Open Source Summit + Embedded Linux Conference Europe 2020

The Arduino movement has popularized using micro-controllers to control simple low-speed devices like sensors and actuators. Hitting platform limitations, many people are stepping up to Linux systems. Affordable development boards capable of running Linux like Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone Black changed the scene, and joined people with an electronics and micro-controller background, and people from a traditional PC background, into a common community. Simple devices are typically connected to the system using serial busses like I2C, SPI, or UART, or even directly to General Purpose I/O pins. While the hardware side may be straight-forward, the software side became increasingly complex, and it is not always clear how to model your devices for use with Linux. In this presentation, targeting both makers and industrial automation, Geert will discuss your options for accessing such devices. He will cover topics like user-space versus kernel-space access, explain the why and how of Device Trees, and the desire for DT overlays, and identify gaps in current Linux support. All of this will be accompanied by examples, so attendees will be ready to apply this to their own projects.