Posted Martin Welford & filed under Opal-6.

Introducing Opal-6!

It’s time a for a sneak peak at what we have been cooking up in the lab…
Meet our latest module – Opal-6!

Opal-6-Top-Large Opal-6-Bottom-Large

Opal-6 has been designed for high-performance applications in demanding environments.

The Opal-6 SoM wraps up a Freescale i.MX6 Solo or DualLite with DDR3, eMMC, Ethernet PHY and power supply components. The custom footprint is 60mm x 60mm and uses 2 x 168-pin Hirose connectors to bring out almost all of the i.MX6 signals.

Opal-6_DevKit-Top-Small

The i.MX6 is great for graphics & multimedia based applications AND connectivity.  Yes – that would be the IoT word you have been hearing everywhere :-)
The Opal-6 Dev Kit includes HDMI and dual LVDS display options. Internet connectivity is via Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi and cellular. The cellular modem connects via PCIe and there is also dual SIM support. One SIM is a new solder down version enabled for global roaming, giving you connectivity right out of the box.

There are interfaces for industrial and automotive applications via CAN, RS485 and 5V I/O. These are on push-wire connectors. Our aim is to make it really quick to prototype your design.

Operating system support includes Linux support from Timesys and the new Windows Embedded Compact 2013 BSP from GuruCE.

Full details and technical docs will be on the web site in the coming weeks. Development kits are sampling in December. Email sales@device.solutions to reserve your kit.

Posted Martin Welford & filed under Opal, Windows CE.

Update – Windows Embedded Compact 7 on Opal

GuruCE have released an update to the WEC 7 BSP for the Opal i.MX53 CPU Module.  You can get details and download the latest version here.

The update includes bug fixes, performance tweaks and a couple of new features:

1. Fully re-written SPI driver for the i.MX53
2. Update feature allowing eboot and nk updates from within Windows CE.

Please contact us if you want to know more about this update, or think Opal might be a good solution for your new product design.

You may have also noticed the product section of our web site has had an update, and something new has appeared…  watch out for some more information on the blog and mailing list in the coming weeks as we get the hardware finished up.

Posted Martin Welford & filed under Opal, Windows CE.

Using Silverlight with the Opal Development Kit

OpalSilverlightDemoApp

We have a new sample app for the Opal Development Kit.

This is a Windows Embedded Compact 7 application and uses the Silverlight tools for the user interface. The goal is to demonstrate how to access the extra features we have on the Opal Development Kit including the I/O, accelerometer and GPS.

You can download the source and a pre-built binary here.

Posted Martin Welford & filed under Topaz, Windows CE.

Customer Story | B-cycle

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We have customers making some really interesting products which have Topaz as a component, and we are excited to share this one with you. 

If you are in North America you may have B-cycle in your city.  B-cycle is a bike sharing system that tracks your ride and records distance, duration, calories burned and carbon offset.  Topaz enables the data gathering and transfer at the kiosks from the bike to the B-cycle servers. 

Read more about B-cycle here, and vote to get them in your city – if they are not already!  This page has more details about the development of the bike computer and how Topaz was used.

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Posted Martin Welford & filed under Quartz.

NEW: Quartz CPU Module based on Freescale Vybrid

We are very pleased to announce Quartz, our newest module based on the Freescale Vybrid processor.

Quartz is all about getting products to market fast – minimizing engineering risk and cost along the way.

This 2-minute video will give you all the highlights of the module and development kit.  The web site has more details including technical manuals.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxjjrkMC2sU]

We are finishing up the development kit and Linux software support and will have kits available late November.

You can register your interest in Quartz and reserve a development kit here.

Posted Martin Welford & filed under Events.

ARM TechCon

ARM TechCon

We will be at the ARM TechCon event in Santa Clara in 2 weeks time (28 –31 October).  We don’t have a booth, but have meeting times available if you would like to discuss a project or get a closer look at Quartz – our new Vybrid-based module.  Drop us a line via the contact form and we will be in touch.

Posted Martin Welford & filed under Opal, Windows CE.

Windows Embedded Compact 2013 on Opal

GuruCE have been hard at work porting the latest version of Windows Embedded Compact to the Opal i.MX53 module and development kit.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwW8tLxhxRU]

Contact GuruCE for more information on the i.MX53 port and us (Device Solutions) for information on Opal.

MVP Logo

We also want to congratulate Erwin Zwart from GuruCE on his Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award!  This award recognizes technical excellence in Windows Embedded, and Erwin joins Michel Verhagen (APAC branch) who also has the MVP award.

GuruCE provide Windows CE and Windows Embedded Compact BSPs for our Topaz, Opal and Quartz products.

Posted Martin Welford & filed under Linux, Quartz.

Quartz Development Kits Shipping Now!

WP_20140210_09_12_24_ProAs you can see from the picture, we have Quartz Development Kits in stock!

Quartz is based on the Freescale Vybrid chip which is a dual-core ARM Cortex-A5 + M4 part.  Here is our quick intro video which shows the key features of the kit.

 

The kits are running a Timesys Linux build. Check out their development centre page for information on the tools that are available FREE to support Quartz software development.

Other Operating System ports are in the works including Windows Embedded Compact 2013 and FreeBSD.

The kit is designed around the connector version of the Quartz module. This is small (45mm x 35mm x 7mm) , but we have an even smaller surface-mount LGA version (38mm x 38mm x 3mm) for applications where vibration or space is an issue. You can still start your prototyping and evaluation with the development kit and move to the LGA when developing your product.

The Quartz Development Kit cost is $399 without LCD and $499 with a 7″ LCD. It can be ordered direct from us here.