Custom Hardware Platform Based on Intel Edison Module

The Computer-on-Module (COM) approach makes cutting edge technology easily accessible and lowers the entry barriers to anyone prototyping and developing embedded systems. Furthermore, it is possible to add all the system specific functionalities to the generic PC functions which are readily available in an off-the-shelf core module, reducing the time to market and enhancing the creativity of system engineers. The purpose of this paper is to show a custom hardware platform based on the tiny and low power Intel Edison compute module [1], which uses a 22 nm Intel processing core and contains connectivity elements to ensure device-to-device and device-to-cloud connectivity. The Intel Edison carrier board designed is expected to act as a local intelligent node, a readily available custom EPICS IOC [2] for extending the control reach to small appliances in the context of the SPES 1 project. The board acts as an Ethernet to RS232/RS422 interface translator with Power-Over-Ethernet supply and network booting as key features of this platform. The x86 architecture of the Edison makes standard Linux software deployment straightforward. Currently the board is in advanced prototyping stage.