From: Elvis D. <elv...@ma...> - 2009-02-21 08:55:00
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Hi, I'm starting work on designing an FPGA expansion board for the Overo motherboard. I was wondering if some of you would be interested in participating and helping out in the development of this board. Best regards, Elvis Dowson |
From: Lee C. <lee...@gm...> - 2009-06-22 21:00:11
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Are you working on a commercial expansion board or something a little more diy? For simple communication it would be possible to use some of the xilinx tools for serial communication. I know spartan boards support serial(uart) and spi. Elvis Dowson wrote: > > Hi, > I'm starting work on designing an FPGA expansion board for > the Overo motherboard. I was wondering if some of you would be > interested in participating and helping out in the development of this > board. > > Best regards, > > Elvis Dowson > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Open Source Business Conference (OSBC), March 24-25, 2009, San Francisco, > CA > -OSBC tackles the biggest issue in open source: Open Sourcing the > Enterprise > -Strategies to boost innovation and cut costs with open source > participation > -Receive a $600 discount off the registration fee with the source code: > SFAD > http://p.sf.net/sfu/XcvMzF8H > _______________________________________________ > gumstix-users mailing list > gum...@li... > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/gumstix-users > > -- View this message in context: http://www.nabble.com/FPGA-expansion-board-for-Overo-tp22133966p24155349.html Sent from the Gumstix mailing list archive at Nabble.com. |
From: Hugo V. <hug...@gm...> - 2009-06-22 21:15:11
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If you're going to the trouble of making a custom FPGA expansion board, *please* connect the full bus interface (EM_*) and not just SPI or serial (although by all means, connect them to the FPGA too!). I certainly could be interested depending on where your design ends up. Hugo On Tue, Jun 23, 2009 at 8:59 AM, Lee Carraher<lee...@gm...> wrote: > > Are you working on a commercial expansion board or something a little more > diy? > > For simple communication it would be possible to use some of the xilinx > tools for serial communication. I know spartan boards support serial(uart) > and spi. > > > > Elvis Dowson wrote: >> >> Hi, >> I'm starting work on designing an FPGA expansion board for >> the Overo motherboard. I was wondering if some of you would be >> interested in participating and helping out in the development of this >> board. >> >> Best regards, >> >> Elvis Dowson >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> Open Source Business Conference (OSBC), March 24-25, 2009, San Francisco, >> CA >> -OSBC tackles the biggest issue in open source: Open Sourcing the >> Enterprise >> -Strategies to boost innovation and cut costs with open source >> participation >> -Receive a $600 discount off the registration fee with the source code: >> SFAD >> http://p.sf.net/sfu/XcvMzF8H >> _______________________________________________ >> gumstix-users mailing list >> gum...@li... >> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/gumstix-users >> >> > > -- > View this message in context: http://www.nabble.com/FPGA-expansion-board-for-Overo-tp22133966p24155349.html > Sent from the Gumstix mailing list archive at Nabble.com. > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Are you an open source citizen? Join us for the Open Source Bridge conference! > Portland, OR, June 17-19. Two days of sessions, one day of unconference: $250. > Need another reason to go? 24-hour hacker lounge. Register today! > http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;215844324;13503038;v?http://opensourcebridge.org > _______________________________________________ > gumstix-users mailing list > gum...@li... > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/gumstix-users > |
From: Martial C. <Mar...@t-...> - 2009-06-25 06:51:38
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Hi all, Yes this is definitely an interesting subject. I'll look at what comes out as I am interested to build a servo driver using an FPGA (Read the PPM signal from a tapped RC receiver and send servo pulses to individual pulses) I am currently working on porting my avr autopilot to linux. I am using a VerdexPro though. http://www.horus-uav-systems.de/39994/40925.html Regards Martial > Elvis Dowson wrote: > > Hi, > > I'm starting work on designing an FPGA expansion board for > > the Overo motherboard. I was wondering if some of you would be > > interested in participating and helping out in the development of this > > board. > > > > Best regards, > > > > Elvis Dowson > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >----- Open Source Business Conference (OSBC), March 24-25, 2009, San > > Francisco, CA > > -OSBC tackles the biggest issue in open source: Open Sourcing the > > Enterprise > > -Strategies to boost innovation and cut costs with open source > > participation > > -Receive a $600 discount off the registration fee with the source code: > > SFAD > > http://p.sf.net/sfu/XcvMzF8H > > _______________________________________________ > > gumstix-users mailing list > > gum...@li... > > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/gumstix-users |
From: Elvis D. <elv...@ma...> - 2009-06-23 04:01:21
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Hi, This will be done in two steps, a. interfacing the Overo via the EM_* signals, and connecting it to a Xilinx ML507 development board via a level shifter. There is a TI OMAP GPMC (general purpose memory controller) to PLB v46 bridge that needs to be written to allow the GPMC requests to appear inside the FPGA and access the FPGA peripherals or IP blocks via the PLB (Processor Local Bus). So the idea is for the OMAP GPMC to to access the FPGA like a NAND device. In terms of design, the OMAP will be responsible for loading the FPGA algorithm from microSD and uploading it to the FPGA. The idea is tto use the FPGA as a co-processor with the Overo. So, in this step, all the software/firmware issues will be debugged before going onto developing a custom expansion board. b. the custom expansion board will have an FPGA device, initially a Virtex-5, and will interface with the EM signals, plus expose additional GPIO pins from the FPGA, so that a designer can reuse them for specific functionality. Just to keep things simple, this variant will only expose the GPIO pins initially, but you can do much more, like expose its high speed gigabit serial transceivers, etc. There is also the Virtex-6 and Spartan-6 family that's coming out, so after the initial board has been developed, I'll try to switch to the Virtex-6 or Spartan-6 family, depending on its availability. Best regards, Elvis On Jun 23, 2009, at 1:09 AM, Hugo Vincent wrote: > If you're going to the trouble of making a custom FPGA expansion > board, *please* connect the full bus interface (EM_*) and not just SPI > or serial (although by all means, connect them to the FPGA too!). I > certainly could be interested depending on where your design ends up. > > Hugo > > On Tue, Jun 23, 2009 at 8:59 AM, Lee Carraher<lee...@gm...> > wrote: >> >> Are you working on a commercial expansion board or something a >> little more >> diy? >> >> For simple communication it would be possible to use some of the >> xilinx >> tools for serial communication. I know spartan boards support >> serial(uart) >> and spi. >> |
From: charkear <cke...@ut...> - 2009-06-27 06:32:04
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Sounds like an excelent idea, has anyone seen this board. The schematic and board are shown. I am biased toward cyclone family since I have used it before. Development environment is free too... http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8596 -- View this message in context: http://www.nabble.com/FPGA-expansion-board-for-Overo-tp22133966p24230789.html Sent from the Gumstix mailing list archive at Nabble.com. |
From: Martial C. <Mar...@t-...> - 2009-06-27 10:43:51
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Le samedi 27 juin 2009 08:32:02 charkear, vous avez écrit : > Sounds like an excelent idea, has anyone seen this board. The schematic > and board are shown. > I am biased toward cyclone family since I have used it before. > Development environment is free too... > > http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8596 I am quite an idiot when it comes to FPGA. I basically went through a book during spring. I've also seen some quite small chips that a hobbyist can solder on its own design. even DIL packages. Of course they have a lot less gates. Can some tell an order of magnitude of how many gates are required to build a servo driver: 8 registers for actual servo positions 8 register for failsafe positions 8 registers for PPM input counters, to generate (something like a 4017) an read PPM signal. Regards Martial |
From: Elvis D. <elv...@ma...> - 2009-06-27 06:39:01
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This board looks nice. You probably will need some level shifters and interface the Altera to the OMAP GPMC if you're using this. Elvis On Jun 27, 2009, at 10:32 AM, charkear wrote: > > Sounds like an excelent idea, has anyone seen this board. The > schematic and > board are shown. > I am biased toward cyclone family since I have used it before. > Development environment is free too... > > http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8596 |
From: charkear <cke...@ut...> - 2009-06-27 21:31:39
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I believe the cyclone series can have the IO levels programed... I am not familiar with that particular boards capability. Elvis Dowson wrote: > > This board looks nice. You probably will need some level shifters and > interface the Altera to the OMAP GPMC if you're using this. > > Elvis > > On Jun 27, 2009, at 10:32 AM, charkear wrote: > >> >> Sounds like an excelent idea, has anyone seen this board. The >> schematic and >> board are shown. >> I am biased toward cyclone family since I have used it before. >> Development environment is free too... >> >> http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8596 > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > _______________________________________________ > gumstix-users mailing list > gum...@li... > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/gumstix-users > > -- View this message in context: http://www.nabble.com/FPGA-expansion-board-for-Overo-tp22133966p24236770.html Sent from the Gumstix mailing list archive at Nabble.com. |
From: Elvis D. <elv...@ma...> - 2009-06-27 06:41:50
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Hi, There's even a Xilinx Spartan version. http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8458 The Xilinx ISE web edition is also free. Haven't checked out the Altera tools, but the Xilinx tool are really good and has a lot of useful utilities and the documentation is quite extensive. Elvis On Jun 27, 2009, at 10:32 AM, charkear wrote: > > Sounds like an excelent idea, has anyone seen this board. The > schematic and > board are shown. > I am biased toward cyclone family since I have used it before. > Development environment is free too... > > http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8596 > > > > -- > View this message in context: http://www.nabble.com/FPGA-expansion-board-for-Overo-tp22133966p24230789.html > Sent from the Gumstix mailing list archive at Nabble.com. > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > _______________________________________________ > gumstix-users mailing list > gum...@li... > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/gumstix-users |
From: Martial C. <Mar...@t-...> - 2009-06-27 11:53:22
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What about this one 99$: http://www.latticesemi.com/products/developmenthardware/cpldboards/machxostarterevaluationbo.cfm or even 89$, USB powered, smaller: http://www.latticesemi.com/products/developmenthardware/developmentkits/machxominidevelopmentkit.cfm Regards Martial Le samedi 27 juin 2009 08:41:13 Elvis Dowson, vous avez écrit : > Hi, > There's even a Xilinx Spartan version. > > http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8458 > > The Xilinx ISE web edition is also free. Haven't checked out the > Altera tools, but the Xilinx tool are really good and has a lot of > useful utilities and the documentation is quite extensive. > > Elvis > > On Jun 27, 2009, at 10:32 AM, charkear wrote: > > Sounds like an excelent idea, has anyone seen this board. The > > schematic and > > board are shown. > > I am biased toward cyclone family since I have used it before. > > Development environment is free too... > > > > http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8596 > > > > > > > > -- > > View this message in context: > > http://www.nabble.com/FPGA-expansion-board-for-Overo-tp22133966p24230789. > >html Sent from the Gumstix mailing list archive at Nabble.com. > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >----- _______________________________________________ > > gumstix-users mailing list > > gum...@li... > > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/gumstix-users > > --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >--- _______________________________________________ > gumstix-users mailing list > gum...@li... > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/gumstix-users |
From: Elvis D. <elv...@ma...> - 2009-06-27 15:17:33
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Hi Martial, I can't say off hand without actually trying one of these devices physically and using the software and seeing the development work flows. You have many choices, i guess, but you'll need to take the risk and go ahead and buy one and try it out. If the software is free then it will help you get started. However, my experience is that the free software will only get you so far, and will be aimed at the lowest end of the product family. Sometime, specific productivity enhancing tools, workflows and libraries might be missing in the free versions, which will force you to eventually consider buying the paid version of the software. My recommendation is to go in for the new Xilinx Spartan-6 FPGA SP601 evaluation kit at USD$295. The software flows and tool support are very good. Spartan-6 FPGA SP601 Evaluation Kit. This kit wasn't there a few weeks ago. I will also probably order this kit very soon, and migrate my integration work with the Overo with this platform. So, it will help if we share the same infrastructure. At the moment I am using a Xilinx ML507 Virtex-5 evaluation board, because it has an FXT chipset, which features a PowerPC core. This is useful if you want to run and operating system on the FPGA. I plan to run a light posix style run-time to manage the interface between the Overo and the FPGA. Virtex-5 FXT FPGA ML507 Evaluation Platform. This one is about USD$1195, plus you need to get the USB download probe and cable. The package for USD$1195 doesnt come with the software, neither does it support some specific features or workflows (i.e. EDK) for the FX70T processor. So, its better to get the full kit which costs USD$2595, which includes the full s/w (a USD$2995) cost + download probe + ML507 board, so you might end up spending a bit more initially, but you save in the long run. In all this, the upfront investment is a bit steep for the Virtex series. Once you have a prototype up and running, it later on just boils down to the cost of the barebones hardware for you actual system. You also need to be aware that you need to use a simulation software like ModelSim. So, you need to create behavioural models of your design, and test them first, and then transfer the code to the FPGA. So, in terms of software, you need the native development environment (Xilinx ISE, Xilinx EDK and Mentor Graphics ModelSim). After than if you want to speed up programming in VHDL, you can use a model driver development environment to automatically generate VHDL code from visual models. To further accelerate the development process, you should using a C to VHDL compiler, so that for all purposes, you program in C, but generate the code in VHDL. Best regards, Elvis On Jun 27, 2009, at 3:53 PM, Martial Chateauvieux wrote: > What about this one 99$: > http://www.latticesemi.com/products/developmenthardware/cpldboards/machxostarterevaluationbo.cfm > > or even 89$, USB powered, smaller: > http://www.latticesemi.com/products/developmenthardware/developmentkits/machxominidevelopmentkit.cfm > > Regards > Martial |