Feed: lowlevel
Post-URL: http://www.lowlevel.cz/log/pivot/entry.php?id=228
The open source approach in SW is quite common. There is however a big lap
in HW. Well at least in the hype. The reason is simple. You can hardly
simply copy the HW data and run it to consume the effect. You need to make
something out of the matter and that's what is hard.. after all it is
hardware.
There is one small exception - you may use a universal HW platform like a
computer. It is called FPGA, that allows you to make HW out of software.
This is very nice approach, but is expensive. You read right, you have to
pay for hardware to have open source hardware.
There is more levels in what open HW means. Simply this is either low level
(like something you can make out of silicon or in silicon) or something you
can build from existing components based on a freely available printed
circuit board layout. Here is my short list.
[LEON Sparc CPU][1]
- this is real 32bit CPU in VHDL form - you can make your silicon out of
the source, or maybe synthesize it into FPGA.
[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LEON
[NatAmi][2] Native Amiga - Amiga reimplementation with higher frequencies
in FPGA
[Minimig][3] - mini Amiga reimplementation using FPGA
http://www.minimig.net/
[2]: http://www.natami.net/blog/
[3]: http://code.google.com/p/minimig/
[Speccy 2010][4]
[ZX Evolution][5]
[ZX ULA][6] - even though ZX ULA is, from today's perspective quite simple,
in general it is not that simple to re-implement it. It is even more
complicated as every version of ZX and clones had a bit different ULAs
where various corner conditions caused some side effects. Chris Smith was
probably the first one to map this and he also promised to create a VHLD
code for ZX ULA. Nevertheless if we have and ULA, we still have problems
with original ROM content that is not free.
Here is and effort to write open replacement for ZX Spectrum ROM [Open
SE][7] Andrew Owen ZX Spectrum ROM rewrite
[ZX Spectrum SE][8]
[ZX in Altera/Terrasic DE1 board][9]
[Another ZX in Altera/Terrasic DE1 board 2011][10]
[4]: http://matt.west.co.tt/spectrum/speccy2010/
[5]: http://nedopc.com/zxevo/zxevo_eng.php
[6]: http://www.zxdesign.info/cpld/
[7]: http://sourceforge.net/projects/sebasic/files/OpenSE%20BASIC/
[8]: http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/ZX_Spectrum_SE
[9]: http://alexfreed.com/FPGApple/DE1_ZX/
[10]: http://mikestirling.co.uk/zx-spectrum-on-an-fpga/
[Raspberry PI][11] Broadcom GPU with integrated ARM - will probably not be
open source HW, just layout may be available
[arduino][12] Atmel AVR MCUs
[beagleboard][13] TI open HW platform with OMAP/ARM
[Neo FreeRunner][14]
[OpenPandora][15] - complete handheld design with case, keyboard etc. ARM
[PandaBoard][16] OMAP4433 (dual arm)
[11]: http://www.raspberrypi.org/
[12]: http://www.arduino.cc/
[13]: http://beagleboard.org/
[14]: http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Neo_FreeRunner
[15]: http://openpandora.org/
[16]: http://pandaboard.org/
URL: http://www.lowlevel.cz/log/pivot/entry.php?id=228
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