Summary of Six boards for rapid IoT development
This article discusses the challenges of IoT device development, such as complexity and short design cycles, emphasizing that a processor's ecosystem is more critical than the chip itself. It highlights NXP's i.MX 7 series and its partner ecosystem designed to accelerate time-to-market through various evaluation boards and modules for gateways, wearables, and automation.
Parts used in the i.MX 7 Ecosystem:
- i.MX 7 series processor
- i.MX 7 SABRE development board
- WaRP7 wearable reference design board
- phyCORE®-i.MX7 System on Module (SOM)
- phyBOARD-i.MX7 Zeta Single Board Computer (SBC)
- Colibri iMX7D 512MB module
- Colibri iMX7S 256MB module
Established companies and emerging start-ups are putting a stake in the Internet of Things ground, an opportunity with estimates of 50 billion devices connected by 2020.
Standing in the way for many companies is the increasing complexity of technology inside connected devices. Shortened design cycles further fuel pressure felt by designers — the shelf-life of an IoT device is similar to a smart phone, from 12 to 18 months. If your new or updated product isn’t first out the door, another product will take its place.
Getting an idea hatched into a working prototype isn’t always easy, regardless of design experience. Where do you start, especially if you’re a start-up with limited resources?
It’s not just the chip – it’s about the support
Today, the most important factor in deciding what processor you base a design on isn’t the chip itself. It’s about the ecosystem that supports it.
With the announcement of the i.MX 7 series, we’re announcing an ecosystem of partners to help you bring your designs to market without delay.
(Read about the i.MX 7 series highly integrated multi-market applications processor for secure and portable IoT devices that utilizes both the ARM® Cortex®-A7 and Cortex-M4 cores to enable Heterogeneous Multicore Processing. )
Full speed ahead to your IoT device
NXP offers the general-purpose i.MX 7 SABRE development board and the WaRP7 wearable reference design board accelerates wearable product development. However, the majority of our development ecosystem is delivered through our partners.
We’ve worked with six companies to deliver evaluation boards (which will be on display at our Embedded World booth) aimed at the different target markets of the i.MX 7 series.
Phytec accelerates a range of embedded applications (IoT gateways, factory/ building automation, machine vision) with the phyCORE®-i.MX7 System on Module (SOM) as a drop-in CPU solution, as well as the phyBOARD-i.MX7 Zeta Single Board Computer (SBC). The Zeta SBC is a two-PCB counterpart to the phyCORE-i.MX7 SOM and provides a development kit that breaks out major interface signal to plug-and-play or pin-level connectors. Both boards support Linux.
Toradex’s Colibri iMX7D 512MB and Colibri iMX7S 256MB use the i.MX 7Dual and i.MX 7Solo respectively. These highly efficient yet powerful modules offer advanced security features in a small SODIMM form factor. They’re well integrated into an extensive ecosystem, allowing customers to start immediate application development. Both Linux and Windows Embedded Compact are supported.
Read more: Six boards for rapid IoT development
- What is the most important factor when deciding on a processor?
The ecosystem that supports the processor is more important than the chip itself. - How does the i.MX 7 series enable heterogeneous multicore processing?
It utilizes both ARM Cortex-A7 and Cortex-M4 cores. - Which NXP board accelerates wearable product development?
The WaRP7 wearable reference design board. - What operating systems do the phyBOARD-i.MX7 Zeta SBC and phyCORE-i.MX7 SOM support?
Both boards support Linux. - What form factor are the Toradex Colibri modules available in?
They are available in a small SODIMM form factor. - Which operating systems are supported by the Toradex Colibri modules?
Both Linux and Windows Embedded Compact are supported. - What application areas do Phytec modules target?
They target IoT gateways, factory or building automation, and machine vision. - Why are shortened design cycles a pressure point for designers?
The shelf-life of an IoT device is similar to a smartphone, lasting only 12 to 18 months.
