INDEPENDENT NEWS

New Platform for Embedded Electronics Developers

Published: Thu 21 Feb 2008 02:38 PM
Bluewater Releases New Platform for Embedded Electronics Developers
Media release, 19-Feb-08, Bluewater Systems, Christchurch, New Zealand: Christchurch, New Zealand based ARM solutions provider, Bluewater Systems Ltd has announced the launch of its new Rig 200 ARM development kit for embedded electronic development and prototyping.
Rig 200 is the ideal starting point for developing a vast array of electronic products ranging from GPS location units, to mobile phones, PDAs and more specialised embedded electronic devices.
According to Bluewater Sales Director Sarosh Dubash, the Rig 200 is a huge leap forward in the level of peripherals and functionality delivered by an off-shelf-development board.
“Previously for companies to prototype or develop a product that required technologies such as wireless or GPS meant a high price tag and often a level of custom development. With Rig 200 we can immediately get a development team up and running with a proven solution for less than NZ$2000,” Dubash said.
Using a development platform such as Rig 200 enables design engineers to test and experiment with both hardware and software concepts before to committing significant resources to a specific development path.
Rig 200 can also be used within a custom enclosure to form a rapid prototyping solution or for pre-production trials.
One of the first customers for Rig 200, New Zealand based Connexionz, did exactly this by using the board to prototype a new generation of digital bus signage in the UK.
“The speed with which we could prototype a solution was vital to the success of our project,” said Connexionz managing director, Robert Burke. “By using the Rig 200 we were able to start developing application software immediately and get fully functional trials installed within weeks.”
The Rig 200 follows on from Bluewater's award winning Snapper product and is the culmination of 11 years of engineering experience for Bluewater, proving to be the company's most compact, feature packed development platform yet.
Rig 200 caters for a wide range of ARM9 processor cores and supports an impressive range of add on functionality including GPS location, GPRS data transfer, WiFi, Bluetooth and a 3 mega pixel camera.
Using the Snapper System modules to provide the core processor function, developers can choose a Marvel PXA270, PXA255 or Cirrus Logic EP9315 CPU.
In addition to standard peripherals such as Ethernet, USB, Serial etc, Rig 200 provides users with optional Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity. A range of additional expansion modules then deliver specialised functionality and enable Rig 200 to meet a range of more specific development needs.
Module options include:
Location Plus Module - Combined GPS location hardware and GPRS date transfer. Also supports additional Bluetooth and Zigbee
Expansion Plus Module - Allows connection to 3rd party peripherals
Display Plus - a fully featured LCD connector board that enables virtually any LCD to be connected
Hard Disk Plus - a simple connector options that enables a 2.5" IDE hard disk to be connected
Camera Plus - a 3MP camera option that can be operated by the Rig 200 board to provide high resolution image capture
Board Features Summary
- Full support for either the Snapper 255, Snapper 270 or Snapper CL15 modules
- DC power input
- Dual Battery charging from 7.2v Li-ion cells
- 10/100 Ethernet with POE option
- USB Host ports (1 USB type A connector, and two pin headers)
- USB Device port which can power the board
- Two DB9 serial ports, one IRDA interface
- SD card interfaced
- CF card interface
- CF module interface (for optional WiFi module)
- 8 LEDs
- 8 position dip switch
- VGA output
- LCD expansion header
- Audio: linein, lineout, high power out, speaker, and microphone
- Expansion headers for daughter boards
- Optional Bluetooth Module (fitted directly to the board)
- Optional 802.11 WiFi Module (fitted directly to the board)
- Optional GPS/GPRS Data and Location Module
- Optional Expansion Module
- Optional LCD Connector Module
- Optional Hard disk Module
- Optional 3MP Camera Module
About Bluewater Systems (www.bluewatersys.com)
Bluewater Systems is an independently owned company formed in 1996 and an ARM Technology Solution Centre, specialising in on board and FPGA electronic design. With offices in Christchurch, New Zealand and Melbourne, Australia, Bluewater Systems has provided services to a number of international customers, including the Australian Department of Defence, ARM PLC, NEC, Connexionz, TracMap, Surveylab and Tenon.
Bluewater's vision is to enable all businesses to realise the benefits of ARM technology through tools, consulting, support and system modules. Products and services offered by Bluewater Systems include:
* Extensive range of ARM development tools
* Snapper System Module and Single Board Computer which enables fast design and turn-around and low-volume manufacture of advanced electronics designs
* ARM Consulting services, from FPGA design to full product development
ENDS

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