Novena (computing platform)
Open-source computing hardware project
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Novena is an open-source computing hardware project designed by Andrew "bunnie" Huang and Sean "Xobs" Cross. The initial design of Novena started in 2012.[1] It was developed by Sutajio Ko-usagi Pte. Ltd. and funded by a crowdfunding campaign which began on April 15, 2014. The first offering was a 1.2 GHz Freescale Semiconductor i.MX6 quad-core ARM architecture computer closely coupled with a Xilinx FPGA. It was offered in "desktop", "laptop", or "heirloom laptop" form, or as a standalone motherboard.[2][3][4] The Novena platform entered end-of-life status in 2019.[5]
 | |
 Novena system in operation | |
| Date invented | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Design firm | Bunnie Studios |
| Manufacturer | Kosagi |
| Introduced | 2014 |
| Discontinued | 2019 |
| Processor | ARM Cortex-A9 (Freescale i.MX6 quad-core) |
| Frequency | 1.2 GHz (quad-core) |
| Memory | 4 GiB DDR3 |
| Ports | |
On May 19, 2014, the crowdfunding campaign concluded having raised just over 280% of its target. The extra funding allowed the project to achieve the following four "stretch goals", with the three hardware stretch goals being shipped in the form of add-on boards that use the Novena's special high-speed I/O expansion header, as seen in the upper-left of the Novena board:
- Development of free and open source graphics drivers for the on-board video accelerator (etnaviv)
- Inclusion of a general-purpose breakout board providing 16 FPGA outputs and eight FPGA inputs (3.3 or 5 V gang-selectable via software), six 10-bit analog inputs (up to 200 ksps sample rate) and two 10-bit analog outputs (~100 ksps max rate)
- Inclusion of a "ROMulator" breakout board capable of emulating TSOP NAND flash devices
- Inclusion of a MyriadRF software-defined radio at all hardware-purchasing backing levels.[6]
The Novena shipped with a screwdriver, as users are required to install the battery themselves, screw on the LCD bezel of their choice, and obtain speakers as a kit instead of using speaker boxes. Owners of a 3D printer can make and fine tune their own speaker box. The mainboards were manufactured by AQS, an electronics manufacturing services provider.[7]
The initial crowdfunding campaign promised guaranteed availability of the Novena mainboard for 5 years, with new hardware produced based on demand. This continued until a August 2019 announcement that the mainboard would be entering end-of-life status, with remaining stock being discounted[5]
