Getting started

This page uses the AK Embedded Base Kit for STM32L151 as the reference board.

That board is the best place to begin because it already matches the AKOS target family, it ships with a board-specific boot/application memory map, and it exposes a simple path for loading application firmware over USB.

What The Board Gives You

The board README describes it as an evaluation kit for embedded learners. The main features called out there are:

• STM32L151-based hardware
• 1.54 inch OLED LCD
• 3 push buttons
• 1 buzzer
• RS485, Qwiic Connect, and Grove expansion support

For AKOS documentation purposes, the most important part is that the kit is already organized around a bootloader plus application split, which makes it a good reference for how to place an RTOS application in flash.

Flash Layout

The board repository documents this memory map:

• 0x08000000 for boot firmware
• 0x08002000 for shared BSF data
• 0x08003000 for the application image

That means an AKOS application for this board should not assume it starts at the beginning of flash. The linker script and any flash programming workflow need to respect the application start address at 0x08003000.

Recommended Setup

If you are bringing AKOS up on this board, the practical setup is:

1. Clone the AKOS source tree.
2. Enter the repository root.
3. Read the board README and schematic in the reference repository.
4. Use the AKOS example tree as the application template.
5. Build the example for STM32L151 with the GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain.
6. Adjust the linker script and flashing command to place the application at 0x08003000.

Typical setup commands look like this:

git clone https://github.com/the-ak-foundation/akos.git
cd akos
cd examples/00-blink
make

The current AKOS blink example already shows the STM32L151 toolchain shape:

• akos/examples/00-blink/Makefile
• akos/examples/00-blink/stm32l151xx.ld
• akos/examples/00-blink/startup_stm32l151xb.s
• akos/examples/00-blink/system_stm32l1xx.c
• akos/examples/00-blink/board.h

Those files are the right place to adapt pin mapping, clock setup, and the flash offset needed for this board.

First Build

For a first pass, the normal workflow is:

cd akos/examples/00-blink
make

If you are targeting the AK Embedded Base Kit specifically, update the board configuration so the final image is linked for the application region rather than the boot region.

Flashing The Board

The board README notes that once the boot and application images are loaded, you can use AK - Flash to program the application directly over the USB port.

That makes the board useful in two stages:

• Load or update the boot image when you are working on low-level startup
• Flash the application image repeatedly while developing AKOS tasks

For AKOS development, the second path is the one you will use most often.

What To Change First

When you port the example to this board, start with these items:

• board.h for LED, button, buzzer, and GPIO pin mappings
• stm32l151xx.ld for the application flash offset
• system_stm32l1xx.c for clock and oscillator setup
• Makefile for the final flash address and board-specific defines

Result

After the board is configured correctly, the example should build and run on the AK Embedded Base Kit with the expected LED activity.

AKOS blinky example result

Next Steps

Once the board boots and the application image flashes correctly, continue to:

• Kernel basics
• Threads management
• Scheduler

From there you can start turning the board's buttons, display, and buzzer into actual AKOS tasks and events.