42 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
42 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
# Embedded Controllers
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System76 EC is designed to be portable to boards using several 8-bit
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microcontrollers, such as:
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Board | Embedded Controller | Architecture
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------------------ | ------------------- | --------------
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System76 ecsim | Simulated ITE EC | 8051
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System76 Laptops | ITE IT8587E | 8051
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System76 Laptops | ITE IT5570E | 8051
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System76 Thelio Io | Atmel ATMEGA32U4 | AVR
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Arduino Mega 2560 | Atmel ATMEGA2560 | AVR
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## Features
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Shared features (that can be used across different micro-controllers):
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Acronym | Feature | Description
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------- | ---------------------------- | -----------
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ADC | Analog-digital converter | Reads voltages from batteries and temperature from thermistors
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DAC | Digital-analog converter | Brightness control of keyboard backlight
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GPIO | General purpose input/output | Control of LED's, buttons, and enable lines for other hardware
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KBSC | Keyboard scan controller | Detects laptop keyboard presses. Keyboard scanning can be done using GPIOs, the ITE EC has hardware acceleration
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PS/2 | Keyboard and mouse bus | Interfaces with touchpad. PS/2 can be done using GPIOs, the ITE EC has hardware acceleration
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PWM | Pulse-width modulation | Fan control and brightness control of LED's
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SMBUS | System management bus | Reads battery information
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SPI | Serial peripheral interface | Reads and programs the EC's firmware
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UART | Universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter | Provides EC console input/output
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Features specific to ITE embedded controllers:
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Acronym | Feature | Description
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------- | ---------------------------- | -----------
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LPC | Low pin count | Forwards memory and I/O access to EC. Most EC functions are exposed to the host through this interface. High frequency makes a GPIO implementation not possible. Simulation is provided by System76 ecsim
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PECI | Platform environment control interface | Reads CPU temperature (relative to throttle point). Proprietary nature means a GPIO implementation is unlikely, though not technically impossible
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Features specific to Atmel embedded controllers:
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Acronym | Feature | Description
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------- | ---------------------------- | -----------
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USB | Universal serial bus | Can be used to provide access to EC functions either to the host or to a remote machine
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