Fernvale: An Open Hardware and Software Platform, Based on the (nominally) Closed-Source MT6260 SoCnA Lawful Method for Converting Closed IP...
Fernvale: An Open Hardware and Software Platform, Based on the (nominally) Closed-Source MT6260 SoCnA Lawful Method for Converting Closed IP into Open IPnnWe introduce Fernvale, a reverse-engineered, open hardware and software platform based upon Mediatek's MT6260 value phone SoC. The MT6260 is the chip that powers many of the $10 GSM feature phones produced by the Shanzhai. nFernvale is made available as open-licensed schematics, board layouts, and an RTOS based upon the BSD-licensed NuttX, as well as a suite of open tools for code development and firmware upload. We discuss our technical reverse engineering efforts, as well as our methodology to lawfully import IP from the Shanzhai ecosystem into the Maker ecosystem. We hope to establish a repeatable, if not labor-intensive, model for opening up previously closed IP of interest, thereby outlining a path to leveling the playing field for lawful Makers. nThere is a set of technology which Makers are legally allowed access, and there is a much larger set of technology which is used to make our every day gadgets. Access to the best closed-source technology is prevented via barriers such as copyright (limiting your ability to learn how it works), patent (limiting your ability to make something similar), and supply-chain (limiting your ability to buy it). As a result, open-licensed, Maker-friendly technologies have trailed closed-source technology in terms of cost, performance, and features. nMakers operating under Western IP law are legally bound by these barriers, and are forced to settle for Arduinos, Beaglebones, Raspberry Pis and Novenae. However, all of these are a far cry in terms of cost, performance, and features from what consumers typically expect from boxes purchased in retail stores. nOur research into the Chinese ecosystem indicates there is another way. Originally marginalized as outlaws and copycats, the Shanzhai of China – China's counterpart to the Western hacker-maker – exist in a realm where copyright and patent barriers are permeable, a state which we refer to as 'gongkai'. As a result, knowledge and access to state of the art closed source technology has diffused into the Shanzhai ecosystem. Today, they have moved beyond the rote copying of Nokia, Samsung, and Apple, and have created a thriving, vibrant ecosystem where mobile technology is rip/mix/burned; their products are mass-produced at a rate of millions per month for the “rest of the world”, e.g. emerging markets such as Africa, Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Russia. nAbout a year ago, we did a tear-down of an example $12 phone, and contrasted it to the Arduino Uno. For $29, the Arduino Uno gets you a 16MHz, 8-bit CPU with 2.5k of RAM, and USB plus a smattering of GPIO as the sole interfaces. For $12, a phone out of the Chinese gongkai ecosystem gets you a 260 MHz, 32-bit CPU with 8MiB of RAM, with USB, microSD, SIM, quad-band GSM, Bluetooth, an OLED display and a battery. It begs the question of why, when Makers talk about IoT technologies in the West, they typically think of wifi-powered solutions in the $20-70 range, versus a GSM platform in the $10-$20 range. nIn this lecture, we disclose an attempt to short-circuit the disclosure barrier. We are releasing an open hardware and software solution built around the Mediatek MT6260. The MT6260 is a 32-bit ARM7EJ-S SoC with 8MiB of PSRAM in-package, as well as USB, LCD, touchscreen, audio, Bluetooth, quad-band GSM, dual-SIM, FM radio, UART, keypad, SD card, camera, and other peripherals integrated. The chip can be purchased on the over-the-counter market for about $2-3 in China. We call our solution built around this chip “Fernvale”. nFernvale is similar to the “LinkIt ONE” recently released by Mediatek and Seeed Studios, based upon the MT2502A SoC and targeted at IoT and wearables. LinkIt indicates a new direction for Mediatek and we are optimistic that their effort indicates a new pattern of openness toward Makers. At the time of this proposal's submission, the details of the LinkIt ONE platform are still unfolding, but the basic feature set looks comparable to that of Fernvale. However, it seems the LinkIt SDK is still based upon a closed-source Nucleus RTOS providing services to an open Arduino-like API.n...n──────────n➤Speaker: bunnie, Xobsn➤EventID: 6156n➤Event: 31th Chaos Communication Congress [31c3] of the Chaos Computer Club [CCC]n➤Location: Congress Centrum Hamburg (CCH); Am Dammtor; Marseiller Straße; 20355 Hamburg; Germanyn➤Language: englishn➤Begin: Sun, 12/28/2014 21:45:00 +01:00n➤License: CC-by Less
