Author: Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on 7-inch Raspberry Pi CM4-based industrial HMI offers gigabit Ethernet, RS485 Modbus, digital and analog inputs

7-inch Raspberry Pi CM4-based industrial HMI offers gigabit Ethernet, RS485 Modbus, digital and analog inputs

NORVI RPI-HMI Industrial Controller

NORVI RPI-HMI is an industrial controller with a 7-inch touchscreen screen display powered by a Raspberry Pi CM4 and equipped with a range of interfaces including a gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port, a few USB ports, and several terminal blocks for RS485 (Modbus), digital and analog input, transistor outputs, and 24V DC power input. The new Raspberry Pi CM4-based HMI announcement follows the NORVI ESP32-HMI controller that was launched last December with an ESP32-S3 wireless microcontroller and a 5-inch LCD display with resistive touch. The NORVI RPI-HMI builds on that with a much faster Arm processor, a larger display with a capacitive touchscreen, gigabit Ethernet, and a wider range of I/Os that makes it suitable for various industrial HMI and PLC applications. NORVI RPI-HMI Industrial Controller specifications: SoM – Raspberry Pi CM4 SoC – Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 processor with VideoCore GPU System Memory – 1GB, 2GB, 4GB or 8GB LPDDR4-3200 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Firefly Core-3562JQ Rockchip RK3562J industrial SoM works in the -40 to +85°C temperature range

Firefly Core-3562JQ Rockchip RK3562J industrial SoM works in the -40 to +85°C temperature range

Rockchip RK3562 system-on-module

Firefly Core-3562JQ is a system-on-module based on Rockchip RK3562J SoC – the industrial-grade version of the Rockchip RK3562 quad-core Cortex-A53 Tablet SoC – designed to operate in the -40 to 85°C industrial temperature range and suitable for digital signage, industrial control systems, industrial PLCs, energy data concentrators, smart healthcare, self-service terminals, and more. The CPU module features up to 8GB RAM, 64GB flash, and a Rockchip RK809-5A PMIC, plus three 80-pin board-to-board connectors exposing video output and input interfaces, audio (SPDIF, PDM, I2S) interfaces, networking (GbE and Fast Ethernet), various USB interface, a 1-lane PCIe 2.1 interface, and more. Firefly Core-3562JQ specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3562J CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.2 GHz (against 2.0 GHz for the Rockchip RK3562) GPU – Arm Mali-G52 EE with support for OpenGL ES 3.2, Vulkan 1.1, OpenCL 2.0 AI accelerator – None listed in the specs (Rockchip RK3562 comes […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Mekotronics D58 embedded computer features 6 HDMI outputs for video walls or mirrored displays

Mekotronics D58 embedded computer features 6 HDMI outputs for video walls or mirrored displays

RK3588 embedded computer 6x HDMI video wall

Mekotronics D58 is a Rockchip RK3588 embedded computer running Android or Linux with six HDMI outputs for 4K video walls or multiple mirrored displays that should be mostly useful for digital signage applications. The system comes with up to 16GB RAM and 128GB eMMC flash, supports NVMe and SATA storage, comes with two GbE ports, WiFi 6 connectivity, optional 4G LTE and GNSS, one 4K-capable HDMI input port, four USB ports, some DB9 connectors for serial communication (RS232, RS485, TTL), and a terminal block with GPIOs and CAN bus. Mekotronics D58 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588 octa-core processor with CPU – 4x Cortex‑A76  cores @ up to 2.4 GHz, 4x Cortex‑A55 core @ 1.8 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G610 MP4 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.2, Vulkan 1.2 Video decoder – 8Kp60 H.265, VP9, AVS2, 8Kp30 H.264 AVC/MVC, 4Kp60 AV1, 1080p60 MPEG-2/-1, VC-1, VP8 Video encoder – […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments on $35 SONOFF POW ring smart power meter (POWCT) safely supports up to 100A

$35 SONOFF POW ring smart power meter (POWCT) safely supports up to 100A

SONOFF POW Ring smart power meter

SONOFF POW Ring smart power meter is the first CT clamp-based WiFi power meter from ITEAD. It is designed for installation in an electric cabinet to measure whole-house power consumption with up to 100A current. The power meter relies on an ESP32 microcontroller for control and wireless connectivity with a range of up to 130 meters thanks to an external high-gain antenna. It is supported by the usual eWelink mobile app that also enables integration with Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and IFTTT services, and ITEAD also mentions integration with the Home Assistant open-source framework. SONOFF POW Ring (POWCT) specifications: MCU – ESP32 WiFi and Bluetooth microcontroller Connectivity – 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 (802.11b/g/n) with SMA antenna connector for an external antenna to be placed outside of the electrical cabinet Current transformer (CT) interface type – RJ9 Current transformer detection range – 0 to 100A Measurement category – CAT II 0-100A […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on The Lark Weather Station works with Arduino, ESP32, micro:bit, Raspberry Pi, and other boards

The Lark Weather Station works with Arduino, ESP32, micro:bit, Raspberry Pi, and other boards

Lark Weather Station Arduino ESP32 Raspberry Pi

The Lark Weather Station measures wind speed, wind direction, temperature, humidity, and air pressure through a range of sensors and connects to popular development boards such as Arduino UNO, ESP32, BBC micro:bit, Raspberry Pi, or DFRobot Unihiker through I2C or UART. We’ve seen several projects for Internet-connection weather stations that retrieve weather data from the web and display the results locally, but the Lark Weather Station allows the users to get atmospheric data right in his/her current location thanks to its built-in anemometer, wind vane, and built-in sensors, as well as expansion interfaces for additional sensors. Lark Weather Station specifications: Storage – 16MB flash good to store about 160 days of data (when data is recorded once per minute) Sensors Compass Anemometer Wind Speed: 0.5~12m/s Cover to protect the anemometer during storage/transport Wind vane and wind direction shaft to report the wind direction (eight directions) Temperature Range –20~60℃ ±0.2℃ Humidity […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Arducam KingKong – A Raspberry Pi CM4-based Edge AI camera with global shutter sensor, Myriad X AI accelerator

Arducam KingKong – A Raspberry Pi CM4-based Edge AI camera with global shutter sensor, Myriad X AI accelerator

Arducam KingKong

ArduCam KingKong is a Smart Edge AI camera based on the Raspberry Pi CM4 and system-on-module based on Intel Myriad X AI accelerator that follows the Raspberry Pi 5-powered Arducam PiINSIGHT camera introduced at the beginning of the year. The new product launch aims to provide a complete Raspberry Pi-based camera rather than an accessory for the Raspberry Pi 4/5. Smart cameras built around the Raspberry Pi CM4 are not new as we previously covered the EDATEC ED-AIC2020 IP67-rated industrial AI Edge camera and the StereoPi v2 stereoscopic camera used to create 3D video and 3D depth maps. The ArduCam KingKong adds another option suitable for computer vision applications with an AR0234 global shutter module, PoE support, and a CNC metal enclosure. ArduCam KingKong specifications: SoM – Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 (CM4) by default CM4104000 Wireless 4GB RAM Lite (0GB eMMC). AI accelerator – Luxonis OAK SOM BW1099 based on Intel […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on 600 MHz STM32H7R/S Cortex-M7 MCUs feature 620KB SRAM, 64KB boot flash, optional NeoChrom GPU

600 MHz STM32H7R/S Cortex-M7 MCUs feature 620KB SRAM, 64KB boot flash, optional NeoChrom GPU

STMicro STM32H7RS

STMicro has launched the high-performance 600 MHz STM32H7R/S Arm Cortex-M7 microcontrollers: the STM32H7R3/S3 General-purpose MCU lines, and STM32H7R7/S7 graphics MCU lines adding a NeoChrom 2.5D GPU. Both ship with a large 620KB SRAM and a small 64KB boot flash. The reason for the small boot flash is to have the application code and data stored off-chip memory ICs to provide more flexibility to customers when it comes to the choice of memory type and capacity to fulfill the application requirements and lower the BoM cost. The “S” in the STM32H7S microcontrollers stands for Security with a crypto/hash engine that can help the final product achieve SESIP Level 3 and/or PSA Certified Level 3 certifications. Many of the specifications are similar to the STM32H7 microcontrollers, but performance is better going slightly faster than the 550MHz STM32H7 MCUs added in 2020, and the STM32H7R/S adds some new features: 200 MHz Hexadeca SPI […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments on MeLE PCG02 Pro ultra slim fanless mini PC gets an Intel Processor N100 upgrade

MeLE PCG02 Pro ultra slim fanless mini PC gets an Intel Processor N100 upgrade

MeLE PCG02 Pro N100 slim mini PC

The MeLE PCG02 Pro “mini PC stick” is now available with an Intel Processor N100 Alder Lake-N CPU after being first introduced with an Intel Celeron J4125 (Gemini Lake Refresh) or Celeron N5105 (Jasper Lake) processor in 2022. Just like the MINIX Z100-0dB mini PC we’ve just reviewed, the MeLE PCG02 Pro has a fanless design, but with a slim design that’s just 20mm thick, up to 16GB RAM, up to 256GB eMMC flash, two 4K-capable HDMI ports, Gigabit Ethernet and WiFi 5, three USB 3.2 ports, a microSD card, and a USB-C port for power only. MeLE PCG02 Pro “Surpass” specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N100 quad-core Alder Lake-N processor @ up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel HD graphics @ 750 MHz; TDP: 6W System Memory – 8GB or 16GB LPDDR4x @ 4266 MHz Storage –  128GB or 256GB eMMC flash Video Output – 2x […]

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