Creator board targets IoT & embedded app design

The MIPS Creator CI20 is an affordable micro-computer, enabling open source developers, the maker community, system integrators and others to create a wide range of applications and projects. The board features a low-power Ingenic JZ4780 SoC using a MIPS32-based dual-core CPU clocked at 1.2GHz+ and a PowerVR SGX540 GPU.

“It took us a few versions to decide exactly what software and which I/Os to include,” commented Ian Oliver, Senior Director of Developer Tools, Imagination Technologies. “Our first production run several months ago was to gauge interest, so we offered a free board to parties who applied to use it for upcoming creative projects. On the day that we started accepting applications, our website lasted just 2 or 3 hours before crashing.”

Demonstrating its powerful graphics capability at the launch in London, a board running Linux was connected to a monitor which displayed a revolving image in 1080p, superceded by windows flying across the screen, each displaying its own 3D effect. Tinted glass, Gaussian blur, cartoon-style lines, and different colour effects were displayed, each set of graphics rendered as seamlessly and beautifully as the last.

A connected power meter displayed a constant voltage of 4.990V, with current fluctuating between 0.4 and 0.5A and overall power use at around 2.3W. Excellent thermal management allows the SoC to remain close to room temperature during operation.

Running the popular game Gods Rush on Android, the board was able to showcase high resolution graphics and typical smartphone responsiveness, thus demonstrating the board's potential to enable fast, immersive IoT applications, ranging from home automation and gaming to wireless multimedia streaming.

The Creator CI20 incorporates a range of I/Os, including two UART, 25 GPIO, two SPI, I²C, expansion headers and a 14-pin ETAG connector. AC97 audio is provided via a four pin I/O jack and HDMI connector, and an inbuilt camera is controlled using an ITU-R BT.645.

1GB of DDR3 SDRAM, 4GB of flash memory and an SD card are supplied as standard with the CI20, and the board's connectivity options consist of 10/100 Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0, as well as a USB host and USB OTG device. As a fail-safe against bricking, the SBC can boot Linux or Android from the NAND or from an SD card. Integrated JTAG software also offers the potential for expanded OS compatibility.

The low cost and power consumption of the Creator CI20, along with versatility and flexibility, provides a strong starting platform for those wishing to develop their own application or function. The professional quality of the board means it suits development from concept to creation.

“We are very excited to be taking part in the growing interest within the open source and maker communities for affordable, fully featured development platforms,” said Tony King-Smith, Executive Vice President of Marketing, Imagination Technologies. “Creator CI20 has been designed for people who want high performance and advanced features for their development projects and to create access at the software and hardware level to allow creativity to come to the fore.”

“This is the sort of stuff that's going to enable the IoT and make it interesting,” concluded King-Smith.

The Creator CI20 is available to pre-order from ImgTec's website at $65 or £50, with units available at the end of January 2015.