Kelly Choos 
I like to browse the Linux changelog to learn about new kernel features, but also new hardware that has been brought into mainstream Linux, even if it’s only preliminary or partial.
And in Linux 5.13, which just released, one card that caught my eye was Art-Pi, powered by an STMicro STM32H750 Cortex-M7 microcontroller without MMU (memory management unit) originally designed for the RT-Thread real-time operating system.
Art-Pi specifications:
- MCU – Value Line Cortex-M7 STM32H750XBH6 @ 400 MHz Microcontroller, with 128KB Flash, 16KB D / I Cache, 864 SRAM, 64KB + 128KB TCM with ECC Correction
- System memory – 32MB SDRAM
- Storage – MicroSD card slot, 16MB SPI flash, 8MB QSPI flash
- Display – FPC connector for RGB888 displays
- Connectivity – SDIO WiFi 4 and UART Bluetooth via the Ampak AP6212 module
- USB – 1x USB OTG Type-C port
- Debugging – ST-LINK / V2.1 on-board via USB-C DBG port
- Expansion – 2x 40-pin P1 and P2 headers with GPIO, 4x UART (LPUART), 3x SPI, 2x I2C, 1x USB FS, 1x Ethernet, 1 SAI channel, 1x DCMI camera interface, 2x CAN-FD, 5x ADC , 15x PWM
- Miscellaneous – Power LED, 2x User LED, 2x ST-Link LED, User and reset pushbuttons
- Power supply – 5V via DGB USB-C port
- Dimensions – 85 x 56 mm
Most of the map documentation is in Chinese at gitee.io. RT-Thread real-time operating system source code and SDK, as well as English documentation are available on Github and Gitee. There is also a getting started guide which has been translated into English.
Art-Pi is also one of the few platforms added to the Linux kernel without MMUs. But if you’ve never used a platform without a memory management unit, be prepared to have fun with random kernel crashes / panics due to stack overflows.
The Art-Pi card can be purchased on Aliexpress for $ 65 including shipping. You will also find a “multimedia expansion card” with a display and an industrial card adding an RJ45 Ethernet port, as well as CAN Bus, RS232 and RS485 terminal blocks. The two expansion cards can also be combined as shown in the photo below.
Note that the card is also available on Taobao for 288 RMB, or about 44.6 US $.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 on a part-time basis, before stepping down as head of software engineering and starting writing daily news and reviews full-time later in 2011.
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