Harnessing the Power of AI in Industrial Automation (Sponsored)

ModBerry 500 CM5 AI predictive maintenance

The industrial IoT (IIoT) landscape is undergoing a transformative shift, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI). Among the frontrunners of this revolution is the ModBerry 500 CM5, a cutting-edge IoT platform enhanced by optional AI modules like the Hailo-8L and Geniatech AIM-M2. With the integration of these modules, the ModBerry 500 CM5 becomes a powerhouse for industrial automation, offering unparalleled performance and scalability. Let’s dive into the exciting capabilities of this innovative combination and explore the current and future applications of AI in IIoT. ModBerry 500 CM5: The Core of Smart Industrial Automation At the heart of the ModBerry 500 CM5 is the powerful Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5, featuring a quad-core Cortex-A76 processor and support for up to 16GB of RAM. When paired with AI acceleration modules like the Hailo-8L and Geniatech AIM-M2, the ModBerry 500 CM5 evolves from an IoT hub into a sophisticated AI-enabled system capable […]

HoneyComb Ryzen V3000 – An AMD Ryzen V3C18I mini-ITX motherboard with dual 10Gbps SFP+, 2.5GbE, dual SATA III

HoneyComb Ryzen V3000

SolidRun HoneyComb Ryzen V3000 is a mini-ITX motherboard powered by an AMD Ryzen Embedded V3C18I processor, supporting up to 64GB of DDR5 memory and M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD storage, and equipped with two 10 Gbps Ethernet SFP+ cages, a 2.5GbE RJ45 jack, and two SATA III ports for advanced networking and storage applications. The solution is comprised of a mini-ITX motherboard and a Ryzen V3000 CX7 COM Express module, which the company introduced in 2022. As an industrial motherboard, it’s designed to operate in the -40°C to +85°C temperature range. HoneyComb Ryzen V3000 specifications: Ryzen V3000 CX7 COM Express module SoC – AMD Ryzen Embedded V3C18I octa-core/16-thread processor clocked at 1.9 GHz / 3.8 GHz (Turbo) with 4 MB L2 cache and 16 MB L3 cache; TDP: 15W System Memory – Up to 64GB (2x 32GB), ECC/Non-ECC DDR5 memory up to 4800 MT/s via two SODIMM sockets. Dimensions – 125 […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM

Thin PoE HAT for Raspberry Pi 5 features isolated SMPS, fits inside the official case, works with the active cooler

Waveshare PoE HAT (H)

Waveshare has launched the PoE HAT (H), a thin Power over Ethernet(PoE) HAT for the Raspberry Pi 5 that easily fits inside the official case and works with the active cooler. The HAT is specially designed for the Raspberry Pi 5 and supports IEEE 802.3af/at PoE standards. It features an isolated switched-mode power supply (SMPS) that delivers a stable 5V/5A output through the GPIO header.  The board includes a standard 40-pin GPIO header and relies on a low-profile PoE IC. Waveshare PoE HAT (H) Specifications: Compatibility – Raspberry Pi 5 Expansion – 40-pin Raspberry Pi GPIO header Cooling Fits inside the official Raspberry Pi 5 case Compatible with the official active cooler Misc – Onboard original IC for stable PoE performance Power Supply IEEE 802.3af/at compliant Isolated switched-mode power supply (SMPS) PoE power input – 37V to 57V DC Output via GPIO header – 5V, 5A (max) Dimensions – 65 x 56.5 […]

Avaota F1 – A tiny camera board based on Allwinner V821 RISC-V SoC with built-in WiFi and 64MB DDR2

Avaota F1 devkit

The Avaota F1 is an ultra-small, open-source hardware Linux SBC powered by an Allwinner V821 32-bit RISC-V camera SoC with 64MB on-chip DDR2 and built-in 2.4 GHz WiFi 4, and designed for camera applications with a MIPI CSI connector. The 35×22 mm board also features a 32MB NOR flash, an analog microphone, a USB-C port for power, data, and programming, two 15-pin GPIO headers, a FEL button, and a user LED. It looks like it will be offered as a development kit with a 1080p30 camera and a 3.5-inch or 1.54-inch SPI display. I also think it’s the first time I’ve seen a Linux-capable application processor with built-in WiFi. Avaota F1 specifications SoC – Allwinner V821L2-WXX CPU 32-bit RISC-V CPU @ 1.2GHz with 16KB L1 D/I  cache, 128KB L2 cache 32-bit RISC-V MCU @ 600 MHz with  16KB L1 I-cache, 8KB L1 D-cache Memory – 64MB DDR2 on-chip VPU – […]

LaserPecker LP5 Review – Part 2: A 20W diode & fiber laser engraver tested with LDS software, rotary extension, safety enclosure

LaserPecker LP5 review Rotary Extension Safety Enclosure Featured Image

We have already checked the specifications, done an unboxing, and shown how to assemble the LaserPecker LP5 2-in-1 fiber & diode laser engraver along with its safety enclosure and rotary extension in the first part of the review. In the second part of the review, we will report our experience using the LaserPecker LP5 laser engraver with various materials such as plywood, stainless steel, rubber, and aluminum, as well as a ceramic cup and an insulated tumbler using either the LDS software on Windows or the LDS mobile apps on an iPad. Using the LaserPecker LP5 laser engraver with LDS software LaserPecker Design Space (LDS) is a laser engraving and cutting software designed specifically for the LaserPecker laser engravers. It’s meant to allow users to easily create projects with personalized engraving, complex patterns, and precise cutting of various materials. It can run on Windows and macOS with Intel or Apple […]

Boardcon EM1103B AIoT SBC for video surveillance applications features PIR sensor, fingerprint interface, and dual camera support

EM1103B Rockchip RV1103B SBC

Boardcon EM1103B is an AIoT SBC powered by a Rockchip RV1103B SoC designed for surveillance applications with dual camera, fingerprint, and a PIR sensor. This unique combination makes it suitable for vision-based applications such as smart cameras, doorbells, and battery-powered surveillance devices. The SBC consists of a compact core board that mounts to a large baseboard, which gives access to all the necessary I/O modules and also provides power. The SBC together features 100 Mbps Ethernet, Wi-Fi, USB 2.0 OTG, UART, GPIO, and interfaces for speakers, microphones, fingerprint sensors, and PIR motion sensors. It also features PoE (5V) support and expandable storage via microSD. Additionally, it integrates two MIPI CSI camera interfaces mad the RV1103B’s 8MP hardware ISP with enables advanced image processing features such as HDR, 3A (AE/AF/AWB), and 3DNR. The chip also supports H.264/H.265 video encoding for local and cloud streaming. Boardcon EM1103B specifications: Core Board – Boardcon […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025

Radxa Dragon Q6A – A Qualcomm QCS6490 Edge AI SBC with GbE, WiFi 6, three camera connectors

Radxa Dragon Q6A

Radxa Dragon Q6A is an upcoming credit card-sized SBC powered by a Qualcomm QCS6490 octa-core SoC with a 12 TOPS AI accelerator, up to 16GB LPDDR5 memory, and the usual ports found on Raspberry Pi-like single board computers such as gigabit Ethernet, four USB ports, HDMI video output, and a 40-pin GPIO header. The board will also feature an M.2 Key-M socket for SSD storage, a WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4 wireless module, a MIPI DSI display interface, three MIPI CSI connectors, a connector for an eMMC or UFS flash module, a microphone input connector, and an RTC battery connector. Radxa Dragon Q6A specifications: SoC – Qualcomm QCS6490 CPU – Octa-core Kryo 670 with 1x Gold Plus core (Cortex-A78) @ 2.7 GHz, 3x Gold cores (Cortex-A78) @ 2.4 GHz, 4x Silver cores (Cortex-A55) @ up to 1.9 GHz GPU – Adreno 643L GPU @ 812 MHz with support for Open GL […]

Axelera Metis Compute Board pairs Rockchip RK3588 SoC with 214 TOPS Metis AI accelerator

Metis Compute Board

Axelera Metis Computer Board is a Rockchip RK3588 mini-ITX motherboard equipped with a Metis AIPU (AI Processing Unit) capable of delivering up to 214 TOPS, 16GB LPDDR4 memory for the CPU, and 4GB LPDDR4x RAM for the AI accelerator. I first came across the Axelera Metis AIPU in M.2 and PCIe card in 2023, and I was rather impressed with the advertised 214 TOPS of AI performance promised in this form factor and relatively affordable $149 price tag considering the price-to-performance ratio. At the time, it was still hard to source the chip and module due to limited quantities, and in 2024, it became easier to evaluate the solution with the Axelera Metis PCIe Arm AI evaluation kit based on a Firefly ITX-3588J mini-ITX motherboard equipped with a 214 TOPS Metis AIPU PCIe card. The new Metis Compute Board is similar, but in a more compact form factor since the […]

Luckfox Nova Audio IoT board features 8-channel mic input, voice activity detection, and PoE

Luckfox Nova Micro Development Board

Luckfox has recently released the Luckfox Nova Audio IoT board built around the Rockchip RK3308B quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A35 SoC clocked at up to 1.3GHz, and featuring 8-channel microphone inputs and voice activity detection (VAD). The board comes with 512MB DDR3 RAM, 8GB eMMC flash storage, and a microSD card slot. It also features dual 26-pin GPIO headers that support UART, SPI, I2C, and more. The Luckfox Nova is also equipped with a PoE-capable Ethernet RJ45 port, and optionally supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2/BLE. Other onboard interfaces include a USB Type-C port for power and programming, a speaker, microphone headers, and more. All these features and various I/O options make this device suitable for applications where multi-channel audio capture, voice recognition, and real-time audio signal processing are required. Luckfox Nova specifications: SoC –  Rockchip RK3308B Quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A35 @ up to 1.3GHz Integrated high-performance audio codec Built-in Voice Activity […]

Boardcon CM3588 Rockchip RK3588 System-on-Module designed for AI and IoT applications