These guys seem to be the masters at squeezing the most “stuff” into tiny packages. I’m referring to Octavo, the company that puts a complete system into a relatively small package, or SiP. Their latest offering is the OSD32MP1, which is based on the new STM32MP1 microprocessor from STMicroelectronics.

Octavo claims that the device is 64 percent smaller than an equivalent system made from discrete components. In fact, at 18 x 18 mm, the part is the same size as the STM32MP1 processor. But it adds a power-management IC, up to 1 Gbyte of DDR3 memory, 4 kbytes non-volatile EEPROM, and more than 100 passives in the BGA package.

ST’s STM32MP1 contains dual Arm Cortex-A7 processor cores along with a Cortex-M4 microcontroller. The peripheral set includes two 22-channel ADCs, a camera interface, and 1-Gbit/s Ethernet.

The beauty of the OSD32MP1 is that it lets users that are already designing with a part in the STM32 family to move to Linux without adding any size or complexity to their design. The inclusion of the M4 allows full reuse of the ST’s Cube firmware while adding support for Linux. That reuse makes it easier to port an application. Designing in a SiP rather than discrete components also reduces the PCB space needed and the connection of those discrete components, resulting in higher yields.

Samples will be available in Q3 with full production scheduled for Q4.