Embedded Systems with onboard FPGA and 802.11bg WiFi

Jun 17, 2010 4 Replies
A

Hi All,



I'm looking for a small embedded computer on-a-board system for a final year university project on Swarm Robotics.



I have Googled around the Internet for quite sometime and while I have come close to finding what I wanted, I still haven't been able to find a kit/board/system which has all the features I need. The closest I've come to finding a kit that matches my requirements, would be the APF9328 or APF27 from Armadeus:

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The Specs I'm most interested in are:



Dedicated Processor: ARM, Coldfire, Blackfin (anything capable of running either ARMLinux or uCLinux) FPGA (built onto the board): Spartan 3A,3E,6... decent number of gates for video DSP & recognition WiFi module: either 802.11b or g...



Other restrictions would be form factor (the hardware shouldn't be bigger than 15x15x3cm (6x6x1.2") and of course price, as the system must be as cheap as possible as it's a uni project & there needs to be at least 6-7 of these SwarmBot running at a single time...



If you have any suggestions / products / solutions or recommendations, you know what to do.



Cheers & Best Regards, Michael.


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1

probably more $$ and more power than you need, but there will be some single board solutions over at

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. A 2 (maybe 3) bd 'stack of PC104 bds might work for you too.

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B

Not quite what you ask for but how about combining these two:

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and
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Bob Smith (lead developer at Demand Peripherals)

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R

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There are a few at

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that are close to meeting your requirements. A quick 'net search indicates that there have been some ports of uCLinux to the LPC2138, so that works. The networking is to 10BaseT modular connectors so you'd need a separate WiFi gizmo.

Rich Webb Norfolk, VA
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A

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I think I will end up going with the board from Armadeus as it allows the best customisation.

On top of this all the connections are mapped out using a Hirose connector making it easy to build an add on board. - Not to mention their is a direct connection between the processor bus and FPGA allowing very efficient data transfer for video and DSP control processing.

Guess the university will just have to suck it up if they want this project done.

Thanks again for all your suggestions.

- Cheers, Mike.

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