Actions
Forum Thread Details
  • Replies 22 replies
  • Subscribers 317 subscribers
  • Views 2822 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Related

Kickstarter For Open Source GPU

morgaine

Well, this is a turn-up for the books:  a Kickstarter for "Open Source Graphics Processor (GPU)". !!!

 

There's a lot of "if's" involved, but it's certainly a very interesting idea, and worth exploring for multiple reasons, education and fun among others.

 

OSHW and FPGA enthusiasts having their own GPU would be fascinating! image

 

===

 

PS. I've been wondering whether the Parallella board wouldn't be a nice implementation platform for the programmable pipeline of a modern open-source GPU.  After all, the Epiphany device provides hardware parallelism with fast floating point for the core compute engines of 16 to 64 shaders without having to implement CPUs in Verilog.  The FPGA would then be left to do only the fastest parts of the overall task instead of implementing the programmable shaders that CPUs are best at.

  • in reply to morgaine

    Morgaine Dinova wrote:

     

    PS. Guzunty Pi is a wonderful example of OSHW modularity encouraging easy add-on projects without major investment, notwithstanding that Pi itself is not OSHW.  Just imagine if the entire computer were made of such small replaceable pieces --- there would be continuous evolution in the community.

    Guzunty Pi is wonderful because it uses the only CPLD I know of that's still available in a PLCC, which in turn has a pin grid array socket with 0.1" centers.  Every other FPGA/CPLD that's available is fine-pitch SMT, so prototyping with them is challenging.  Fortunately, a lot of reasonably-priced FPGA/CPLD modules with interfaces suitable for prototyping have come out, so the situation is improving.  If you have a bigger budget, you can get some very technically attractive PLCC units from HuMANDATA Ltd (Japan).

  • in reply to johnbeetem

    John Beetem wrote:

     

    Guzunty Pi is wonderful because it uses the only CPLD I know of that's still available in a PLCC, which in turn has a pin grid array socket with 0.1" centers.  Every other FPGA/CPLD that's available is fine-pitch SMT, so prototyping with them is challenging.  Fortunately, a lot of reasonably-priced FPGA/CPLD modules with interfaces suitable for prototyping have come out, so the situation is improving.  If you have a bigger budget, you can get some very technically attractive PLCC units from HuMANDATA Ltd (Japan).

     

    I like your view of the situation there, because it leads directly to a very glass-half-full  picture:  the only substantial hardware hurdle in the way of OSHW working properly (meaning the community rising above its subservient role as consumers and empowering themselves by designing, modifying, and producing) is the creation of breakout boards to make unfriendly semiconductor packages more accessible.

     

    And that doesn't have to cost a lot.  Element14 for example is very well placed through their manufacturing arm to slap chips onto enthusiast-friendly breakout or header boards --- Sparkfun and Adafruit already do this a lot.  A few critical components sometimes need to be tightly coupled to the primary device, but not many are that critical.  It would open up huge opportunities for new areas of enthusiast creativity which is currently hamstrung by commercial packaging.

     

    Sparkfun and Adafruit are quite small companies and very receptive to suggestions from the "maker" communities.  We've discussed before the likelihood or otherwise of being able to influence Premier Farnell group in their choice of ARM boards to stock, and the consensus of opinion seemed to be that we stand no chance at all of having any influence.  It's unfortunate, but I suspect that's close to the truth.  Despite the strong support expressed for OSHW by Element14 here, I suspect that asking that breakout boards be made to support OSHW activity would land on deaf ears.  The relationship that big companies have with their communities boils down to "You can buy our stuff", which falls far short of empowering.  OSHW is not just a consumer group and needs more.