i.MX515 ARM Cortex-A8
Tower Computer Module
TWR1650
Features
9 ARM Cortex-A8 processor, 800MHz
9 512MB SDRAM, 1GB Flash
9 Four (4) USB ports
9 10/100BASE-T Ethernet
9 Controller Area Network (CAN) port
9 Five (5) serial ports
9 One (1) SD/MMC card slot
9 16 bits of digital I/O
The TWR1650 is an i.MX515 evaluation
module boasting a subset of features common
to an industrial-grade single board computer.
Featuring an 800MHz ARM Cortex-A8 CPU,
the TWR1650 delivers the performance
needed to enable multimedia rich applications
in rugged, harsh environments. Although rich
in embedded I/O features, the TWR1650
consumes minimal power, simulating the
demanding environmental conditions in which
OEMs must operate. OEM versions of the
SBC are available to ease transition from
development to production.
On-board peripherals include 10/100BASE-T
Ethernet, USB On-the-Go, a real-time clock,
watc hdog timer, 2 4-bit TFT, flat panel display
output, keypad, two (2) PWM outputs, a
bootable SD/MMC card slot, 1-Wire interface,
one (1) serial port, CAN, and (16) lines of
discrete I/O. More serial ports, CAN, and
another SD/MMC interface are accessible
through the Tower’s card-edge connectors. For
additional expansion, the TWR1650 comes
equipped with the rugged StackableUSB
interface for well-defined board-to-board
communication via USB, I2C, and SPI.
For the complete off-the-shelf, OEM single
board computer version, see the SBC1651
and the SBC1652.
Software Support Compatible Hardware Mounting/Packaging
Linux
Windows CE
VxWorks
Android
C, compilers
StackableUSB Client Devices
PC Hosts
PSxxx, Power Supplies
Secure Digital Devices
RS232/RS485 Devices
CAN Devices
Ethernet Networks
Standoffs, STDOFFUSB
Technical Details:
At the heart of the TWR1650 is the
Freescale i.MX515 multimedia applications
processor, a System on Chip (SOC) offering
high-performance processing optimized for
the lowest power consumption. The core of
i.MX515 is an 800MHz ARM Cortex-A8
CPU. The CPU is augmented by a floating-
point coprocessor, ARM’s NEON SIMD
media accelerator, and OpenGL ES 2.0 and
OpenVG 1.1 hardware accelerators for fast,
power-efficient graphics operations.
The i.MX515 SOC integrates many
peripherals, including an interrupt controller,
watchdog timer, SDRAM and flash memory
controllers, three (3) High-Speed USB ports,
one (1) Full-Speed On-The-Go USB port,
one (1) 10/100 Ethernet MAC, three (3)
16C550 UARTs, 1-Wire interface, 24-bit flat
panel display output, an 8-row x 6-column
keypad controller, and PWM outputs.
In addition to the peripherals built into the
i.MX515, the TWR1650 adds two (2) more
16C550 UARTs, a Controller Area Network
(CAN) controller, and 16 bits of 82C55A-
compatible programmable parallel I/O.
The TWR1650 offers three boot options: A
dedicated 4MB SPI NOR flash memory, a
partition of the NAND flash, and a bootable
SD/MMC card slot.
The TWR1650 memory subsystem provides
512MB of DDR2 SDRAM for application
data. The 4MB SPI NOR flash memor y holds
the bootloader and operating system. 1GB
NAND flash is available for operating system
and non-volatile user storage.
If a larger program or data storage space is
required, or if removability is needed, a
second SD/MMC interface can be accessed
via the Tower’s card-edge connector.
Five (5) 16C550-compatible RS232 serial
ports allow communication with low-speed
devices. Four of the ports are accessed via
the Tower’s card-edge connector; the fifth is
on-board and software-configurable for half-
duplex RS485 communication.
The TWR1650 can be powered from an
external 5 VDC source or a battery. If
external power is supplied while a battery is
plugged in, the battery will be recharged.
Advanced power ma nagement is enabled by
the new Freescale MC13892.
The TWR1650 becomes a powerful front-
end processor for control applications
with the standard StackableUSB expansion.
This popular I/O channel accommodates
multiple stacked I/O boards without use of a
hub.
For true 32-bit application development, the
TWR1650 supports 32-bit operating systems
such as Linux and Windows CE. Both have
full tool suites available, including compilers
and debuggers.
Specifications:
Mechanical:
Freescale Tower form factor
3.543” x 3.197”
Installed Secure Digital (SD) c ard
extends past edge of board
Power Requirements:
+5v ±5% at TBD A typical, TBD A max
Battery input voltage up to 4.8V
Power Connector
Pin Signal
1 +5V
2 Battery Input
3 GND
Environmental:
Operating range 0° to +70°C
-40° to +85°C storage
5%-95% relative humidity, non-condensing
Processor Core Section:
Freescale i.MX515 multimedia
applications processor
800 MHz ARM Cortex-A8 CPU core
Hardware graphics accelerators (video,
OpenGL ES 2.0 and OpenVG 1.1)
On-board Memory:
512MB DDR2 Synchronous DRAM
4MB SPI NOR flash
1GB NAND flash
Memory Expansion:
One (1) SD/MMC card slot
One (1) SD/MMC interface on Tower
card-edge connector
Watchdog Timer:
Program must refresh watchdog timer
periodically, or system will be reset
Enabled through soft ware
COM1-COM5 Serial Ports:
Five (5) asynchronous serial ports
16C550-compatible
RTS and CTS modem controls (all
except COM3)
RS232 on all chan nels
COM1 RS485 half-duplex
COM2 – COM5 on Tower card-edge
connector
10/100BASE-T Ethernet:
One (1) 10/100BASE-T Ethernet port on
Tower card-edge connector
USB:
One (1) Full-Speed On-The-Go USB 2.0
port, providing device and limited Host
functions, Micro-AB connector
Three (3) High-Speed USB 2.0 Host
ports, StackableUSB connector
Transfers at High-Speed 480Mbit/sec,
Full-Speed 12Mbit/sec, or 1.5Mbit/sec
Controller Area Network:
CAN version 2.0B, 1Mbit/sec on-board
and on Tower card-edge con nector
Standard and extended data and remote
frames
Two (2) receive buffers and three (3)
transmit buffers with prioritized message
storage
Real Time Clock:
RTC with rechargeable on- board battery
Digital I/O:
82C55-compatible digital I/O:
• 16 TTL bi-directional signals
• Direction programmable in two
(2) groups of eight bits
• 470-ohm current-limiting
resistors on all lines
I2C (on StackableUSB connector)
SPI (on StackableUSB connector)
1-Wire interface
Two (2) PWM outputs
8-row x 6-column keypad
Video I/O:
24-bit TFT flat panel display output
External Connections:
Tower card-edge connectors for PWM,
1-Wire, SPI, I2C, COM2-COM5, CAN,
Ethernet, SD/MMC, TFT display out
40-pin header for digital I/O, CAN, and
keypad interface
40-pin header for TFT display out
One (1) SD/MMC card slot
One (1) USB Micro-AB USB connector
One (1) DB-9 connector for COM1
RS232 and RS485
2-pin locking header for reset
2.1mm barrel power input
StackableUSB trademark Micro/sy s, Inc.
VxWorks trademark Wind River
Android trademark Google, Inc.
Ordering Information:
Tower Modules:
TWR1650-Linux* i.MX515 ARM Cortex-A8
Computer Module for the
Tower System, Linux-
ready
TWR1650-WinCE* i.MX515 ARM Cortex-A8
Computer Module for the
Tower System, WinCE-
ready
Related Tower System Offerings:
CRR-TOWER Carrier Board for two (2)
– four (4) top-mounting
¼-size 104 Form Factor
boards for the Tower
System
HUB-TOWER Hub Carrier Board for
two (2) – four (4) top-
mounting ¼-size 104
Form Factor boards for
the Tower System
Related OEM Offerings:
SBC1651
†
i.MX515 ARM Cortex-A8
CPU, 800MHz, 512MB
SDRAM, 4MB NOR
Flash, dual Ethernet, 104
Form Factor
SBC1651-ET
†
i.MX515 ARM Cortex-A8
CPU, 600MHz, 512MB
SDRAM, 4MB NOR Flash,
dual Ethernet, 104 Form
Factor, -40°C to +85°C
operating temperature
SBC1652
†
i.MX515 ARM Cortex-A8
CPU, 800MHz, 512MB
SDRAM, 4MB NOR
Flash, 2.5”x3.5” handhel d
SBC1652-ET
†
i.MX515 ARM Cortex-A8
CPU, 600MHz, 512MB
SDRAM, 4MB NOR Flash,
2.5”x3.5” handheld, -40°C
to +85°C operating
temperature
*Ships with a 4G Micro SD/MMC Card.
†Turn-key development kits available.