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

February 25, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 28 Comments

Armbian v25.2 and DietPi v9.11 released with updated Ubuntu and Debian-based Linux images for single board computers

Vendor-provided Linux images for single board computers are not always working optimally, so this post is a regular reminder that users may want to check out Armbian and DietPi projects mostly supported by the community but also backed by some of the vendors who offload some (repackaging) software work to them. Armbian and DietPi are separate projects, but this month, Armbian v25.2 and DietPi v9.11 were almost released simultaneously. I don’t report on each release (should I?), but they release an update every few months. The last time we had a look at both projects was in September 2024 for the releases of DietPi 9.7 and Armbian 24.8. Let’s see what the new releases have to bring. Armbian v25.2 Main changes: New Boards – Rock 2A and 2F, NanoPi R3S, Retroid Pocket RP5, RPMini, Rock 5T, GenBook, MKS-PI, SKIPR, Armsom CM5, NextThing C.H.I.P, Magicsee C400 Plus Rockchip 3588 Improvements – […]

February 24, 2025February 24, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

ESPNowCam library enables ESP32 video camera or data transmission with the ESP-NOW protocol

ESPNowCam ESP-Now library for ESP32 camera board

ESPNowCam is an open-source library for ESP32 camera boards that relies on the ESP-NOW protocol for efficient point-to-point, one-to-many, or many-to-one video or data transmission. ESP32 microcontrollers already support WiFi or Bluetooth connectivity, but the ESP-NOW offers an alternative in scenarios where low latency is required and/or access to a router is not feasible or practical. That’s why we’ve previously seen ESPNOW used in ESP32 drones. As its name implies, the ESPNowCam project leverages the ESP_NOW wireless protocol for ESP32 video cameras, but can also be used for data transmission. ESPNowCam highlights: Transmission modes One transmitter to multiple receivers using the internal ESPNow broadcasting feature (1:N mode) Peer-to-peer (P2P) connections utilizing MAC address targeting (1:1 mode) Multi-sender mode with one receiver (N:1 mode) No need for IPs, routers, or credentials The project was first released in January 2024, but I’ve only noticed it, and it had several iterations since then. […]

February 24, 2025February 25, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

The OpenVoiceOS Foundation aims to enable open-source privacy and customization for voice assistants

The OpenVoiceOS Foundation, or OVOS Foundation for shorts, is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing open-source voice assistant technology and offers an open-source privacy-focus alternative to voice assistant by large companies like Amazon, Google, and Apple. One of the founders, Peter Steenbergen (j1nx), explained to us it all started when he read an article on CNX Software about Mycroft Mark II voice assistant hardware in 2018. He ended up being involved and created “MycroftOS“, later renamed to “OpenVoiceOS – Mycroft Edition”, as a Just Enough OS utilizing Buildroot and working on the Mark II. There were some tensions with the open-source community at some point, and the Mycroft project went south from there and the company had to close in 2023. Eventually, OpenVoiceOS took over the codebase of Mycroft A.I. and managed to merge lingering PR from the open-source community. Together with NEON A.I., they took over the Mycroft A.I. community […]

February 22, 2025February 22, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

ELEGOO Saturn 4 Ultra 16K Review – A resin 3D printer tested with CHITUBOX slicer and ChituManager software

ELEGOO Saturn 4 Ultra 16K 3D Printer Review Mercury 3.0 Plus

ELEGOO sent us the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K Resin 3D printer for review. As its name implies, the 3D printer features a 10-inch LCD with a resolution of up to 16K (14112×7936 pixels) to print sharper and more detailed workpieces. The printer also offers WiFi and Ethernet connectivity, and an automatic print base detection and leveling system to increase accuracy and reduce errors while printing. We were also provided with the ELEGOO Mercury Plus 3.0 wash and cure station for the review. It is designed to be easy to use, supports both water and alcohol washing, and is equipped with a 405nm UV light to increase strength and reduce the stickiness of the workpiece. Unboxing and Key features of the ELEGOO Saturn 4 Ultra 16K resin 3D printer Smart Tank Heating System The ELEGOO Saturn 4 Ultra 16K resin 3D printer features a “smart tank heating system” that enables high-quality […]

February 21, 2025February 21, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Ubuntu 24.04.2 released with Linux 6.11 kernel and hardware enablement stack

Ubuntu 24.04.2 has just been released with Linux 6.11 kernel and hardware enablement (HWE) stack. I would typically not care too much about a point release, but our reviews of mini PCs have shown Ubuntu 24.04 with Linux 6.8 was not always well supported with recent mini PC, mostly due to issues with WiFi or Bluetooth, but sometimes it’s even worse. The most common problem I encountered was that MediaTek MT7922-based WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 module would not support Bluetooth on Ubuntu 24.04 unless we updated the Linux kernel to version 6.10 or newer. Mini PCs with recent processors like the Khadas Mind 2 AI Maker Kit based on Intel Core Ultra 7 258V AI SoC required even more tweaks for HDMI audio, GPU, and WiFi + Bluetooth which is why I tested it with Ubuntu 24.10 instead. Ubuntu 24.04.2 should solve all of those issues. The announcement explains […]

February 21, 2025February 21, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

KiCad 9 released with support for embedded files, tables in schematics, custom ERC/DRC errors, mouse scroll wheel actions, and more

KiCad 9 open-source EDA software has just been released with a range of new features such as support for embedded files (fonts, 3D files, PDF), tables in schematics, custom ERC/DRC errors, warnings, and exclusion comments, mouse scroll wheel actions, multiple track drag, and much more. The latest KiCad 9.0.0 release includes 4,870 unique commits from hundreds of developers and translators, and the KiCad library has further gained 1500 new symbols, 750 new footprints, and 132 new 3D models. There are way too many changes to list them all here, so I’ll mention some highlights here: Jobsets (predefined output jobs) – Feature that provides predefined sets of ‘jobs’— plotting, exporting, and running DRC—on schematics and PCBs. Independent jobset files are reusable as users may want to create output pipelines that they can apply across their projects for consistency. Jobsets can be run from the command line or the KiCad GUI. Embedded […]

February 20, 2025February 20, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

STMicro expands the STM32C0 Cortex-M0+ MCU family with STM32C051, STM32C091, and STM32C092 (with CAN FD)

STMicro Nucleo-64 board with STM32C092RC MCU

STMicro first introduced the STM32C0 32-bit Arm Cortex-M0+ MCU family as an 8-bit MCU killer in 2023, followed by the STM32C071 adding USB FS and designed for appliances with graphical user interfaces (GUI). The company has now added three new parts with the STM32C051, STM32C091, and STM32C092. The STM32C051 is similar to the original STM32C031 but adds more storage (64KB vs 32KB) and is offered in packages with up to 48 pins, while the STM32C09x parts offer flash densities up to 256 KB in packages up to 64 pins, and the STM32C092 also gains a CAN FD interface. The STM32C09x parts can be seen as an update to the STM32C071 where more flash memory is needed. That’s 30 new SKUs bringing the total to 55 when different packages and flash memory size/RAM size options are taken into account. The STM32C051 offers the same maximal amount of SRAM as the STM32C031 […]

February 20, 2025February 20, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

Solar-powered LLM over Meshtastic solution may provide live-saving instructions during disasters and emergencies

People are trying to run LLMs on all sorts of low-end hardware with often limited usefulness, and when I saw a solar LLM over Meshtastic demo on X, I first laughed. I did not see the reason for it and LoRa hardware is usually really low-end with Meshtastic open-source firmware typically used for off-grid messaging and GPS location sharing. But after thinking more about it, it could prove useful to receive information through mobile devices during disasters where power and internet connectivity can not be taken for granted. Let’s check Colonel Panic’s solution first. The short post only mentions it’s a solar LLM over Meshtastic using M5Stack hardware. On the left, we must have a power bank charge over USB (through a USB solar panel?) with two USB outputs powering a controller and a board on the right. The main controller with a small display and enclosure is an ESP32-powered […]