ARM Community: BeagleBoard.org releases 20 "cape" plug-in boards for BeagleBone - ARM Community

On August 9th BeagleBoard.org announced more than 20 new plug-in boards for the popular ARM® Cortex-A8™ processor-based BeagleBone Linux computer platform thanks to the BeagleBoard.org community who designed the plug-in boards and dubbed them "capes" after the cape worn by Underdog, the beloved cartoon beagle superhero. By creating these plug-in boards, the community hoped to inspire a larger range of innovation using ARM technology – applications like robot motor drivers and sensors that can measure both location and pressure – and we have seen nothing but success!

Simply adding the cape plug-in boards to BeagleBone quickly and easily increases its functionality by incorporating LCD touch screens, cameras, motor control, and battery power, among other things. Think of it this way: you can add a cape to BeagleBone to increase its "cape"-abilities!

Thousands of ARM designers, makers, hobbyists and ARM engineers adopted BeagleBone and are now huge fans because of its unique functionality as a pocket-sized expandable Linux computer that can connect to the Internet. In addition, it is compatible with software like Android 4.0 and Ubuntu. Thanks to generous I/O and ARM processing power designed for real-time analysis provided by the Sitara™ AM335x ARM Cortex-A8 processor from Texas Instruments, these game-changing cape plug-in boards help developers differentiate products and get to market faster.

Among the featured cape plug-in boards are the BeagleBone LCD7 Cape, the BeagleBone Camera Cape, and the QuickLogic CSSP camera interface (CAM I/F) solution .

Other currently available BeagleBone cape plug-in boards include but are not limited to:

• BeagleBone Weather Cape provides data including temperature, barometric pressure, humidity and ambient light.
• BeagleBone DVI-D Cape provides a DVI-D interface for connecting an external monitor.
• BeagleBone Breadboard provides powerful prototyping tool without the need of soldering.
• BeagleBone CANBus Cape makes use of DCAN1 interface of TI’s AM335x processor, enabling interfacing to automotive components and motor controllers, such as TI’s Stellaris® ARM Cortex-M-based Jaguar module used in the popular US FIRST® Robotics League.
• BeagleBone Battery Cape provides a portable power solution.

So tell us, what will you do with your new capes?

Be sure to check out all the new cape plug-in boards at www.beaglebonecapes.com. Happy Tinkering!

Guest Partner Blogger:
Jason Kridner is the Software Architecture Manager for Texas Instruments (TI) Sitara™ ARM® processors and an active leader in TI’s open source initiative. Kridner has become a champion of open-source and helped create Beagleboard.org, a robust resource where makers receive feedback, download software and gain access to all layers of optimized system-on-chip semiconductor solutions. Kridner’s responsibilities include definition of the software components, development platforms, and support processes used to engage customers and leading new software technology. During his 20-year tenure with TI, he has lead software development of low-power media software, audio processing, file systems, USB drivers, digital rights management, and video codecs as well helped broaden the market Applications Processors with focus on the role of embedded software architecture and support. Kridner graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering.

ARM welcomes its wealth of Partners in the ARM Connected Community (CC) to submit guest blogs to be published on our multiple community blogs. If interested in participating please submit email inquiries to Tell.Us@arm.com.

The ARM Connected Community (CC) is an extensive ecosystem covering all aspects of ARM processor-based design, from chip implementation through to system and device design. The CC provides a platform for collaborative innovation, with multiple types of forums for members to work with one another, and with customers, to solve industry challenges, all with the purpose of enabling designers to focus on differentiating features and an accelerated time-to-market for ARM powered solutions.