The document discusses the BeagleBoard-xM, an open-source hardware single-board computer developed by BeagleBoard.org. It provides an overview of the hardware specifications and capabilities of the BeagleBoard-xM and demonstrates some of its features including booting an operating system, running applications, and interacting with the community. The BeagleBoard-xM is aimed at developers, students, and hobbyists and provides an affordable platform for experimenting and innovating with open source software.

1. 5/3/2014 1
The ABCs of the BeagleBoard-xM
Gerald Coley
G-coley1@ti.com
gerald@beagleboard.org

2. 5/3/2014 2
MPUs – Microprocessors
Find the right ARM® Solution for you
32-bit ARM
Cortex™-M3
MCUs
DSP
DSP+ARM
ARM
Cortex-A8 &
ARM9™ MPUs
Stellaris®
ARM Cortex-M3
Sitara™
ARM Cortex-A8
& ARM9
C6000™
DaVinci™
Digital Media processors
Integra™
Up to
80 MHz
Flash
8 KB to 256 KB
USB, ENET
MAC+PHY CAN,
ADC, PWM, SPI
Connectivity,Security,
Motion Control, HMI,
Industrial Automation
$1.00 to $8.00
32-bit ARM
MCU for
Safety-Critical
Applications
TMS570
ARM
Cortex-R4™
Up to 250DMIPS/
160 MHz
2 MB Flash,
160 KB RAM
FPU, ECC, Timer/PWM
Co-Proc,12bit ADCs,CAN,
EMIF, LIN, SPI, Flexray
Transportation, Motor
Control, Certified for use in
safety critical (SIL3) systems
$7.00 to $18.00
375MHz to
>1GHz
Cache,
RAM, ROM
USB, CAN, SATA,
SPI, PCIe, EMAC
Industrial automation,
POS & portable
data terminals
$5.00 to $25.00
300MHz to >1Ghz
+Accelerator
Cache
RAM, ROM
USB, ENET,
PCIe, SATA, SPI
Floating/Fixed Point
Video, Audio, Voice,
Security, Conferencing
$5.00 to $200.00
Comprehensive developer ecosystem
Softwaresupport
Developmenttools
Responsive design support

3. 5/3/2014 3
Agenda
• Introduction to BeagleBoard.org
• Meet the Beagles
• BeagleBoard-xM Walkthrough
• Qt Demo
• Working with the Community
• OS and Distro Options
• Questions

4. 5/3/2014 4
What’s in the name…Beagle
• Bring your own peripherals
• Entry-level cost
• ARM Cortex-A8 (superscalar)
• Graphics and/or DSP accelerated
• Linux and open source community
• Environment for innovators

5. 5/3/2014 5
> 3,200 participants
and growing
Open access to
hardware
documentation
Wikis,
blogs/RSS,
promotion of
community
activity
Free
software
Freedom to
innovate
Personally
affordable
Active &
technical
community
Opportunity
to tinker and
learn
Multiple OS and
distribution
support,
applications
Addressing
open source
community
needs
Beagle Community

6. 5/3/2014 6
Why such an active community?
 $149/179 for same core processing as used in
more expensive, yet popular, commercial products
 Focus on open source, open hardware and DIY
 Tens-of-thousands of boards sold exclusively in small
quantities
 All design, test, web, etc. materials shared
 Teaching tool for high-level OS on embedded
 Ubuntu, Debian, Angstrom, Gentoo, WinCE, Symbian, QNX, and many
others
 The BeagleBoard community shares
 Over 150 registered projects on BeagleBoard.org
 Part of the Google Summer of Code with 6 on-going projects to improve
Linux, XBMC, and other open source
 Average of around 5 articles or blog posts a day
 Over 3,200 English-language mailing list subscribers with additional
dedicated mailing lists in Japanese and Portuguese and numerous project
oriented mailing lists in dozens of languages
 Hundreds of followers on each of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
 Rich ecosystem using the design materials
 Compatible or enhanced system-on-module/computer-on-module designs
 See http://beagleboard.org/resources
 Innovative mobile computers (TouchBook)
 Radios (BeagleBrick)
 Modular rapid prototyping development systems (Bug2.0)
 And many add-ons…
Affordable
Freedom to
tinker at all
levels
Lots of open
starting points
Large and
experienced
community
Open
ecosystem
provides real
options

7. 5/3/2014 7
Open source, do-it-yourself, and pro developers embracing the
BeagleBoard
• Firefox
• Ubuntu 10.04
• Android
• Gnome
• Angstrom Distribution
• Gentoo
• WinCE
• QNX
• Flash
• MontaVista MVL6 and Montabello
• TimeSys LinuxLink
• RidgeRun SDK
• ARM DS-5 and ALIP
• Halcon machine vision
• BeagleBoard video wall (>1080p video)
• …
OpenCV
FFmpeg BeagleBoard Video Wall
ARM DS-5 for the BeagleBoard

8. 5/3/2014 8
Beagle is Open Source Hardware
• Every component used in the design of the BB is available for purchase
• Schematics are provided in:
– OrCad
– Altium
– PDF
• PCB files are provided in:
– Allegro
– Altium
– Gerber
• Bills of materials are provided in Excel
• Anyone is free to use the design material in their product

9. 5/3/2014 9
Where can I get a Beagle?
• Digi-Key (World-wide)
• Mouser (World-wide)
• IDA Systems (India)
• SparkFun
• Special Computing
• Watterott Electronic (Germany)
• Liquidware
• ..more online soon (Brazil and China)

10. 5/3/2014 10
Meet the Beagles…..
A Tail of Two Beagles
• Original Version Rev C
– ARM CortexTM-A8 @ 720MHz
– Commonly known as the BeagleBoard Rev C
– Launched August of 2008
– 21,000 shipped
• Newest Version -xM
– ARM CortexTM-A8 @ 1GHz
– Launched August 2010
– Ramping production
– 2,000 shipped to date

11. 5/3/2014 11
Peripheral I/O
 DVI-D video out
 SD/MMC
 S-Video out
 USB 2.0 HS OTG
 I2C, I2S, SPI,
MMC/SD
 JTAG
 Stereo in/out
 Alternate power
 RS-232 serial
Fast, low power, flexible expansion Rev C
3.1”
OMAP3530 Processor
 720MHz Cortex-A8
 NEON+VFPv3
 16KB/16KB L1$
 256KB L2$
 430MHz C64x+ DSP
 32K/32K L1$
 48K L1D
 32K L2
 PowerVR SGX GPU
 64K on-chip RAM
POP Memory
 256MB LPDDR RAM
 256MB NAND flash
USB Powered
 2W maximum consumption
 OMAP is small % of that
 Many adapter options
 Car, wall, battery, solar, …
$149

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Peripheral I/O
 DVI-D video out
 SD/MMC
 S-Video out
 USB HS on-the-go
 I2C, I2S, SPI,
MMC/SD
 JTAG
 Stereo in/out
 Alternate power
 RS-232 serial
And more…
Other Features
 4 LEDs
 USR0
 USR1
 PMU_STAT
 PWR
 2 buttons
 USER
 RESET
 4 boot sources
 SD/MMC
 NAND flash
 USB
 Serial
3.1”

13. 5/3/2014 13
13
BeagleBoard–xM
• 2,000 Dhrystone MIPS performance
with ARM® Cortex™-A8
• 512MB POP memory enabling
– Native builds of Ubuntu and other distros
– More multitasking with complex apps like
Firefox or OpenOffice.org
• Robust expansion with more direct
connectivity without external hubs;
– On-board Ethernet
– Five USB 2.0 ports
• USB-powered board via low power
processor integration
$179
xM means
Extra MHz
and
Extra MB

14. 5/3/2014 14
Laptop-like performance
Desktop-style USB
peripherals and
embedded style
expansion
DM3730 processor
(AM37x-compatibile)
 1GHz superscaler
ARM® Cortex ™-A8
 More than 2,000
Dhrystone MIPS
 Up to 20 Million
polygons per sec
graphics
 512KB L2$
 512MB LPDDR RAM
 HD video capable
C64x+™ DSP core
3.35”**
DM3730
 LCD Expansion
 I2C, I2S, SPI,
MMC/SD Expansion
 DVI-D
 Camera Header
 S-Video
 JTAG
 4-port USB 2.0 Hub
 Stereo Out
 Stereo In
 10/100 Ethernet
 USB 2.0 HS OTG
 Alternate Power
 RS-232 Serial
 microSD Slot
BeagleBoard-xM details

15. 5/3/2014 15
BeagleBoard-xM details
• Ships with 4GB uSD card with diagnostic Linux load
– No desktop
• Wiki Diagnostic page
– http://code.google.com/p/beagleboard/wiki/BeagleBoardDiagnosticsNext
– Diagnostic image (Ships with board)
– Full desktop Angstrom demo image
– Source code w/Build instructions

16. 5/3/2014 16
16
Use your BeagleBoard like a desktop
Stereo in
SD
Power
DVI-D
USB
Stereo out

17. 5/3/2014 17
17
Take your BeagleBoard anywhere & crank code on
the go
Power
over USB
Serial
Port

18. 5/3/2014 18
USB
SD
16GB
Stereo out
Power
USRP
18
Expand your BeagleBoard
Photo by Philip Balister
Turn innovations into
mass-produced products to
share with the world

19. 5/3/2014 19
BeagleBoard-xM Demo
Boot the -xM
• A short demo walkthrough of the Beagle in action
– Production BeagleBoard-xM version
• Setup:
– Connect the LCD monitor (Projector) using HDMI-to-DVI-D cable
– Connect your keyboard and mouse to the board
– Insert your SD card (comes inserted from the box)
– Connect the power
– Watch it boot
– Watch the blinking LEDs
19

20. 5/3/2014 20
BeagleBoard-xM Demo
TI Matrix GUI
• Web browser with HTML code served up from the board
• Written in Qt
• Includes ability to launch apps
Click 3D Graphics
Click Chameleon
Close window
Select Main
Select Exit
Show Me

21. 5/3/2014 21
BeagleBoard-xM Demo
Gnome Desktop
• Just one of the desktop options as part of the Angstrom
Distribution
• Menu bar at top gives list of installed programs
• Add other applications using „opkg‟
Click Applications
Scroll down the Menu
Close window
Show Me Applications

22. 5/3/2014 22
BeagleBoard-xM Demo
System Monitor
• Monitors the system performance
• Displays CPU loading
Select Applications
Select System Tools
Select System Monitor
Select Resources Tab
Show Me System Monitor

23. 5/3/2014 23
BeagleBoard-xM Demo
Frequency Scaling
• Monitors the system performance
• Gnome Media Player
Select 1GHz Icon
Select 600MHz
Select 600 MHz Icon
Select 1GHz
Close window all windows
Show Me Freq Scaling

24. 5/3/2014 24
BeagleBoard-xM Demo
GNOME MPlayer
• GNOME Multimedia player
• Comes standard in Desktop Image
• Big Buck Bunny is an open source project from the Peach Open Movie
Project.
Select BigBuck Icon
Show Me GNOME MPlayer

25. 5/3/2014 25
The Linux command-line
• There is a shortcut on the desktop to open a terminal
• Can also use an external debug port over the serial port
Select Applications
Select Terminal
Show Me Terminal

26. 5/3/2014 26
GUI building with Qt
Qt C++ framework is just one option for creating graphical applications, but it
is fast, flexible, cross-platform and well-supported by an open source
community
Thanks to Gregg Lebovitz of ICS

27. 5/3/2014 27
Qt architecture

28. 5/3/2014 28
Qt Creator
http://qt.nokia.com
• Integrated development environment
– Runs on Windows, Mac, or Linux
– Designer for your GUIs
– C++ editor and debugger
• Build your GUI on your PC, then move it over to the BeagleBoard to
add I/O, etc.
– Angstrom Linux
distribution has
the compiler and
libraries ready
to build Qt apps
natively on your
BeagleBoard

29. 5/3/2014 29
Qt Demos
• Descriptions not compiled in here
• Lots of different GUI tools
• Many other programming tools, like networking, IPC, 3D, database,
…
Select Applications
Select Terminal
Type qtdemo
Select Graphics View
Select Ported Asteroids
Select Launch
Close and select Back
Select Desktop
Select Screenshot
Select Launch
Close all windows
Show Me Qt

30. 5/3/2014 30
Working With The Community
Order of resources
1. Search beagleboard.org, eLinux.org, the mailing list archive, and IRC logs
2. Read and search BBSRM_latest.pdf
3. Check the http://beagleboard.org/faq link
4. Search the web
5. Try something
• Gives you some perspective on what to ask
6. Ask on IRC and be patient/polite
• Don‟t disrupt everyone
7. Mailing list
• Individual developers will go away if load isn‟t shared
• If you can help, please do!
30

31. 5/3/2014 31
Working With The Community
How to ask for help
http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
• Know the on-line resources
• Know the on-line community
• Know the manual
• Listen to the answers
• Share the answers you find
31

32. 5/3/2014 32
Working With The Community
The community perspective
• Earn respect by saying what you‟ve done and how you‟ve tried to find
an answer
– Where did you search?
– What did you try on the board?
• You aren‟t entitled to an answer
– Show that you are willing to work for it and the community will feel you are
a part of it
– Impatience implies that your time is more valuable than others in the
community
32

33. 5/3/2014 33
Working With The Community
Chat, mail, forums, blogs, and wikis!
• All exist because they all solve different problems
• Chat allows you to know someone‟s listening
http://beagleboard.org/chat or #beagle on irc.freenode.net
– Great for beginner questions and rapid coordination
• Mail allows you to reach almost anyone
http://groups.google.com/group/beagleboard
– Brings larger group into the conversation
– Provides you with a personal log in your inbox
• Forums helps get the threads organized
https://community.ti.com/forums/32.aspx (minimal activity to avoid disrupting community critical mass)
• Blogs provide emphasis, filtering, and timeliness
http://beagleboard.org/news and http://beagleboard.blogspot.com
• Wikis enable inputs to become documentation
http://eLinux.org/BeagleBoard and http://code.google.com/p/beagleboard/wiki

34. 5/3/2014 34
Working With The Community
Order of resources Chat on IRC
• http://webchat.freenode.net
– #beagle: discussion of the BeagleBoard
– #gst-ti: discussion of GStreamer with TI DSP components
– #ubuntu-arm: discussion of Ubuntu on ARM processors
– #rowboat: discussion of Android on OMAP & Sitara devices
– #linux-omap: discussion of OMAP Linux kernel
• IRC clients
– http://beagleboard.org/chat
– http://pidgin.im
– http://www.mirc.com
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_IRC_clients
– http://www.ircreviews.org/clients

35. 5/3/2014 35
Working With The Community
Baseline tools and software
http://beagleboard.org/resources
• Hardware verification procedure (http://beagleboard.org/support)
– GPL x-load, u-boot, Linux kernel, and demo distro for validation
– Code images, procedure, and sources are provided to verify the board
functionality
• GPL ARM GNU compiler collection (GCC)
– Code Sourcery version 2009q1 is the latest supported by TI
• Runs on Linux/Windows and generates ARMv7/Thumb2
– Angstrom version is utilized in ESC training and demo image on xM
• Access to C6000 with compilers and open source software
– Free TI C6000 compiler for non-commercial use
• x86-Linux hosted (ARM hosted version in evaluation)
– GPL GCC compiler in progress (http://linux-c6x.org)
– C6Run (DSPEasy) project to simplify development model
– BSD/GPL DSP/Link interface software
• Free 3D graphics libraries (OpenGLES 2.0)
• Free production audio/video codecs for the DSP

36. 5/3/2014 36
OS and Distro Options
Angstrom and Open Embedded
http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/demo/beagleboard
• Angstrom is what we are running today
• OE = metadata and bitbake = build tool
– Used by RidgeRun, Mentor Graphics, MontaVista, WindRiver, and many
others
– Builds many distributions besides Angstrom
36

37. 5/3/2014 37
OS and Distro Options
Ubuntu
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ARM/Beagle
• Most popular Linux distribution
• Has support for the BeagleBoard
– Netbook, server, and network installers
• Builds all packages natively
• Boots of the uSD card

38. 5/3/2014 38
OS and Distro Options
Android
http://arowboat.org
• Uses most of the Linux kernel, but own versions of user-space
applications
• Runs applications within a virtual machine
• At least half-a-dozen companies provide commercial support for
Android on the BeagleBoard
• Rowboat is the one endorsed by TI
• 0xdroid (0x1ab) and Embinux are also interesting and free
38

39. 5/3/2014 39
OS and Distro Options
MeeGo
http://wiki.meego.com/ARM/Meego_on_Beagleboard_from_scratch
• The combination of Moblin and Maemo
• Maemo was the first of the two and started on OMAP processors
• Good support on the BeagleBoard with demonstrations directly from
the Linux Foundation
• Initially focused on Internet Tablets and Netbooks
• Very interesting for automotive infotainment
39

40. 5/3/2014 40
OS and Distro Options
Gentoo
https://www.slashorg.net/48-Gentoo-port-for-BeagleBoard.html
• Builds every package from source
• The Linux distribution the BeagleBoard.org web server runs
• Builds ARM applications both natively and cross
40

41. 5/3/2014 41
OS and Distro Options
QNX
http://www.qnx.com/products/reference-design/ti-reference-design.html
41
• See Foundary27
• Not Linux, but Posix compliant and real-time
• Great for time critical and high reliability applications

42. 5/3/2014 42
OS and Distro Options
Symbian
http://developer.symbian.org/wiki/index.php/BeagleBoard_Quick_Start
• Most popular smart phone operating system
• Initial open source release was on the BeagleBoard
42

43. 5/3/2014 43
43
OS and Distro Options
WinCE
http://beagleboard.org/esc
• Real-time
• Advanced GUI and code tools
• Lots of code libraries available
• Low-cost entry through “Spark”

44. 5/3/2014 44
Thank you!
• g-coley1@ti.com
• gerald@beagleboard.org
• http://beagleboard.org/chat
• http://beagleboard.org/discuss
Questions?