This was semi-discussed 4 days ago when someone posted the release announcement of the MP1, which is a few years old (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37218879). Someone pointed out the MP2 had been announced in the meantime.
This announcement itself is from 2023-06-05, so not exactly hot off the presses either.
The integrated Ethernet switch is only as useful as its software stack - I say this after an excruciating decade with TI's Sitara devices (and the built-in CPSW ethernet switch.)
I'd probably choose a much more compute/graphics focused SoC for a games console, like almost any smartphone SoC or even an APU.
These STM32MP parts are designed for devices with realtime needs and real-world interface requirement, because they combine Application Processors that run Linux (albeit not quite as fast as a cutting-edge phone SoC) with a Cortex-M core made for realtime application use, as well as interface peripherals like CAN. Basically these are supposed to be a bridge between the "embedded" world and the "Linux" world.
I’m curious if any hardware dev can chime in on this - would it be possible to use such an chip with an RTOS? I’ve seen rtos’es which run on esp32 style mmu-less chips, and it seems that anything with an a core runs an (non-real-time) OS. But could the A chip in this be used to run an RTOS without a host system, for repeatability and real-time operation?
There are a number of RTOS’s out there now, both proprietary (e.g. VxWorks) and OSS (Zephyr) that support A-series chips with an MMU, and can operate with a single (kernel) context. They still provide bounded latencies compared to full-fat OS’s, but don’t have as much determinism as microcontrollers without page tables and caches. The cores themselves (maybe not the A35?) don’t generally work without the MMU enabled, because most ARM cores also disable the cache if the MMU is off.
' An OEM launch means that original equipment manufacturers are starting to get samples. Consequently, if all goes well, we expect general sampling to begin at the end of the year and mass production by the second quarter of 2024 for both devices and development boards.'
So a year away before the first Pi-a-like or SBCs for hobbyists/hackers hit the market
High-performance STM32 chips have been in short supply since 2019, with backorder times in the range of years. There's a reason why you don't see a whole lot of hobby boards using them today.
So, as a hobbyist, I wouldn't be getting my hopes up for 2024...
>So, as a hobbyist, I wouldn't be getting my hopes up for 2024...
Meh, if you're a hobbyist you can migrate to any other ARM board you can find on the cheap in your area. No need to pigeonhole yourself in the STM32 ecosystem.
Well this thing is less available and will have less ecosystem support. Get a Raspberry Pi Zero W if you want something with a visual component and want to save some cash.
Readit News
This announcement itself is from 2023-06-05, so not exactly hot off the presses either.
Great to see this being more widely/deeply described. It looks very capable, interesting choice with onboard Ethernet switch.
Would be so much fun as a games console, but I guess even at this size programming the GPU bare metal will not be very accessible.
These STM32MP parts are designed for devices with realtime needs and real-world interface requirement, because they combine Application Processors that run Linux (albeit not quite as fast as a cutting-edge phone SoC) with a Cortex-M core made for realtime application use, as well as interface peripherals like CAN. Basically these are supposed to be a bridge between the "embedded" world and the "Linux" world.
So a year away before the first Pi-a-like or SBCs for hobbyists/hackers hit the market
So, as a hobbyist, I wouldn't be getting my hopes up for 2024...
Meh, if you're a hobbyist you can migrate to any other ARM board you can find on the cheap in your area. No need to pigeonhole yourself in the STM32 ecosystem.
I know GPU->opencl->MLC is often feasible but never hear anything a out the NPU
I am similarly curious how the NPU works software-wise
A Raspberry Pi would be overkill, and their availability is still iffy.