Micro-computer offers FlowCloud integration and enhanced Wi-Fi capabilities

Imagination Technologies has announced significant upgrades for its high-performance, low-power MIPS-based Creator CI20 development board featuring a PowerVR GPU. The new board includes full support for Imagination's FlowCloud IoT platform; a square form factor; a modified board layout to optimise Wi-Fi speed and stability; and updated software for Linux and Android. The new software features are fully compatible with all CI20 boards already shipped. A key part of the CI20 upgrade is the addition of out of the box compatibility for its FlowCloud services, which have been specifically conceived to enable rapid development of IoT applications. FlowCloud gives users comprehensive device-to-cloud infrastructure and services, enabling IoT innovators to rapidly create new applications based on CI20 such as home automation, robotics, industrial monitoring and control, and many others. The Creator CI20 is an affordable micro-computer that runs Linux and Android, and enables open source developers, the maker community, system integrators and others to implement a wide array of applications quickly. It is ideal for a wide range of projects such as home automation, gaming, wireless multimedia streaming, and many more applications requiring a high-performance Linux or Android platform with GPU and video capabilities and excellent connectivity. Tony King-Smith, EVP marketing, Imagination, said: "Adding FlowCloud compatibility for Creator CI20 is an exciting step for our burgeoning development board range - and we're upgrading Wi-Fi performance, software and form factor as well. We conceived the Creator family of low cost development boards to give developers the opportunity to get their hands on a wide range of our technologies from PowerVR GPUs to MIPS CPUs - and there are more Creator boards coming soon. Thanks to full support for FlowCloud, developers now get an incredible out of the box solution - it boots Linux or Android, and through FlowCloud connects to a cloud-based platform ideal for deploying IoT applications quickly. We believe these new features should really capture the imagination of our substantial and growing ecosystem of Creator partners, inspiring new levels of innovation." As part of the upgrade, Imagination has updated Creator CI20 with the latest Android and Linux operating systems to provide new features and an enhanced user experience. The new updates for Android include new configuration options for audio over HDMI and Bluetooth, enhanced Ethernet preferences and full support for audio recording. The upcoming move to a new Linux kernel will also deliver a significant boost in memory and graphics performance, says the company.