Re: Digest Number 197

Message: 3
Date: Sat, 09 Oct 1999 10:40:21 -0500
From: Ray Henry <rehenry@...>
Subject: Blue Sky


Linux, EMC, and other dreamers

There has been some blue-sky motor control systems talked about recently so
here's mine.

I'd like to see a PC104 or similar format computer with onboard ethernet
running embedded (hard hat) linux with a rt patch. This would remove most
of the linux install problem because the kernel, the rt patch, and a
current release of EMC would be burned in to a memory chip. It's a motion
control system that runs right out of the box.

New releases of linux, rt, or EMC could be burned in and distributed as a
chip. The emc.ini file could be downloaded whenever the PC104 powered up
so that changes could be made in EMC for each machine without a new chip
being required.

[This sounds like an excellent idea to me. But what does it really take to
"burn in" a custom chip? I thought this was a megabucks process- has it
come down recently? I have to say, after all the agony I've been reading on
this list, that the RTLinux/EMC install is not exactly something I've been
looking forward to eagerly. Has anybody decided to offer a computer with
all Linux-compatible parts, a working modem and zip drive, the RT kernel,
and EMC all up and running? I'd pay 500 bucks for one...]

Andrew Werby

Andrew Werby - United Artworks
Sculpture, Jewelry, and Other Art Stuff
http://unitedartworks.com