CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

November 25, 2024November 23, 2024 by Sayantan Nandy - No Comments

SparkFun introduces Quadband GNSS RTK Breakout board with Quectel LG290P module for high-precision navigation

SparkFun has released the Quadband GNSS RTK Breakout featuring the Quectel LG290P module designed for high-precision real-time kinematic (RTK) applications. It supports GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BDS, QZSS, and NavIC constellations, with the ability to simultaneously receive signals from L1, L2, L5, and L6/E6 frequency bands. The module includes support for SBAS augmentation systems (e.g., WAAS, EGNOS, GAGAN) and PPP services (e.g., BDS PPP-B2b, QZSS CLAS), delivering reliable positioning with fast convergence times for precision navigation tasks. The breakout board offers a compact design (43.2 x 43.2mm) and multiple expansion options including 24 PTH pins, dual 4-pin JST Qwiic connectors, three UART interfaces, a USB-C connector, and additional PTH pins for BlueSMiRF/Serial-to-UART. With its RTK support and advanced GNSS capabilities, the board is ideal for applications requiring high-accuracy positioning and robust navigation performance. Previously, we covered several GNSS boards including the SparkFun GNSS L1/L5, u-blox EVK-LEXI-R10, and Conexio Stratus Pro and […]

November 24, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Mitigating a DoS attack with GoAccess and Cloudflare

In this off-topic post, I’m going to discuss some behind-the-scenes “fun” that may happen when managing the web server used to host the CNX Software website. From time to time, the server becomes unreachable, but I can still access its console, and notice a very high CPU load (over 100) on a VPS with four cores, while the CPU load is typically 0.5 to 2 under normal circumstances. That’s usually due to a DoS (denial of service), DDoS (distributed denial of service), or some bug I can’t identify. An easy way to solve this issue is to log in to Cloudflare and set the “Under Attack Mode” to on. It will show all visitors a JavaScript challenge the first time they visit the website, and the CPU usage typically drops back to normal level within a minute or so. That means I can access my website and so do regular […]

ArmSoM CM5 - Raspberry Pi CM4 alternative with Rockchip RK3576 SoC

November 23, 2024November 23, 2024 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Waveshare RoArm-M2 ESP32 robotic arms offer four degrees of freedom, various servo options

Waveshare has recently launched the RoArm-M2-S and RoArm-M2-Pro ESP32 robotic arms with four degrees of freedom, or 4-DOF for short. The main difference is that the RoArm-M2-S is equipped with standard servos, while the RoArm-M2-Pro features all-metal ST3235 bus servos, adding more durability and performance. Designed for educational and robotics applications, the 4-DOF RoArm-M2 is sturdy yet lightweight, built using carbon fiber and aluminum alloy. It can handle payloads up to 0.5kg and has a workspace diameter of 1 meter. The arm offers high precision with a 12-bit magnetic encoder and dual-drive technology for improved torque and stability. On top of that, it features a 12-bit magnetic encoder and dual-drive technology for improved torque and stability. Other features include a 360° omnidirectional base and support for both wireless (WiFi, ESP-NOW) and wired (USB) control. These features make this device suitable for various applications including industrial automation, education, research, and DIY robotics projects. Waveshare […]

November 22, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Mercury X1 wheeled humanoid robot combines NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX AI controller and ESP32 motor control boards

Elephant Robotics Mercury X1 is a 1.2-meter high wheeled humanoid robot with two robotic arms using an NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX as its main controller and ESP32 microcontrollers for motor control and suitable for research, education, service, entertainment, and remote operation. The robot offers 19 degrees of freedom, can lift payloads of up to 1kg, work up to 8 hours on a charge, and travel at up to 1.2m/s or about 4.3km/h. It’s based on the company’s Mercury B1 dual-arm robot and a high-performance mobile base. Mercury X1 specifications: Main controller – NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX CPU – 6-core NVIDIA Carmel ARM v8.2 64-bit CPU with 6MB L2 + 4MB L3 caches GPU – 384-core NVIDIA Volta GPU with 48 Tensor Cores AI accelerators – 2x NVDLA deep learning accelerators delivering up to 21 TOPS at 15 Watts System Memory – 8 GB 128-bit LPDDR4x @ 51.2GB/s Storage – 16 […]

November 22, 2024November 22, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

ASUSTOR Flashstor Gen2 NAS features AMD Ryzen Embedded V3C14, 10GbE networking, up to 12x NVMe SSD sockets

ASUSTOR Flashstor 6 Gen2 and Flashtor 6 Pro Gen2 are NAS systems based on AMD Ryzen Embedded V3C14 quad-core processor with up to two 10GbE RJ45 ports and taking up to 6 or 12 M.2 NVMe SSDs respectively. The Flashstor Gen2 models are updated to the ASUSTOR Flashtor NAS launched last year with similar specifications including 10GbE and up to 12 M.2 SSDs, but based on a relatively low-end Intel Celeron N5105 quad-core Jasper Lake processor. The new Gen2 NAS family features a more powerful AMD Ryzen Embedded V3C14 SoC, support for up to 64GB RAM with ECC, and USB4 ports. The downside is that it lacks video output, so it can’t be used for 4K/8K video consumption like its predecessor. Flashstor Gen2 NAS specifications: SoC – AMD Ryzen Embedded V3C14 quad-core/8-thread processor @ 2.3/3.8GHz; TDP: 15W System Memory Flashstor 6 Gen2 (FS6806X) – 8 GB DDR5-4800 Flashstor 12 Pro […]

November 22, 2024November 21, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

SoundSlide capacitive touch USB-C adapter aims to ease volume control on laptops

SoundSlide is an open-source hardware USB-C adapter that adds a capacitive touch interface to your laptop or keyboard PC in order to control the volume without having to reach out to the volume keys on the keyboard that may require Alt or Fn presses. SoundSlide is meant to be more intuitive than pressing keys and works without drivers with macOS, Windows, and Linux. At just 20.9 x 6.9 x 3.5 mm in size excluding the USB Type-C port, you can leave it connected to your laptop when you move around or put the laptop in your backpack. The SoundSlide relies on the touch interface from the Microchip SAM D11 Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller, and the company behind the project – Drake Labs – has made the firmware, schematics (PDF/WebP), and a command-line interface written on Go available on GitHub. You can check out how it works on a laptop in the […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs

November 21, 2024November 21, 2024 by Debashis Das - No Comments

MYiR Tech MYC-LR3576 Rockchip RK3576 LGA SoM offers 6 TOPS NPU and 8K video support for AIoT applications

MYiR Tech MYC-LR3576 is a system-on-module (SoM) based on Rockchip RK3576 octa-core Cortex-A72/A53 SoC with a 6 TOPS NPU and 8K video support suitable for AIOT applications that powers the MYD-LR3576 development board. The SoM supports up to 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 64GB of eMMC storage, along with a 32Kbit EEPROM. Connectivity options include dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, USB 3.2, and more. For multimedia, it supports HDMI, DisplayPort, eDP, MIPI-DSI, and MIPI CSI interfaces, and up to 8K video decoding/4K video encoding. The MYC-LR3576 also offers several audio I/O and multiple GPIO and I2C interfaces suitable for embedded systems. The MYD-LR3576 development board gives access to dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support, HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, USB 3.0 ports, and GPIO headers. It also supports MIPI camera modules and a 10.1-inch LCD module and provides full access to the SoM’s features. Previously we have written about various development […]

November 21, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

216MHz GigaDevice GD32G5 Cortex-M33 MCU features analog interfaces and accelerators for industrial applications

Starting with the GD32G553 SKUs, the 216 MHz GigaDevice GD32G5 high-performance Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller family features 256KB to 512KB of embedded Flash with dual-bank Flash support, 128KB of SRAM, and a range of hardware accelerators including a DSP, single-precision FPU, a trigonometric function accelerator (TMU), and other hardware acceleration units, filter algorithms (FAC) and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). Designed for industrial applications, the GD32G5 microcontrollers also offer a wide range of digital and analog interfaces and enhanced security capabilities suitable for digital power systems, charging stations, energy storage inverters, frequency converters, servo motors, and optical communication. GigaDevice GD32G5 specifications: MCU Core – Arm Cortex-M33 Armv8-M core clocked at up to 216MHz with DSP instruction set and single-precision FPU; up to 316 DMIPS, CoreMark score: 694. Memory/Storage 128KB SRAM (80KB SRAM0 + 16KB SRAM1 + 32KB TCMSRAM) 256KB to 512KB on-chip flash, QSPI interface for external storage External memory controller (EXMC) […]