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Tiny SBCs gain faster ARM chips
2009-11-11 Article Rating:  / 0
The German company F&S Elektronik Systeme announced two new single board computers (SBCs) that measure 3.1 by 2.0 inches. The PicoMOD6 uses an ARM11-based Samsung S3C6410, while the PicoMOD5 includes dual ARM9 cores, courtesy of a ZiiLabs ZMS-05 SoC (system on chip), according to the company.
F&S previously released three Windows CE-compatible PicoMOD SBCs, but the new ones will also be offered with Linux board support packages (BSPs) in the first quarter of 2010, says the company. The three previous SBCs were all based on single-core ARM9 CPUs. The PicoMOD1 uses a 400MHz Samsung S3C2440; the PicoMOD3 uses a 533MHz Samsung S3C2443; and the PicoMOD4 uses a 533MHz Samsung S3C2450 processor. All of these devices share standard dimensions (3.14 x 1.96 inches) and identical 140-pin connectors for optional baseboards, according to the company. Now, F&S says, the product line has gained an ARM11-based device, the PicoMOD6, plus another SBC sporting dual ARM9 cores, the PicoMOD5. Of these, the company has so far provided a data sheet for only the PicoMOD6, so we'll begin there.  The PicoMOD6 According to F&S, the PicoMOD6 (above) is built around Samsung's S3C6410, which includes an ARM1176-based processor core and adds what the chipmaker refers to as ""advanced hardware blocks for multimedia processing." A hardwired Multi Format Codec (MFC) unit allows the S3C6410 to perform video capturing in MPEG4/H.263/H.264 formats, and play back video in MPEG4/H.263/H.264/VC1 formats, while still delivering long battery life, Samsung says. The SC36410 is said to deliver standard-definition (SD) quality video capturing and playback at 30fps, as well as supporting two-way real-time video conferencing. In addition, the embedded hardware encoder/decoder also includes TV out capability in both the NTSC and PAL formats, Samsung says.
F&S says the PicoMOD6 offers not only the Samsung processor, but also 64MB or 128MB of MDDR (mobile DDR) RAM, plus 64MB or 1GB of flash storage. Interfaces, all of which reach the outside world through that 140-pin connector, include 10/100 Ethernet, four serial ports, a USB 1.1 host port, a USB 2.0 host/device port, CAN 2.0, and I2C, according to the company.  Block diagram of the PicoMOD6 According to F&S, the PicoMOD6 is also ready to support SD and CompactFlash cards, when present on a baseboard. Thanks to the 2D/3D graphics accelerator and MFC on the SC36410, the SBC supports TFT displays with resolutions from 320 x 240 to 800 x 600 pixels, and can show 720 x 576 pixel MPEG4 videos at 30 frames per second, the company adds. An available PicoMOD6 starter kit is said to offer a "PicoMOD6, an intermediate board, a base board, several cables, memory media, documentation and software." The latter includes the operating system and relevant drivers, according to F&S. Features and specifications listed by F&S for the PicoMOD6 include the following:
As noted earlier in this story, F&S has not yet provided much information about the PicoMOD5, though a comparison chart posted by the company suggests that this SBC will include basically the same features as the PicoMOD6, while adding IDE support and coming with 128MB of RAM and 1GB of flash as standard. The device (pictured below) is notable, however, for its inclusion of the ZMS-05 SoC from Creative Technology subsidiary ZiiLabs.  The PicoMOD5 The ZMS-05, which, as far as we're aware, hasn't previously gained Windows CE support, was introduced earlier this year by ZiiLabs. The media-focused SoC uses "Stemcell Computing" architecture, which offloads tasks from the integrated dual ARM CPUs, thereby offering "high-efficiency, multi-format video, graphics and image processing," says ZiiLabs. As the block diagram below shows, the ZMS-05 includes dual ARM926-EJS
cores. The device also includes HDTV encoding, multiple HD video I/O
ports, USB 2.0, and serial connectivity including I2S, I2C, GPIO, and
SPI.  Block diagram of the ZiiLabs ZMS-05 (Click to enlarge) According to ZiiLabs, the ZMS-05 has 3D OpenGL ES capability, supporting 3D games and applications with a fill rate of up to 42 million textured pixels per second. The SoC is also capable of displaying 1080p video, the company says. Coincidentally, earlier this week ZiiLabs announced a new SoC based on a 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 core. Said to be four times faster than the ZMS-05, the ZMS-08 boosts video playback to Blu-ray quality and 60fps frame rates, while improving videoconferencing performance to 30fps, claims ZiiLabs. The ZMS-08 is also said to add OpenGL ES 2.0 2D/3D graphics support, with a touted 1 Gpixels/sec fill rate. Other touted new features include an integrated HDMI controller, dual USB controllers, Flash acceleration, and Xtreme Fidelity X-Fi audio. Availability Related Stories:
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