diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 46 |
1 files changed, 46 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0c4c226 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +# A9 free +## What is the A9 +The A9 is based on a system-on-a-chip namely RDA8955, made by RDA Technologies. +It is a very powerful and versatile GSM/GPRS-capable microcontroller that +was definitely conceived for mobile use, and probably used by various mobile +phone manufacturers during the 2000's (personal opinion). A GPS-enabled version +is also available, called A9G. + +## What is this project +The A9 currently depends on a set of proprietary tools and firmware blobs that +have been left unmantained since 2018 by its manufacturer, Ai-Thinker. +Therefore, this project aims to maintain the A9 and A9G by creating a free +(as in freedom) version developed by the community. The A9 and A9G have great +potential as IoT devices or even to build low-spec smartphones entirely based +in free software. + +## What has been developed so far +Currently, no free firmware has been developed yet. The project is on a very +initial phase where we need to know as much as possible about the system +(e.g.: reverse-engineering) so we can start developing free software for it. +`doc/notes.txt` contains a growing amount of information about what has been +found so far and what still needs to be studied in further detail. + +This is a list of ToDo things for this project: + + - [x] De-compile firmware blobs using an automated tool e.g.: Ghidra. + - [ ] Understand how the flashing process works. + - [ ] Write minimal working example that runs on the hardware. + - [ ] Write sample applications that interact with the hardware peripherals. + - [ ] Port newlib and FreeRTOS to replace existing custom implementations. + - [ ] Write a free bootloader that allows uploading application code. + - [ ] Implement a free GSM/GPRS stack. + - [ ] Implement a free GPS stack. + +## How to contribute +This is a very ambitious project that definitely takes a lot of time and +resources. I am currently alone at this, and it is impossible to achieve all +these targets without your support. So I encourage anyone interested in this +project to join and help the project to become a reality. I think the A9 has +a lot of potential that the community can benefit from. + +So please review `doc/notes.txt`, give your feedback, provide new information +and help development that allows us to use the A9 with free software only. +Despite being based on closed-source binaries, the repositores provided by +Ai-Thinker already include lots of documentation that will surely help us in +knowing about the inner details on the A9 and the binaries themselves. |