Avne
t Electronics Marketing, has announced that it is now accepting pre-orders for the HiKey board from CircuitCo. The low-cost, high-performance HiKey board is the first 64-bit, ARMv8-based single-board computer (SBC) certified compatible with the 96Boards Consumer Edition specification. It targets high-end processing applications such as medical imaging, robotics, security and surveillance, and the Internet of Things, and is available for pre-order through Avnet for $129.
The 96Boards Consumer Edition specification was launched earlier this year by Linaro Ltd, a not-for-profit engineering organization dedicated to developing open source software for the ARM® architecture. It is the first open-hardware specification providing a platform for the delivery of compatible, low cost, small footprint 32-bit and 64-bit Cortex-A boards from the full range of ARM SoC vendors. The specification defines a fixed set of minimum functions including USB, SD, HDMI and standardized low-speed and high-speed peripheral connectors. Vendors may add customized hardware and feature sets provided the minimum functions are available.
“Software complexity and compatibility are among the greatest challenges facing designers looking to leverage ARM-based hardware platforms,” said Tim Barber, senior vice president, design chain business development, Avnet Electronics Marketing. “The 96Boards specification tackles the software issue head-on, and the HiKey board is a great example of how the 96Boards initiative, and its supporting development community, can make leading-edge technology available to a broad market customer base in a way that has not been seen before now. Expanding the array of low-cost, high-performance ARM-based platforms available to engineers will accelerate their time to market with next-generation equipment and devices.”
“Since the announcement of the 96Boards initiative in February, we have had great interest from people and companies who want to develop on an accessible, low-cost ARMv8 platform,” said Steve Taylor, director of the 96Boards program. “Having Avnet, the world’s largest distributor of electronics components, accepting pre-orders for the first 96Boards product – the HiKey board – will help get these boards into developers’ hands more quickly and allow ARMv8 software development to ramp rapidly around the world.”