Imagination launches CI20 to compete with Raspberry Pi
ECS Laureate Company Imagination Technologies has launched a rival to the Raspberry Pi, the BBC reports today.
Tony King-Smith, EVP of marketing for Imagination, comments: “We are very excited to be taking part in the growing interest within the open source and maker communities for affordable, fully featured development platforms. Creator CI20 has been designed for people who want high performance and advanced features for their development projects and to create access at the software and hardware level to allow creativity to come to the fore.”
It will cost £50 and can be ordered now, with the first units shipping in January 2015.
The MIPS Creator CI20 is an affordable micro-computer that runs Linux and Android and enables open source developers, the maker community, system integrators and others to create a wide range of applications and projects, ranging from home automation and gaming to wireless multimedia streaming.
The development board includes a unique combination of features and specifications:
– A 1.2 GHz MIPS32-based, dual-core processor designed for superior performance and low power computing
– PowerVR SGX540 graphics offering full support for OpenGL 2.1 and OpenGL ES 2.0
– Dedicated video hardware for low power 1080p decoding at 30 fps
– A full package of connectivity options including fast Ethernet, high-speed 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0
– On-board memory:1GB DDR3 memory, 4GB flash memory and an SD card expansion slot
– High-quality audio playback
– A comprehensive set of peripherals, including GPIO, SPI, I2C, UART, etc.
MIPS Creator CI20 comes pre-installed with Debian 7. Other Linux distributions will be available, including Gentoo and Yocto, as well as a version of Debian 7 that complies with the principles of the Free Software Foundation. Users can also install the latest version of Android v4.4.
Creator CI20 also includes FlowCloud support for application development focused on the Internet of Things (IoT). FlowCloud is an exciting IoT platform from Imagination that enables users to construct solutions for a wide range of applications, including security, personal and professional health monitoring, energy management, cloud-based systems for content delivery and much more.
Imagination Technologies is a key industrial partner of Electronics and Computer Science. The company regularly employs ECS graduates and summer interns, and is a major partner on the PRiME research project, which is led by Professor Bashir Al-Hashimi, Dean of the Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering at the University of Southampton.
Imagination is a global technology leader whose products touch the lives of billions of people across the globe. The company’s broad range of silicon IP (intellectual property) includes the key processing blocks needed to create the SoCs (Systems on Chips) that power all mobile, consumer and embedded electronics. Its unique software IP, infrastructure technologies and system solutions enable its customers get to market quickly with complete and highly differentiated SoC platforms. Imagination’s licensees include many of the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturers, network operators and OEMs/ODMs who are creating some of the world’s most iconic products. See: www.imgtec.com.