Shimafuji Development Boards

Shimafuji Newton SEMB2101 Kit

I got the Newton SEMB2101 kit as part of an eBay joblot but couldn't find any information about it online based on the model number (no luck even on Shimafuji's site). The kit appears to be from 2013/2014, and came boxed, with the development board, LCD, a standard USB micro 2.0 cable, and a couple of slips of paper with mostly Japanese printed on them. The product appears to be a prototype smartwatch of sorts consisting of a smaller NewtonBoard PCB by Ingenic, which is attached to the larger auxiliary board from Shimafuji using three screws and nuts as well as a number of wires. The auxiliary board, not surprisingly, is branded as Shimafuji, and has 240621001 written on the top side and 24062046 on the underside. On the auxiliary PCB there are various connections labelled, such as OLED, NFC, UART, MOTOR, there is a micro USB connector, green LED, as well as a power and 'SW2' switch, two microphones, and a speaker. 

I scanned in the included paper slips and put them through Google Translate to convert to English, I'll give a summary:

One of the translated slips say the following:

Please make sure the following items included:

1 SEMB2101 1 set

2 LCD module 1 set

3 USB cable 1 set

Manual download please access the following homepage and enter your ID and PW.

http://www.shimafuji.co.jp/manual/Etc/Ingenic_Newton/

>ID:Newton

>PW:Imagination

Thankfully the link still works - note that the ID is the username and PW the password. On the site we can see the board and LCD. It's a good idea to translate the page, as seen below:

On the site there is a download button for the operating instructions and programming manual, and links for the CPU data sheet and SDK. The operating instructions are in combination of Japanese and English, so it'll be necessary to translate. There is a date of 2014 (which coincides with the site's date), so likely the board is from that year. The programming manual is also dated 2014 and is completely in English.

Unfortunately I couldn't get the CPU data sheet link to work and the SDK link resulted in a 404 page file or directory not found error.

In summary the second translated paper slip says the following:

The IoT Experiment Kit (tentative name) is currently under development, limited first batch, and there may be issues operating with Linux and Android. Additionally, there is no technical standard conformity and the release date, price, etc. are under consideration.

The slip suggests the board was a sample perhaps before general release (if it was actually widely released) and the fact that the two PCBs are connected with wires also suggests the kit to be a prototype. The mention of Linux and Android compatibility is likely referencing that which the NewtonBoard is able to run going by a document I found later on.

Now to look in more detail at the technical side of the kit before we looking at using it. I couldn't find anything about the LCD online by looking at the various numbers found on the display. On the back of the LCD it has the following markings:

TD0-QVGA0160A60708

0140725-B6 (not sure if the first character is a D)

T5i60-30-c-53-t-i (not sure if the i's are actually 1's, and the 5's might be s's)

i40526a

None of those numbers came up with anything through Google.

TFT5K0764FPC-A1-E is printed on the bigger of the two flat cables, looking using Google resulted in some eBay results for LCDs with similar part numbers. On the other flat cable, closer to the LCD, the Truly brand is printed and another number (the beginning may be partly cut off by the LCD): CT1F1428FPC-A1-E. No luck with Google for that one either.

The touch controller chip, which is mounted on one of the flat cables, is a FT6206GMA, which through Google tells us it’s a Self-Capacitive Touch Panel Controller:

https://www.micros.com.pl/mediaserver/info-uift6206gma.pdf

On the underside of the NewtonBoard I did find information on the main chips:

DA9024 Power Management Specialised - PMIC System PMIC with Audio for Ingenic JZ4775 Smartwatch Platform

https://www.mouser.com/datasheet/2/713/da9024_pb-1816028.pdf

KMS5U000JM-B308 4GB eMMC & 3Gb LPDDR1 based in this document for the Newton Development Platform:

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1838249/Ingenic-Newton.html?page=5

JZ4775 1GHz single-core MIPS processor

https://ftp.radix.pro/3pp/Ingenic/legacy-ftp.ingenic.cn/2soc/4775/JZ4775_Board_DesignGuide_EN.pdf

While I was looking for datasheets for the various chips I came across a PDF overview for the Newton board:

https://imgtec.eetrend.com/sites/imgtec.eetrend.com/files/download/201405/2010-3851-ingenicnewtonbrochure.pdf

The PDF mentions that the Newton can run Linux 3.0.8 and Android 4.3, and as well shall see later on it does indeed run Android 4.3. Also spoken about in the document is that there's a low cost version, the Newton Lite, with the differences explained:

There are 3 main differences: Newton Lite uses Heart-Rate sensor, Bluetooth single connectivity module, MCP (4GB NAND Flash + 4Gb LPDDR1). While Newton uses ECG sensor, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/NFC/FM 4-in-1 combo module, and EMCP (32Gb eMMC + 3Gb LPDDR1). Furthermore, the board dimension of Newton Lite is 16 x 38 x 3mm and is smaller than Newton.

From the spec - RAM, non-volatile memory, and measurements, SEMB2101 uses the non-lite Newton.

I translated the Operating instructions from the Shimafuji site using Google, which I summarize some of in the following notes with my comments:

The PDF specifies the PD_JZ4775_NEWTON Development Board, abbreviated NewtonBoard, manufactured by Ingenic, the auxiliary board by Shimafuji Electric. 

There is mention of connecting EVG, NFC, and MOTOR terminals from NewtonBoard to the auxiliary board with 2mm wire, which is the green wires connecting the two boards.

The micro USB connector is for powering the board and development/communication software.

There is a UART with RS232C level conversion IC for directly connecting to a PC's RS232C terminal.

Some of the auxiliary board specs:

UART JST BM03B-SRSS-TB connector 1 port (RXD, TXD, GND) - (the white connector to the left of 'SHIMAFUJI' text)

TP_CONNECTOR OUT BM10NB(0.8)-10DS-0.4V(51) x 1 (for OLED)

Digital microphone SPM0423HD4H-WB x2 (labelled DMIC_L & DMIC_R)

Piezoelectric speaker PKM13EPYH4000-A0

There is SEMB2101 system block diagram on page 4, which is mostly in English. The display is referred to as VGM12864-3S, which gives a few Google results for a different OLED module (the OLED display is an alternative to the LCD). The OLED connections take note are distinct from the LCD connector, which is on the NewtonBoard.

There is a layout and wiring diagram on page 5 showing how the two boards are connected. All the wiring is the same as on my board - note the blue wires on the diagram are above the NewtonBoard, red below. One layout diagram shows the OLED display (which doesn't have touch) and the other LCD.

To use the kit the LCD needs to be plugged in by attaching the smaller connector into CN1 of the auxiliary board and the bigger connector to the NewtonBoard board (not labelled on the PCB).

The PDF has no mention of actually using the kit and the Programming manual (available from the Shimafuji site) is for the JZ4775 processor, intended for someone writing drivers for it. So what I did was, firstly I carefully connected the two LCD connectors to the SEMB2101 - see the site/PDF. Then I plugged in a micro USB into the kit and the other end into my computer, and the board's power LED (LED1) lit up and after few seconds an Ingenic logo appeared on the LCD, then briefly a charging animation showed before the LCD switched off.

I found that pressing the POWER switch caused the battery charging animation to reappear but pressing and holding the POWER switch for four seconds while the LCD was off an android logo appeared and after some while a home screen showing the date, time, and the more familiar Android logo. My computer detected the device a a media player called newton, with 2.95GB (2.76GB free) storage. The drive disappears if the LCD goes off - pressing the power button brings it back.

Exploring the newton drive on my computer reveals the typical Android structure although all folders were empty except Recorder, which had one file called rec_20130227 08-01-10.amr with a date of 27th Feb 2013, matching the filename. When played it's a man speaking not words, just a few sounds from what I can tell - one can wonder who made the recording, the person testing at the factory or an end user? 

The LCD touch screen allows you to access various apps and settings, swipe right to access various apps (Browser, Calculator, Calendar, etc.), swipe right to access more. Swipe left from the main screen gives various settings, swiping up from any screen gives an Ingenic branded clock, and Swiping down gives a pull-down menu showing SyncApp, USB debugging connected, and Connected as a media device messages. Considering how old the hardware is and the small size of the screen it's surprisingly responsive. 

Looking in the settings app it claims that the battery will last over 12mins but isn't charging. From what I can tell the kit's 0.10F super capacitor is emulating the battery but I couldn't get the kit to power on without USB power connected. Also in settings there is About smartwatch, selecting that we can see the Model number is newton, android version 4.3 (which was take note released in 2013). We can double check the amount of RAM installed in the Settings by going to Apps, and swipe left to select Running, which shows at the bottom of the screen 128MB used, 208MB free. Considering that there is meant to be 3Gb of RAM, which is 375MB, that seems about right.

SW2 functions as the back button.

A few interesting apps are:

Remote Camera

com.neurosky

InSport

ContactsIngenic

Remote Control

Sensor Dump

Sensor Dump gives real-time readings of various sensors such as gyroscope and accelerometer. Some options such as MPL Tap, Temperature, Humidity, EKG, UV don't give a reading or cause the app to freeze up.

InSport about option shows made by Ingenic but the app itself doesn't seem to work.

ContactsIngenic has no contacts when opened.

com.neurosky may have a longer name and is cut off but likely is to do with NeuroSky which specialises in biometrics in mobile and wearable devices. Unfortunately when opened Android gives an error saying it isn't installed.

I came across the previously mentioned audio file by opening the Local music app, selecting Songs, and then the recording but the kit's on board speaker is too quiet to properly hear, so it's just as well I had a listen on my computer.

Connecting to Wi-Fi was difficult as the on-screen keyboard overlaps the password entry and the virtual keys are very small, however I was successful in connecting. I could Google stuff using the Browser app but Wikipedia wouldn't load at all, YouTube loaded but as a blank page with empty videos, but my site loaded but was difficult to navigate because of the small screen.

I will in the future look at developing for the platform, with the advantage of the kit over repurposing an old smartphone for example is that with the kit everything is exposed and should be easier to connect your own circuitry.

All content of this and related pages is copyright (c) James S. 2024