| .NET Micro Framework kit targets students |
Feb. 27, 2008
 SJJ Embedded Micro Solutions has announced a student-oriented embedded development kit for Microsoft's .NET Micro Framework. The "EDK-Plus" includes a single-board computer (SBC) built around an ARM9-based Cirrus EP9302 SoC (system-on-chip), preloaded software, serial cables, and a high-quality, step-by-step development guide, according to the company.
(Click for larger view of the EDK-Plus development kit)
Aimed at "engineering students, hobbyists, and engineers," the EDK-Plus kit comes with sample source code. It also offers an instruction manual that "covers the basics of the .NET MF classes, then provides examples that build on one another to create a more complex system," SJJ said.
SJJ's claim of making .NET MF understandable to students seems credible, since managing director Sean Liming has written several books on Microsoft's embedded operating systems. These include Windows Embedded for Point of Service / POS for .NET Step-By-Step, the Windows XP Embedded Supplemental Toolkit, and Windows XP Embedded Advanced. Liming also gives training classes regularly, and last month held a webinar for Microsoft, Windows Embedded for Point of Service and Retail Solutions.
Emac iPac-9302
(Click to enlarge) |
Developers can write C# applications in Microsoft's Visual Studio and then download them to the included board via its serial port, according to SJJ. The included SBC is Emac's iPac-9302 (pictued at right).
The iPac-9302 board uses a Cirrus EP9302 SoC, featuring an ARM920T processor core with "MaverickCrunch" math coprocessor. As modified by SJJ for .NET Micro Framework duty, the Emac board includes preloaded .NET MF software, 8MB of RAM and 8MB of flash, serial cables, and a battery-backed real-time clock (RTC). I/O includes GPIO, A/D converters, pulse-width modulation, plus serial and USB ports.
Key specifications of the iPac-9302, as listed by SJJ, include:
- Processor -- Cirrus Logic EP9302 ARM920T SoC clocked at 200 MHz; includes MaverickCrunch floating point math engine
- Memory:
- 8MB of SDRAM
- 8MB of in-circuit programmable on-board flash
- 256KB of EEPROM
- Audio: AC97
- Networking -- 10/100 BaseT Ethernet
- Other I/O ports:
- 2 serial ports -- 1 RS232 for development, 1 RS232/422/485
- 2 USB 2.0 ports
- Digital I/O -- 6 digital I/O; 16 digital inputs; 8 digital outputs; 8 high-drive digital outputs
- Analog I/O -- 5 channels of 12-bit A/D; 2 channels of 8-bit D/A
- Expansion -- MMC/SD hot-swap socket; optional screw terminal board
- Power supply -- 5VDC regulated input voltage, typically < 500 mA with no USB devices connected
- Operating temperature -- 0 - 70 degrees C
- Dimensions -- 3.8 x 3.5 inches
Availability
The EDK-Plus is available now for $225. It is also offered in a $165 version, the EDK, which lacks the second serial port and battery-backed RTC.
This is not the first time SJJ has collaborated with Emac to provide a development kit for .NET MF. In 2006, the companies released an ARM7-based package known as the NDK, which the EDK-Plus appears to have replaced.
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