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Tech Focus: Designing Embedded Apps with OMAP ARM CPUs
HIGHLIGHTS
Porting Embedded Windows CE 6.0 R2 to the OMAP-L138, Part 1
Managing intelligent I/O processing on DSP + GPP SoCs
Managing power in embedded applications using dual operating systems
Implementing SPI on an OMAP-based board design
Editor's Note
Texas Instrument's family of ARM-based OMAP processors are increasingly popular with embedded systems designers for use in high growth markets such as embedded consumer and mobile devices, wireless sensors, automotive, industrial control and networking.
At the same time the main markets for Intel's x86 architecture – desktops, laptops and servers – have either stagnated or declined. For Intel to move into the new growth markets will be a difficult proposition since it is facing determined competition by more than three dozen electronics companies that have standardized on the ARM architecture. Through either internal development or acquisition, Intel is now trying to do everything it can to make itself a viable player in these markets: developing processes that achieve lower power operation, build up a digital signal processing capability, and establish a common framework for the development of software, among other strategies.
But such things are a case of “been there, done that” for ARM licensees such as Texas Instruments, which has worked hard to establish the ARM CPU as the processor of choice for embedded developers. A good example of how the architecture is being used is “Porting Embedded Windows CE 6.0 R2 to the OMAP-L138,” a three part series by Artisom Staliarou and Denis Mihaevich on the design of a matrix RGB LED display controller based on the L138 SoC and the Xilinx Spartan6 FPGA. Several other articles on the OMAP-L138 you should find useful are:
Managing intelligent I/O processing on DSP +GPP SoCs
Managing power in applications using dual OSes
Bare metal embedded software development with/without an RTOS
Also included here are design resources on developing applications across the entire range of TI's OMAP ARM CPUs and other related ARM derivatives. Among these, my Editor's Top Picks are:
Achieving optimized DSP encoding for video applications
Choose the right low power processor for your embedded design
An alternate way to build embedded Linux distributions.
Design How-Tos
Porting Embedded Windows CE 6.0 R2 to the OMAP-L138, Part 1
In this three part series, Artisom Staliarou and Denis Mihaevich describe in detail how they ported the Windows CE 6.0 R2 embedded operating system to the Texas Instruments ARM-based family of OMAP-L138 processors. Up first in Part 1: Evaluating the basics of the two platforms.
Implementing SPI on an OMAP-based board design
In this article Dmitry Pervushin describes how to add to the functionality of an OMAP-based PandaBoard by connecting a real time clock chip to the design via a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) created using the board's expansion connector.
Understanding Android's strengths and weaknesses
Here are techniques for exploiting Android's strengths and managing its limitations, especially in hard real-time, mission-critical systems.
Managing intelligent I/O processing on DSP + GPP SoCs
This Product How-To article about TI's OMAP-L138 C6-Integra DSP + ARM processor SoC details the steps a developer needs to follow in building an application that must balance I/O processing tasks between a general purpose microcontroller and a digital signal processor on the same IC.
Analysis: OMAP35x brings Cortex-A8 to the mass market
BDTI analyzes the OMAP35x, the first mass-market chip to use the ARM Cortex-A8.
Dynamic power management techniques for multimedia processors
Here are the concepts behind active and static power management techniques, how we save power with them, and a discussion of the power-management devices and power ICs that help multimedia processors reap the full benefits.
Achieving Optimized DSP Encoding for Video Applications
TI's Ajit Rao reviews the factors that must be considered in optimizing your DSP for use in a range of embedded video applications.
Bare metal embedded software development with & without an RTOS
In this Product How-To article, TI's Joseph Coombs describes the problems developers have in meeting the strict real-time requirements of embedded systems and how use of the company's StarterWare set of lightweight OS-independent libraries and utilities will help in designs based on TI's ARM, DSP and ARM/DSP processors.
Choosing the right low power processor for your embedded design
Here are some suggestions about design criteria you need to consider when selecting a low power processor for your embedded system design needs
Managing power in embedded applications using dual operating systems
In this product how to article, TI's Loc Truong describes how to use inter-processor communication and state machine design to reduce the overall system power in a heterogeneous dual-core system.
Open Embedded: An alternative way to build embedded Linux distributions
Nick Lethaby and Denys Dmytriyenko of Texas Instruments provide an overview of the key elements of the Open Embedded Linux (OE) build environment and show how to use them to build and customize Linux distributions.
Optimize data flow video apps by tightly coupling ARM-based CPUs to FPGA fabrics
In this Product How-To, iVeia's Michael Fawcett describes how combining an ARM-based TI OMAP CPU and Xilinx FPGAs can be used to design a system for handling rich data-flow video processing apps via the inherent parallel structure of an FPGA fabric.
Making embedded processing development easy – part 1
Over the next six weeks, we'll introduce you to considerations to aid with embedded processor design. This series is derived from the expertise of embedded processor software experts from Texas Instruments (TI) and is meant to provide an objective view of easing software design.
2012 Embedded Market Survey webinar
UBM Electronics' 17th annual survey of embedded systems designers worldwide shows trends in software and hardware usage. The 2012 Embedded Market Survey also looks at languages, productivity, and the challenges design teams rank as most important. A webinar on Friday April 20 will examine the results from over 1,700 respondents from across the embedded industry, the dataset enables a deep analysis to track key changes in this important electronics industry segment. There will also be the opportunity to ask questions online. To register click here .
Products
PandaBoard touts low-cost OMAP 4 mobile software dev
PandaBoard is an open source development tool for mobile devices that provides access to the OMAP 4 applications processor platform from Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI). The OMAP 4 platform is power- and performance-optimized for Smartphones and other mobile devices. A growing online community of Linux experts supports PandaBoard developers designing on mobile open source software distributions such as Android, Angstrom, Chrome, MeeGo and Ubuntu.
TI announces new DSP software and development kit
Jump-start real-time signal processing for biometric analytics apps; Scalable dev platform features embedded analytics for apps that require fingerprint recognition and face detection.
Direct Insight : System-on-module uses OMAP35x MCU
Direct Insight has introduced a tiny, low-cost module based on the Texas Instruments OMAP3530 family of microcontrollers.
TI launches ARM processors for industrial apps
Texas Instruments Inc. (Houston, Texas) has announced the availability of two Cortex-A8 based microprocessors optimized for industrial applications. Cortex-A8 is developed by ARM Holdings plc (Cambridge, England).
TI unveils multi-core OMAP 4
Texas Instruments has expanded its popular OMAP mobile applications platform and processors, with the fourth generation set to be the first devices that use ARM's Cortex-A9 MPCores.
SOFTWARE TOOLS: WinCE 6.0 BSP support added to OMAP35x
BSQUARE Corp. has developed a Windows Embedded CE 6.0 board support package (BSP) for the OMAP35x evaluation module (EVM) from Texas Instruments.
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