Ubuntu Core sees the light on NXP/Freescale i.MX 6 and HiKey

This week the worlds of open source and embedded development are all gathering in Austin for OSCON and the NXP FTF. This is the opportunity for Canonical to showcase the progresses done with Ubuntu Core, a slimmed down version of Ubuntu built for IoT. In a week full of talks of open source communities, Linux, IoT and embedded software in Austin, Ubuntu Core will be demonstrated on two new chipset: the NXP / Freescale i.MX 6 and the HiKey Lemaker edition powered by the Huawei Kirin620 SoC.

At the NXP FTF conference, Canonical will be exhibiting and demoing Ubuntu Core running on the i.MX 6 in an industrial gateways setting. In partnership with Clouplug, an industrial automation set-up will be displayed. Working with computer vision library openCV, a security camera application will be showcased, as well as the upgrade and rollback capabilities of Ubuntu Core. A developer image will be available soon from developer.ubuntu.com.

At OSCON, in addition to the Ubuntu booth, Ubuntu Core will be ever present, both on the Dell booth with the Dell Edge Gateway 5000 (booth 407) and on the Huawei & LeMaker’s (booth 501) with a first demo of Ubuntu Core running on the Hikey LeMaker edition. As announced by LeMaker, an developer image of Ubuntu Core is now available for download from LeMaker and from developer.ubuntu.com. The Hikey Lemaker edition is the second announced 64 bit ARM board and the second 96Boards compatible chipset too to support Ubuntu Core. Powered by the Kirin620 eight-core ARM Cortex-A53 SoC, this is a collaboration between LeMaker, Huawei and Linaro, and the first octa-core 96Boards Consumer Edition.

These two new ARM  boards to support Ubuntu Core show it as the Linux of choice to build a variety of managed, secure and revenue generating “things” from industrial to consumer equipment:

• Home gateway: with the HiKey Lemaker edition board powerful app-enabled home gateways become a possibility based on open source and proprietary applications for home automation, communication, video surveillance…
• Industrial gateways: Dell will also be at OSCON with the Dell Edge Gateway, an app enabled industrial gateways, with a growing ecosystem of vendors across building automation and industrial maintenance and control.
• Industrial gateways:  the demo given at NXP FTF  and Ubuntu Core now available on the i.MX 6, we’re looking forward to seeing a number of new industrial use cases.

If you’re in Austin next week, make sure you meet the Canonical teams and the Ubuntu community whether at OSCON or at NXP FTF! If you’d like to arrange a meeting… just get in touch!