs (system-on-chips) now supports all of Logic's hardware development kits for the SoCs. Sharp's BlueStreak SoCs feature low cost, low power consumption, and a large number of built-in peripheral interfaces.

In addition to supporting Sharp's LH79520, LH79524, LH7A400, and LH7A404 SoCs, the version 1.2.9 BSP also includes support for Logic's touch-screen display kits, which range from a 3.5-inch QVGA TFT to a 12-inch SVGA TFT display, according to Logic.

Sharp's BlueStreak SoCs

Sharp's BlueStreak SoC line ranges from lower-end ARM7 devices, based on ARM7TDMI and ARM720T cores, to ARM9 devices based on the ARM922T, ARM926EJ, and ARM946E cores. The lower-end ARM7 SoCs feature low power consumption and sub-100MHz clock rates, while the higher end ARM9 SoCs boast graphics and multimedia capabilities and clock rates above 200MHz.

The LH7A400, for example, is based on a 32-bit ARM922T RISC core and has a performance of 220 MIPS (million instructions per second), yet only consumes 1.33 mW/MIPS, according to Sharp. Built-in functions include controllers for SDRAM/Flash memory, MMC, PCMCIA/CF, and Smart Cards, interfaces for USB, IrDA, UARTs, and AC'97 Codec, and a full-color LCD controller that supports up to 1,024 x 768 pixel resolution.

LH7A400 block diagram
(Click image too enlarge)

Logic's development kits for Sharp's LH-series SoCs make use of Logic's compact “Card Engine” (pictured above), a compact single-board computer that includes the particular Sharp SoC, Flash memory, SDRAM memory, touch-screen controller, 10/100 Ethernet, audio codec, CompactFlash, as well as the other functions contained within the SoC. Optional “display kits” provide easy access to all of the Card Engine peripherals for application development, prototyping, and debugging, according to Logic.

The LH Linux BSP

According to the BSP's web page, the package implements a cross-development environment for Sharp's LH79520, LH79524/5, LH7A400, and LH7A404 SoCs, and provides Linux software that can be used to develop applications based on Logic's development kits. The Linux implementation is derived from Debian. Sharp provides a downloadable ISO for the BSP, which includes source and binaries, on its microprocessor support page.

Availability

All of the SoCs and development kits are currently available.

Further information on Sharp's LH-series SoCs is here. Further information on Logic's development kits for Sharp's LH-series SoCs is here. Further details on the BSP for Sharp's LH-series SoCs is here.

 
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