Aiming at programmers who want to interface to the real world, Toronto-based Onion has created a tiny MIPS-based Linux cloud-to-hardware development board, and made it the subject of a Kickstarter project.
The firm has an interesting pitch.
Called Omega, the PCB is tiny, with on-board Wi-Fi and almost nothing else, except an expansion port.
“It is very small, a quarter the size of Raspberry Pi,” said the firm. “It’s designed especially for software developers to easily build Internet-connected hardware.”
Comparing it to Raspberry Pi is valid for sizing, but not for function as Omega has no display or camera interface. Instead, it is more Arduino-like – something that is programmed via a host computer and then left to interact – in this case via Wi-Fi, GPIO and Ethernet.
Aimed at programmers, software coverage is considerable.
“It runs full Linux and lets you prototype hardware devices using familiar tools such as Git, pip, npm, and using high level programming languages such as Python, Javascript and PHP,” said Onion. “The Omega is integrated with the Onion Cloud, making it a breeze to connect physical devices to the Web to create Internet of Things applications.”
onion omega - originalThere is also Onion Console – a browser-based user interface for hardware devices.
As its heart is a Qualcomm Atheros AR9331, a Wi-Fi chip with a MIPS 24K.
Running at 400MHz and coupled to 64Mbyte of DDR2 RAM, this is fine for its interfacing task but should not be expected to run desktop Linux at any speed.
Where did it come from?
“We came up with the idea for Onion Omega when we were attempting to build a connected thermal-printer that’s integrated with Evernote so that we can print physical copies of our notes and todo lists.
Frustrated with how inconvenient it was to create such a simple project, we were determined to make hardware development easier and more accessible to those of us with limited hardware experience,” the team told Kickstarter.
If for nothing else, the Kickstarter video is worth a look for its wit.
Onion Omega at a glance
28.2 x 42mm
Qualcomm Atheros AR9331 400MHz MIPS 24K
64Mbyte 400MHz DDR2
16Mbyte flash
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi (150Mbit/s)
on-board Wi-Fi antenna, plus connector
100Mbit/s Ethernet
18 GPIO pins
USB 2.0
Runs from 3.3V (0.6W)
