| The Kickstarter campaign for the UP credit card size x86 computer board was successfully funded after it was announced on October 16th at the Maker Faire Rome event. The campaign raised €105,117, 210% of the original funding goal. The UP board was reported by more than 90 international media during the 45 days campaign, and a lot of forums and social media buzzed about UP.
UP team had to convince Intel in supporting the project (initially rejected and not supported) because the Intel x5-Z8300 was meant to be used in Tablet PC and not in a credit card size computer.Now we receive support from Intel to integrate x5-z8300 on the UP board, though we would like to get more support to realize needs from the UP community.The Kickstarter campaign proved that there are many makers, innovators, start up and established companies who have been waiting for UP. Spontaneously people from Intel, Microsoft and other prominent companies have contacted the UP team to offer their personal support. This is just the beginning of what will be the strength of the UP community. |
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2GB RAM is not impossible
We had in mind to offer 2GB of RAM as a standard solution since the early days of the project, but we were aware of the many technical challenges to achieve that due to the limited space of the board and other factors. However, the UP team continued to explore all of the possibilities and we announced the stretch goal for 2GB RAM/32GB eMMC in the middle of the Kickstarter campaign while it was still not clear how it could be implemented. After several weeks of design and analysis work, the UP team has found a solution that will implement 2GB RAM with 64 Bit channel (12GB/s) and enhanced I/O performances with most optimal design. |
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UP board in different operating systems
We have successfully installed Microsoft Windows 10 Professional 64-bit on UP with 1 GB RAM and all of the hardware devices correctly recognized by the operating system. The UP board is fully capable of a smooth web browsing experience, HD movie playback and 3D gaming.
The UP team is currently updating and developing the necessary drivers for Linux and verifying all functionality. A key challenge is with the 40-pin I/O interface, which was defined to have the same pin definition as the Raspberry Pi HAT; The UP Team is looking at duplicating the same user’s experience knowing that the Broadcom chip differs from the Intel SoC.
ubilinux, based on Debian 8, will be the first Linux distribution to be available for UP. It will be followed by Ubuntu and Snappy. Besides these, we are still in discussion to enable Yocto if we can find a right partner for it. The UP team is still planning to support Windows 10 IoT Core Professional by engaging with Microsoft system Integrator. |
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Everything around the UP board
Display kit, EnOcean Sensor kit, WiFi module, ABS plastic chassis, aluminum chassis, AC adapters, USB3.0 OTG cables, HDMI cables, etc : the UP team is working with an eco-system of partners to provide a one-stop shopping experience. After just 45 days, prototypes of the display kit, EnOcean sensor kit, chassis are close to being ready for testing; WiFi module, USB3.0 OTG cable, HDMI cable, and AC adapters are in the qualification process. Everything is running at full speed, and there are more items to be placed in the UP shop. It will be a key component of the UP community where all the makers, innovators and companies will have the chance to sell their solution powered by UP and tested by the UP Team. The UP shop www.up-shop.org will be opened by the end of the year. |
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The Community to be opened
Upon the delivery of the first 50 innovators kit, the community ( www.up-community.org )will be opened exclusively to the innovators. It will include a Forum, How-to, Documentation, Blog, Project and Download sections. The Forum will be a moderated by the UP Team and partners to host discussions about Linux and the hardware and provide support. The How-to section will include technical guides and examples. The Documentation page will be a wiki opened to the community for contributions with useful information about the UP board hardware and Linux software. The community will welcome users to post projects and share their experience in the Projects area. The Download section will provide the Linux OS installer for ubilinux and other Linux related downloads. |
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| It has been an intensive 45 days but the journey has just begun. The UP team is aiming to bring the best x86 embedded product to the market and fulfill the commitment to bridge the gap between prototypes to marketable products.
You can continue to follow UP on www.up-board.org !
The UP team would like to express our sincere appreciation to all the backers and followers, let’s move UP. |
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