[Arm-netbook] EOMA68 card based on NXP i.MX7 (work in progress)

[Vincent]

Hi everybody,

Since this is my first post on this list, please allow me to get off my
chest a few things:

- huge thanks to Luke for getting this project started
- me = funding a PFY laptop, eagerly awaiting for it to arrive ;-)
- me = working at a research institute, focused on hardware security

As a private individual but also as at work, having an EOMA68 card based
on an NXP i.MX7 would be very useful. It is a powerful processor with a
heterogeneous architecture (2x A7, 1x M4) which makes it an interesting
choice for energy-limited applications (M4 can turn off/on A7) and
scenarios where safety/security are important (M4 can do real-time aside
from workload on A7).

The i.MX7 has many useful security features (crypto accelerators,
high-assurance boot, TrustZone, etc.).

An initial check with the EOMA68 infrastructure indicates compatibility.

My personal goals with this are as follows:
- Create an EOMA68 card with i.MX7 to complement my research (in fact, I
simply need a good demo for the stuff I'm doing)
- Provide the community an even better microprocessor card
- Have a complex PCB project to learn along the way (I did PCB designs
beforehand but never that complex)

The project outline is roughly as follows:
- 1 Use a phyBOARD-Zeta and a set of adapters to check compatibility of
the i.MX7 and the EOMA68 infrastructure once the PFY laptop arrives [1]
- 2 Create a PCMCIA-II card featuring the i.MX7 (goal: release as board
+ schematics to the public)
- 3 Create a PCMCIA-III card protected with a high-security
tamper-resistant enclosure that makes physical access improbable (I will
not comment on this prior to publication as it is my research project),
check for example [2]

What would be of interest to me is the following:
- How well the idea of having an i.MX7 card is received
- How important the use of an open source CAD program is. I have access
to Altium and have used it beforehand. However, KiCad has made
significant progress since CERN is involved. Using KiCad would make it
easier for the community to modify the board but since soldering these
components by hand is impossible anyway, would there be any benefit in
having freely accessible design files?
- General interest in a tamper-resistant enclosure

To make the development easier, it would be nice if Luke could provide
us (the community) with:
- proper drawings for the outline of his PCB
- PCMCIA connector type/enclosure and height requirements of PCB
- mechanical verification package (as order option on crowdsupply) to
provide a "getting-you-started" package for EOMA68 card developers;
possibly including: PCMCIA receptable, connector, enclosure, etc.

Please let me know what you think. Also, please keep in mind that this
is a kind of fun project for me at work and therefore the time I can
spend on this is limited. Progress will be slow but I will be sending
updates to the mailing list.

Cheers,
Vincent

[1] http://www.phytec.eu/product/single-board-computer/phyboard-zeta/
[2] http://www.design-shift.com/orwl/