MediaTek has launched its global MediaTek Labs initiative, aimed at enabling developers of any background or skill to create wearable and IoT devices – and crucially sell more MediaTek silicon in these potential new devices. This is the latest in a wave of developer boards, from the likes of Intel and Imagination Technologies, which sees major players embracing IoT hardware in the hopes of generating new sales for their silicon and IP.
The new MediaTek program will provide developers and service providers with software development kits (SDKs), hardware development kits (HDKs), access to MediaTek technical documentation and technical and business support. The first company to manufacture a HDK based on the MediaTek reference design is Seeed, which is based in China and will sell the LinkIt One HDK for $79.
Central to the LinkIt One development platform is the LinkIt operating system, designed specifically for wearables and IoT devices to run on the Aster MT2502 SoC – which MediaTek claims is the smallest SoC for wearables in the world. The SoC supports companion GPS (MT3332) and 802.11b/g/n WiFi (MT5931) chipsets, allowing participants to add the necessary connectivity to their platforms as needed.
The MT2502 measures 5.4mm x 6.2mm, and uses an ARM7 EJ-S 260MHz CPU, with 4MB RAM and 16MB of flash memory. It also features a dual-Bluetooth stack of 3.0 and 4.0, with a GSM and GPRS modem (850/900/1800/1900MHz). When combined with the GPS and WiFi chipsets, MediaTek says its HDK provides the full range of connectivity needed for wearables – although no sign of ZigBee, Z-Wave or sub-GHz RF means that the same cannot be said for other IoT devices.
The LinkIt One board features a similar pin layout to the Arduino boards, including the 4-pin Grove Standard plug-and-play socket that allows developers to bring old Arduino devices into the LinkIt ecosystem – as well as adding any other compatible I/O device. As the LinkIt One is open source, the technical details are also freely available to download. Seeed is also on hand to help prototype the new devices, providing manufacturing runs of between 1 to 1,000 devices, as well as links to incubators and investors in its home country of China. This puts Seeed in a solid commercial position, by both selling the development board in the first place and then manufacturing prototypes and even end-products.
The SDK allows users to design apps for the LinkIt SoC, and is now available for Arduino – with an Eclipse version scheduled for release later this year, allowing developers to use the Eclipse integrated development environment (IDE) to write to multiple programming languages and environments – including Android. The SDK also contains Arduino plugins, LinkIt API libraries and a firmware updating tool.
“With the launch of MediaTek Labs we’re opening up a new world of possibilities for everyone – from hobbyists and students through to professional developers and designers – to unleash their creativity and innovation” says Marc Naddell, VP of the project. “We believe that the innovation enabled by MediaTek Labs will drive the next wave of consumer gadgets and apps that will connect billions of people and things around the world.”