In a fascinating new project, Dimity Grinberg has managed to run a Linux-based operating system on an unexpectedly compact piece of hardware—a printed circuit board (PCB) housing three integrated circuits contained within 8-pin SOIC packages. While it may seem unremarkable at first glance, the use of these particular components raises intriguing questions about the capabilities of such small devices in hosting a full-featured operating system like Debian.
The PCB features two easily identifiable chips: a USB-to-serial converter and an SPI RAM. The brains of this operation, however, come from an STM32G0 series microcontroller, which utilizes an efficient ARM Cortex M0+ core. This chip runs a MIPS emulator, capable of operating at 148 MHz—this is equivalent to a much slower MIPS architecture running at around 1.4 MHz, making it just usable for basic operations.
One of the standout elements of this project is the clever hardware designs that allow for both memory and SD card communication while conforming to the limitations imposed by only having eight pins. The design cleverly shares pins between the SD and serial communications, utilizing a filtering mechanism that separates high-frequency SPI signals from the low-frequency serial signals.
While the practical applications of this diminutive Linux system remain unclear, the ingenuity and intricate hardware hacks involved in making it functional are impressive, showcasing the potential of extreme miniaturization in computing. For those intrigued by the concept of running Linux on such limited hardware, this project serves as an exciting exploration of what’s possible when it comes to embedded systems. Explore more about the project here.
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