Olimex Launches a Feature-Packed SOM Built on STMicro's STM32MP157D — and a Carrier Board, Too
Designed for low-power projects, this system-on-module packs plenty of features — and the carrier board is available as a KiCad project.
Bulgarian open source hardware specialist Olimex has announced a new system-on-module (SOM) built around the STMicroelectronics STM32MP157D system-on-chip (SoC) — and a reference design breakout board which exposes all of the part's features.
The STMicro STM32MP157D at the heart of Olimex's design offers a low-power triple-core design which pairs two application-class 32-bit Arm Cortex-A7 cores running at up to 800MHz with a single Cortex-M4F running at up to 209MHz for real-time workloads. To this, Olimex has connected the maximum 1GB of external RAM, a Shenzhen X-Powers Technology AXP209 power-management integrated circuit (PMIC), a 24MHz oscillator, a configuration EEPROM, and a user-addressable LED, all on a compact SOM board.
On the underside of this SOM is an impressive six 40-pin connectors with 0.05" pin spacing, brining out all of the STM32's capabilities to whatever board you would like — and if you're running low on inspiration, the company has its own reference design for a carrier which you can hack and respin to your heart's content.
The carrier board includes a gigabit Ethernet port with support for time-sensitive networking (TSN), connectors for HDMI, RGB, and MIPI Display Serial Interface (DSI) video outputs, a Camera Serial Interface (CSI) connected to a bundled two-megapixel sensor, two USB 2.0 ports plus a USB 2.0 On-The-Go (OTG) port, two CAN buses, a connector for a flash storage module plus a microSD slot for storage, 3.5mm jacks for audio in and out, expansion headers including one of Olimex's own UEXT headers, a connector for an optional lithium-polymer (LiPo) battery with charging support, and a debug connector.
The STMP157-BASE-SOM-EXT system-on-module is now available to pre-order on the Olimex store, priced at €30 (around $33); the STMP157-BASE-SOM-EVB is another €30. KiCad files for the EVB carrier are available on GitHub under the CERN Open Hardware License Version 2 — Strongly Reciprocal; schematics for the SOM are available on the Olimex website as a PDF.