Gumstix Overo Fire == nerdy gadget lust

Apr 6th, 20096 Comments

I have been waiting a while for Gumstix to release a more powerful Overo board with the OMAP 3530 chip, and it looks like the waiting is over.  There are three new boards, but the one making me all hot and bothered is the Overo Fire.  For those not aware, the OMAP 3530 is a system on chip (SoC)where the CPU, RAM, 3D video and all the other goodies sit on a single chip.  The pics on the main web site above don’t do it justice, so here is a pic of the thing next to a AA battery.

So here is my plan…  I’m going to get Android running on this thing ASAP.  I think most of this work has been done already because the similarly spec’d BeagleBoard already has Android running on it.  I am hopeful that the patches are already documented somewhere but it wouldn’t be the first time I have hacked some Linux kernel and driver code.  The end goal is to have a sort of home hub or all in one remote console device with a touch screen LCD, VOIP speakerphone, all in one IR remote, , etc.  Bonus points if I can get ServiceMix or ActiveMQ involved somewhere along the line.  I think an OSGi API for the IR and home page would be rather sweet as well, don’t you?  I will post more in the next week or two once I get my feet back on the ground.  Too excited to think rationally right now  ;-)

The possibilities are endless, and I promise to open source everything under the Apache Software License where possible.  Should be a fun project, if anyone is interested in helping out let me know.

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6 Responses to “Gumstix Overo Fire == nerdy gadget lust”

  1. Ulhas Bhole says:
    April 27, 2009 at 2:56 AM

    Interesting. Will check back your progress.
    It’s good to see someone doing such interesting work which is my dream also but don’t know much about electronics.

    – Ulhas

  2. Lily Chiew says:
    December 1, 2009 at 12:24 PM

    Very interesting! What is your progress on this? Any binaries to share?

  3. Pranav Jadhav says:
    February 25, 2010 at 2:32 AM

    Intresting idea. I’ve purchased a Saumsung Corby, but you know it does not make a ideal phone. I am planning to build my own Smart Phone based on overo chipsets. I will really need a lot of help! Anybody intrested i helping me out?
    KUDOS!
    -Pranav

  4. Pranav Jadhav says:
    February 25, 2010 at 2:33 AM

    Lily Chiew :
    Very interesting! What is your progress on this? Any binaries to share?

    Hey Lily! ‘M planning to build a smartphone based on overo fire…any ideas?

  5. Michael Sullivan says:
    July 12, 2010 at 4:02 PM

    Have you made any progress on this? I’ve been trying to get Android on my Fire and it’s just one problem after another. Admittedly, I’m not a Linux driver/kernel expert, so I’m fishing for advice from those who have already paved the way.

    Thanks!

  6. Chris Custine says:
    July 12, 2010 at 10:12 PM

    I haven’t worked on this project in almost a year, but this thread looks like it is going in the right direction: http://old.nabble.com/Android-Froyo—2.2-on-Overo-Fire-ts29048357.html#a29110126

    I am sure that this will get easier over time.

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