Embedded AROS ?

[AeroMan]

I have a question for the AROS guys here...

I´m starting in a new project that uses Win CE, and that has been a pain to get my things running. I´ve worked in another project some time ago with uCLinux and it was as painful as this one.

Talking with a colleague this morning about why this is such a crap and which alternatives are available on the market, and we found out that you can go for a RTOS if your system is small or one of those two if you need a GUI and bigger resources (...yes I know about Neutrino and some others, just want to summarize a long discussion :roll:).

Then the idea of using AROS just hit me like a train :-D  It´s lightweight, It has a GUI (if I need it) and I don´t really need an MMU anyway.

Questions are: Could it be compiled to run on ARM7 or ARM9 for embedded products with small memory? Would this be a good idea or waste of time of an Amiga lover?

 :-D  :-D  :-D  

[dammy]

See the Phase I ARM Port Bounty.

Dammy

[Rob]

I´m starting in a new project that uses Win CE, and that has been a pain to get my things running.

I guess that's why they called it Wince.

[Speelgoedmannetje]

That would be AWESOME. I'm working alot with embedded system, mostly with Linux.
I think it's really worthwhile because there can be alot be conquered.

[AeroMan]

I´ve checked the bounty. It is for Linux hosted, right ?

I was thinking about something small. We produce tracking devices for vehicles. I though it could be a nice alternative to make some experiments.

What about legal stuff ?

@Rob:

I guess that's why they called it Wince.

I had to take a dictionary to get this one, as English is not my native language. Then I've laugh until loose my breath
:roflmao:  :roflmao:  :roflmao:  :roflmao:

[Wolfe]

Have it run on this . . . Beagle Board    :-D

[bloodline]

AeroMan wrote:
I´ve checked the bounty. It is for Linux hosted, right ?

Yes, you always start with Linux Hosted as that gives you a nice stable development environment with known behaviour and no strange hardware effects. Once that's done then you can write some hardware drivers and bootstrap... and get going native :-)

I was thinking about something small. We produce tracking devices for vehicles. I though it could be a nice alternative to make some experiments.

I wouldn't trust a vehicle control system without memory protection. Still, it would be nice to see AROS doing something interesting.

What about legal stuff ?

What legal stuff? AROS is opensource, and covered by the APL, you can use it in a commercial product if you wish.

[AeroMan]

bloodline wrote:

Yes, you always start with Linux Hosted as that gives you a nice stable development environment with known behaviour and no strange hardware effects. Once that's done then you can write some hardware drivers and bootstrap... and get going native :-)

Sounds nice. We have a development board using an ARM7 that runs uCLinux, but the SDK uses a cross compiler running on Linux. I was thinking about using it to make some tests

I wouldn't trust a vehicle control system without memory protection. Still, it would be nice to see AROS doing something interesting.

Most of then don't have it. From EFI to airbags.

It is not really needed, as those devices usually have closed custom firmware. They don´t run applications

My device is designed for tracking, and uses a ARM7, without MMU. It is very reliable, thrust me. We have thousands of them running around in trucks and cars. They are used for insurance companies

What legal stuff? AROS is opensource, and covered by the APL, you can use it in a commercial product if you wish.

Cool! Anyway, I would like to make some experiments in the free time first.
If I get anything working, I will let you guys know first!

[AeroMan]

Wolfe wrote:
Have it run on this . . . Beagle Board    :-D

Really cool board !!! But I will probably start with this

Embedded Artists

[AeroMan]

Some more questions:

Anyone have an idea of how much memory (Flash/RAM) would I need to have a basic Exec kernel?

Could it be done? Have just the kernel without the shell and Wanderer as a starting point ?

[DBAlex]

@AeroMan

I thought you needed a RTOS?

I thought AROS *wasn't* a RTOS?

 :-?

[AeroMan]

DBAlex wrote:
@AeroMan

I thought you needed a RTOS?

I thought AROS *wasn't* a RTOS?

 :-?

No, but it is a multitasking OS, and it switches fast.
I want to make some experiments.  :-D  :-D

[kolla]

AeroMan wrote:

Wolfe wrote:
Have it run on this . . . Beagle Board    :-D

Really cool board !!! But I will probably start with this

Embedded Artists

Hm, the BeagleBoard looks a heck lot nicer than than the LPC2468 - and it is cheaper. Why do you want the LPC2468?

A BeagleBoard with a case by TheDaddy...  mmm  :-D

[bloodline]

AeroMan wrote:

DBAlex wrote:
@AeroMan

I thought you needed a RTOS?

I thought AROS *wasn't* a RTOS?

 :-?

No, but it is a multitasking OS, and it switches fast.
I want to make some experiments.  :-D  :-D

And I'd love to see AROS on the ARM, so you go for it!!! :-D

[hardlink]

Rob wrote:

I´m starting in a new project that uses Win CE, and that has been a pain to get my things running.

I guess that's why they called it Wince.

My thoughts exactly!

During the Gateway Amiga time, a developer ( I believe from Poland; Joe Torre would know exactly) wanted to licence Amiga OS source for embedded uses, but Gateway said no.

Then AmiExec showed up on Aminet with nothing else ever heard; would have been sweet if it had taken off. Here's the readme:

AmiExec is a real-time, multi-tasking microkernel, the core of which is an implementation of exec.library.  AmiExec can be used for automation, process control, or other embedded systems based on 68K family CPUs and microcontrollers. Software development for AmiExec can be done on Amigas
with Amiga development tools.



EDIT: I wonder if we could 'borrow' any Contiki code for an embedded AROS?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contiki