Spotlight stories

Interesting stories and updates about cool things we do at PolyVection



Flashback: How VoltaStream paved our way

While we did not start our business with such a strong focus on embedded linux hardware it has always been a secret desire. The whole world is running on embedded Linux systems so why not offer chip-down solutions for that?

Back in 2015 we started actively working on our first PolyCore reference implementation. We have never been a huge fan of system-on-module solutions so even back then the idea was to have a self contained linux system in form of an evaluation kit which is then every time altered to perfectly match the specific client project.

The VoltaStream ZERO was born. A single board computer that consists of a NXP i.MX6ULL system-on-chip linked to 512 MB DDR3 RAM as well as a Texas Instruments PCM5121 I2S audio DAC. Being able to output analog and digital audio through a 3.5 mm standard connector it was the perfect open source audio streaming solution.

A bit later the VoltaSteam series was expanded by the VoltaStream AMP1 which replaced the DAC with an on-board speaker amplifier.

That project was a nice success back then and pushed us a bit into the direction of audio streaming hardware solutions. Over the years we expanded our portfolio a lot with new processor families and offerings like EMC pre-compliance, product design and prototyping as well as internal PCB assembly lines and management of off-shore serial production.

An open source audio streaming board shaped the current service portfolio of PolyVection.

While the VoltaStream products were discontinued some time ago it really paved our way into a successful hardware design business. Today we are serving many clients across multiple industries with our PolyCores. Easy to implement chip-down solutions that the client has full control over and enjoys lowest BoM cost.

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