Getting started with Intel ® Edison

1 Introduction
The Intel® Edison Module is a tiny, SD-card-sized computing chip designed for building
Internet of Things (IoT) and wearable computing products. The Edison module contains
a high-speed, dual-core processing unit, integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth low energy, storage
and memory, and a broad spectrum of input/output (I/O) options for interfacing with user
systems. Because of its small footprint and low power consumption, the Edison module is
an ideal choice for projects that need a lot of processing power without being connected to a
power supply.

Figure 1: Intel® Edison

1.1 Module Overview

Figure 2 shows the block diagram of the Edison module. The module consists of an Intel®
Atom— processor operating at a clock speed of 500 MHz and 4 GB of managed ash memory.
By default, the Yocto Linux operating system is installed in ash memory.

Figure 2: Block diagram of the Intel® Edison Module

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 For Wi-Fi and Bluetooth low energy connectivity, the module includes a Broadcom
BCM43340 chip that supports standard dual-band 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n
standards as well as Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) and WPA2 (personal) for powerful en-
cryption and authentication. This connectivity option makes it easier to connect Edison
module embedded devices to existing Wi-Fi infrastructure in a standardized way. Bluetooth
low energy enables Edison devices to connect to other Bluetooth low energy devices like
smartphones so that the smartphone can act as a gateway to connect to the Internet.

Further information about this module can be found at this link.

1.2 SparkFun Starter Pack for Intel ® Edison

This pack is presented in Figure 3 which includes:

ˆ 1x Intel® Edison

ˆ 1x Base Block

ˆ 1x GPIO Block

ˆ 1x Battery Block

ˆ 1x Intel® Edison Hardware Pack

ˆ 1x USB microB Cable - 6 Foot

Figure 3: SparkFun Starter Pack for Intel® Edison

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1.3 General Guide to SparkFun Blocks for Intel ® Edison

CAUTION: DO NOT use the Battery Block without direction.

SparkFun Blocks for the Intel® Edison are a great way to unlock all the features provided
by the miniature 70-pin expansion connector. By mixing and matching Blocks, users can
custom-tailor their Edison for any application. To get started, Figure 4 shows the anatomy
of a stack of Blocks.

Figure 4: A sample stack of Blocks

ˆ Intel® Edison - The brain of the stack, provides processing and communication.

ˆ 70-pin connector - The backbone of the stack, provides a path of power and data to all
Blocks.

ˆ Standos - Provides mechanical strength to stacking Blocks.

ˆ Blocks - Boards that breakout functionality of the 70-pin expansion connector.

Figure 5 presents the connectors of the Blocks. Most Blocks will have two connectors
that allow the signals to be used, then passed along to the next Block in the stack.

Figure 5: Hirose DF40 Socket and Plug

ˆ Socket - This allows signals to be received by the Edison or a stacked Block.

ˆ Plug - This allows signals to pass to the next Block in a stack when used on Blocks.

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 Figure 6: Base Block Functional Diagram

2 Problem 1: Getting started

The Base Block is a great foundation to any Edison stack. The Base is useful for mounting
an Edison as a le system on a host computer or accessing the console port. Figure 6 gives
details about this board.

ˆ USB OTG - The USB Micro AB port provides access to the Edison OTG port. This
port is capable of providing power to an OTG device or power can be supplied to the
Edison through this port.

ˆ Console - The Micro USB B port provides power and a console access port to an Intel
Edison Stack. This Block supplies a voltage to the Edison and other Blocks through
the VSYS line at 4V. This voltage may vary up to +/-0.1V depending on load.

ˆ Power Button - The power switch is connected to the PWRBTN line on the Edison.
This gives the user the ability to place an Edison in sleep or power down the module
completely. This does not aect power to other Blocks in the stack.

ˆ Power LED - The power LED illuminates when power is present on VSYS. This can
come from the Console Block, or any other powered Block in the stack.

ˆ Data LEDs - The Data LEDs help the user identify if the console is active. This is a
feature commonly found on our FTDI breakout.

ˆ LED Jumpers - If power consumption is an issue, cut each jumper to disable LEDs

ˆ Expansion Header - The 70-pin Expansion header breaks out the functionality of the
Intel Edison. This header also passes signals and power throughout the stack. These
function much like an Arduino Shield.

2.1 Using the Base Block

Connect the Intel Edison to the Base Block as shown in gure Figure 7.

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 Figure 7: Base Block Installed

2.2 Finding out system information

Before you continue, make sure you have installed necessary drivers and softwares. For
Windows, you have to install all USB drivers using the instructions at this link and TeraTerm.
For Linux, no need for driver, use Screen instead of TeraTerm.

1. Plug the USB cable into the Edison's Console port.

2. Set up the serial connection at Baud rate = 115200bps.

3. After you have opened up the serial port, try hitting enter a couple times. If all goes
well, the Edison should respond with a login prompt. The default Edison login is root
and no password.

4. Exercise: Submit the following information: kernel name, kernel version, kernel re-
lease, operating system, machine hardware name.

5. Exercise: Find out how to turn o the Edison module with a command.

6. Unplug the USB cable.

2.3 Firmware update

Windows:

1. Use the provided pre-built Yocto image.

2. Extract the contents of the image le.

3. Place dfu-util.exe and libusb-1.0.dll in the same folder you extracted the image le
to.

4. Open a new Windows command window.

5. Navigate to the folder you extracted the image .zip le to, then enter the command:
ashall.bat
6. Follow the onscreen prompts and plug the USB cable into the OTG port. The script
can take up to 5 minutes to complete the ashing process.

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Linux:

1. Open a Terminal window. Enter the command: sudo apt-get install dfu-util
2. Use the provided pre-built Yocto image.

3. Extract the contents of the image le.

4. Issue the command: ./ashall.sh

5. Follow the onscreen prompts and plug the USB cable into the OTG port. The script
can take up to 5 minutes to complete the ashing process.

Exercise: After ashing the rmware, follow subsection 2.2 again and submit the new
system information.

3 Problem 2: Connect to a Wi network

1. Connect to the Intel Edison's console as subsection 2.2.

2. On Edison, issue the command: congure_edison --wi, follow the onscreen prompts.
3. Exercise: Find out how to retrieve the assigned IP address.

4. Exercise: Find out how to ping a local machine and the Internet to test the connection.

4 Problem 3: Write a simple C program

Write a simple C program on the Intel Edison, use gcc to compile and run.
Submit: source code, makele and manual (how to compile, example usage, ...).