Omega2+

Description

The Omega2+ IoT computer is Onion’s Linux-based, WiFi development board designed to enable makers of all skill levels to build connected hardware applications. Plug in your Omega and it will boot the operating system right away, allowing you to develop in your favorite programming language, create web applications, and interface with a variety of hardware with minimal time and effort spent getting started.

Hardware

At the Omega2+’s core is the MT7688 SoC that features a 580 MHz MIPS CPU, supports 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.11 b/g/n WiFi as well as 10M/100M wired ethernet network connectivity, and operates at 3.3V. The Omega2+ comes with 128MB of DDR2 DRAM memory and 32MB of on-board flash storage, double that of the Omega2! The storage space is expandable using the MicroSD card slot on the underside of the Omega2+.

The Omega was built to interact with other hardware, so it has a wide variety of hardware interfaces. It has dedicated pins for USB2.0 and Ethernet as well as 12 GPIO pins that can be controlled by the user. These GPIOs can support the I2C, UART, and SPI serial communication protocols.

The best part is that it’s tiny, measuring 1.7″ by 1″ it takes up minimal space in the project.

Software

The Omega2+ runs an Onion-customized version of the LEDE (Linux Embedded Development Environment) Linux operating system, a distribution based on OpenWRT. Since there is a full Linux OS running on the Omega, users are not limited in their choice of programming language. Supported programming languages include:

• C
• C++
• Python
• NodeJS
• Rust
• Ruby
• PHP
• Perl
• GoLang
• Shell

The Omega’s OS comes equipped as a web server by default, so that other devices on the local network can interact with the Omega through a browser.

IoT Computer

So what makes the Omega2+ an IoT Computer? It’s a combination of the following:

• Small form factor
• Power efficiency
• Processing, networking, and encryption capabilities
• Flexibility that comes from running a Linux OS
  • Support for many programming languages and many simultaneous processes

The Omega2+ is powerful and flexible enough to be the brain of almost any IoT device.

Omega + Dock

For the best experience and most functionality, the Omega can be plugged directly into any of a number of Docks provided by Onion. All Docks can be powered with a regular Micro-USB cable and contain a regulator circuit to safely provide 3.3V to power the Omega, so plug it in and get started with your Omega with no worries.

Each Dock adds unique functionality to the Omega, including exposing the Omega’s GPIOs, supporting the plug and play Omega Expansions, provide USB connectivity, among other things.

Technical Details

• 580MHz MIPS CPU
• 128MB Memory
• 32MB Storage
• USB2.0 support
• 2.4GHz b/g/n WiFi
• 3.3V Operating Voltage
• 18 GPIOs
• Support for UART, I2C, SPI
• MicroSD slot

Links

• Omega2+ Hardware Overview
• Pin-out Diagram
• Technical Drawing
• Introduction to the Omega2
• Project Ideas