[zeromq-dev] 0MQ on embedded devices - Quadrocopter project

[rudie at globalpro.co.za]

Hi all,

I'm new to 0MQ but have been devouring the documentation for the past two
days. I can easily relate to it in my day job (and will use it in an
Enterprise setting), but I have something more interesting in mind for it
right now.

It seems to be the perfect missing link in the embedded world to bring
devices and cloud services together - but that means it needs a port to
microprocessor platforms like PIC, AVR and ARM. I'm talking about running
0MQ on a device with no operating system and an embedded TCP/IP stack (or
no TCP/IP at all).

Has this kind of thing been tried? The source seems portable enough to
attempt this.

As a proof of concept I'd like to port it to a LPC2387 processor running
.Net Micro Framework. The core 0MQ lib would be native C, layered with
NETMF in C# over the API. This will basically give the ability to run
native C real-time routines and elegantly interact with the C# "business
logic" layer above it using messages instead of threads or callbacks.

Initially I don't need TCP and will only use Inproc. It would be
interesting to see if it would be possible to implement a Serial transport
for device to device comms too.

The architecture has me all excited because it solves a great many
problems in the embedded world and I think 0MQ should be a foundational
component in the "The Internet Of Things" movement.

I'd like to build a real device in the form of a Quadrocopter. See
http://www.tinyclr.com/forum/2/4454/ . It is early days, but if you look
at the architecture I am proposing there, you'll immediately see why 0MQ
is the right choice... It just needs to run on a tiny little chip, in a
deterministic way, and a crash in the software would mean a crash in the
hardware (by falling out of the sky :) )

Am I crazy and wasting my time? If there are others equally nuts, are you
interested in helping me with this journey?

Rudie