M-Labs
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| Manufacturer | Qi Hardware |
|---|---|
| Type | Video synthesizer |
| Release date | December 27, 2010 (early developer kit) |
| Introductory price | 380 EUR (early developer kit) |
| Operating system | RTEMS, Linux |
| CPU | LatticeMico32 in a Xilinx Spartan-6 FPGA |
| Memory | 128MB DDR SDRAM |
| Storage | 32MB built-in NOR flash, memory card |
| Display | SVGA up to 140MHz pixel clock (1280x1024) |
| Input | USB keyboard and mouse |
| Camera | External (CVBS digitizer) |
| Connectivity | DMX512, MIDI, OpenSoundControl, AC97 audio, Ethernet, RC-5 infrared, USB, GPIO |
| Power | 5W |
| Dimensions | 150 x 125 x 30 mm |
The Milkymist project is an informal organization of people and companies who develop, manufacture and sell a comprehensive open source solution for the live synthesis of interactive visual effects for VJs. The project goes great lengths to apply the open source principles at every level possible, and is best known for the Milkymist system-on-chip (SoC) which is among the first commercialized system-on-chip designs with free HDL source code.
As a result, several Milkymist technologies have been reused in applications unrelated to video synthesis. For example, NASA's Communication Navigation and Networking Reconfigurable Testbed (CoNNeCT) experiment uses the memory controller that was originally developed for the Milkymist system-on-chip[1] and published under the GNU GPL.
The project was presented at several open source and hacker conferences such as the Chaos Communication Congress[2], FOSDEM[3] and Libre Software Meeting[4]. It was also featured on the Make Magazine blog[5] and included in their "ultimate open source hardware gift guide 2010"[6].
Milkymist SoC
The Milkymist system-on-chip uses the LatticeMico32 (LM32) core as a general purpose processor. It is a RISC 32-bit big endian CPU without a memory management unit (MMU). It is supported by the GCC compiler and can run RTEMS and uClinux.
The LM32 microprocessor is assisted by a texture mapping unit and a programmable floating point VLIW coprocessor which are used by the Flickernoise video synthesis software. It is also surrounded by various peripheral cores to support every I/O device of the Milkymist One. The system-on-chip interconnect uses three bridged buses and mixes the Wishbone protocol with two custom protocols used for configuration registers and high performance DMA with the SDRAM.
The architecture of the Milkymist system-on-chip is largely documented in the project founder's Master thesis report[1]. Most components of the system-on-chip, except the LatticeMico32 core, were custom developed and placed under the GNU GPL license.
The QEMU emulator can be used to run and debug Milkymist SoC binaries[7] on another computer.
Milkymist One
The Milkymist One video synthesizer and reconfigurable computer is the main product released by the project. It is manufactured by Qi Hardware, a start-up founded by former Openmoko employees[8]. It was first sold at the Chaos Communication Congress in 2010[9], as a "early developer kit" for interested hackers, open source activists and pioneers who could stand the remaining software and FPGA design bugs. The hardware still came with a warranty against manufacturing defects. Moreover, the Milkymist project has plans to level the Milkymist One up to a general (non-technical) public device marketed at clubs, music bands and VJs.
The technical specifications of the Milkymist One[10] are as follows:
- Multi-standard video input (PAL/SECAM/NTSC)
- Two DMX512 (RS485) ports
- MIDI IN and MIDI OUT ports
- SVGA output, 24bpp, up to 140MHz pixel clock (about 1280x1024)
- AC97 audio
- XC6SLX45 Spartan-6 FPGA supporting the open source Milkymist SoC
- 128MB 32-bit DDR400 SDRAM
- 32MB parallel flash
- 10/100 Ethernet
- Memory card
- Two USB host connectors
- RC-5 compatible infrared receiver
- RS232 debug port
Flickernoise
References
- ^ a b Bourdeauducq, Sebastien (2010-06). "A performance-driven SoC architecture for video synthesis". KTH. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "26C3 schedule". Retrieved 2011-04-22.
- ^ "Milkymist : Pushing further the limits of electronics openness". Retrieved 2011-04-22.
- ^ "Milkymist : a free System-on-Chip for real-time video". Retrieved 2011-04-22.
- ^ "Make: Online: Milkymist :: Interactive VJ Station". Retrieved 2011-04-22.
- ^ "Make: Online: The Ultimate Open Source Hardware Gift Guide 2010". Retrieved 2011-04-22.
- ^ "QEMU development mailing list". Retrieved 2011-04-22.
- ^ "OpenMoko Layoffs Lead to New Open Hardware Venture". Retrieved 2011-04-22.
- ^ "First Milkymist One Early Developer Kits are coming!". Retrieved 2011-04-22.
- ^ "Milkymist official website: Milkymist One". Retrieved 2011-04-22.