Powered by Atmel’s ARM-based AT91SAM9G35, the Cosino Project is an embedded prototyping system that combines the functionality of a mini-computer with those of a professional automation system.
According to company rep Rodolfo Giometti, Cosino includes a comprehensive lineup of CPU boards, carrier boards and multiple peripherals that support industrial applications, as well as DIY projects by Makers.
Aside from Atmel’s AT91SAM9G35, key platform specs include 128MB RAM and 256MB NAND.
In terms of extension boards, Cosino has developed the Mega 2560, which Giometti describes as a fully Arduino Mega 2560 compatible board (based on Atmel’s ATmega2560 MCU) connected to a GNU/Linux system running Debian/ARM Wheezy.
“The Cosino CPU module – inserted into a Mega 2560 extension – [becomes the] Cosino Mega 2560 KIT [which] can be used to extend Arduino Mega 2560 based projects – without modifying the code and by using all Arduino’s shields as is,” Giometti explained.
More specifically, the Cosino Mega 2560 offers devs and Makers:
- 1x Ethernet 10/100
- 1x USB Host 2.0
- 1x USB Host 1.1
- 1x USB Host/Device 2.0
- 1x microSD
- 1x RS232
- 1x RS485
- 1x realtime clock
- 1x I2C
- 2x SPI
- 1x Wifi (optional) 1x LCD (optional)
Giometti also noted that a number of additional extension boards and peripherals are either currently available or will be in the near future, including an RFID reader, smartcard reader and several MODBUS clients.
Interested in learning more? You can check out Cosino’s official page here.
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