Switching Displays

Display outputs from the beagle board can be switched between DVI-D and S-video.
S-video output can be used to connect the beagle board to a standard TV
DVI-D output can be used for DVI-D monitor or Pico Projector

Instructions regarding switching video outputs between DVI-D and S-video can be found at http://code.google.com/p/beagleboard/wiki/LinuxHints

Win32 Disk Imager

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Win32DiskImager

This is a GUI interface program, which can be used in windows in order to read and write images from SD card. It can also be used to write boot images, on a USB drive. This program can save an SD card image in .img format, so that one does not have to repeat the image building process all over again, such as partitioning SD card, coping root files.

Boot images and SD card images are used on the beagle board in order to run demos. Storing images in an SD card is handy. It enables an user to switch demos, by switching the SD card with another with a different image.

Video-Whale Project

http://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/apps/videowhale.html

This project is about video-wall which uses a combined power of GStreamer, and Xinerama. In this project, every group of 4 monitors are controlled by one machine.

Beagle board is easy to transport and it has a capability of a PC. Controlling a group of 4 monitors using beagle board needs less room and is handy. Beagle board is also capable of producing HD graphics.

The same thing might be possible with Bealge Board. On the IRC channel, # bealge, IRC nicks koen, av500, were discussing about it.
The discussion thread can be found at http://www.beagleboard.org/irclogs/index.php?date=2009-11-23#T13:03:01

Beagle Board Experiments

http://sites.google.com/site/puppyswebsiteA/Home

The above link is IRC nick, puppy's website. The link has some experiments conducted by puppy on beagle board. One of his experiments is Beagle Board, with external power supply, 4-port USB hubs, µChameleon board, and a audio amplifier.
Audio amplifier is a useful tool in order to improve the quality of the sound output from beagle board, since beagle board does not have its own amplifier.

An OTG switch showed in the above link can be used to switch between beagle board becoming an end device or a server.

One of his experiments also consists of a low acceleration 3 dimensional G-force acceleration sensor, which can be used to make a 3D mouse. The X-axis and Y-axis can be used to move the mouse. The Z-axis can be used to zoom in / zoom out.
One useful application for this experiment can be using beagle board, as a presentation tool because of its 3-dimensional G-force acceleration sensor. For example, presenting a 3D drawing on a projector. This can enable a user to move, rotate, zoom in/out the drawing while presenting instead of going near the computer in order to do these type of operations.

Puppy is focused on using Data Acquisition boards to build and test circuits using a reprogrammable environment. They do not need any spealized kind of environment, so using Beagle Board gives portability.

LED Blink

http://elinux.org/BeagleBoardOpenOCD#LED_blink_example

Beagle Board has a series of LED lights. Those can be tested using the LED blink test program, which can be found on the link posted above.
It might be possible to create your own LED flashing pattern.
LED flashing pattern can also be used as a status indicator. One way is that it can be used to indicate whether a particular event has occurred such as boot completion. It can also be used to indicate status of a particular resource such as network connection, bluetooth connection, error detection.

One usage I can think of for this LED blink program is that, it enables an user to use a beagle board outdoors without having to use a laptop or a monitor to see whether a particular program is ready or not.

On the IRC channel, # beagle, IRC nicks GrizzlyAdams, Nader, were discussing about it. The thread can be found at http://www.beagleboard.org/irclogs/index.php?date=2009-11-19#T06:01:50

Realtime Kinematic GPS Receiver

http://gizmodo.com/5405804/make-your-own-real-time-kinematic-gps-receiver-thats-accurate-to-one-centimeter

Researchers Tomoji Takasu and Akio Yasuda of Tokyo university have made a GPS receiver that is accurate to a centimeter. It displays real time information. They used beagle board as a processor.

On the link posted below, there are also instructions on how to make one yourself
http://gpspp.sakura.ne.jp/rtklib/rtklib_beagleboard.htm

Evtest

http://wiki.davincidsp.com/index.php/Evtest
The above link has code and instructions for conducting an Evtest.
Evtest is an open source tool, that can be used to test several different HID drivers and devices such as mouse, keyboard, joystick, touchpad.
Evtest can enable a user to test a particular HID device on beagle board.

It enables an user to test a particular HID device thoroughly such as testing all the keys of a USB keyboard or testing all the axes of a USB mouse.

Instructions regarding how to execute and use Ev test are on this link:
http://wiki.davincidsp.com/index.php/Evtest

In the IRC channel # beagle, IRC nicks super, and prpplague were discussing about it.
The discussion thread can be found at:
http://www.beagleboard.org/irclogs/index.php?date=2009-11-13#T20:11:34

ETech Day Nov. 17th, 2009

http://wiki.omap.com/index.php/ETechDays_Community_Lightning_Talks

The link above is from TI ETech Days. It has topic covered during the lightning talks on Nov. 17th, 2009 and Aug. 27th, 2009.

Several interesting topics were presented. Some of them are:
Android, Gnome, XBMC, Ubuntu, Leopard board, MontaVista Linux 6, Symbian, Hawk Board.

Evas 3D

This videos are about evas 3D which can be played on beagle board. The IRC nicks, raster, ds2, and puppy were discussing about it on the IRC channel # beagle.

The disscussion thread can be found at:
http://www.beagleboard.org/irclogs/index.php?date=2009-11-12#T04:14:18

Evas 3D can be used to demonstrate the graphical capabilities of Beagle Board.

Minicom in Windows

Minicom can be run on windows. av500, adj, and puppy were talking about it on IRC channel # beagle. They were talking about the set-up needed in order to run minicom in windows.

The discussion thread can be found at:
http://www.beagleboard.org/irclogs/index.php?date=2009-11-11#T14:28:15

Here are some tips and instructions about using Minicom:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minicom

Arago Project

http://arago-project.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

The Arago Project targets TI platforms Omap3 and DaVinci. The main goal of the Arago project is to create a product that would be approached by an experienced embedded developer that is new to the Linux Eco-System. At the same time the Linux savvy developer should be able to see how the system was created and be able to tune, change, or expand upon it. This is an overlay of for OpenEmbedded and Angstrom.

Head Mounted Computer

http://hackaday.com/2009/10/26/head-mounted-computer/

You can find out more about the gumstix Overo Fire module at http://www.gumstix.com/store/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=227

One of the topics mentioned on the IRC channel # beagle was about using beagle board for head mounted computer. The discussion can be found on this link http://www.beagleboard.org/irclogs/index.php?date=2009-10-29#T22:18:47

Touch Screen digital dashboard

This is a video of a touch screen digital dashboard on a bike. In the IRC channel, Quan-Time, the creator of this interface was talking about doing the same thing on beagle board. http://www.beagleboard.org/irclogs/index.php?date=2009-10-31#T10:23:24

Some equipments used:
1) http://megatunix.sourceforge.net/ Tunning software for gauges
2) http://www.smartvm.com/DVI-D-to-VGA-Converter-P7556.htm DVI-D to VGA convertor.
3) https://www.xenarcdirect.com/product.php?productid=16194 7" touchscreen LCD monitor.

NOTE: Expansion board to install VGA port on beagle board can be found at http://www.beagleboardtoys.com/

Beagle Board Accessories

These are optional accessories for beagle board

http://www.elinux.org/BeagleBoard_Zippy
This is a modified type of beagle board with internet expansion. one can connect the LAN cable directly to the beagle board instead of using a usb hub. It adds the following to the orignal beagle board:

• Battery Backed RTC
• Second MMC slot
• 10BaseT Ethernet
• Second RS-232
• +5V level I2C
• AT24 EEPROM

http://gumstix.com/store/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=195
This is a raw LCD which can be used for the beagle board as a display device. It enables a user to use the beagle board without a monitor or a pico projector. Instructions for attaching a raw LCD panel to beagle board: http://elinux.org/BeagleBoardRawLCD

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3060
This is a rechargeable emergency USB battery back-up that can be used to power the beagle board. In this way, beagle board can be powered without connecting a USB power cable. It can also be used where there is no power outlet nearby such as outdoors.

http://www.cambrionix.com/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17&Itemid=2
This is a 49-port USB hub that can be used on Beagle Board for using a large number of accessories such as USB keyboard, mouse, wiimote, bluetooth dongle, USB flash drive, USB card reader/writer, External USB hard drive.

Angstrom Demo

Download Files:
http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/demo/beagleboard/Angstrom-Beagleboard-demo-image-glibc-ipk-2009.X-stable-20090612--beagleboard.rootfs.tar.bz2
http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/demo/beagleboard/MLO
http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/demo/beagleboard/u-boot.bin
http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/demo/beagleboard/uImage-2.6.29-r47-beagleboard.bin
http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/demo/beagleboard/x-load.bin.ift

In order to make Angstrom Image:
1) Insert the sd card in the computer and unmount it auto-mounted
$ sudo umount /dev/sdb
2) Zero out the SD card
$ sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdb bs=822906
3) Start fdisk, and partition
$ sudo fdisk /dev/sdb

Command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/sdc: 2021 MB, 2021654528 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 245 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System

Command (m for help): x
Expert Command (m for help): h
Number of heads (1-256, default xxx): 255
Expert Command (m for help): s
Number of sectors (1-63, default xxx): 63

NOTE: In order to calculate the number of cylinders: 
the number of Bytes on the SD Card (from above) / 255 / 63 / 512


Expert Command (m for help): c
Number of cylinders (1-256, default xxx): [enter the number you calculated]

Command (m for help): n
Command action
e   extended
p   primary partition (1-4)
p
Partition number (1-4): 1
First cylinder (1-245, default 1): [(press Enter)]
Using default value 1
Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (1-245, default 245): +50

Command (m for help): t
Selected partition 1
Hex code (type L to list codes): c
Changed system type of partition 1 to c (W95 FAT32 (LBA))

Command (m for help): a
Partition number (1-4): 1
Command (m for help): n
Command action
e   extended
p   primary partition (1-4)
p
Partition number (1-4): 2
First cylinder (52-245, default 52): [(press Enter)]
Using default value 52
Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (52-245, default 245): [(press Enter)]
Using default value 245
Command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/sdc: 2021 MB, 2021654528 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 245 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdc1   *           1          51      409626    c  W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/sdc2              52         245     1558305   83  Linux
Command (m for help): w
The partition table has been altered!

Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.

WARNING: Re-reading the partition table failed with error 16: Device or resource busy.
The kernel still uses the old table.
The new table will be used at the next reboot.

WARNING: If you have created or modified any DOS 6.x
partitions, please see the fdisk manual page for additional
information.
Syncing disks.

4) Format the partitions
$ sudo mkfs.msdos -F 32 /dev/sdc1 -n Beagle_Boot
mkfs.msdos 2.11 (12 Mar 2005)
   $ sudo mkfs.ext3 -L Angstrom_Demo /dev/sdc2
mke2fs 1.40-WIP (14-Nov-2006)
Filesystem label=
OS type: Linux
Block size=4096 (log=2)
Fragment size=4096 (log=2)
195072 inodes, 389576 blockshttp://www.angstrom-distribution.org/demo/beagleboard/x-load.bin.ift
19478 blocks (5.00%) reserved for the super user
First data block=0
Maximum filesystem blocks=402653184
12 block groups
32768 blocks per group, 32768 fragments per group
16256 inodes per group
Superblock backups stored on blocks:
     32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912

Writing inode tables: done                        
Creating journal (8192 blocks): done
Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information: 

5) Unplug, and replug in your SD card, and it should now automount the two partitions that you created.
6) Copy files in the Beagle_Boot partition
   $ sudo cp MLO /media/card/
      $ sudo cp u-boot.bin /media/card/
      $ sudo cp uImage-2.6.29-r47-beagleboard.bin /media/card/uImage
      $ sudo cp x-load.bin.ift /media/card/
7) Untar the file system
   $ sudo tar -xvjf /media/Angstrom_Demo/Angstrom...bz2
8) Unmount the partitions
   $ sudo umount /dev/sdb1
      $ sudo umount /dev/sdb2

Running the demo:
1) start a terminal program: Minicom or Tera Term
2) insert the SD card in the beagle board
3) power on the beagle board
4) stop the auto-boot by pressing Enter
5) type the below commands

mmcinit
fatload mmc 0 0x80200000 x-load.bin.ift
nandecc hw
nand erase 0 80000
nand write.i 0x80200000 0 80000

6) Set the Environment

setenv bootargs 'console=ttyS2,115200n8 console=tty0 root=/dev/mmcblk0p2 rootfstype=ext3 rootwait omapfb.mode=dvi:1024x768MR-16@60'
  FOR PICO: setenv bootargs 'console=ttyS2,115200n8 console=tty0 root=/dev/mmcblk0p2 rootfstype=ext3 rootwait omapfb.mode=dvi:640x480MR-16@60'
setenv bootcmd 'mmcinit; fatload mmc 0 0x80300000 uImage; bootm 0x80300000'
saveenv

7) Boot the SD card
boot

Gnome Demo

In order to make gnome demo work on beagle board,
1) download the required files from http://www.sakoman.com/component /option,com_phocadownload/Itemid,60/id,1/view,category/
2)Prepare a bootable SD card. Instructions for making a bootable SD card: http://www.sakoman.com/OMAP3/preparing-a-bootable-sd-card.html.

In order to run this demo on Beagle Board:
1)Insert the mmc card in the beagleboard.
2)Connect LCD monitor using a DVI-D cable.
3)Connect the beagle board to a pc using a serial cable, and use minicom to talk to the board.
4)Start Minicom
5)Power on the Beagle Board.
6)Stop the autoboot by pressing any key.
7)Set the environment:
setenv bootargs 'console=ttyS2,115200n8 console=tty0 root=/dev/mmcblk0p2 rootwait rootfstype=ext3 omapfb.vram=1:4M,2:4M omapfb.mode=dvi:1024x768-16@60'
For Pico Projector: setenv bootargs 'console=ttyS2,115200n8 console=tty0 root=/dev/mmcblk0p2 rootwait rootfstype=ext3 omapfb.vram=1:4M,2;4M omapfb.mode=dvi:640x480MR-16@60'
setenv bootcmd 'mmcinit; fatload mmc 0 0x80300000 uImage; bootm 0x80300000'
8)boot
9)Enjoy!!!

This Image includes:
1)Gnome root file system
2)Basic system preferences and configuration applets
3)Web browser, email, and chat applications
4)Word processor, spreadsheet, graphics, photo, and PDF viewing applications
5)Media player with DVD playback
6)Gnome games
7)Calculator applet
8)Disk usage analyzer and log file viewing tools
9)Command line package manager (opkg)

Beagle Board Recovery

These instructions were derived from
1. http://code.google.com/p/beagleboard/wiki/BeagleboardRevCValidation
2. http://www.sakoman.com/OMAP3/preparing-a-bootable-sd-card.html

FIXING BEAGLE BOARD (restore to factory setting)
------------------------------------------------
1) Make a partition in the mmc card. Use these commands. Make sure that you
have unmounted the SD card before continuing.
$ sudo fdisk /dev/sde
Command (m for help): o
Building a new DOS disklabel. Changes will remain in memory only,
until you decide to write them. After that, of course, the previous
content won't be recoverable.

Warning: invalid flag 0x0000 of partition table 4 will be corrected by w(rite)
Command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/sde: 2032 MB, 2032664576 bytes
64 heads, 63 sectors/track, 984 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 4032 * 512 = 2064384 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00aa8e5c

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System

NOTE: In order to calculate the # of cylinders, take the # of bytes reported above and use this formula: 2064384/#ofHeads/#ofSectors/bytes_per_sector and round the result

Command (m for help): x
Expert command (m for help): h
Number of heads (1-256, default 4): 255

Expert command (m for help): s
Number of sectors (1-63, default 62): 63
Warning: setting sector offset for DOS compatiblity

Expert command (m for help): c
Number of cylinders (1-1048576, default 984): 247
Expert command (m for help): r

Command (m for help): n
Command action
e extended
p primary partition (1-4)
p
Partition number (1-4): 1
First cylinder (1-247, default 1): 1
Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (1-247, default 15): +247M
Command (m for help): t
Selected partition 1
Hex code (type L to list codes): c
Changed system type of partition 1 to c (W95 FAT32 (LBA))
Command (m for help): a
Partition number (1-4): 1
Command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/sde: 2032 MB, 2032664576 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 247 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00aa8e5c

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sde1 * 1 5 40131 c W95 FAT32 (LBA)

Command (m for help): w
The partition table has been altered!

Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.

WARNING: If you have created or modified any DOS 6.x
partitions, please see the fdisk manual page for additional
information.
Syncing disks.
# sudo mkfs.vfat -F 32 /dev/sde1 -n FAT
mkfs.vfat 2.11 (12 Mar 2005)


2) Download the files listed below and save them to a working directory. For these steps assume /home//temp. NOTE: replace with your user
account.
$ mkdir /home//temp
FILES to Download
1. MLO as MLO
2. u-boot as u-boot.bin
3. u-boot for flash as u-boot-f.bin
4. ramdisk image as ramdisk.gz
5. Kernel (uImage) as uImage.bin
6. reset.scr as boot.scr
7. x-loader image as x-load.bin.ift
8. Regular script file as normal.scr

3) Mount the SD card partition. i.e.
$ sudo mkdir /media/card
$ sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /media/card

4)Copy the following files in correct order: MLO, u-boot.bin, u-boot-f.bin, ramdisk.gz, uImage.bin, boot.scr, x-load.bin.ift, normal.scr
$ cd /home//temp
$ sudo cp MLO /media/card/
$ sudo cp u-boot.bin /media/card/
$ sudo cp u-boot-f.bin /media/card/
$ sudo cp ramdisk.gz /media/card/
$ sudo cp uImage.bin /media/card/
$ sudo cp boot.scr /media/card/
$ sudo cp x-load.bin.ift /media/card/
$ sudo cp normal.scr /media/card/

5) Un-mount the SD Card
$ cd /media
$ sudo umount /media/card

6) While power is not connected to the beagleboard insert the SD card.

7) Press and hold the USER BUTTON (the one closest to the edge of the board)
and connect the power to the board while still holding the user button.

8) Once the board boots and you see the boot delay you can release the user
button. Continue to let the board boot. The scripts on the SD card
should restore the NAND flash.

9) Once the restore has finished you should be able to power off the
beagleboard, remove the SD card, and power the board back on. You
should see the board boot into u-boot from NAND.

NOTE: I did see some errors when writing the uImage and ramdisk.gz files to the NAND. Inspite of those error messages, beagle board is restored to factory settings.

Additional Resources can be found at:
http://www.elinux.org/BeagleBoardRecovery

FM radio on beagle board

Beagle Board is connected to FM receiver, Bluetooth adapter, WiFi. This beagle board has android running in it. You can also listen to FM radio on this board.
This image was made by 0xlab
Some info about 0xlab can be found at http://groups.google.com/group/0xlab-discuss?pli=1
0xLab used broadcom 4325 chip with FM radio function and put that chip on their development board connected through a USB cable.

Debug Linux Applications

http://tiexpressdsp.com/index.php/Linux_Aware_Debug

This link provides help for debugging embedded applications running on a linux environment. This link also talks about different types of debugs such as thread level debug and kernel module debug. It also has help for Code Composer Studio v4, which is a useful tool for debugging TI processors. You can find information on downloading and using CCSv4 for free at http://tiexpressdsp.com/index.php/Category:Code_Composer_Studio_v4.

Online image builder for Angstorm Distribution

This is a website in which you can make images online for beagle board. just select beagleboard in the Machine section.

http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/narcissus/

writing kernel

This is an interesting website, which has tutorials about creating kernel patches. The basic approach showed on this link can also be used when working with a git repository, not just kernel.

http://kapare.blogspot.com/2009/09/write-and-submit-your-first-kernel.html

Here is a tutorial regarding the Linux kernel.
http://www.kroah.com/lkn/

Quake 3

This is an example of how OMAP3 can be very useful for gaming purposes. This video is of quake 3 running on 720p resolution on ISEE IGEP2 platform. In this video, quake 3 is played using a keyboard and a mouse.

nthCode player demo

This video is of nthcode player running on beagle board. The I did uses a keyboard and mouse instead of a TV remote. Nthcode player demo works on only Revision b beagle board. The demo can be booted from an SD card and videos for this demo can be played from a USB flash drive. The file system of the USB flash drive has to be FAT.

In order to make this demo, I had to:
1) download the image from http://www.nthcode.com/player/player.html
2) prepare a bootable SD card. instructions on http://www.sakoman.com/OMAP3/preparing-a-bootable-sd-card.html
3) download all the boot files (MLO, u-boot, uImage-bb) on the "boot" partition of the SD card.
4) untar the "rootfs" in the "rootfs" partition.
5) Change the bootcmd: setenv bootcmd 'mmc init; fatload mmc 0 0x80300000 uImage-bb; bootm 0x80300000'
6) Change the bootargs:
Pico Projector: setenv bootargs 'console=ttyS2,115200n8 console=tty0 root=/dev/mmcblk0p2 rootwait rootfstype=ext3 omapfb.vram=1:4M,2:4M omapfb.mode=dvi:640x480MR-16@60'
HD monitor: setenv bootargs 'console=ttyS2,115200n8 console=tty0 root=/dev/mmcblk0p2 rootwait rootfstype=ext3 omapfb.vram=1:4M,2:4M omapfb.mode=dvi:hd720-24@60'
VGA monitor: setenv bootargs 'console=ttyS2,115200n8 console=tty0 root=/dev/mmcblk0p2 rootwait rootfstype=ext3 omapfb.vram=1:4M,2:4M omapfb.mode=dvi:640x480-16@60'
7) This demo only plays .flv, .avi and .mp4 videos. And only .mp3 audios.
8) The audio codec of the video I was playing was .aac So I had to change it to .mp3 using "super" http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html
9) If you need to convert your video/audio files you can use the following steps, if not skip to the next step. Download & Install "super" and follow this steps in order to change video in "super"
- Change the output container format to AVI
- For video select the "Stream Copy" option
- For audio make sure the output audio codec is set to mp3
- Click "Encode (Active Files)" button.
- The resulting AVI file can be copied to a USB flash drive and played on nthplayer
10) In order to play video files, insert the flash drive after the demo is running. In the demo, go to sources and you will find the symbol of the flash drive under loca files. Click on that symbol, which will list the videos on the flash drive. Click on the video you want to play.

Beagle Board Begineer

In order to boot an image on beagle board, first I needed to download that image on a 2GB SD card. Some images are ready, all I need to do is write them on a SD Card. Some are not ready. For them, first I needed to install a partition table in that particular SD card in order to partition the SD card. Then, I needed to make one partition fat32 file system and the other ext3 file system. Then, I downloaded appropriate images on the appropriate partitions I made on the SD card. All I had to do is insert the SD card in beagle board and attach it to a linux pc using a serial cable in order to talk to the board. Some images require changing bootargs. I used minicom to talk to the board. Here are some useful sites, which will help in preparing an image in a SD card and also about tips to use minicom.

For discussions regarding beagle board:
1. http://groups.google.com/group/beagleboard?lnk=srg
2. http://beagleboard.org/discuss

For information on creating SD card images:
1. http://www.sakoman.com/OMAP3/preparing-a-bootable-sd-card.html
2. http://elinux.org/BeagleBoardBeginners

Using minicom
1. http://www.linux.org/docs/ldp/howto/Remote-Serial-Console-HOWTO/modem-minicom.html
2. http://elinux.org/BeagleBoardBeginners

Recently Played Demo: I recently played nthcode player demo on beagleboard. I used a HD monitor to run this demo. I am trying to run this on a pico projector.

More information about nthcode player
1. http://www.nthcode.com/player/player.html
2. http://groups.google.com/group/nthcode-player-discussion?lnk=

More interesting images:
1. http://groups.google.com/group/beagleboard/browse_thread/thread/3156ba8903dac3f4
2. http://groups.google.com/group/beagleboard/browse_thread/thread/416792e2a7155c02
3.http://groups.google.com/group/beagleboard/browse_thread/thread/84adc725e44e72fb

You can even find a list of interesting projects from beagle board contest:
http://elinux.org/BeagleBoard/contest#Contest_projects

XBMC on the BeagleBoard

This video demonstrates the first successful time that XBMC has been able to run on the BeagleBoard. XBMC is short for XBox Media Center. It is a cross-platform freeware media player and is capable of supporting audio, video, playlist, slideshows, and much more. It was formerly used only on the XBox gaming console, but is now available for use with Linux, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows operating systems. XBMC is also network-capable.

Adobe Flash Lite running on BeagleBoard

This video shows the Angstrom Demo running on the BeagleBoard. The Angstrom demo is running Adobe Flash Lite v3.1 Stand Alone Player. Adobe Flash Lite is a software application intended for mobile devices such as phones and iRiver. It allows said device (in this case the BeagleBoard) to view multimedia content , which previously had only been possible on a personal computer.

Android running on the BeagleBoard

This is a video of the Android demo running on the BeagleBoard. I myself have not used Android, but from this video, I can recommend it to users of all types, as it looks user-friendly and efficient for all sorts of task. Also, in the last 15 to 20 seconds, the camera shows the BeagleBoard setup, so if you are new to the BeagleBoared and are confused on how to get it set up, I think that you will find this last part of the video to be extremely helpful.

OGRE3D Demonstration

This is the OGRE3D engine running on the BeagleBoard. It is using the powerVR SGX core of the omap3 and is projecting the output image using a DLP projector. This video is another excellent representation of the BeagleBoards amazing rendering and graphical capabilities.

Discusion of BeagleBoard Capabilities

This video is pretty much an interview-style discussion about the goals for the BeagleBoard and its many capabilities. Koen and Mans start off by giving a brief overview of what the BeagleBoard is. They then proceed to discuss its potential uses and real-world applications. Lastly, they consider these possibilities and whether or not they have already been attempted and/or are practical enough to be implemented.

BeagleBoard-based Hand-held Computer

Here is a practical use for the BB as a whole. The idea of a hand held computer has always been intriguing, but with a board as tiny as the BB, it is made possible. It is not like a PSP or Nintendo DS, whose primary function is gaming. The BB has features that allow it to become quite literally a hand-held computer. Even with the restrictions of being placed into this case, none of the original functionality is lost or hindered. All of the inputs and outputs are still readily accessible. This is an excellent way to put the BeagleBoard to an even more practical use.

BeagleBoard Graphics Video

This video is a very good representation of the graphic potential the BeagleBoard possesses. There is no sound I am afraid, but you can see the excellent graphics and resolution that the BeagleBoard is capable of running.

Video: Laser Input

Laser Input




The BeagleBoard sends its output image to a large dispay (such as that made by a projector). A laser pointed at this display is used to determine user input. A usb webcam sends the input image it detects to the BeagleBoard, which then locates extreme intensities of red (laser). It then uses the location of this specific intensity to make selections determined by the users input (pointing the laser). It is basically like using a laser-pointer for a mouse.

Video: 3D, Angstrom, and Ubuntu

Today and from now on I will be reviewing and creating summarizations of BeagleBoard-related videos. Today's review is on the following video:



This video shows two 3-D demos running on the BeagleBoard: The 3-D "evil skull" demo and a real time pixel shading demo. This video also shows the Angstrom demo and Ubuntu demo running on the BeagleBoard. As an added feature, there are speech bubbles that pop up and label the hardware and demos throughout the video. This is a great way for a new user to learn the capabilities of a BeagleBoard.

4/2/09

[00:41:57] General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) is an interface available on microprocessors and microcontrollers. These devices may have one or more GPIO connections. Each GPIO connection can be used for either reading digital signals (input), or for controlling other devices (output).

[02:47:38] PCIe is an acroynym for Peripheral Component Interconnect Express. It is a computer expansion card standard introduced by Intel in 2004.

3/31/09

[08:12:15] Omapzoom.org is a development site that provides the resources to take advantage of the OMAP 3 Processor. Not only does this site provide information on the OMAP 3 harware, but it also hosts several software repositories.

2/25/09

[07:44:25] SuperCollider is a programming language used for real time audio synthesis. SuperCollider is often used for acoustic research, algorithmic music, and interactive programming.

[07:43:59] Floating-points are systems for numeric representation where a string of digits represent a rational number. It refers to the fact that a decimal point can float (be placed anywhere relative to the significant digits of the number). The speed of floating-point operations is measured in FLOPS and is important in measuring the performance of a computer in many application domains.

2/17/09

[10:23:05] DDR signaling means double Data Rate signaling.

[10:25:30] DM320 is a system on a chip created by Texas Instruments.

2/13/09

[00:50:12]The Object-Oriented Graphics Rendering Engine (OGRE) is a flexible 3D rendering engine written in C++. It is used to make it easier for developers to produce applications that use hardware-accelerated 3D graphics. OGRE is free software.

[02:55:20] Ccache is a free software tool that speeds up compiling time by caching the output of C/ C++ compilation, allowing the compilation to be omitted for the next time.

[03:07:47] TeraTerm is am open source free communication program for Microsoft Windows. It supports telnet SSH 1 and 2 Serial port connections. It also has a built in Macro scripting language and other useful plugins. From 2007 to present, Tera Term has been maintained by Tera Term Project as an open source software. The latest versions of Tera Term are compatiable with Windows 98 and higher.

2/9/09

[14:44:21] A commit is the framework of revisions made for source codes. It is like an update or a patch. When changes are made to a source code, a commit is issued to keep others updated and/or allow them to perform new functions or to preform old functions more efficiently. A commit with version control systems is less probable to cause trouble, as it allows "rolling back". This is similar to the "undo" function found in most word processors and games.

2/5/09

[02:03:56] Sysfs is a virtual file system supplied by Linux 2.6. It is responsible for exporting information about devices and drivers from the kernel device model to the userspace. It can also be used for configuration. [03:11:42] UnionFS is a filesystem service for FreeBSD and Linux. It incorporates a union mount for other file systems and allows branches to be transparently overlaid, forming a single, reliable file system. A union mount allows several different file systems to be mounted simultaneously.

1/3/09

[03:13:15] According to ds2, rotating media uses up a lot of battery power. [03:10:35] In this case, HDD stands for Hard Disk Drive, which is a type of rotating media. HDD can also stand for High Definition Display. High Definition video refers to any video system with a higher resolution than that of the standard-definition video.

[03:13:40] A solid-state driver (SSD) is a device that stores persistent data by utilizes solid-state memory. An SSD mimics a hard disk drive interface, thereby replacing it in most applications.

1/29/09

[08:39:22] Apparently imgtec is short for Imagination Technologies. Imagination Technologies (formerly known as VideoLogic) has a branch called PowerVR that creates both hardware and software intellectual property for 2D and 3D rendering.

It also creates these intellectual property for video encoding, decoding, and associated image processing. PowerVR SGX is a pixel, vertex, and geometry shader hardware.

1/26/09

[05:22:10] GPIO is an acroynym that stands for General Purpose Input/ Output.

GPIOs are often placed into groups of 8 pins. In some cases, GPIOs may use Direct Memory Access in order to move large amounts of data in an efficient manner.

[05:31:29] PCI stands for Peripheral Component Interconnect and is a commonly used interface. Typical PCI cards used in PCs include: sound cards, USB/Serial ports, and other such hardware. The PCI Local Bus (often referred to as PCI), is used for attaching hardware devices in a computer such as a planar device (an Integrated Circuit that is mounted onto the motherboard), or an expansion card.

BeagleBoard Contest

The first ever BeagleBoard design contest has ended. The top 2 winners recieved a BeagleBoard Rev C1 as their prize. The BeagleBoard revision C1 has a working USB HOST and the newest OMAP3 silicon revision. The winners are recieving their boards 2 month before it is made publically available by DigiKey, in March of 2009.

The winning design was the BeagleBot, which essentially dodged walls and obstacles. The projects entered into the contest can be found at http://elinux.org/BeagleBoard/contest. This cite also provides information on the contest, judging criteria, and judging results.

The second contest's dates have not yet been decided on, but it is said that the deadline will be no earlier than February 12th, 2009. We encourage everybody to enter a project in the next contest. I look forward to seeing all of your creative and innovative designs.