I am currently working for a company that wants to develop a wireless security device that utilizes an ARM processor for motion tracking, image capture and storage. Also with the potential for License Plate Recognition. Does anyone have any idea how difficult it would be to program an ARM to do this? Also if anyone is interested in helping with this project, let me know. pleeeease help I am lost.

 

Have you chosen a specific ARM processor yet?

hgmjr

 

Not yet, but I am assuming it would have to be something like a ARMv7 to handle some of the specifications that my employer is looking for. I mean, we are just in the beginning stages of ideas for this device. Admittedly I'm no computer programmer or engineer. But to have enough processing power for motion detection and image capture and storage, along with the potential of license plate recognition, it would seem that this would require a fair amount of processing power right?

 

You may want to consider the ARM9. It has even higher clock speeds available than the ARM7. Internal clock speeds of between 100MHz and 200MHz are available.

I can say from my experience thus far that ARM programming is not for an entry level programmer. Be sure you give the individual responsible for programming the device as much time as possible to become familiar with the ARM device you choose.

There are many evaluations boards out there that can be purchased and used to become familair with the ARM device and the hardware and software development tools. I strongly suggest that as soon as the choice of ARM has been made that you get your hands on a demo board, a programming tool, and the software IDE that you will be using. The programmer is going to need 6 months to 12 months to become comfortable with the ARM device and the tools.

hgmjr

 

Thanks! this information really helps. I'm not sure on the time frame that my employer is thinking about actually developing this product, but that information is very helpful. I'm conducting research for this company, the owner has made it clear to me that it is possible to describe what we want his device to do, and then to ask a programmer or developer to write source code and for us to purchase source code from a programmer. Does this sound feasible ?

 

If the plan is to outsource the software and hardware development then you should probably choose your programmer and get him/her onboard with the project as early as possible. If you vet the programmer carefully and they have several ARM based products already under their belt then they will be able to help your company in the choice of which ARM device that fits your product requirements.

hgmjr

 

The plan does seem to be to outsource the programming. Do you know of any good resources for hiring outsourced programmers with experience in ARM programming?

 

Nope!

hgmjr

 

Alright, well thank you very much for the information you have provided! I really appreciate it !

 

You are very welcome.

I will be interested to hear how things progress in your development. If I have anything to contribute I will do so. Otherwise I will enjoy monitoring your progress and the otucome of your efforts.

No matter what device you choose, you will probably have to acquire a certain amount of understanding of the ARM device in order to be able to appreciate the problems that arise throughout the products development. You may also consider whether you wish to take over future development of software once the initial software development is approved and has been acceptance tested.

You need to make sure that the programmer is going to follow accepted software coding style in order to make the software testable and maintainable over time.

Good Luck,
hgmjr

 

As an unashamed zynq supporter... i'd be remiss if i didn't chime in haha!

Zynq is perfectly suited for processor based signal processing! You could do alot of the processing in hardware, saving precious processor cycles.

 

Image size, depth, frame rate, as well as I/O connectivity & peripheral requirements may dictate a different processor family than the venerable ARM7 or ARM9, or even may require a multi-processor strategy - these things can have a big impact on the software guy(s) work, so I would recommend that you go shopping for experienced embedded programmers before making a final decision on hardware platform/architecture.

Just my $.02,
Mike

 

As an unashamed zynq supporter... i'd be remiss if i didn't chime in haha!

Zynq is perfectly suited for processor based signal processing! You could do alot of the processing in hardware, saving precious processor cycles.

But what is the current availability of the Zynq? So far I've not seen any silicone, just paper. Personally I'm also very interested in this platform for various projects.

Update: I had a peek at one of my suppliers (Avnet) who says:
"First silicon devices are scheduled for second half of 2011 with general engineering samples available in the first half of 2012."

-- K

 

Yeah, no Zynq silicon yet. I think first half of 2012 should be accurate from what i've read. I'm curious what they're gonna cost