With today’s introduction of Kontron’s new ready-to-use SMARC Starterkit, the company enables developers to gain fast entry into the world of embedded ARM processors, which is now highly scalable thanks to SMARC Computer-on-Modules. The SMARC kit comes in a sturdy transport case, has all the cables already connected and is equipped with all the necessary components, including a display and power supply.
All Kontron SMARC Computer-on-Modules can be selected individually and – as an option – the SMARC Starterkit can be delivered with pre-installed module, operating system, Board Support Package and cooling solution. This allows developers to immediately launch into evaluation of their desired ARM platform.
Kontron currently offers a selection of SMARC specification conform module families based on ARM Cortex A9 and A8 processors from Freescale, Texas Instruments and Nvidia. While the Freescale i.MX6-based Kontron SMARC-sAMX6 and the Texas Instruments AM3874-based Kontron SMARC-sA3874i modules are designed for industrial temperature ranges of -40 °C to +85 °C – a common requirement for transportation, mobile, military and other rugged environmental applications, the Nvidia Tegra 3-based Computer-on-Module Kontron SMARC-sAT30 is ideal for graphic-hungry applications as, for example, the POS/POI and medical markets require.
All the SMARC designs fulfill this market demand for a compact Computer-on-Module with a standardized feature set and low-power consumption of only a few watts. Application areas range from mobile devices to on-board equipment and solar or conventional powered stationary devices.
The cabled SMARC Starterkit comes in a sturdy aluminum case. It includes a 7-inch WVGA touch screen display (800×480), a 5 volt wide-range power unit, and the SMARC evaluation carrierboard, which offers all the relevant interfaces defined by the SMARC Computer-on-Module standard. The range of interfaces features an LVDS and an HDMI interface, as well as, CSI and parallel camera ports.
Networking features include, Gigabit Ethernet, CAN Bus, serial interfaces, and a SIM card socket. Extension options are also available for Mini-PCIe, PCIe, mSATA and eMMC (microSD Card). A USB hub and an acceleration sensor are also integrated on the board. The SMARC Evaluation Carrier supports flexible power options including Li-Ion battery power with recharging circuitry as well as traditional bench top power supply.
All documentation is provided on a USB drive for this application-ready and cabled Kontron SMARC Starterkit.
The Kontron SMARC Starterkit is available now. Orders can be placed online at the Kontron SMARC Starterkit product page.
Filed Under: Rapid prototyping