The Sirius Handheld Computing Platform

The Sirius project began in early 2004 in Lahore, Pakistan. The goal of the project was to create an ultra low cost, easily manufacturable handheld computer with a low-overhead operating system. Sirius seeks to provide an open platform that anyone could use, customize, develop applications for and fabricate in a cottage industry, easily and cheaply.

FiveRivers Technologies based in Pakistan began development of the Sirius platform. Now that the basic architecture is complete, FiveRivers wants to promote an open community around Sirius, encouraging and inviting participation from all parts of the globe.

Sirius is a tri-processor design with dedicated I/O and Graphics processors. The handheld has a full QWERTY keyboard and rechargeable internal batteries. The current display is a backlit monochrome screen with adjustable contrast. The device comes with a cable that allows it to connect to other computers and communication devices, as well as a programming cable that allows the internal software to be updated (flashed) conveniently.

The device uses three Philips 89C51RD processors capable of operation at 40Mhz each. Additional ROM and an SD card interface have also been integrated into the design. The operating system, AlephOS, has been innovatively developed to provide access to all three processors. Application developers can write apps without having to worry about parallel programming techniques. In addition to the OS and programming APIs, developers can also make use of a hardware simulator that allows code development and debugging on a PC.

To support PC synchronization, FiveRivers created a PC Synch application that allows any files on the SD card to be read/written from a PC. AlephOS implements a FAT-16 filesystem on the SD card so the data on the card is compatible with PCs when plugged in to an MMC/SD card reader.

Application development for this device is possible in C, and FiveRivers has also built development boards that they have shared with some of the universities in Pakistan to start to create an application ecosystem around the platform.

Further development is focusing on low cost wireless communications peripherals, external display capability, OS extensions, SMS/GPRS integration, TCP/IP stack implementation and GPS integration. On the software side, some sample apps are complete, but FiveRivers is attempting to engage Universities and students to accelerate this process further.

Other than the chips themselves, everything has been designed and developed in Pakistan. This includes the layout and manufacture of the PCB, the keyboard, the internal firmware/OS, and the device housing. Great care has been taken to ensure that the device can be replicated and enhanced at a small scale, by individuals, educational institutions and other interested organizations. Any process requiring heavy NREs (Non-recurring expenses associated with production) was ruled out to make this an extremely DIY friendly platform.