Intel Galileo

Intel Galileo is the first in a line of Arduino-certified development boards based on Intel x86 architecture and is designed for the maker and education communities. Intel released two versions of Galileo, referred to as Gen 1 and Gen 2. These development boards are sometimes called 'Breakout boards'. The board was discontinued on June 19, 2017. Intel Galileo combines Intel technology with support for Arduino ready-made hardware expansion cards (called 'shields') and the Arduino software development environment and libraries. The development board runs an open source Linux operating system with the Arduino software libraries, enabling re-use of existing software, called 'sketches'. The sketch runs every time the board is powered. Intel Galileo can be programmed through OS X, Microsoft Windows and Linux host operating software. The board is also designed to be hardware and software compatible with the Arduino shield ecosystem. Intel Galileo features the Intel Quark SoC X1000, the first product from the Intel Quark technology family of low-power, small-core products. Intel Quark represents Intel's attempt to compete within markets such as the Internet of Things and wearable computing. Designed in Ireland, the Quark SoC X1000 is a 32-bit, single core, single-thread, Pentium (P54C/i586) instruction set architecture (ISA)-compatible CPU, operating at speeds up to 400 MHz. The Quark is seen by some as Intel's answer to ARM, the processor design featured in smartphones and other single-board computers. At a clock speed of 400 MHz, together with 256 Mb of DDR3 RAM and 8 Mb flash memory, the Galileo is much more powerful than competing Arduino boards. The Mega 2560, for example, has a clock speed of 16 MHz, 8 Kb RAM and 256 Kb flash memory. It would be more appropriate to compare the Galileo to another single-board computer, such as the Raspberry Pi. The latest iteration, the Pi 3 Model B, replaced the Pi 2 Model B in February 2016. It is more powerful than the older Galileo Gen 2, featuring a 1.2 GHz CPU and 1 Gb RAM. The Pi, however, does not have any flash memory. Both Galileo boards support the Arduino shield ecosystem. Unlike most Arduino boards, the Intel boards support both 3.3V and 5V shields. The Intel development board comes with several computing industry standard I/O interfaces. The support for PCI Express means that Wifi, Bluetooth or GSM cards can be plugged in to the board. It also enables usage of solid state drives with the Galileo. The 10/100 Mbit Ethernet support enables the board to be connected to a LAN. It also enables accessing the Linux shell. The boards further support Micro SD, which means the available storage can be extended by up to 32 Gb. Other I/O interfaces include ACPI, USB 2.0 device and EHCI/OHCI USB host ports, high-speed UART, RS-232 serial port, programmable 8 MB NOR flash, and a JTAG port for easy debug. Although the Galileo shipped with Linux, it was possible to have a custom version of Windows on both the Gen 1 and the Gen 2. This support was, however, suspended by Microsoft on 30 November 2015. Microsoft cited hardware concerns, with some specifically attributing it to the low clock speed of the Galileo.