HandHeld One

PHYTEC Handheld One

The PHYTEC Handheld One is a functional handheld gaming device developed in under six weeks as a proof-of-concept for PHYTEC's System-on-Module (SoM) design approach, and showcased at Embedded World. It demonstrates how pre-engineered hardware can accelerate the journey from a breadboard prototype to a custom, bootable system.

Overview

This repository contains the design files and documentation used to build the Handheld One. The project highlights the advantages of using a SOM over a discrete chip-down design, allowing for rapid iteration and scalability.

Key Features

• Rapid prototyping: Concept to custom carrier board in under six weeks.
• Gaming-ready Linux stack: RetroArch (GLES3) with libretro cores, Freedoom, Chocolate Doom, SuperTuxKart, and Neverball, all launched from a custom touchscreen UI.
• Integrated peripherals: Touchscreen, gamepad inputs (D-pad / face buttons) via the MSPM0 companion MCU.

Hardware Architecture

The Handheld One is built around the PHYTEC SOM ecosystem. By utilizing a standardized footprint, the carrier board can accommodate different performance tiers without requiring a complete redesign.

Designed in KiCad 9.0, the Schematics (.kicad_sch) and PCB layout (.kicad_pcb) live in the hardware repo below.

Software

The Handheld One runs a Yocto based Linux distribution (scarthgap). The meta-handheld-one layer pulls in the launcher, retro gaming stack, Wayland/Weston graphics, and the AM62Px 3D demo.

Repositories

• phytec-handheld-one — Hardware design (KiCad schematics and PCB layout)
• meta-handheld-one — Yocto meta-layer that builds the full image (use the manifests branch for repo-based checkout)
• phytec-handheld-launcher — Touchscreen launcher that runs at boot and starts the gaming stack
• phytec-handheld-mspm0-driver — Firmware/drivers for the MSPM0 companion MCU (flashed manually, outside Yocto)

Getting Started

Clone whichever piece you need:

# Hardware (KiCad 9.0+)
git clone https://github.com/phytec-labs/phytec-handheld-one.git

# Yocto BSP layer (scarthgap)
git clone -b scarthgap https://github.com/phytec-labs/meta-handheld-one.git

# Launcher
git clone -b scarthgap https://github.com/phytec-labs/phytec-handheld-launcher.git

# MSPM0 firmware
git clone https://github.com/phytec-labs/phytec-handheld-mspm0-driver.git

For a full Yocto build, use the manifests branch of meta-handheld-one to fetch all required layers via phyLinux init -x.