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

[Allan Mwenda]

Hardware designs and documentation are crucial for the lliberation of hardware. You wont be regarded well by the community if you hide these.
Even if you a proprietary software to design (loss of YOUR personal freedoms) save all results in a format usable in a libre client (OUR freedom is at stake at that point) 

On 9 May 2017 23:53:34 GMT+03:00, Vincent <ml.eoma68 at eml.cc> wrote:
>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/
>
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-- 
Sent from my Android device with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.
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