I have an issue that I need to resolve which would seem to be best
suited for a small PC type device (Beagle?) running embedded linux. I
would like to connect 2 USB slave devices to each other to transfer
files one way between them. The devices are a digital SLR and a
BlackBerry. Obviously I need a USB host controller and relevant
software. I have tried several USB OTG devices and none of these work
in my scenario. The device would need to be portable (battery powered)
and as small as possible.
If I can find a solution I would probably require around 300 devices
initially. I have some Linux knowledge but am not looking to build it
myself unless it is pretty simple.
I have an issue that I need to resolve which would seem to be best
suited for a small PC type device (Beagle?) running embedded linux. I
would like to connect 2 USB slave devices to each other to transfer
files one way between them. The devices are a digital SLR and a
BlackBerry. Obviously I need a USB host controller and relevant
software. I have tried several USB OTG devices and none of these work
in my scenario. The device would need to be portable (battery powered)
and as small as possible.
If you are familiar working with Linux, then I think the BeagleBoard
is quite good for you for this purpose. As long as one of the devices
is a high-speed USB device, you could connect that one to the EHCI
port and the other one to the OTG port, using the right kind of mini-A
cable, or you'd need a USB hub to connect both to the EHCI port.
Making it battery powered would be easy enough. You'd just need a
supply that would provide 4.5-5V @ 2W. Having the USB hub, however,
would add some power challenges, as you'd need to power the hub.
If I can find a solution I would probably require around 300 devices
initially. I have some Linux knowledge but am not looking to build it
myself unless it is pretty simple.
You could get smaller by using something like a Gumstix Overo board
and could still make use of most BeagleBoard software. They provide
binaries that load and run on both Overo and BeagleBoard. There are
several others listed from Resources - BeagleBoard by
following the "Other OMAP3 boards" link. The BeagleBoard isn't
currently available to order 300 units at a time, so you'd want to
look at one of the other boards to order that volume.
Hi. You might be interested in my project Kapture that connects my
Canon DSLR (also tested with a nikon model) to my IPhone or any other
wlan connected machine with a web browser.
It might cover your needs out of the box, even if my focus is a bit
different. You could easily connect the beagleboard / DSLR to a
ethernet cable and not use WLAN. The software will allow you to start
picture captures, single or series, look at thumbnails or download
fullsize images. RAW conversion is done automatically when needed.
All of this of course free open source software. I am not quite
finished yet, some annoying details need to be fixed, but I expect to
soon release a disk image that would work right out of the box with a
beagleboard. If you decide to implement this yourself the process will
be more demanding, but fun
Let me know if you are interested, and I will help you get started.
Please also realize beforehand that my project works for me but is not
tested outside my setup - I can't guarantee that it will work with
your setup.
