Skip to main content

Category Archives: ARM

Smartphone app processors

Posted on by

First, a confession: I didn’t read the full report. It would have cost me nearly €7,000 (or nearly $8,000 US). But fortunately, Don Scansen apparently did, and wrote a good but too brief summary of APU – Smartphone SoC Floorplan Comparison 2024, the Yole Group’s study of smartphone application processors that was published in the EETimes last month.

The study focused on the leading device manufacturers, and on the designs that were the most current as of the study date. (So, there may already be new products out there, as this is a dynamic and very competitive market.)

The products included in the study were:

  • Apple A17 SoC in iPhone 15 Pro
  • Google Tensor G3 SoC in Pixel 8 Pro
  • HiSilicon Kirin 000s SoC in Huawei Mate 60 Pro
  • MediaTek Dimensity 9300 SoC
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC
  • Samsung Exynos 2400 in Galaxy S24 SM-S921U1

Scansen noted that there is one key feature that all six design groups have in common: the processors all rely on ARM designs. After that, things start to diverge. Apple uses ARM IP, “but assembles the logical functions into their own physical designs,” an approach that makes sense since Apple is the only company on the list that has responsibility for both hardware and software in their products. The other design teams deployed hard macros from ARM.

The A17 design stands apart in other details, as well. The standard approach to CPU architecture is to have performance cores for the most demanding tasks and smaller efficiency cores to operate with lower power consumption whenever appropriate. The Apple A17 performs the most intense software operations with the lowest core count—just a dual-core design.

Apple holds the position at one end of the design spectrum. MediaTek is at the other. Their Dimensity 9300 uses “the most powerful CPU.”

This APU contains four of the supersize cores that other designs tend to use only as a single main core supported by smaller high-performance cores. The Dimensity 9300 has a complete high-performance quad-core section of Arm Cortex-X4 cores. For power-saving functions, MediaTek prefers the Cortex-A720 core (typically used for high-performance operations) rather than one of the efficient Arm variants.

Scansen provides considerable discussion on the impact on HiSilicon Kirin, a Chinese design company, and SMIC a Chinese domestic fab (which works with HiSilicon) of sanctions that have been imposed on the use of Chinese foundry tools and advanced lithography.

SMIC built the Kirin 9000 on a lagging node (7 nm) compared to 3 nm (TSMC for Apple) and 4 nm (Samsung for its own and Google processors, and TSMC for Qualcomm and MediaTek). That might suggest the HiSilicon design would be among the largest chips. However, MediaTek’s processor has the biggest die despite being built on the much more advanced TSMC 4-nm platform. Although the TSMC 4-nm process increased transistor density, MediaTek’s design with four of the largest Arm X4 cores necessitates expansive use of silicon.

He then explores die size among the different products. (Most are roughly comparable.) Scansen’s focus here is largely to contrast Apple (which builds using ultra-advanced foundry technology), with HiSilicon (which sits on “the most trailing edge of the group”). He continues the contrast between these two by pointing out that the Apple A17 “includes about twice as many transistors as the Kirin chip.”

Scansen devotes a lot of space to the HiSilicon Kirin 9000 (more on the issues they had when they had to retreat from use of made-in-China technology), and I wish that he’d provided more information on the other products on the list. But, as he says:

There are many twists and turns, as well as chip partitioning and placement tradeoffs when comparing these top-tier smartphone processor designs. A complete understanding requires more time and space.

I hope that Don Scansen finds that time and space. Because, although nearly €7,000 (or nearly $8,000 US) for the Yole Group report is too rich for my blood, I’d be very interested in hearing more about what’s in it.

Image source: Hatch.

ARM vs. RISC-V

Posted on by

At Critical Link, we spend a lot of time thinking about processors, and for a while now, some of that thinking has been around ARM vs. RISC-V Instruction Set Architectures, or ISA’s which are basically the go-between between hardware and software. So I was very interested to come across an article by Shreyas Sharma, which was published on Wevolver last summer. Sharma’s piece provided a “comprehensive comparison” of these two key architectures, which I’ll summarize here, also offering some thoughts on how Critical Link views the debate.

Let’s set the groundwork with some brief descriptions. ARM is a proprietary ISA. Itself a member of the RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) family, ARM has been around in some form since the mid-1980’s. Over time, ARM has become very prevalent when it comes to embedded systems and mobile devices. (Critical Link has developed a number of ARM-based SOM’s.) RISC-V is not exactly a newcomer, but was not commercialized until 2018. Despite its being open source/royalty free, RISC-V hasn’t gained as much traction as ARM. But adoption is rapidly accelerating and is now seen as a more head-to-head ARM competitor, with ARM-based architectures seen as more proven and reliable, while RISC-V is generally viewed as more flexible and, thus, more likely to enable innovation.

Which is not to say that ARM is inflexible. ARM has been licensed by many semiconductor companies who have used the underlying IP to create ARM processor families that have been customized for specific industries and applications. And there are an awful lot of ARM chips out there “with over 180 billion ARM chips shipped to date. Around 30 billion ARM chips are shipped every year.” (Sharma’s article doesn’t include the stats on RISC-V, but the numbers I’ve seen – which admittedly may be a bit out of date by a year or so – put the number of RISC-V processors out there at roughly ten billion.)

Some of the technical highlights of Sharma’s article – which is well worth the read – include the differentiation between the two architectures.

Among other aspects, RISC-V’s design translates into greater modularity and extensibility.

The ISA is designed to be easily extended with custom instructions and coprocessors, allowing for tailored implementations that meet specific application requirements. This flexibility is achieved through a modular design, where the base ISA can be combined with optional standard extensions, such as the M extension for integer multiplication and division, the A extension for atomic operations, and the F and D extensions for single- and double-precision floating-point arithmetic.

The focus of ARM architecture is “on power efficiency and simplicity.”

ARM processors typically implement the ARM and Thumb instruction sets, with the latter providing 16-bit compressed instructions for improved code density and energy efficiency. ARM introduced the Thumb instruction set as an optional 16-bit extension to the traditional 32-bit ARM instructions. This feature enables code size reduction while maintaining reasonable performance, making it suitable for memory-constrained devices like embedded systems.

As noted earlier, there are a number of ARM processor families that enable “specific performance and power requirements.” For high-performance apps, there’s the Cortex-A series. Cortex-R processors are used in real-time applications, while Cortex-M is optimized for energy efficiency and ease of use. So, while RISC-V may be more customizable, the different ARM processor families are to some degree “pre-customized” for specific applications and industries.

Most of the System on Modules Critical Link has brought to market include an ARM processor. These are most commonly of the A variety, for example the dual Cortex-A76 + dual Cortex-A55s that are on the MitySOM-A5E, our Intel/Altera Agilex 5 SoC based solution currently in development. Despite having significantly more processing resources than the Cyclone V SoC, the Agilex 5E will consume 50% less power – a major advantage for developers who are constantly looking for ways to make designs more efficient while also building in more advanced features.

Another of our newer families, the MitySOM-AM62A, includes a Cortex-R5F which customers use for things like managing an EtherCAT master interface, providing safety critical software operation, or real-time handling of attached peripherals.

When it comes to performance, Sharma gives the nod to ARM’s holding the advantage. He does qualify this a bit:

However, RISC-V’s modular nature and customization potential hold promise for specific use cases. The ongoing efforts of RISC-V proponents to narrow the performance gap will be a crucial factor in determining how well RISC-V can match ARM’s established performance standards in the future.

Since power efficiency is one of ARM’s core strengths, it’s no surprise that Sharma gives ARM “a palpable advantage in power efficiency” when compared with RISC-V.

Power efficiency has been a key focus of the ARM architecture since its inception, making it the preferred choice for many mobile and embedded applications. ARM processors are designed to deliver high performance with low power consumption, enabling the development of energy-efficient devices across a wide range of applications…

While RISC-V holds promise due to its customization potential, its open nature requires a more extensive investment of time and resources to fully harness its energy-saving capabilities.

Since it’s been around longer, and has such broad adoption, the ARM ecosystem is far more extensive than that of RISC-V. In Sharma’s view,

… while ARM’s extensive ecosystem offers stability, proven tools, and a wide range of hardware options, RISC-V’s open-source nature fosters collaboration, customization, and innovation.

Sharma also provides some useful discussion on the different business/licensing models for the two architectures. He also gets into use cases. RISC-V: IoT devices such as wearables and home automation systems; ARM: mobile devices, embedded systems, industrial controls, and IoT devices. He does see overlap in many areas, including deployment of both technologies in data centers.)

Sharma’s article delivers on its promise to provide “a comprehensive comparison of [RISC-V and ARM] processor architectures.” There are certainly advantages to each, and while ARM clearly dominates the industrial space – and our offerings — right now, we’re always on the lookout for opportunities to incorporate new (or maybe just new to our portfolio!) technology.

 

Source for image: The Tech Edvocate

 

 

After a decade, there’s a new Arm architecture

Posted on by

Early this year, after nearly a decade since the release of the Armv8, Arm introduced its new Armv9 architecture. This new architecture is in response to the ever-increasing demand for the specialized processing required to keep up with the explosive growth of the Internet of Things, AI applications, and 5G.

Security is the principal focus of the Armv9:

…the Armv9 roadmap introduces the Arm Confidential Compute Architecture (CCA). Confidential computing shields portions of code and data from access or modification while in-use, even from privileged software, by performing computation in a hardware-based secure environment. (Source: Arm)

This means the “commercially sensitive data and code”, in-use, at rest or in transit, will be protected from everything else in the system.

The new Armv9 architecture also address the need to support AI workloads, as AI elements are increasingly part of devices and apps. To handle AI requirements, Arm has joined forces with Fujitsu to develop Scalable Vector Extension technology that supports machine learning and DSP (our old friend!) capabilities for apps like image processing and smart home devices.

With Armv9, Arm also expects to boost CPU performance, which will be accomplished by deploying Arm’s Total Compute design methodology.

Additionally, Arm is developing several technologies to increase frequency, bandwidth, and cache size, and reduce memory latency to maximize the performance of Armv9-based CPUs.

ZDNet took the occasion of the big Arm announcement to produce an informative article titled “Arm Processors: Everything You Need to Know.” It may not be quite everything you need (or want) to know about Arm, but the piece is detailed (and pretty lengthy: settle in for a good long read).

Some of that read is devoted to Arm’s business model, which is not to build processor components but, rather, to license component design – Arm’s intellectual property – for others to work with. (Critical Link incorporates Arm-based components from makers like Intel and Texas Instruments in some of our SOMs.) There’s also a good explanation of what it means when a device is built around x86 (as in, e.g., “Intel Inside”) vs. when a device is designed around Arm.  And if you’re interested in the relationship between Arm and Apple, this may be the article for you. (There’s also a section on the Arm-Nvidia deal, which may or may not happen. Regulators world-wide are looking at that one. Stay tuned!)

Things got going for me when the more technical discussion began.

There’s a good section on the merits of RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) computing – which is where the “r” in “Arm” comes from – vs. CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computers (CISC) when it comes to efficiency and customizability. This section is followed by more discussion of the difference between an Arm processor and an x86 CPU, and an explanation of the difference between an Arm chip and a GPU.

The article then presents a summary of the design classes of Arm processors that are in production today. Critical Link has several offerings that incorporate Cortex-A design, which is considered the “workforce of the Arm family.”

As originally conceived, the client looking to build a system around Cortex-A had a particular application in mind for it, such as a digital audio amplifier, digital video processor, the microcontroller for a fire suppression system, or a sophisticated heart rate monitor. As things turned out, Cortex-A ended up being the heart of two emerging classes of device: single-board computers capable of being programmed for a variety of applications, such as cash register processing; and most importantly of all, smartphones. Importantly, Cortex-A processors include memory management units (MMU) on-chip…The principal tool in Cortex-A’s arsenal is its advanced single-instruction, multiple-data (SIMD) instruction set, code-named NEON, which executes instructions like accessing memory and processing data in parallel over a larger set of vectors. Imagine pulling into a filling station and loading up with enough fuel for 8 or 16 tanks, and you’ll get the basic idea.

I guess that’s why we like it!

There’s also the Cortex-R class, used primarily for “microcontroller applications that require real-time processing,” and the Cortex-M, “a more miniaturized form factor.” Ethos-N processors are deployed for neural network processing; the Ethos-U works as a co-processor, often in conjunction with Cortex-A. Neoverse is for servers and data centers. Secure Core is used in smartcard and embedded security apps.

Our  latest SOMs (the MitySOM-AM57F and MitySOM-AM57X) have dual Cortex-M4s on board as part of the TI AM57x processor architecture.

The article continues with a few more technical sections, then concludes with a brief history of Arm processors.

Throughout the article, there are links to a number of different articles/videos you make want to graze through if you have the time and want to learn more. And speaking of learning more, there’s a good summary of the new Armv9 architecture on embedded.com. Happy reading!

Gazing into the crystal ball for 2019

Posted on by

It’s always good to start off the new year by looking into the crystal ball and trying to figure out what’s going to happen moving forward. Here, I’m looking into the crystal ball via a report that the folks at ARM have recently published. Their 2019 Technology Survey & Predictions: Yes to More Tech, Yes to AI, Yes to Body Odor Detection is interesting, even if I for one believe there’s a reasonably viable, long-proven approach to body odor detection that does not require technology.

Here are a few quick takeaways.

For starters, their survey showed that, globally, 66% of participants reported that technology had become more important to their lives during 2018, while 31% said the importance had remained unchanged during the year. This isn’t surprising. What is surprising to me is that 3% of people noted that technology had become less a part of their lives. Hmmmm.

The survey showed that the vast majority of respondents had smartphones, and ARM made some smartphone-related prognostications. One thing they’re looking for is smarter navigation, predicting that by 2022 augmented reality will be used in mobile nav apps, and that “within three years, we expect Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) to be widely-used in precision (down to <1cm accuracy) location-based service indoors, particularly by retailers looking to guide shoppers to specific goods.”

They’re also predicting that gaming will increasingly be moving to smartphones, with gaming on tablets reaching the point of obsolescence by 2025. To me, this is more about the convergence of tablets and smartphones, as smartphones grow in size. The smartphone gaming (and movie-watching) experience will be enhanced by 5G technology, which will enable no-latency downloads by 2020.

Smartphones will be getting smarter, with a prediction that during 2019, “the average number of global monthly users of AI-based mobile apps…will double to 2 billion people.” And speaking of getting smarter, ARM foresees that 2019 will be the year in which the intelligent home will really start to take off, especially “in areas such as home lighting, irrigation and heating/cooling.” I don’t really need to have a refrigerator figuring out what aisle I’m in at Wegman’s and telling me what to buy, but apps like lighting, heating/cooling, and home security work for me!

While our homes are getting more intelligent, so are commercial buildings.

Energy efficiencies from optimized HVAC and efficient lighting are fast becoming table stakes for all new buildings so smarter owners will look towards space optimization, object detection for safety/security, way finding and asset tracking as a way of making buildings work better for users.

Cities are getting in on the get smart act as well.

The rise of Machine Learning (ML) and Computer Vision (CV) will mean smart city guardians will look beyond cost reduction (e.g., intelligent LED street lighting) to citizen engagement and stronger revenue flows from areas such as red-light violation detection, Wi-Fi-hotspot, 5G services, smart towers, crime detection/analysis and information broadcast.

Regular Critical Link blog readers will know that I am very interested in car-related technology, so I got a kick out of ARM’s saying that “Mph may be giving way to MHz”, as their survey found that car buyers are increasingly interested in the tech features of their new vehicles. I’m not advocating for it, but as cities get smarter, there’ll no doubt be a rise in the use of technology to avoid red-light violations. Just sayin’.

As for the use of technology for body odor detection, ARM sees this as the type of odd-ball AI application we’re likely to see in 2019, when they predict there’ll be “new flexible plastic computer chips embedded in clothes to detect body odor levels.”

Overall, 92% of those surveyed anticipate that the use of AI will become more widespread in 2019, and ARM sees more and more devices running AI algorithms and using machine learning processes to learn user patterns over time. Despite all the technology adoption, concerns remain about security and privacy.

As always with technology, exciting times ahead!

Image source: ARC Advisory Group

Critical Link Receives Innovators Award at AIA Vision Show 2018

Posted on by

The company was honored with the Innovators Award – Bronze Level from Vision Systems Design (VSD) at a special ceremony on April 10, 2018, in Boston, Mass.

Critical Link Receives 2018 Vision Systems Design Innovators AwardCritical Link, LLC, experts in image sensor technology, system-on-chip (SoC) and field-programmable gate array (FPGA) designs, vision protocols, and signal processing, received the prestigious Innovators Award – Bronze level at the Fourth Annual Vision Systems Design Innovators Awards presentation, held during The Vision Show in Boston, Mass.

The MitySOM®-5CSX Embedded Vision Development Kit (VDK) for Basler dart BCON Cameras was selected for the award in the Embedded Vision category by a panel of esteemed experts from system integrator and end-user companies. Critical Link’s Embedded Vision Development Kit provides a complete hardware and software solution for system developers, streamlining embedded imaging application developments.

The kit includes on-board image processing capabilities with FPGA fabric and dual core ARMs, and rapid prototyping via Altera’s VIP Suite and OpenCL. It also comes with a variety of sensor options and communication interfaces, and includes complimentary access to Basler’s intuitive Pylon camera software suite.

The Innovators Awards are judged based on the following criteria:

  • Originality
  • Innovation
  • Impact on designers, systems integrators, end users
  • Fulfilling a need in the market that hasn’t been addressed
  • Leveraging a novel technology

Vision Systems Design Innovators Award 2018Amber Thousand, director of marketing for Critical Link, notes, “Our MitySOM Embedded VDK engineering team is honored to be selected as an Innovators Awards recipient for 2018. Our out-of-the-box kit comes complete with the MitySOM-5CSX module, camera(s), and necessary cabling to start a project, making it easier and faster than ever to bring an embedded vision product to market. We are delighted to have our product innovation acknowledged by this distinguished award from Vision Systems Design”.

The team leader of embedded module business at Americas at Basler,Tim Coggins, remarks, “The Critical Link engineering team amazed us by integrating an early prototype of the Basler BCON LVDS module before anyone else. Their knowledge and integration capabilities are first rate. The MitySOM Embedded Vision Development Kit is a great product for the embedded design engineering community, providing rapid prototyping and a fast path to production. This award and recognition is very well deserved.”

To learn more about Critical Link’s embedded systems, custom imaging platforms, and full engineering support services and product development, visit http://www.criticallink.com/services/.

All 2018 Vision Systems Design Innovators Awards Honorees will be featured in the June issue of Vision Systems Design magazine as well as on http://www.vision-systems.com.

 

About the Company: Critical Link, LLC, founded in 1997, develops embedded systems solutions, system on modules (SOMs) and imaging systems for a wide variety of electronic applications. As experts in image sensor technology, system on chip (SoC) and field-programmable gate array (FPGA) design, signal processing, and vision protocols, we support all product development tasks, from
concept to final production.

Our flexibility allows us to deliver full lifecycle support and services at any step along the product development path, when and where needed, to effectively keep costs down. From engineering to hardware and software development, and mechanical engineering to prototyping and manufacture/assembly, Critical Link is committed to helping our OEM customers reach their project goals quickly and cost-effectively.

Privately held, Critical Link is a Platinum member of the Intel FPGA Design Services Network and Intel IoT Solutions Alliance, and is ISO 9001:2015 registered by SRI Quality Systems Registrar.

About The Vision Systems Design 2018 Innovators Award Program: The Vision Systems Design 2018 Innovators Award program reviewed and recognized the most innovative products and services in the vision and image processing industry. Honorees were announced at AIA Vision 2018 held in Boston, MA, USA. Criteria used in the Innovators Awards ranking included: originality,  innovation; impact on designers, systems integrators and end-users; fulfilling a need in the market that hasn’t been addressed, leveraging a novel  technology, and increasing productivity.Back in the day, a growing shortage of engineering resources threatened to hold back innovation and development initiatives in the realm of embedded hardware and software.

 

Critical Link Announces Embedded Imaging Systems with Full Engineering Support

Posted on by

 Photonics West embedded imaging technology demonstration

Company will showcase its engineering support services and custom imaging design capabilities at SPIE’s Photonics West, Moscone Center, San Francisco, Jan. 30 – Feb. 1, 2018, in South Hall booth #210.

 

Critical Link, LLC, experts in image sensor technology, system-on-chip (SoC) and field-programmable gate array (FPGA) designs, vision protocols, and signal processing, announces its full engineering support services to enhance the company’s product development and manufacturing capabilities. Specializing in embedded systems and custom imaging platforms, the company’s engineering team designs, manufactures, and supports sensor board development, on-board processing, and a wide variety of interfaces/ protocols for industrial applications including test and measurement, medical/scientific instrumentation, factory automation, transportation, and defense. Critical Link’s imaging platforms incorporate CMOS/sCMOS, CCD, indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs), and other sensor technologies, including 1D and 2D arrays.

Director of marketing, Amber Thousand, notes, “Our expert engineering team supports our customers at any step in their product development through manufacturing and the assembly process. We pride ourselves on our flexibility to provide the exact elements required, at the time needed, to meet our customer’s specifications. We offer a wide variety of engineering skills and services, but only deploy them as needed, which helps keep our customers’ costs under control.”

To learn more about Critical Link’s cost-effective, full engineering support services and product development, please go to: https://www.criticallink.com/services/ or stop by South Hall booth #210 at SPIE’s Photonics West, Moscone Center, San Francisco, Jan. 30 – Feb. 1, 2018. The company will be giving away two embedded imaging development kits and all booth visitors will be entered into the drawing for a chance to win a MitySOM-5CSX Vision Development Kit.

For more information about the company’s custom imaging design platforms, visit: https://www.criticallink.com/services/custom-imaging/. For details about Critical Link’s product development, including customizable system on modules (SOMs), development kits, board sets, image processing building blocks, interface options and more, please see: https://www.criticallink.com/products/.
 

About Critical Link

Critical Link, LLC (Syracuse, NY www.criticallink.com), founded in 1997, develops embedded systems solutions, system on modules (SOMs) and imaging systems for a wide variety of electronic applications. As experts in image sensor technology, system on chip (SoC) and field-programmable gate array (FPGA) design, signal processing, and vision protocols, we support all product development tasks, from concept to final production.

Our flexibility allows us to deliver full lifecycle support and services at any step along the product development path, when and where needed, to effectively keep costs down. From engineering to hardware and software development, and mechanical engineering to prototyping and manufacture/assembly, Critical Link is committed to helping our OEM customers reach their project goals quickly and cost-effectively.

Privately held, Critical Link is a Platinum member of the Intel FPGA Design Services Network and Intel IoT Solutions Alliance, a Platinum Partner of the TI Design Network, and a certified member of the Arrow Consulting Engineering Services (ACES) network, and is ISO 9001:2008 Registered by SRI Quality System Registrar.

Embedded Vision Demo & Maker-Pro Kit on Display at DelMar Electronics

Posted on by

Critical Link’s MitySOM-5CSx Embedded Imaging Development Kit and our MitySOM-335x Maker Transition Kit will be on display at the DelMar Electronics & Manufacturing Show in San Diego, CA on May 3-4, 2017. Stop by booth #226 to learn more.

The Embedded Imaging Development Kit pairs Critical Link’s MitySOM-5CSx with a Dart®, the latest camera from Basler, a world leader in vision technology. This power-packed combination is the fastest path for embedded imaging application development. The kit enables real-time image processing in the MitySOM’s Cyclone V SoC, using dual-core Cortex-A9 ARMs and FPGA fabric, and leveraging IP Cores from Altera’s VIP Suite. Image data feeds directly from the MitySOM-5CSx with no PC in the loop – a key out-of-the-box feature for embedded applications.

The MitySOM-335x Maker Transition Kit enables maker-pros to convert prototypes based on the BeagleBone Black with TI’s AM335x ARM processor to production-suitable designs leveraging Critical Link’s proven MitySOM platform. The kit is designed to minimize changes when transitioning from the BeagleBone Black, and in many cases is a drop-in replacement. Interested developers can visit Critical Link’s engineering site to review all design documentation and engage with our engineering team.

We look forward to seeing you at DelMar in San Diego!

 

About Critical Link

Syracuse, N.Y.-based Critical Link (www.criticallink.com) is an embedded systems engineering firm offering customizable system-on-modules (SOMs) and imaging platforms for industrial, medical, scientific, and defense applications. Critical Link’s end-to-end product engineering services include design, development, and production. Critical Link is a premier Partner in the ImagingHub by Basler, a Platinum Member of the Altera (Intel) Design Solutions Network, a member of the Intel IoT Solutions Alliance, and is ISO 9001:2008 Registered by SRI Quality System Registrar.

 

New Embedded Imaging Kit for Basler Dart at SPIE DCS

Posted on by

 

Critical Link’s new MitySOM-5CSx Embedded Imaging Development Kit will be on display at the SPIE Defense & Commercial Sensing show in Anaheim, April 11-13, 2017.

This kit pairs Critical Link’s MitySOM-5CSx Development Kit with a BCON Dart®, the latest camera series from Basler, a world leader in vision technology. This power-packed combination is the fastest path for embedded imaging application development.

SPIE DCS is the leading global sensing and imaging event, drawing attendees from commercial and defense sectors working on next generation designs in areas of robotics, test & measurement, unmanned systems, machine vision, and many others. Critical Link’s MitySOM-5CSx platform is designed for embedded applications across these areas, ensuring a faster time to market and a significantly reduced development budget. Add in integration with Basler’s dart series, the result is development platform perfectly fit for embedded vision products.

At Critical Link’s booth #219 you’ll see how a dart with BCON for LVDS  works using an edge detection application running on the MitySOM-5CSx. The demo features real-time image processing in the MitySOM’s Cyclone V SoC, using dual-core Cortex-A9 ARMs and FPGA fabric, and leveraging IP Cores from Altera’s VIP Suite. Images feed from the MitySOM-5CSx directly to a display port monitor with no PC in the loop – a key out-of-the-box feature for embedded applications.

A fully-bundled kit will be available from Critical Link in early Q2, 2017. Contact us today at info@criticallink.com to ensure earliest delivery.

View details on the MitySOM & Basler dart with BCON for LVDS demo.

 

About Critical Link

Syracuse, N.Y.-based Critical Link (www.criticallink.com) is an embedded systems engineering firm offering customizable system-on-modules (SOMs) and imaging platforms for industrial, medical, scientific, and defense applications. Critical Link’s end-to-end product engineering services include design, development, and production. Critical Link is a premier Partner in the ImagingHub by Basler, a Platinum Member of the Altera (Intel) Design Solutions Network, a member of the Intel IoT Solutions Alliance, and is ISO 9001:2008 Registered by SRI Quality System Registrar.

 

Embedded Imaging Dev Kit for Basler Dart at Automate

Posted on by

 

Critical Link’s MitySOM-5CSx Development Kit has been paired up with Basler’s latest camera series, the dart® with BCON for LVDS interface. This power-packed combination is the fastest path for embedded imaging application development, and will be on display at Basler’s booth #2666 at the Automate show in Chicago, April 3-6, 2017.

Automate is the biggest North-American show for automation, robotics, motion control, and vision. Critical Link’s MitySOM-5CSx platform is designed for embedded applications across each of these areas, ensuring a faster time to market and a significantly reduced development budget. Add integration with Basler’s dart series, the result is development platform perfectly fit for embedded vision products.

At Basler’s booth #2666 you’ll see how a dart with BCON for LVDS  works using an edge detection application running on the MitySOM-5CSx. The demo features real-time image processing in the MitySOM’s Cyclone V SoC, using dual-core Cortex A9 ARMs and FPGA fabric, and leveraging IP Cores from Altera’s VIP Suite. Image data feeds directly to a monitor with no PC in the loop – a key out-of-the-box feature for embedded developers.

A fully-bundled kit will be available from Critical Link in early Q2, 2017. Contact us today at info@criticallink.com to ensure earliest delivery.

 

About Critical Link

Syracuse, N.Y.-based Critical Link (www.criticallink.com) is an embedded systems engineering firm offering customizable system-on-modules (SOMs) and imaging platforms for industrial, medical, scientific, and defense applications. Critical Link’s end-to-end product engineering services include design, development, and production. Critical Link is a premier Partner in the ImagingHub by Basler, a Platinum Member of the Altera (Intel) Design Solutions Network, a member of the Intel IoT Solutions Alliance, and is ISO 9001:2008 Registered by SRI Quality System Registrar.

 

New Maker-Pro Kit & Embedded Vision Demo on Display at TI Tech Day Milwaukee

Posted on by

 

 

Critical Link’s MitySOM-335x Maker Transition Kit will be on display at the Texas Instruments Tech Day in Milwaukee, WI on March 30, 2017. Visit our table to learn more about the kit, and register to win one free.

The MitySOM-335x Maker Transition Kit enables maker-pros to convert prototypes based on the BeagleBone Black with TI’s AM335x ARM processor to production-suitable designs leveraging Critical Link’s proven MitySOM-335x platform. The kit is designed to minimize changes when transitioning from the BeagleBone Black, and in many cases is a drop-in replacement. Interested developers can visit Critical Link’s engineering site to review design documentation and engage with our engineering team.

Critical Link will also be featuring an embedded vision demo using our MityDSP-L138F, a system on module based on TI’s OMAP-L138 with Spartan FPGA. Originally introduced in 2010, the MitySOM-L138F continues to be selected for new applications in unmanned systems, utilities management, networking & communication systems, factory automation, and test & measurement, among many others.

Register for free today to attend this great event!

 

 

About Critical Link

Syracuse, N.Y.-based Critical Link (www.criticallink.com) is an embedded systems engineering firm offering customizable system-on-modules (SOMs) for industrial, medical, scientific, and defense applications. Critical Link’s end-to-end product engineering services include design, development, and production. Critical Link is a Platinum Member of the Texas Instruments Design Network and is ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001 Registered by SRI Quality System Registrar.

 

Use our SOM Selector Product Quote Engineering Support Inquiry General Contact Email Us