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A pleasant surprise for me at Embedded World this year wasBeagleBoard.org’sBeagleBone Blue(Fig. 1). It targets robots and mobile embedded devices with plenty of control interfaces and Bluetooth connectivity.
1. The BeagleBone Blue uses Octavo Systems’ OSD3358 System-in-Package (SiP) based on Texas Instruments’ Sitara ARM Cortex system-on-chip (SoC).
What I like about the BeagleBone family is its open-source industrial design and integrated software that gets developers started more quickly than most other platforms in this space. I have used theBeagleBone Blackin the past and look forward to trying out the new BeagleBone Blue.
$ 79 Beaglebone Blue运行1 GHzOctavo SystemsOSD3358 that is a System-in-Package (SiP). The SiP is built around德州仪器的（ti）Sitara AM3358具有ARM Cortexa8核心的芯片系统片（SOC）。27毫米乘27毫米的SIP含有512 MBBYTE的DDR3 RAM和集成电源管理。AM3358具有12位，8通道SAR ADC，Gigabit以太网支持，一对带有PHY的USB 2.0主机/OTG和带有3D图形支持的LCD控制器。它还具有一对32位200 MHz可编程的实时单元（PRU）。
董事会有4个GBYTE的EMMC Flash存储，并用Debian Linux编程。它还具有ARM Cortex-M3。有一个两电池的Lipo电池插座，带有平衡，9-18V充电器输入支持。板添加了802.11BGN，蓝牙4.1和BLE无线。
The motor control ports are extensive, with eight 6V servo outputs, four DC motor outputs, and four quadrature encoder inputs. Sensors include a nine-axis IMU and a barometer. There are 11 user-programmable LEDs and a pair of user-programmable buttons. There are connections for GPS and DSM2 radio. About half the board is relegated to connectors.
The BeagleBone Blue is already finding a home in robots and drones(Fig. 2). TheEduMiPis a self-balancing robot. It is an open source project on GitHub where the 3D print files are stored. The BeagleMAV is a three-printed hexacopter. BeagleMAV only weighs 500 grams (1.1 lb.). The monocoque structure was designed iteratively using modal finite element analysis atDroneLab在University of California in San Diego.
2. The BeagleBone Blue is ideal for robots like the EduMiP (a) and drones like the BeagleMAV (b).
Octavo Systems OSD335x is available separately with up to 1 Gbyte of DRAM. It can handle 0 to 85°C. The 400 ball BGA has a 1.27 mm pitch. The BeagleBone TH Module is a more compact module with the OSD3358 SiP.
There is also a BeagleBone Black Wireless with Wi-Fi support and a wireless BeagleBone Green fromse工作室. The BeagleBone Black Wireless has the same headers as the original BeagleBone Black, as does the BeagleBone Green. The BeagleBone Black Wireless also uses the Octavo Systems SiP, while the other uses the TI chip directly.
