Tools Insider

Micro Digital ports SMX real-time operating system to AM335x

aerives — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:51:03 GMT

Micro Digital releases their port of SMX® RTOS for the Sitara AM335x ARM Cortex-A8 processors. This is a comprehensive port that includes a real-time kernel, an IPv4 and IPv6 TCP/IP stack, USB host and device stacks, and associated drivers. The port is available for the Starter Kit (TMDSSK3358) development board. SMX RTOS works with the IAR Embedded Workbench Integrated Development Environment. To download SMX RTOS for Sitara AM335x ARM Cortex-A8 processors and for more information, visit www.smxrtos.com.

Alejandro Erives, Sitara ARM Processors Brand Manager

It's back in Black and available now: BeagleBone Black

aerives — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:49:24 GMT

For those of you waiting for the much anticipated & coveted next-generation canine, your wait is over!

Powered by the 1GHz Sitara™ AM335x ARM® Cortex-A8 processor, BeagleBone Black is a community-supported development platform for developers and hobbyists. Boot Linux in under 10 seconds and get started on development in less than 5 minutes with just a single USB cable.

Features include:

High performance with TI’s 1GHz Sitara™ AM335x ARM® Cortex-A8 processor
On-board HDMI to connect directly to TVs and monitors
More and faster memory now with DDR3
On-board flash storage frees up the microSD card slot
Support for existing Cape plug-in boards

And it's priced at only $45. To learn more and to order yours today, visit the BeagleBone Black page: BEAGLEBK.

Alejandro Erives, Sitara ARM Processors brand manager, has been told that his bark is bigger than his bite. Grrrr!

Embedded Android Boot Camp

aerives — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 21:01:02 GMT

Android embedded development can be both exciting and a bit daunting. To help you with your development, Barr Group has created the hands-on Embedded Android Boot Camp™. It's a one-week immersion into utilizing Android on the Sitara ARM Processors AM335x Starter Kit (TMDSSK3358), consisting of a series of lectures and hands-on exercises. This intense educational (and exciting!) program is designed to lead software engineers through the steps of bringing up embedded hardware with Android, developing custom Android device drivers, and exposing custom hardware functionality in Android apps.

What You'll Learn

Everyone who attends the Embedded Android Boot Camp will learn:

How to modify bootloaders for embedded hardware
How to modify and build the Linux kernel
How to create and debug Linux device drivers
How to customize and build the Android software stack
More than 50 practical tips for simplifying and speeding Android ports
How to avoid common Android development pitfalls
and so much more!

The first session is in Maryland from April 29th to May 3rd with other locations announced soon. For more information and to register go to the Embedded Android Boot Camp training page.

Alejandro Erives, Sitara ARM Processors Brand Manager, puts on his Android boots one leg at a time.

BeagleBoard.org will unleash the beast with the next-gen BeagleBone at DESIGN West 2013

aerives — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 03:21:28 GMT

BeagleBoard.org and Sitara ARM processors will let loose the newest Beagle at Design West in San Jose, April 23-25. The next-generation BeagleBone – based on Sitara ARM processors – brings more bark and bite to the family.

Stop by the TI booth (#1607) to dig-up some fun as the next-gen BeagleBone is the brawn and brain of some really cool projects, including a 3D printer, a robotic spider and the BeagleStache cam. Plus, get autographs from the BeagleBoard.org alpha dogs (and co-founders) Jason Kridner and Gerald Coley.

Want to get your paws on the next-gen BeagleBone before everyone else? You’ll have your chance to win one at two Beagle-related events. Which two? I’m not telling.

Beagle Events

Tuesday, April 23	Wednesday, April 24	Thursday, April 25
Open Source Hardware Panel Discussion Speaker: Jason Kridner Expo Theater 12:00 – 12:45 p.m. PDT Add to schedule	Mouser Meet and Greet Speaker: Jason Kridner Mouser booth #1808 noon – 1:00 p.m. PDT	How to Work with Open Source More Effectively Speaker: Jason Kridner 210 EF 8:30 – 9:15 a.m. PDT Add to schedule
In-booth training: Meet the next-generation BeagleBone! Speaker: Adrian Valenzuela, Sitara marketing TI booth #1607 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. PDT	In-booth training: Meet the next-generation BeagleBone! Speaker: Adrian Valenzuela, Sitara marketing TI booth 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. PDT	Beagles and Boards, and Raspberry Pi, Oh my! Speaker: Jason Kridner Expo Theater 1:00 – 1:45 p.m. PDT Add to schedule
Element 14 Meet and Greet Speaker: Jason Kridner Element 14 booth #2340 1:15 – 2:00 p.m. PDT	Rapid Prototyping with Sensor/Actuator Breakout Boards using Bonescript Speaker: Jason Kridner Hands-On Lab: Booth 2144 2:00 – 2:45 p.m. PDT Add to schedule
Beagles and Boards, and Raspberry Pi, Oh my! Speaker: Jason Kridner Expo Theater 2:00 - 2:45 p.m. PDT Add to schedule	Beagles and Boards, and Raspberry Pi, Oh my! Speaker: Carlos Betancourt, Sitara marketing Expo Theater 3:00 – 3:45 p.m. PDT Add to schedule
MCU Hacks: Russian Nixie Tube Clock Design & Mustache Camera Speaker: Jason Kridner 210 GH 3:15 – 4:00 p.m. PDT Add to schedule
Gadget Freak DIY Lab Speaker: Jason Kridner Expo Theater 5:00 – 5:45 p.m. PDT Add to schedule

You’ll scream for ice cream and Beagles: At the Element14 and Mouser meet and greets there will be ice cream AND an opportunity to win the next-gen BeagleBone and other Beagle goodies! (OK. So I did tell you which two events.) We will draw thirty winners after each meet and greet.

Plus, there will be more opportunities to win by showing your puppy love for Beagle onsite and online during Design West. Be on the lookout for more details.

Are you excited to see the next-gen BeagleBone as much as we are? What Beagle events have you howling at the moon? Tell us about it here and be sure to tell your friends, family, colleagues and your pets by clicking on the Twitter, Google + and Facebook like buttons above.

Boris, the Beagle, buried Alejandro Erives (Sitara ARM Processors Brand manager). Here's hoping Boris digs him up soon - at least, before he starts to smell.

TI Sitara Linux is Yocto Project Compatible

aerives — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 19:04:09 GMT

The TI Arago distribution for Sitara ARM Processors has been accepted as Yocto Project Compatible. TI is the only ARM silicon vendor with this compatibility. This acceptance shows TI's commitment to streamline Linux development and our involvement in the Yocto Project and Community. This support allows you to:

Leverage the well-defined foundational layers of the Yocto Project
Access OE-Core file system
Effectively tailor software distributions to the requirements of a particular application

For more information around Yocto & TI including training, white paper and a Yocto & TI overview video go to www.ti.com/mainline

To download the latest Sitara Linux SDK based on Yocto go to www.ti.com/sitarasdk

Alejandro Erives, Sitara ARM Processors Brand Manager

TI Awarded the EtherCAT Conformance Test Certificate from EtherCAT Technology Group

aerives — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 21:52:34 GMT

Great news for industrial designers developing EtherCAT products: TI has been awarded the EtherCat Conformance Test Certificate recognizing the successful implementation of EtherCAT on Sitara AM335x processors. Per ETG requirements, customers developing EtherCAT products need to certify their products. Since TI has obtained this certification on the AM3359 Industrial Communications Engine (TMDXICE3359) customers have assurance that their products will meet the compliancy requirements enabling faster time to market.

In addition to this certification, designing with the AM3357/AM3359 Sitara ARM Cortex-A8 devices eliminates the need for an external FPGA or ASIC for EtherCAT slave function becuase of the processors unique ARM plus PRU-ICSS architecture. This results in a lower-cost and lower-complexity EtherCAT slave solution.

View the recognition video on the TI E2E videos page.

For more information on the AM3359 Industrial Communications Engine, visit the TMDXICE3359 page.

Alejandro Erives, Brand Manager, Sitara ARM Processors

Express Logic ports ThreadX real-time operating system to AM335x

aerives — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 23:09:39 GMT

I’m happy to report that Express Logic has completed a port of its widely used ThreadX® real-time operating system to the AM335x. The port includes the ThreadX real-time kernel along with the NetX™ TCP/IP stack, the USBX™ USB stack, and associated drivers. The port is available for the Starter Kit (TMDSSK3358) and EVM (TMDXEVM3358) boards. ThreadX and its associated middleware components are also available on the Sitara AM18x and AM35x devices.

The success of the AM335x continues to attract new third-party embedded software developers and ThreadX joins an extensive list of real-time operating systems available for the device, including Wind River VxWorks, QNX Neutrino, Mentor Embedded Nucleus, Green Hills Integrity, and Quadros RTXC.

Click here for more information.

Alejandro Erives, Brand Manager, Sitara ARM Processors

Clock Tree Tool for AM335x Sitara ARM Processors

aerives — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 15:11:30 GMT

I woke up late this morning, again. This time, though, I had a perfect reason: Daylight Savings Time! Spring forward and such. While I was trying to figure out how to change the time on my clock I started thinking about my latest AM335x Sitara ARM Processor design and the sweet Clock Tree Tool that I can download for it. The Clock Tree Tool is an interactive clock tree configuration software that provides information about the clocks and modules in AM335x devices. It allows the user to:

Visualize the device clock tree
Interact with clock tree elements and view the effect on PRCM registers
Interact with the PRCM registers and view the effect on the device clock tree
View a trace of all the device registers affected by the user interaction with clock tree

And since its an interactive visual tool, the Clock Tree Tool gives the user a global view of the device clock tree architecture and can be used to determine the exact register settings to obtain a specific configuration.

If only I had such a tool for my clocks at home. Then, I would never be late for work again. Wink. Wink.

For more information and to download the Clock Tree Tool, go to the Clock Tree Tool page.

Alejandro Erives, Sitara ARM Processors Brand Manager, longs for the days of the Roman water clocks. It was difficult to wear around the wrist, though.

Silica Launches the low-cost Pengwyn Board for Industrial Developers

aerives — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 14:02:34 GMT

Silica, an Avnet company, launches Pengwyn: a low-cost single board computer based on the AM3354 Sitara ARM Cortex-A8 Processor. It is an open platform that provides industrial developers an easy, low-cost yet powerful environment to develop applications based on Linux or Windows Embedded.

Key features include:

Sitara ARM Cortex-A8 Processor, AM3354 at 720 MHz
On-board memory

256 MB RAM DDR3
1 Gigabyte Nand Flash

Connectivity and expandability

USB Host Port
USB Device Port
RJ-45 Ethernet Port
Connector for optional 1 GB Ethernet Port
Port for generic expansions modules
SDIO/MMC Port (can be used for optional WI-FI/bluetooth modules)
DVI Display Port

Operating systems supported

Linux (OpenEmbedded based Distribution)
Windows Embedded Compact 7

Find out more by gonig to the SILICA Pengwyn Board page. What can you make with the Pengwyn?

Alejandro Erives, Sitara ARM Processors Brand Manager, tried teaching a colony of Pengwyns how to fly while growing up in sunny Antarctica. The Emperor was not pleased.

The Next BeagleBone is Soon to be Unleashed

aerives — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 13:47:31 GMT

What is the next BeagleBone? It's everything you love about the original plus more:

Lower price
Higher performance
On-board HDMI to connect directly to TVs and monitors
More and faster memory now with DDR3
On-board flash storage to free up the microSD card slot
Support for existing Cape plug-in boards

Get yours first by registering your interest now: http://beagleboard.org/unzipped/

Alejandro Erives frequently needs to be on a leash before he gets to wild as Sitara ARM Processors brand manager. Ruff!

PHYTEC India launches the Open Board-AM335x for Linux & Android Development

aerives — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:50:13 GMT

To support Linux and Android development on AM335x Sitara ARM Processors in India, PHYTEC has launched the Open Board-AM335x development kit. The Open Board-AM335x provides a flexible development platform enabling quick and easy start-up and programming of the phyCORE-AM335x SOM. The Open Board design allows connecting additional expansion boards to assist with prototyping and software evaluation.

This modular development platform concept includes the following components:

The phyCORE-AM335x System on Module populated with the AM335x processor and all applicable SOM circuitry including local power supplies, DDR3 SDRAM, NAND Flash, and an Ethernet PHY
All essential components and connectors for start-up including a power socket which enables connection to an external power adapter, interface connectors such as RS-232, USB, CAN, SD, and Ethernet, allowing for use of the SOM's interfaces with standard cables

For more information and to download a product brief, hardware manual, software manual and more go to PHYTEC India.

Alejandro Erives, Sitara ARM Processors Brand Manager

C/C++ motion control library for EtherCAT drives now available for QNX on BeagleBone

aerives — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 17:37:28 GMT

Acontis technologies - a leading provider for EtherCAT Software - just announced that their new EC-Motion product is available for the QNX platform.

EC-Motion provides a simple C/C++ motion control library for EtherCAT drives that supports all the single-axis movement commands that are specified within the PLCopen standard. Thus, no need for additional costly hardware.

Acontis will demo EC-Motion on the BeagleBone (BEAGLEBN) at Embedded World Conference in Nuremberg, Germany Feb 26-28. The BeagleBone is a development platform based off of the AM335x Sitara ARM Cortex-A8 Processor family.

For more information, read the Acontis/QNX press release.

Alejandro Erives, Sitara ARM Processors Brand Manager

Avnet is selling AM335x development tools at 25% off

aerives — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 23:39:37 GMT

For a limited time Avnet Electronics Marketing and Texas Instruments are offering up to 25% off the listed AvnetExpress.com resale for select Sitara™ AM335x ARM Cortex™-A8 evaluation and development kits:

AM335x StarterKit (TMDSSK3358)
AM335x EVM (TMDXEVM3358)
AM3359 Industrial Communications Engine (TMDXICE3359)
AM3359 Industrial Development Kit (TMDXIDK3359)

The discount offer will be available while supplies last.

For more info and to purchase these kits at a discount go to the Avnet Featured Promotions page.

Alejandro Erives - Sitara Brand Manager - likes good deals!

What is at the heart of industrial automation?

aerives — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:01:41 GMT

Industrial automation systems are made up of major components that are connected to each other by low-latency and real-time high-speed communications. TI Sitara's resident industrial automation expert, Srik Gurrapu, has written an article published in ECN that dives into detail. Follow this link to read the article: http://www.ecnmag.com/articles/2013/02/connected-devices-keep-heart-industrial-automation-beating

If you are looking for a platform in which to develop your industrial automation design which may include industrial communications protocols such as ProfiNet, Ethernet/IP, EtherCAT or others then take a look at TI Sitara's Industrial Communications Engine (TMDXICE3359) and Industrial Development Kit (TMDXIDK3359). These kits are powered by TI Sitara ARM Cortex-A8 AM3359 processor.

Alejandro Erives, Sitara Brand Manager, sometimes throws a boot out the window when the EtherCAT's of the neighborhood start meowing too loudly.

And the winners are...

aerives — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 22:47:00 GMT

Thank you to everyone that entered the first ever BeagleBone Cape Plug-in Board Design Contest. Your inventive and creative entries made this contest a success. The judges tirelessly reviewed each and every innovative BeagleBone Cape Plug-in Board design entry and have chosen the three winning submissions.

Drum roll, please...

The winning entries are Replicape by Elias Bakken, Interacto by Chris Clark and the Geiger cape by Matt Ranostay. Plus, your support chose the social media favorite, the FPGA LOGI-BONE by Michael Jones

What do you think? Did our judges get it right? View the winning entries and come back here to let us know.

Winning entries: http://beagleboard.org/CapeContest/winners

Alejandro Erives, Sitara ARM Processors Brand Manager, is in awe by all the awesome entries! Thanks everyone for entering.