Gumstix, a manufacturer of tiny Linux computers and related products, has launched Gallop43, a rechargeable GPS-enabled expansion board for Overo Computer-on-Module (COM) series.
The company said the Gallop43 featuring the miniature u-blox GPS NEO-5G receiver module offers ultra-fast signal acquisition for an integrated location-sensitive design offering.
The Gallop43 expansion board makes portability viable for handheld products powered by any Gumstix Overo COM, when combined with a two-cell NiMH rechargeable battery pack and a 4.3-inch LCD-ready touch-screen.
The Gallop43 board adds to the wide range of expansion options already available for the Gumstix Overo COMs, each of which is powered by an OMAP35x applications processor from Texas Instruments (TI).
The on-board 3-axis accelerometer, USB OTG, 3.5-mm stereo headset jack and the 40-pin header with signals for 1-Wire, PWM, I2C, SPI, A/D and processor control enable design engineers to make feature-rich products using this off-the-shelf expansion board or incorporate its design elements into a custom designed expansion board using the openly available schematic.
Gumstix president and CEO Dr. W. Gordon Kruberg said the combined rechargeable battery and GPS features have been high on their users’ wish list, specifically to build the special-purpose hardware meeting their own needs for location based services.
