With all of the processors and platforms available today, deciding which evaluation board to develop with can be daunting. We’re hoping to ease this process with our WiLink™ 8 plug and play platform guide.
TI makes it easy to start evaluating our WiLink 8 Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth®combo-connectivity solutions with a range of different platforms to fit your design needs. The descriptions below will help guide you through the selection process to find the right evaluation platform for your design.
Sitara™ AM335x processor 
The Sitara AM335x evaluation module (EVM) enables developers to immediately start evaluating the Sitara AM335x processor family. Mounted with the TI WiLink COM8 module for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth / Bluetooth low energy connectivity, the reference platform provides the fastest connectivity ramp with software, collateral and reference applications available from TI.
Hardware | Software | Additional resources |
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Sitara AM437x processor 
The Sitara AM437x evaluation module (EVM) enables developers to immediately start evaluating the AM437x processor family (AM4376, AM4377, AM4378 and AM4379) and begin building applications such as portable navigation, patient monitoring, home/building automation, barcode scanners, portable data terminals and others.
Hardware | Software | Additional resources |
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BeagleBoneandWiLink 8 Cape 
The Sitara AM335x BeagleBone Black reference board with WiLink 8 cape introduces a low-cost easy to ramp solution to enable multiple customer applications such as audio streaming, home automation and more.
Hardware | Software | Additional resources |
“Jacinto 6” infotainment processor 
Developed on the same scalable architecture, DRA74x ("Jacinto 6") and DRA72x ("Jacinto 6 Eco”) are two members of next-generation family of infotainment processors from TI. They enable car manufacturers to scale product investments and deliver a diverse portfolio of products with software and hardware compatibility with the broadest array of ARM Cortex-A15 devices. With the OMAP 5 architecture at its foundation — including ARM® Cortex™-A15 core(s), quad Cortex-M4 cores and SGX544 3D graphics core(s) – the DRA74x and DRA72x processors bring feature-rich, in-vehicle infotainment and telematics features to the next generation of from entry- to mid-level to high-end.
Hardware | Software | Additional resources |
“Jacinto 6” EVM | Android™ Lollipop: software |
Additional performance EVMs and SoMs
In addition to the range of TI evaluation platforms listed above, our WiLink 8 combo-connectivity solutions are compatible with various non-TI platforms, enabling easy-to-use, easy-to-integrate reference connectivity solutions for both industrial and consumer applications. An example of one of these solutions may be viewed here.
For turnkey solutions, TI has partnered with 3rd parties to develop SoMs with TI/non-TI Host CPUs and WiLink8 modules. To list a few:
- Variscite VAR-SOM-AM43 with Sitara AM437x and WiLink 8
- Gumstix Overo® FireSTORM-Y COM with TI DM3730 and WiLink 8
- Innocomm Riddle with Sitara AM335x and WiLink 8
WiLink 8 firmware supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth co-existence between both IPs, which is much needed if operating in the congested 2.4GHz band. Also, TI has partnered with module vendors to offer modules with our WiLink 8 solution and ZigBee® CC253x wireless MCUs on the same device, supporting co-existence between the Wi-Fi and ZigBee technologies. An example of this coexistence can be seen in the Partron module CZ3130A.
Now that you’re familiar with our plug and play options, order your WiLink 8 combo-connectivity device and start designing today.