Impacto is an Arduino-driven device designed to render the haptic sensation of hitting and being hit in virtual reality.
Virtual reality has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, and is poised to become the next big thing in gaming. Even with major brands like Oculus and Samsung helping lead the charge to a more immersive experience, there’s still one thing missing though: haptic feedback. In other words, being able to feel what is happening as if you’re actually there inside the augmented world.
That may soon change, however, thanks to researchers from Hasso Plattner Institute’s Human-Computer Interaction Lab. The team has developed working prototypes of a device they call Impacto, which is capable of rendering the sensation of hitting and being hit through tactile and electrical muscle simulation.
Impacto is integrated into a wireless band that can be worn around the arm, leg or foot of a virtual reality user, and when combined with a VR headset and custom software, simulates contact on the wearer so that they can actually touch virtual objects or feel if they’ve been struck.
To demonstrate the system, the team selected various VR sports games, including boxing and soccer. All the examples employed an Impacto for haptic feedback, an Oculus Rift for visuals and a Kinect for tracking. While boxing, the user sported the gadget around the bicep along wit an additional solenoid unit mounted to the back of the hand. This allowed the participant to actually experience the impact of jabs, blows and blocks from the virtual opponent. In the other use case, the Impacto was thrown around the user’s calves enabling him to juggle an imaginary soccer ball with his foot.
“The key idea that allows the small Impacto device to simulate a strong hit is that it decomposes the stimulus. It renders the tactile aspect of being hit by tapping the skin using a solenoid; it adds impulse to the hit by thrusting the user’s arm backwards using electrical muscle stimulation. Both technologies are small enough for wearable use,” the team of Pedro Lopes, Alexandra Ion and Patrick Baudisch explained in their research paper.
As for its hardware, Impacto is equipped with an Arduino Pro Micro (ATmega32U4), a Bluetooth module, an EMS unit, a solenoid, electrodes and batteries. The MCU and EMS are both powered through a 9V regulator, while the solenoid is driven directly from the 22.2V battery. Optionally, the solenoid power can be regulated down to 20V via another adjustable voltage regulator.
Atmel is collaborating with Intel on EPID technology to enable more secure IoT applications.
Atmel is working with Intel to bring more secure Internet of Things applications to market. In this collaboration, Atmel will support Intel Enhanced Privacy ID (Intel EPID) technology on all Atmel SmartConnect wireless solutions to improve secure cloud provisioning — the mutual authentication of the IoT node with the cloud — in the rapidly growing IoT market where devices are becoming increasingly more connected.
With tens of billions of devices anticipated by 2020, security is surely one of the most critical components to enabling a seamless connection between the edge node and the cloud. To accomplish this, Atmel offers a complete portfolio of IoT solutions that combine both Atmel | SMART MCUs along with SmartConnect wireless technologies ranging from Wi-Fi, 802.15.4 and Bluetooth, and other secure products. This newly-announced effort will give developers implementing these wireless solutions the option to use the trusted Intel EPID identification standard in their next gizmo or gadget.
“Implementing Intel EPID offers IoT designers a truly seamless edge-to-cloud Internet of Things platform with proven security options available with our broad Internet of Things portfolio,” said Kaivan Karimi, Atmel’s Vice President and General Manager of Wireless Solutions. “With this new technology, Atmel’s SmartConnect wireless and IoT solutions now support Intel EPID, a security technology that has been proven over the last 5 years.”
For those who may not know, Intel EPID is an ISO standard for identity and privacy that has been shipping in Intel platforms since 2011. The technology delivers a hardware root of trust and is PKI compatible. With Intel EPID, devices can be identified and a secure communication can be linked between these devices. Additionally, the group membership can be determined without revealing the identity of the specific platform allowing for another level of security. Intel EPID can dynamically assign and revoke group memberships by individuals. Even more, this technology meets the latest protected key delivery requirements for content and data protection protocols.
“With the rapidly growing IoT ecosystem, security is key, and Intel EPID is a proven secure technology that can provide the billions of devices in this new market with a common security foundation. By implementing Intel EPID technology, Atmel is enabling a more secure, seamless IoT platform,” explained Lori Wigle, Intel’s General Manager of IoT Security.
Taking a closer look at the configurable memory aspects of Cortex-M7 microcontrollers.
Tightly coupled memory (TCM) is a salient feature in the Cortex-M7 lineup as it boosts the MCU’s performance by offering single cycle access for the CPU and by securing the high-priority latency-critical requests from the peripherals.
The early MCU implementations based on the ARM’s M7 embedded processor core — like Atmel’s SAM E70 and S70 chips — have arrived in the market. So it’d be worthwhile to have a closer look at the configurable memory aspects of M7 microcontrollers and see how the TCMs enable the execution of deterministic code and fast transfer of real-time data at the full processor speed.
Here are some of the key findings regarding the advanced memory architecture of Cortex-M7 microcontrollers:
1. TCM is Configurable
First and foremost, the size of TCM is configurable. TCM, which is part of the physical memory map of the MCU, supports up to 16MB of tightly coupled memory. The configurability of the ARM Cortex-M7 core allows SoC architects to integrate a range of cache sizes. So that industrial and Internet of Things product developers can determine the amount of critical code and real-time data in TCM to meet the needs of the target application.
The Atmel | SMART Cortex-M7 architecture doesn’t specify what type of memory or how much memory should be provided; instead, it leaves these decisions to designers implementing M7 in a microcontroller as a venue for differentiation. Consequently, a flexible memory system can be optimized for performance, determinism and low latency, and thus can be tuned to specific application requirements.
2. Instruction TCM
Instruction TCM or ITCM implements critical code with deterministic execution for real-time processing applications such as audio encoding/decoding, audio processing and motor control. The use of standard memory will lead to delays due to cache misses and interrupts, and therefore will hamper the deterministic timing required for real-time response and seamless audio and video performance.
The deterministic critical software routines should be loaded in a 64-bit instruction memory port (ITCM) that supports dual-issue processor architecture and provide single-cycle access for the CPU to boost MCU performance. However, developers need to carefully calibrate the amount of code that need zero-wait execution performance to determine the amount of ITCM required in an MCU device.
The anatomy of TCM inside the M7 architecture.
3. Data TCM
Data TCM or DTCM is used in fast data processing tasks like 2D bar decoding and fingerprint and voice recognition. There are two data ports (DTCMs) that provide simultaneous and parallel 32-bit data accesses to real-time data. Both instruction TCM and data TCM — used for efficient access to on-chip Flash and external resources — must have the same size.
4. System RAM and TCM
System RAM, also known as general RAM, is employed for communications stacks related to networking, field buss, high-bandwidth bridging, USB, etc. It implements peripheral data buffers generally through direct memory access (DMA) engines and can be accessed by masters without CPU intervention.
Here, product developers must remember the memory access conflicts that arise from the concurrent data transfer to both CPU and DMA. So developers must set clear priorities for latency-critical requests from the peripherals and carefully plan latency-critical data transfers like the transfer of a USB descriptor or a slow data rate peripheral with a small local buffer. Access from the DMA and the caches are generally burst to consecutive addresses to optimize system performance.
It’s worth noting that while system memory is logically separate from the TCM, microcontroller suppliers like Atmel are incorporating TCM and system RAM in a single SRAM block. That lets IoT developers share general-purpose tasks while splitting TCM and system RAM functions for specific use cases.
A single SRAM block for TCM and system memory allows higher flexibility and utilization.
5. TCM Loading
The Cortex-M7 uses a scattered RAM architecture to allow the MCU to maximize performance by having a dedicated RAM part for critical tasks and data transfer. The TCM might be loaded from a number of sources, and these sources aren’t specified in the M7 architecture. It’s left to the MCU designers whether there is a single DMA or several data loading points from various streams like USB and video.
It’s imperative that, during the software build, IoT product developers identify which code segments and data blocks are allocated to the TCM. This is done by embedding programs into the software and by applying linker settings so that software build appropriately places the code in memory allocation.
6. Why SRAM?
Flash memory can be attached to a TCM interface, but the Flash cannot run at the processor clock speed and will require caching. As a result, this will cause delays when cache misses occur, threatening the deterministic value proposition of the TCM technology.
DRAM technology is a theoretical choice but it’s cost prohibitive. That leaves SRAM as a viable candidate for fast, direct and uncached TCM access. SRAM can be easily embedded on a chip and permits random accesses at the speed of the processor. However, cost-per-bit of SRAM is higher than Flash and DRAM, which means it’s critical to keep the size of the TCM limited.
Atmel | SMART Cortex-M7 MCUs
Take the case of Atmel’s SMART SAM E70, S70 and V70/71 microcontrollers that organize SRAM into four memory banks for TCM and System SRAM parts. The company has recently started shipping volume units of its SAM E70 and S70families for the IoT and industrial markets, and claims that these MCUs provide 50 percent better performance than the closest competitor.
Atmel’s M7-based microcontrollers offer up to 384KB of embedded SRAM that is configurable as TCM or system memory for providing IoT designs with higher flexibility and utilization. For instance, E70 and S70 microcontrollers organize 384KB of embedded SRAM into four ports to limit memory access conflicts. These MCUs allocate 256KB of SRAM for TCM functions — 128 KB for ITCM and DTCM each — to deliver zero wait access at 300MHz processor speed, while the remaining 128KB of SRAM can be configured as system memory running at 150MHz.
However, the availability of an SRAM block organized in the form of a memory bank of 384KB means that both system SRAM and TCM can be used at the same time.The large on-chip SRAM of 384KB is also critical for many IoT devices, since it enables them to run multiple communication stacks and applications on the same MCU without adding external memory. That’s a significant value proposition in the IoT realm because avoiding external memories lowers the BOM cost, reduces the PCB footprint and eliminates the complexity in the high-speed PCB design.
Buddy is a social robot that connects, protects and interacts with each member of your family.
According to a recent study from Business Insider, the consumer robot market is projected to grow seven times faster than the market for manufacturing robots at a CAGR of 17% between 2014 and 2019. And apparently the report is right, as several companies have embarked on the journey of bringingJetsons-like companion bots into homes — such as Jibo, Pepper and Musio, to name just a few.
Most recently, French startup Blue Frog Robotics has joined the growing list of startups that want you to have an artificially intelligent friend inside your humble abode in the near future. Their adorable prototype, named Buddy, is being billed as social robot for every member of the family with the ability to structure your day as a personal assistant, monitor your home as a security guard, entertain the kids as a nanny and help stay connected as a Wi-Fi network.
With a number of impressive built-in functions, the Arduino-compatible machine is packed with everything that a robot could possibly need to immerse itself into your daily life.
Aside from being fully mobile with three wheels and an assortment of sensors that allow it to travel, learn and interact with its surroundings, Buddy features an ATmega2560 MCU, a camera, a touchscreen face, a microphone, two speakers, a pair of driving motors, a series of RGB LEDs, along with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. Beyond that, the bot is equipped with audio, HDMI and USB outputs, as well as a rechargeable battery with a life of approximately eight to 10 hours.
Boasting many human-like traits, Buddy is capable of hearing, speaking, seeing and addressing someone with familiar facial expressions and movements. What’s also nice is that the bot can sync to practically any in-home smart device, enabling it to do everything from adjust the lights to the thermostat via voice commands or its accompanying mobile app. Among the gadgets currently supported include Parrot Flower Power, Withings blood pressure monitor, Nest thermostat, MyFox home alarm and LIFX lights.
Additionally, the charismatic robot can serve as a security system by watching over your home using its camera. This way, if danger or something out of the ordinary is detected, Buddy will instantaneously send an alert to its owner.
Not only is it open source, but Buddy is entirely modular and can be expanded upon with a range of plug-and-play accessories, like a docking station, arms and a pico-projector. Those with prior knowledge of Unity3D, C++, C# and JavaScript can even customize their robotic pal using its SDK. As for beginners, however, they can still develop basic apps and behaviors by simply dragging and dropping actions from its library.
Impressively, its creators have also designed Buddy to adapt to children with autism thanks to specialized software that will assist them in learning, communicating, interacting and becoming more independent. Caregivers and family members will be able to personalize the content within the robot’s application, whether that’s offering reminders and visual aids or congratulating them for tasks well done through fun animations.
So, are you ready for an A.I. pal of your own? Then head over to Buddy’s Indegogo page here, where Blue Frog Robotics is currently seeking $100,000. Delivery is slated for May 2016.
The new Atmel | SMART L21 is expanding battery life from years to decades.
This week, Atmel revealed the big news that the recently-unveiled Atmel | SMART SAM L family consumes just one-third the power of existing solutions already on the market. Having achieved a 185 EEMBC ULPBench score, the SAM L21 is now the world’s lowest power ARM Cortex-M based device.
Impressively, the series boasts power consumption down to 35µA/MHz in active mode and 200nA in sleep mode. The SAM L not only broadens the company’s current 32-bit ARM-based MCU lineup, but extends battery life from years to decades, reducing the number of times batteries need to be changed in devices such as fire alarms, wearables, medical gadgets and equipment placed in rural, agriculture, offshore and other remote areas. The SAM L21 combines ultra-low power with Flash and SRAM that are large enough to run both the application and wireless stacks — three features that are cornerstones of most Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Sampling now, the SAM L21 comes complete with a development platform including an Xplained Pro kit, code libraries and Atmel Studio support.
The SAM L21 MCUs will enable designers to solve their power challenges for battery-powered IoT devices — something that has caught the attention of mainstream media outlets including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, The Register, Network World and Daily Mail, as well as industry journals like SiliconRepublic,New Electronics and EE Times.
“The number of things getting plugged into the Internet of Things has already reached the point of satire. But there’s a new, extremely low power technology that’s being prepared for market that could put computing power and network access into a whole new class of sensors, wearables, and practically disposable devices. That’s because it can run off a battery charge for over over 10 years.”
“The processor may not be enough to, say, run an Ubuntu desktop, but it’s certainly enough computing power and memory to run a real-time operating system with multiple programs, handle physical interfaces, stream media from a USB device or other external storage, and tweet you when your dishes are clean. It also can handle a lot of tasks that can reduce the power usage of other components in a device.”
“Battery life is consistently listed as a major flaw of smartphones, smartwatches and other wearables. But this problem could soon be solved thanks to technology that promises to extend battery life for ‘decades.’ Atmel has released its latest microcontrollers (MCUs) for a variety of gadgets that are so low power they can even harvest energy from a person’s body.”
“They use a third of the power of rival chips and tests have shown they are the lowest power microprocessor ever made. The microcontrollers run on the firm’s picoPower technology and Atmel’s Event System that makes different parts of the device work together to carry out tasks. By effectively ‘sharing’ energy, the whole device uses less power and, subsequently, less battery.”
“As everything around us, from phones and fridges to bicycles and trash cans, begins to connect to the Internet, there’s an increasing desire for low-power chips. Like this one, which can last for over ten years on a single battery charge. It has some other clever tricks up its sleeve. Usually in a chip like this, sleep mode sees everything but the clock function shut down, meaning it has to wake every time connected devices need to communicate; this new Atmel chip has different sleep states, allowing connected devices to communicate with each other while the chip continues to use very little power.”
“Of course, the chips don’t pack huge amounts of grunt. In fact, at best you’re looking at a 42 MHz Cortex M0+ CPU core, 256 kilobytes of Flash memory, 32 kilobytes of static RAM, and 8 kb of separate low-power static RAM. Not enough to run a desktop OS, then, but plenty to run small programs, power hardware interfaces, read and record data from sensors, tweet and the like.”
“Batteries, already the Achilles heel of mobile devices, present an even bigger challenge for even smaller devices, like wearables and the budding Internet of Things industry. These latter devices are not things that you would, or should, associate with the frequent charging and battery replacement we are used to on smartphones. How do you balance performance and battery life? Atmel, a micro-controller manufacturer based in San Jose, may have the answer. Its new ultra-low power SAM L21 32-bit ARM-based MCU (micro controller unit) is advertised to last more than a decade before needing a recharge or replacement.”
“That kind of battery life will be critical for a certain class of devices that include sensors, wearable, and smart home appliances. The SAM L21 advertises a power draw of only 35 microamps per MHz when awake and an even smaller 200 nanoamps when asleep. In comparison, current low-power MCUs already eat up to 120 to 160 microamps per MHz. The difference it definitely substantial.”
“The Internet of Things is about to reverse a lot of what we’ve wanted in a chip. Soon, we won’t need vast amounts of calculations per second — just how many instructions does it take for your fridge to send an order to your supermarket? Not that many when you compare it to something complicated that chip design has been working towards, like a Computer Aided Design drawing in 3D, for example.”
“Size is important. However, the real big issue, when it comes to a ubiquitous IoT where everything is connected, will be battery life. The reason is that we are not going to want to change the batteries within the base of a dozen bottles of water that we may have sitting around just to discover whether we’ve drank their contents or not. Even if your fridge orders fresh stock, it wouldn’t be worth it.”
“That battery has to last the life of the connected object in the IoT. And that could be 10 years away, possibly longer. Atmel reckons it has a solution. It says its new 32-bit ARM-based chips will last decades. Note the plural. Atmel says its new chips combine battery-saving low power with flash and SRAM that is big enough to run both the application and the IoT-needed wireless stacks.”
“Being a Cortex-M0+-powered chip, the SAM L21 is not particularly powerful: it tops out at 48MHz, and runs ARM Thumb (and some Thumb-2) code. But the family does pack a few features like USB interfacing, op-amps and comparators, DMA with peripherals, a random number generator, and AES cryptography in hardware, plus other bits and pieces. The idea is for each chip to sleep, wake up when something happens, make a decision on whether or not it needs to alert the wider world, and then go back to sleep.
“Constantly being in contact with its base over wired or wireless networking will drain its batteries; activating external electronics for power-hungry IP communications should only be done if its sensors detect something significant. Like an explosion or a fire.”
“Sensors and batteries – the two keys to unlocking the future of IoT. Can we make small enough sensors to garner and exchange the right data? Can we make small enough, powerful enough, batteries that don’t need recharging every few hours?These are the two questions posed for today’s inventors, and they are being answered every day. Now, Atmel’s latest creation may have brought significant IoT engagement closer to reality, with its new low-powered 32-bit SAM L controller able extend the battery life of small, low-powered intelligent devices by decades.”
“The result is a far more efficient, small controller that, if advanced upon in the right way, will open up a whole new swathe of devices for IoT innovation. It’s just a sample, prototype release so far, but once the right people get their hands on this it’s only a matter of time before it creeps into suites of low-powered devices.”
“This week TI surpassed its own earlier result by announcing the MSP-432 family based on the Cortex M4F. It achieved a ULPBench score of 167.4. While TI was briefing the media on this product, however, Atmel quietly published a ULPBench score of 185.8 for its SAM L21 MCU based on the Cortex M0+, a product announced last year that was scheduled to be released at about this time. It’s reasonable to expect that a formal announcement of the product’s score and availability will be made soon.”
“When it comes to applications including the Internet of Things (IoT), consumer, industrial, medical, and other battery-powered devices — e.g., fire alarms, healthcare, medical, wearable, and devices placed in rural, agriculture, offshore, and other remote areas — ultra-low-power consumption is the name of the game. MCU manufacturers are constantly competing with each other to offer the lowest power consumption possible. The latest ultra-low-power offering comes from the folks at Atmel, who have just announced their SMART SAM L21 — an ARM Cortex-M0+ based family of MCUs that boast power consumption down to 35µA/MHz in active mode and 200nA in sleep mode — which is said to ‘extend battery life from years to decades.’”
“The L21 goes much further than simply gating the clocks — it also gates the power, completely disconnecting the power rails from functions that are not currently in use. In the case of the smart peripherals, even when they are powered down, a small part of each peripheral keeps a ‘watchful eye’ on what’s happening in the outside world. If it sees something interesting, it can request clock and data services and — if the peripheral decides the situation justifies such an action — it can wake the main CPU… Also of interest is the CCL (custom configurable logic) block, which boasts four 3-input lookup tables (LUTs) that can implement a mix of combinatorial logic functions (AND, NAND, OR, NOR, XOR, XNOR, NOT) and sequential logic functions (gates D-type flip-flop, JK-type flip-flop, gated D-type latch, RS latch). These can be connected to the event system (including the peripherals), the interrupt system, and general-purpose input/outputs; also, they can be cascaded together. This makes it possible to implement sophisticated customized “wake-up” conditions for the various functional blocks.”
This partnership broadens the ecosystem support for developers using Atmel’s portfolio of secure, low-power and cost-effective wireless connectivity solutions, specifically the Atmel SmartConnect Wi-Fi and 802.15.4-compliant solutions. Additionally, IoT developers for smart wearables, connected appliances, home automation systems and more can now bring their products faster to market.
Built around open standards, the mbed platform combines Internet protocols, security and standards-based manageability into one integrated system, and gathers silicon, cloud and device partners in one community. Atmel | SMART SAMR21 and WINC1500 customers now gain access to the mbed OS software platform, which includes command-line tools, a low-power HAL, as well as advanced networking protocols like 6LoWPAN and Thread to significantly accelerate IoT development.
“The ARM mbed IoT Device Platform simplifies the development and deployment of next-generation IoT devices and cloud services,” said Krisztian Flautner, ARM General Manager, IoT Business.“The integration of Atmel’s wireless technology with the mbed platform allows IoT developers to rapidly create devices that communicate across a mesh network with cloud services. This will drive the acceleration of the IoT in consumers and industrial markets.”
“As a leader in the IoT market, Atmel is committed to enabling developers of all levels the opportunity to bring their IoT devices quickly to market,” explained Steve Pancoast, Atmel Vice President of Software Applications, Tools and Development. “In this fragmented market place, we are leading the charge to bring easy-to-use hardware, software, development tools and platform solutions to market and enabling our IoT developers more time to focus on critical features in their design. By partnering with ARM on their mbed platform, we’ve taken another step towards making the 50 billion devices for the IoT market a reality.”
This week, touch screen developer Carclo told the Yorkshire Post that it is well positioned to meet the requirements for the expected ramp up in XSense, the touch screen sensor launched by US business partner Atmel.
“Full-scale manufacture of coated film to support the XSense program has started,” the Yorkshire Post reported. “Carclo [confirmed] that XSense is to be adopted in a number of products launched across a range of tier 1 manufacturers during the second half of its financial year.”
Atmel’s XSense can probably best be described as a high-performance, highly flexible touch sensor which allows engineers to design devices with curved surfaces and functionality along product edges. Based on a proprietary roll-to-roll metal mesh technology, XSense touch sensors provide a clear alternative to existing touch sensors. Simply put, manufacturers can now build light-weight, sleek, edgeless smartphones, tablets and other touch-enabled devices with extremely versatile form factors.
“Consumers are demanding more robust and advanced touch-based products with larger screens and longer battery life,” an Atmel engineering rep told Bits & Pieces. “However, traditional touch sensor solutions have a difficult time standing up to these new market requirements because of their brittle nature. In contrast, XSense is a flexible, film-based touch sensor with such advantages as flawless touch performance, enhanced noise immunity, low sheet resistance and low power consumption.”
Key XSense specs include:
Highly accurate stylus performance (active or passive)
Support for larger touchscreens
Flexibility – for curved surfaces
Narrow border – for larger active screen areas
Narrow bond area – for optimized device reliability
Low sheet resistance for better noise immunity and lower power
“In short, XSense kicks off a new era of touch design – enabling manufacturers to redefine touch and create an entirely new class of products,” the Atmel engineering rep added. “Combined with Atmel’s maXTouch controllers, we provide a completely optimized, unparalleled touch experience, extending our product portfolio deeper into the touch eco-system.”
The Serval Mesh Extender can best be described a device that combines ad-hoc WiFi meshing with long-range license-free UHF packet radio to allow the easy formation of mesh networks spanning useful distances.
“Typically, the UHF packet radio has a range about ten times greater than WiFi. This means that in ordinary suburban and urban areas we get a range of a block or two, and in open rural areas the range can be in the kilometres,” Paul Gardner-Stephen, founder of the Serval Project, explained in a guest blog post published on the official Arduino blog.
“We run our Serval Mesh software over the top, providing an easy to use communications system that lets you use your cell phone without cellular coverage, for example, during a disaster, or when you and your friends are near one another outside of the range of your native network. [Or], if you are at an international gathering and don’t want to pay $4 a minute for the privilege of calling someone a few hundred metres away.”
The challenge with the Mesh Extender design, says Gardner-Stephen, is that the Serval crew hasn’t had the budget to design its own device from the ground up. As such, the team has been using existing hardware platforms, all while trying to adapt them to accept RFD900 UHF packet radios they sourced from RFDesign.
“This means that we have been doing things like modifying TP-LINK MR3020 wireless routers to build prototypes,” Gardner-Stephen continued. “While it works, the process is far from satisfactory, and the physical steps take a couple of hours per unit, which makes the effective unit price very high, despite the low cost of the MR3020 unit itself.”
Enter the Atmel-powered Arduino Yún, which, as the Serval Project founder points out, offers all of the functionality of the MR3020 in the form of the mesh-friendly Atheros processor and WiFi system-on-a-chip running Linux.
“Being an Arduino it has plenty of connectivity options for us to connect to the RFD900, which just uses RS232 serial,” he explained. “As an added bonus the Yún has a microSD slot, so we don’t need to use a USB memory stick for mass storage, which actually makes a noticeable impact on power consumption. The larger flash on the Yún is also welcome.”
Gardner-Stephen says that while his team is is still working on the integration process, the “prospect is there” for the Yún to save a lot of time and cost in terms of helping to design future prototypes.
“[Of course] the Yún board itself could be the basis for a customized PCB that exactly meets our needs and allows us to just plug the radio module directly onto the PCB,” Gardner-Stephen concluded. “In short, the Yún is opening a new opportunity for us to innovate faster, more affordably, and with a better result.”
As previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, the Yún – designed in collaboration with Dog Hunter – is based on Atmel’s ATMega32u4 microcontroller (MCU) and also features the Atheros AR9331, an SoC running Linino, a customized version of OpenWRT. The Yún is somewhat unique in the Arduino lineup, as it boasts a lightweight Linux distribution to complement the traditional microcontroller (MCU) interface.
Atmel | Bits & Pieces 