Am 26.03.2013 um 16:56 schrieb Charles Steinkuehler: > FYI: > > For those interested in alternate platforms for LinuxCNC, the Altera > System on Chip (SoC) FPGAs are finally getting into production. The > Xilinx ARM parts have been out for a while, but they're pretty expensive. > > Arrow is running a series of hands-on workshops to introduce the SoC > parts, and you can get the development board for $99 (normally $299). > > http://www.arrownac.com/solutions/sockit/ > > Dual ARM Coretx-A9 cores with hard floating-point, plus FPGA gates!!! > > NOTE: My primary development platform is still the BeagleBone, but these > new SoC parts could make a pretty awesome system if you need more > performance than the 'Bone can get with the PRU.
This is going to happen more and more, and I the questions I'm asking myself is: - how do we integrate such devices into HAL/RTAPI in a systematic way? The current model of hooking HAL drivers is based on HAL pin communications, which might not be sufficient to fully utilize such devices: the above component can take over much of motion + pid functionality in terms of processing bang but I dont see how the comms are going to work between HAL/RTAPI and such devices beyond pins - the fact that kernel threads will go extinct means that HAL drivers will have to replicate some kernel functionality which so far was taken for granted; Charles' userpci work is case in point. That means that features like bus enumeration and multi-instance device support either are not possible or must be added on-the-go; for an example see GP Orcullo's SPI HAL driver (picnc on code.google.com) - SPI is multidrop-capable but the host side is a singleton, meaning: one SPI slave only. The beaglebone PRU is another such example. I'm entertaining ideas here - it would not be good if the price for using such devices would be a collection of special-purpose hacks per-platform and per-device. One datastructure which could add value here is a lock-free ring buffer; that is 'on the way' (in a development branch) as a first-class HAL citizen (a named, instantiable object). - Micahel > > -- > Charles Steinkuehler > char...@steinkuehler.net > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Own the Future-Intel® Level Up Game Demo Contest 2013 > Rise to greatness in Intel's independent game demo contest. > Compete for recognition, cash, and the chance to get your game > on Steam. $5K grand prize plus 10 genre and skill prizes. > Submit your demo by 6/6/13. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel_levelupd2d > _______________________________________________ > Emc-developers mailing list > Emc-developers@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-developers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Own the Future-Intel® Level Up Game Demo Contest 2013 Rise to greatness in Intel's independent game demo contest. Compete for recognition, cash, and the chance to get your game on Steam. $5K grand prize plus 10 genre and skill prizes. Submit your demo by 6/6/13. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel_levelupd2d _______________________________________________ Emc-developers mailing list Emc-developers@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-developers
