SwiftLite: Production-Ready BeagleBoard Alternative

SwiftLite is a 9cm x 10cm (3.5" x 4") board similar to Beagleboard or Beagleboard-xM, but suitable for both development and production use. Based on TI's OMAP3530, pin-compatible DaVinci DM3730, or low-cost Sitara AM3517, the 3 variants of SwiftLite all feature ARM Cortex-A8 core with DSP co-processor, offering unparalleled multimedia performance.

The main difference between SwiftLite and Beagleboard is that the SwiftLite carries the OMAP3530 (or DM3730) device - as well as DDR, Flash, PMIC, Ethernet and touch controller - on a 200-pin SODIMM production-ready module, which is seated in turn on a baseboard which carries all the connectors, and provides some extra connectivity including HDMI, LVDS, USB Hub, as well as expansion connectors. Keeping this simple baseboard separate from the complex processor module means that these features and connectors can be changed or omitted in order to customize the design without redesigning the processor module or changing the BSP.

In order to take your design to production, in low volume you can use the SwiftLite board in its entirety, but at medium volume (100+) you can reduce cost without a new design, by substituting the production-ready module into your custom baseboard, which we can create to order simply by depopulating the SwiftLite design. Alternatively, if your volumes are over 500 units, a new baseboard can be created based on the SwiftLite design.

Most importantly, because the baseboard is a simple two-sided design, as well as avoiding costly redesign of the high-speed high-density electronics around the micro, there is no need to modify the supplied high-quality Angstrom Linux, Windows CE 6.0, Windows Embedded Compact 7 or Android 2.3 BSP.

As an alternative to the OMAP OM3530 family used on the original Beagle board, the DM3730 – as used on BeagleBoard-xM - offers enhanced clock speeds of up to 1GHz and lower power consumption thanks to a 45nm production process. Versions based on the lower-cost similar Sitara AM3517 are also available.

When purchasing SwiftLite as a development system, a large (800x480) touch screen, directly connected to the OMAP3530/DM37x/AM37x's on-chip display controller means that the development setup closely emulates the final product, and LVDS and HDMI support allows a remotely display to be easily connected.

The resulting system has similar functionality to BeagleBoard or BeagleBoard-XM, but with a guaranteed route to production, as well as full commercial support, without the need to redesign the complex multi-layer PCB, or alter the BSP.

Connectivity

A comprehensive list of connectors is available on the SwiftLite baseboard. Most of the connectivity of the OMAP/DaVinci/Sitara device is available via extension headers.

Choosing the right processor module

For many applications, the higher performance DaVinci/Sitara DM37xx/AM37xx series of devices (used in SwiftModule-DM) has replaced OMAP3530 family (used in SwiftModule-OM. The new devices are pin-for-pin replacements featuring either 800MHz or 1000MHz clock rates for the ARM Cortex-A8 core instead of the OMAP's 600MHz/720MHz. Versions with an enhanced graphics co-processor (AM3715, DM3730) are available, as are versions with a DSP which is usually used for video codec implementation (DM3725, DM3730). TI has also introduced a low-cost series of 600MHz ARM Cortex-A8 Sitara micros known as AM3517 family, which is used in SwiftModule-AM. These offer additional features including on-chip Ethernet, CAN and an additional USB Host controller. The entry level is the AM3505, and the AM3517 adds the same graphics accelerator as OMAP3530/3515. All have the NEON SIMD/VFP engine, but the AM35x family does not offer the video DSP co-processor of the OMAP3530/25.

Ordering Information

The SwiftLite Development System is available with Linux, Android 2.3, Windows CE 6.0 and Windows Embedded Compact 7 BSPs installed. As a low-volume (less than 100 units) production solution, SwiftLite is available as a standard SBC without display or software in packs of 10 – prices here. For volumes of 100 or more, the price reduces sharply as we can customise SwiftLite, by removing expensive elements such as HDMI and/or LVDS transmitters, USB Hub, backlight inverter, and connectors. Please visit the SwiftLite baseboard configuration form to create your specification. For volumes in excess of 500 a custom baseboard will usually be created – please contact us with your detailed requirements. We look forward to supporting you in creating another addition to the dozens of successful commercial products based on SwiftModule and SwiftLite.

Useful Links:

SwiftModule-DM DM3730/AM3703 system-on-module
SwiftModule-AM Sitara AM3505/AM3517 system-on-module
SwiftModule-OM OMAP3530 system-on module
SwiftLite off-the-shelf production baseboards
Module Selector Table