Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft), Author at CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

January 10, 2025January 10, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Tanmatsu handheld terminal features ESP32-P4 RISC-V MCU, QWERTY keyboard, WiFi, Bluetooth, 802.15.4, and LoRa connectivity

Tanmatsu is a handheld terminal device for hackers, makers, and tech enthusiasts based on the 400 MHz ESP32-P4 RISC-V microcontroller, including a QWERTY keyboard, and supporting various connectivity options with WiFi, Bluetooth LE, 802.15.4, and even LoRa in the 433 MHz or 868/915MHz bands. The handheld computer also features a 3.97-inch MIPI DSI display, a built-in speaker and a 3.5mm audio jack, and various expansion connectors such as a Qwiic connector for I2C/I3C modules, and PMOD and SAO expansion connectors. Tanmatsu specifications: Microcontrollers Espressif ESP32-P4 dual-core RISC-V microcontroller @ 400MHz with 32MB of built-in PSRAM WCH CH32V203C8T6 32-bit RISC-V microprocessor @ up to 144 MHz with 20KB SRAM, 64KB flash used for keyboard matrix and power management Storage 16MB flash for firmware MicroSD card slot supporting SD cards at 3.3v and 1.8v voltage levels (SDIO 3) Display – 3.97-inch MIPI DSI display with 800 x 480 resolution, 65,536 colors Audio […]

January 9, 2025January 9, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

SONOFF MINI-D – A Matter-compatible WiFi smart switch with dry contact output for garage doors, boilers, etc…

SONOFF MINI D WiFI Smart Switch Dry Contacts

SONOFF MINI-D, also called SONOFF Mini Dry WiFi Smart Switch, is a Matter-compatible smart switch with dry contact output suitable for controlling devices like garage doors, boilers, air conditioners, and other dry contact input equipment, as well as small DC motors (8W max) such as pumps and solenoid valves. It’s designed to support 12-48V AC or DC inputs, handle low-power DC motors up to 8W, and can be wired as Normally Open (NO) and Normally Closed (NC). Like other SONOFF devices, it’s controlled with the eWelink app, but Matter support means it can integrate with other apps such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple Home, etc… SONOFF MINI-D specifications: Wireless SoC – Espressif ESP32-D0WDR2 (so ESPHome firmware support is likely… eventually) Connectivity – 2.4GHz WiFi Misc LED for network status, pairing mode, and switch type selection Button for ON/OFF, pairing mode, and external switch type selection. Max load 24V DC/2A […]

January 9, 2025January 9, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Raspberry Pi 5 with 16GB RAM launched for $120

Considering the Raspberry Pi CM5 is available with up to 16GB RAM, it should come as no surprise that the Raspberry Pi 5 also got its own 16GB LPDDR4 RAM upgrade. But the extra memory does come at a premium since the new board sells for $120, a $40 markup compared to the Raspberry Pi 5 with 8GB RAM. The extra memory should bring the user experience closer to a desktop machine for browsing the web with multiple tabs, checking emails, watching YouTube videos, and more all at the same time. Besides multitasking, the 16GB RAM may also be beneficial when running generative AI workloads like LLMs and VLMs which are known to be memory-hungry. Raspberry Pi 5 16GB specifications: SoC – Broadcom BCM2712 “D0” stepping CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A76 processor @ 2.4 GHz with crypto extensions, 512KB per-core L2 caches, 2MB shared L3 cache GPU – VideoCore VII […]

January 9, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Pilet is a Raspberry Pi 5-powered modular, portable computer with 5-inch or 7-inch display, optional built-in keyboard (Crowdfunding)

Pilet is a modular, open-source hardware, portable computer designed for the Raspberry Pi 5 SBC, and equipped with a choice of displays, keyboards, and an optional battery module that can last for up to 7 hours. Two models are available: the Pilet 5 with a 5-inch display, an integrated keyboard, a trackball, a scroll wheel, a navigational switch (D-Pad), and game buttons, and the Pilet 7 with a larger 7-inch display and support for detachable modules such as a keyboard, gamepad, or deck. Pilet specifications: Supported SBC – Raspberry Pi 5 Storage – MicroSD card, NVMe SSD via module Display Pilet 5 – 5-inch IPS MIPI DSI display with 1280×800 resolution, capacitive touch screen. Pilet 7 – 7-inch IPS MIPI DSI display with 1280×800 resolution, capacitive touch screen. Video Output- 2x micro HDMI ports Networking Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port 802.11ac WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 Optional LTE cellular via module […]

January 8, 2025January 8, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

conga-HPC/cBLS COM-HPC Client Size C Computer-on-Module features Intel Core Bartlett Lake S processor (series 2)

conga-cBLS COM-HPC Intel Barlett Lake S module

Congatec conga-HPC/cBLS is a family of COM-HPC Computer-on-Modules (COMs) powered by Intel Core Bartlett Lake S processors and designed for edge and infrastructure applications such as medical imaging, test & measurement, communication & networking, retail, energy, banking, video surveillance (traffic monitoring) and optical inspection among others. The COM-HPC Client Size C (120×160 mm) modules feature up to an Intel Core 7 251E Bartlett Lake S processor with eight Performance cores and sixteen Efficient cores for a total of 32 threads, support up to 128GB DDR5 memory via four SO-DIMM sockets, and integrate two 2.5GbE controllers. Congatec conga-HPC/cBLS specifications: Bartlett Lake-S SoC Intel Core 3 201E quad-core processor with 4x P-cores clocked at 3.6 GHz / 4.8 GHz (Turbo), 12MB cache, 24 EU Intel UHD Graphics 770; PBP: 60W Intel Core 5 211E 10-core processor with 6x P-cores @ 2.7 GHz / 4.9 GHz (Turbo), 4x E-cores @ 2.0 GHz / […]

January 8, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Arduino Portenta Proto Kit ME aims to ease prototyping for professionals

Arduino has introduced the Portenta Proto Kit ME (Motion Environment) at CES 2025 with the kit designed to allow engineers, designers, and innovators to turn ideas into functional prototypes quickly. The kit does not include new hardware, but it is based on the Arduino Portenta H7, Mid Carrier, and Nicla Sense ME module, as well as other off-the-shelf parts such as a 4G LTE and GNSS module and some Modulino modules, plus three months of Arduino Cloud access. The company expects the prototyping kit to be used for predictive maintenance, environmental sensing, and industrial automation prototypes. Arduino Portenta Proto Kit ME kit content: Portenta H7 board based on STMicro STM32H747 Arm Cortex-M7 @ 480 MHz + M4 @ 200 MHz MCU capable of handling ML workloads and advanced processing Portenta Mid Carrier with gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0 port, MIPI CSI and Arduino camera connectors, CAN Bus, mPCIe socket, GPIO header, […]

January 7, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

HDMI 2.2 to support Ultra96 HDMI cable, DisplayPort 2.1b coming soon for DP80LL cables

The HDMI Forum and VESA had announcements for the upcoming HDMI 2.2 and DisplayPort 2.1b respectively at CES 2025 mostly to introduce future cables supporting higher bandwidth of up to 96 Gbps for the Ultra96 HDMI cable and 80Gps for the DP80LL cables. HDMI 2.2 and Ultra96 cable We don’t have that many details yet, and both were announcements about the future release of specifications. HDMI Forum explained that version 2.2 of HDMI specification will handle up to 96Gbps bandwidth (double the 48Gbps supported by HDMI 2.1) and support next-gen HDMI Fixed Rate Link technology to “provide optimal audio and video for a wide range of device applications” as well as Latency Indication Protocol (LIP) for improving audio and video synchronization, notably in audio video receivers or soundbars. The higher bandwidth will be especially useful for data-intensive, immersive, and virtual applications such as AR/VR/MR, spatial reality, and light field displays, […]

January 7, 2025January 7, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

ASROCK Industrial launches NUC(S) Ultra 200 (Intel Arrow Lake-H) and 4X4 AI300 (AMD Ryzen 300 AI) motherboards and BOX PCs

ASROCK Industrial NUC Ultra 200 BOX PC Motherboard

Following new SoC announcements by Intel and AMD at CES 2025, ASRock Industrial has launched the NUC(S) Ultra 200 BOX Series and NUC Ultra 200 Motherboard Series powered by Intel Core Ultra 200H Arrow Lake-H processors with of to 99 TOPS of AI inferencing power, and the 4X4 BOX AI300 Series and 4X4 AI300 Motherboard Series based on AMD Ryzen AI 300 processors with up to 50 TOPS of NPU performance. ASROCK NUC(S) Ultra 200 BOX PCs & NUC ULTRA 200 motherboards NUC(S) Ultra 200 specifications: Arrow Lake-H/U SoC (one or the other) Intel Core Ultra 7 255H (6P+8E) processor up to 5.1 GHz with 24MB cache, Intel Arc 140T GPU (74 TOPS), and Intel AI Boost (13 TOPS); PBP: 28 Watts Intel Core Ultra 5 225H (4P+8E) processor up to 4.9 GHz with 18MB cache, Intel Arc 130T GPU (63 TOPS), and Intel AI Boost (13 TOPS); PBP: 28 […]