Scary SOMtober
Don’t scream…but Q3 floated by like a ghost and just like that, it’s spooky season again. Here lies all of the highlights of this past quarter as we welcome SOMtober with ghoulish delight (and maybe just a little fright).
New BOO-SP releases
Q3/23 BSP releases are now available. Major updates to U-Boot 2023.04, Linux 6.1, and Yocto Kirkstone were made for our TI AM6x based products. Here’s what’s now available:
- BSP-Yocto-Ampliphy-AM62x-PD23.2.0
- BSP-Yocto-Ampliphy-AM64x-PD23.2.0
- BSP-Yocto-Ampliphy-AM62Ax-PD23.1.0
Learn more about what’s changed in these releases in the Software Release Section of our blog.
Trade that witch broom in for a kite – Zephyr support is here
Introducing new Zephyr support for our phyBOARD-AM62x M4F Core! We’re excited about this new basic support and are actively working on more interfaces.
Vampires and werewolves beware – PHYTEC now Silver Member of Linux Foundation
Linux foundation members help support the development of shared technology resources while accelerating their own innovation through open source leadership and participation in some of the world’s most successful open source projects. We are now Silver Partners of The Linux Foundation!
As a new member of the The Linux Foundation, we are proud to become an even more integral part of the vibrant open source community. The Linux Foundation plays a crucial role in advancing open source projects and technologies. This partnership is invaluable to us and we look forward to contributing to the open source community and being part of the Linux Foundation’s exciting events in the future.
No tricks, just treats! – RT1170 now shipping
We announced that the phyCORE-RT1170 was available for pre-order back in May. Well the time has finally come…phyBOARD-RT1170 Development Kits are shipping.
The phyCORE-RT1170 System on Module is our smallest connectorized SOM to date. It’s a crossover MCU designed for consumer, industrial and automotive markets with dual-core and advanced security. This miniature SOM combines superior computing power and multimedia with ease-of-use and real-time functionality. Features are not compromised as the 30 x 30 mm module includes an interconnect of 200 pins including MIPI CSI/DSI, Audio, CAN, Dual Ethernet and more!
Didn’t pre-order but ready to order a kit? Learn more and purchase a kit here. Not sure if the phyCORE-RT1170 is the right solution for you and want a more in-depth look? Check out our webinar with NXP all about it below.
Trick or treat yourself – Pre-order phyCORE-i.MX 93 and phyCORE-AM62Ax
Energy-efficient edge computing, accelerated Machine Learning – our phyCORE-i.MX 93 does it all!
Based on the i.MX 93 processor from NXP, it offers high computing power with low energy consumption. Measuring only 36 mm x 36 mm, the module enables the development of powerful, cost-effective and energy-efficient ML applications, e.g. for IoT applications. Thanks to Direct Solder Connect technology, the module is suitable for large-scale production and the manufacturing costs of the end application are significantly reduced. Last, but not least, the pin compatibility with the phyCORE-STM32MP13x and phyCORE-i.MX 6UL enables the development of scalable applications in terms of price/performance ratio.
Speaking of pin compatibility – The phyCORE-AM62Ax is the latest addition to PHYTEC’s family of AM62x based System on Modules. With pin compatibility to the phyCORE-AM62x SOM, the phyCORE-AM62A can be used to add edge computing and analytics to your application.
You can now pre-order BOTH of these development kits.
We’re DOOMED! Or at least – we can run Doom on the AM62x
Getting Doom up and running on any and all possible hardware is a tradition in the computer engineering world. So naturally, our software engineer Garrett Giordano had to get it working on the phyCORE-AM62x.
To get it running he created a meta-layer for our Yocto build system. He wrote a recipe to cross compile the Chocolate-Doom engine from source for our AM62x’s architecture. He then had it deploy the engine inside an AM62x BSP, alongside an open source version of Doom called Freedoom.
Once the engine was compiled and deployed the last step was to launch the game to a display. Conveniently our BSP is set up to run XWayland as the desktop system. This made it much easier to get it running, as he was able to launch Doom in X11 mode and just direct it to the LVDS display. Luckily, Chocolate Doom’s setup utility recognized the USB Game Pad by default and that was it! Everything was up and running. Who wants a turn?
The stars are in your favor – TSN support for phyCORE-AM6 series is here
Like magic, TSN support for the phyCORE-AM6x series is here! Check out this network of PHYTEC phyCORE-AM64x, phyCORE-AM62x, and phyCORE-AM62Ax development kits synchronized with PTP in our YouTube video. Want to give it a try yourself? We recommend starting with the phyCORE-AM64x dev since it is a good fit for real-time or near real-time communication in industries such as industrial automation that require TSN where synchronized and dependable networking is crucial for operations and safety.
Everything but apple bobbing – Q3 activities!
We always have a lot going on, but this quarter in particular felt jam packed! In case you missed it, here’s all the fun stuff we participated in over the last few months!
- PHYTEC Mainz Grand Re-opening and Global Sales Summit
- Back in 2018 we broke ground on our new campus in Mainz, Germany. Fast forward to this year and we finally cut the ribbon and OFFICIALLY re-opened PHYTEC Mainz in its beautiful new building
- On top of attending the reunion, sales teams from all the PHYTEC entities reunited in Mainz for a Global Sales Summit of epic proportions
- Putt-Putt Clash
- PHYTEC-ers brought home the winning trophy of this local putt-putt course competiton with a Quacking Hole in One course!
- Using a PHYTEC phyCORE-AM62x development kit, our team beat 18 other competitors with a putt putt hole we built in just 1 week
- Obliteride
- PHYTEC walked, ran and biked as a team to advance lifesaving research with the rest of the Seattle community united to obliterate cancer
- Thank you to all who participated and donated to our team – we raised $6,785!
- The Great SOM-oke Off
- We got a snazzy new smoker for our back patio and decided to put it to good use
- It was a battle of departments as each team faced off in a competition of who can make the best BBQ
- The competition just wrapped, but stay tuned for winners!
Ready to get started?
Let’s go! Learn more about PHYTEC SOMs