SBCs and Operating Systems

Question: Discuss about the SBCs and Operating Systems. Answer: Introduction Single Board Computers are those that utilize single computer circuit on top of a motherboard. Single board computers contain different circuit equipments like integrated circuits, chips, microcontrollers, input output systems and others. Single board computers are of different types and have different functions (Diggs and Merry 2013). Single-board microcontrollers are the most basic versions of single board computers that are made by using microcontrollers on a computer circuit board. With the development of the circuit board equipments, new models of the single-board microcontrollers are also being developed. Again, Beaglebone Black is another simple type of single board computer that uses flash drives, memory chips and USB jacks in addition to the basic structure of the circuit board (Barroso, Clidaras and Hlzle 2013). Beaglebone Black supports different operating systems like Linux, Symbian, Minix, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, RISC OS and others. In this report, different types of SBCs are studied and analyzed for understanding their different fields of usage as well as the operating systems that are supported by these computers. Single Board Computers and Operating Systems Different types of single board computers and their supporting operating systems are discussed below. Single-Board Microcontroller Single-board microcontrollers are the most basic versions of single board computers that are made by using microcontrollers on a computer circuit board. This single board supports all types of necessary computing tasks like RAM, clock generator, I/O circuits, microprocessor, integrated circuits and others (Gmez et al. 2015). Single-board microcontrollers also support all types of operating systems and are extremely cheap and hence, they are extremely popular among the developers for testing purposes. Although this type of SBC was developed few decades ago, they are still popular among OS developers. Initially, the board was controlled by the primitive versions of microcontrollers that were not in fully developed state. However, with the advancement of technology, microprocessors were developed and as a result, new advanced versions of microcontrollers came into existence (Lutz et al. 2014). These microcontrollers enhanced the single-board microcontroller s by a large margin. The microcontrollers also enabled the SBCs (Single Board Computers) to support all types of operating systems including Windows and Linux. Hence, the OS developers prefer this type of SBC for testing a newly developed operating system. Moreover, the hardwares used in this SBC are extremely cheap and easily available. Hence, it finds multiple and extensive usages in the developing companies. Nowadays, with the development of new circuit equipments like chips, LED, flash memory and others, these single-board microcontrollers are further enhanced and used in many other systems like robot design, bluetooth projects, multi-camera control and others. These devices and gadgets use complex operating systems for automated control with the help of single-board microcontrollers as they can be used to operate all types of operating systems (Fernandes and Bala 2016). With the development of the circuit board equipments, new models of the single-board microcontrollers are als o being developed. As a result, new types of these computers have come into existence and diversified so that now, there are different categories of single-board microcontrollers that are available in the market. Beaglebone Black Beaglebone Black is a type of low power single board computer category named BeagleBoard. Beaglebone Black is a simple type of single board computer that uses flash drives, memory chips and USB jacks in addition to the basic structure of the circuit board. Beaglebone Black supports different operating systems like Linux, Symbian, Minix, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, RISC OS and others. This operating systems are generally used for development of some specific softwares for some specific platforms like mobile phones, special computers and others (Lim et al. 2012). Hence, Beaglebone Black is quite popular among the software developers for the development of the softwares for different platforms. Nowadays, trials have been made to use Android on Beaglebone Black as well so that it can be used for development of softwares for the most popular handheld device operating system in the current time. Beaglebone Black also comes with a quite large memory RAM for a single board computer ( 512 MB) and hence, multitasking is possible with this single board computer. With the advancement of new circuit types of gear like processors, flash drives, USB support and others, the beagleboards are further improved and utilized as a part of numerous different frameworks like software development, software testing, debugging and others. These gadgets and devices utilize complex working frameworks for mechanized control with the assistance of beagleboard computers as they can be utilized to work a wide range of working software frameworks (Siewiorek and Swarz 2014). With the advancement of the circuit board types of equipments, new models of the beagleboards are likewise being created. Raspberry Pi Raspberry Pi is a single board computer that is the size of only a credit card. Raspberry Pi is not very much popular among developers and only finds use in the teaching schools and computer education in underdeveloped countries. Raspberry Pi, in spite of its small size contains a number of equipments and machines including bluetooth, Wi-Fi, central processing units, USB jacks and even has audio support (Meier et al. 2012). With further inclusion of more equipments, new versions of Raspberry Pi like Raspberry Pi 2, Astro Pi have been developed with more functions and utilities. Raspberry Pi also supports a number of external accessories like Camera, HAT (Hardware Attached on Top), Infrared Camera, Gertboard and others. Although Raspberry Pi supports different operating systems like Ubuntu, Windows, RISC OS and others, the most commonly used OS in Raspberry Pi is Raspbian, a kind of Linux operating system based on Debian. Raspberry Pi also finds extensive use in game coding purposes where coding techniques are used to debug, change interface and other modifications in popular video games like Minecraft (Veenendaal et al. 2016). As it supports a huge number of operating systems, it can be easily used to change or modify programs for any platform based on the requirements. However, testing and developing of softwares cannot be done using this single board computer and hence, Raspberry Pi is less popular among developers. However, Raspberry Pi can be effectively used in teaching purposes as they are easy to operate and support a wide range of functions including audio and Wi-Fi support. Hence, Raspberry Pi is widely used in the learning schools in the underdeveloped countries where people do not unders tand complex electronic structures or computer languages. Gumstix Gumstix is an extremely small single board computer that is mainly used to design a complete new and customized board. In other words, it is only a basic form of SBC that has to be modified and customized for preparing new boards according to user requirements (Swan 2012). Gumstix is as small as the size of a gum stick and it utilizes Linux 2.6 operating system. It does not have any distinct functional softwares and hence, an online tool named Geppetto is used for the modifications that are to be made for preparation of the new customized boards. Intel Edison Intel Edison is an advanced type of single board computer that has been developed by Intel for use with the latest available technical equipments. Intel Edison supports all the modern operating systems like Linux, Windows and others and also modern computer languages like C, C++, Python and others (Firby 2014). Intel Edison also provides customization support i.e. it can be used and further modified for the design of more and advanced single board computers. It also supports a massive 1GB of RAM and hence, it can be used for multitasking and other complex networking purposes. Intel Edison is widely used in all modern computer systems that are popular and used different fields of use like domestic, office and commercial sectors. Comparison Comparison Factor Single-Board Microcontroller Beaglebone Black Raspberry Pi Gumstix Intel Edison Size Single-board microcontrollers are the most basic versions of single board computers and are of the size of a regular motherboard Beaglebone Black is a simple type of single board computer of the size of a normal motherboard Raspberry Pi is a single board computer that is the size of only a credit card Gumstix is as small as the size of a gum stick Intel Edison is somewhat larger than an ordinary motherboard Use They are extremely cheap and hence, they are used by the developers for testing purposes Beaglebone Black is used by the software developers for the development of the softwares for different platforms Raspberry Pi is widely used in the learning schools in the underdeveloped countries where people do not understand complex electronic structures or computer languages It is only a basic form of SBC that has to be modified and customized for preparing new boards according to user requirements Intel Edison is widely used in all modern computer systems that are popular and used different fields of use Operating System Single-board microcontrollers support all types of operating systems Beaglebone Black supports different operating systems like Linux, Symbian, Minix, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, RISC OS and others Raspberry Pi supports different operating systems like Ubuntu, Windows, RISC OS and others, the most commonly used OS in Raspberry Pi is Raspbian It utilizes Linux 2.6 operating system Intel Edison supports all the modern operating systems like Linux, Windows and others and also modern computer languages like C, C++, Python and others Popularity It is popular among software developers for testing purposes It is popular among software developers for development purposes It is popular in teaching schools in underdeveloped countries It is popular among board developers It is popular among all types of SBC users and computer builders Conclusion From the report, it can be concluded that different SBCs have different functions and fields of usages. Moreover, the choice of operating system also significantly affects of the use of a chosen SBC. For example, Single-board microcontrollers support all types of operating systems. On the other hand, Beaglebone Black supports different operating systems like Linux, Symbian, Minix, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, RISC OS and others. Again, most commonly used OS in Raspberry Pi is Raspbian. Hence, their fields of usages are different as single board microcontrollers are popular among software developers for testing purposes whereas Beaglebone Black is popular among software developers for development purposes. Again, Intel Edison has extensive uses and is popular among all types of SBC users and computer builders. Hence, the SBC should be chosen based on the type of function to be performed and also on the operating system that is to be used by the SBC user. References Barroso, L.A., Clidaras, J. and Hlzle, U., 2013. 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