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) - 11 Comments on Ugoos SK1 8K Android TV box with Dolby Vision comes with Amlogic S928X-K SoC, 8GB LPDDR4, 128GB eMMC flash

Ugoos SK1 8K Android TV box with Dolby Vision comes with Amlogic S928X-K SoC, 8GB LPDDR4, 128GB eMMC flash

Ugoos SK1 8K TV Box Dolby Vision Atmos DTS HD

Ugoos SK1 8K Android TV box is based on the Amlogic S928X-K penta-core Cortex-A76/A55 SoC with 8GB LPDDR4, a 128GB eMMC flash, and support for Dolby Vision HDR. The SK1 model follows the Ugoos AM8 model introduced last year with the Amlogic S928X-J processor, 4GB LPDDR4, and 32GB eMMC flash. The new model provides additional licenses with the S928X-K SoC and more resources that should be suitable for more than just watching 8K videos, and some games and other apps could easily run on the device. Ugoos SK1 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S928X-K CPU – Penta-core processor with 1x Cortex-A76 core @ up to 2.0 GHz, 4x Cortex-A55 cores GPU – Arm Mali-G57 MC2 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 3.2, Vulkan 1.2, and OpenCL 2.0 VPU 8Kp60 H.265, AV1, VP9, AVS3/AVS2 10-bit video decoder; 4Kp60 H.264 decoder, 1080p60 MPEG-4, WMV/VC-1, AVS, MPEG-2, MPEG-1 decoder Low-latency 4Kp60 H.265/H.264 encoder AI […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on conga-SMX95 NXP i.MX 9596 SMARC 2.1 SoM supports M.2 1216 WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 modules

conga-SMX95 NXP i.MX 9596 SMARC 2.1 SoM supports M.2 1216 WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 modules

conga-SMX95 NXP i.MX9596 SoM M.2 1216 WiFi 6 module

We had already written about NXP i.MX 95 SMARC 2.1 system-on-modules from ADLINK, iWave Systems, Avnet, and Advantech, but congatec has now launched its own with the conga-SMX95 featuring the NXP i.MX 9596 hexa-core Arm Cortex-A55 AI processor and up to 16GB LPDDR5 memory. The conga-SMX95 also comes with up to 256GB flash, is available on both commercial and industrial temperature grade variants, and exposes most of the same interfaces as competing products. What might be different is that the conga-SMX95 is offered with an optional M.2 1216 WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 wireless module. We’ve seen M.2 1216 wireless modules before, and they don’t use any M.2 socket but are LGA packages that need to be soldered to the target board/module. conga-SMX95 specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 9596 CPU Up to 6x Arm Cortex-A55 application cores clocked at 1.8 GHz (industrial) or 2.0 GHz (commercial) with 32K I-cache and […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Beginner friendly Arduino Plug and Make Kit features Arduino UNO R4 WiFi and Modulino I2C modules

Beginner friendly Arduino Plug and Make Kit features Arduino UNO R4 WiFi and Modulino I2C modules

Arduino UNO R4 WiFi Modulino nodes

Arduino has just launched a “Plug and Make” kit designed for beginners with an Arduino UNO R4 WiFi board, several “Modulino” modules, a “Modulino” base to neatly attach the UNO R4 and modules,  and various cables, spacers, screws, and nuts. When thinking about Arduino projects, breadboards or even soldering may come to mind, but the new Arduino Plug and Make Kit does not require any of those. No breadboard, jumper wires, or soldering needed. Users can simply connect the modules to the Arduino board through Qwiic cables, neatly attach everything together on the provided base, and follow one of the seven projects complete with step-by-step instructions provided with the kit. The Arduino Plug and Make Kit content Arduino UNO R4 WiFi board 7x Modulino I2C nodes Modulino Knob* – Encoder for value adjustments Modulino Pixels* – 8x LC8822-2020 RGB LEDs Modulino Distance – STMicro VL53L4 Time-of-Flight (ToF) proximity sensor to […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on High Torque Robotics Mini π is a bipedal robot powered by an Orange Pi 5 SBC

High Torque Robotics Mini π is a bipedal robot powered by an Orange Pi 5 SBC

High Torque Robotics mini Pi bipedal robot

High Torque Robotics’ Mini π is a 54cm high bipedal robot that can walk and dance with two legs and leverages the Orange Pi 5 SBC’s features such as the 6 TOPS AI accelerator in the Rockchip RK3588S processor. The robot offers 12 degrees of freedom (DOF) and can run, jump, and even flip thanks to its twelve join motors that were developed by the company. The Mini π is designed for locomotion algorithm research and education and supports ZMP (zero moment point), MPC (Model Predictive Control), reinforcement learning locomotion control algorithms, and ROS SLAM navigation features.   Mini π bipedal robot highlights: SBC – Orange Pi 5 RK3588S single board computer Controller – Custom-design “high-performance underlying controller” using 4x CAN FD communication DOF – 6 DoF per leg, or 12 in total Joint motors 8x HTDM-5047-36-NE with gear ratio: 36, 16Nm peak torque 4x HTDM-4438-32-NW with gear ratio: 32, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on LILYGO T3S3 E-Paper combines ESP32-S3 WiFi & BLE SoC with LoRa module, 2.13-inch e-Paper display

LILYGO T3S3 E-Paper combines ESP32-S3 WiFi & BLE SoC with LoRa module, 2.13-inch e-Paper display

ESP32-S3 LoRa E-Paper development board

LILYGO T3S3 E-Paper is an ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth LE development board with a 2.13-inch e-Paper display and an SX1262 LoRa module that should make it suitable for off-grid messsaging even under sunlight. LILYGO has made some ESP32-S3 boards with an e-Paper display and some ESP32-S3 boards with a LoRa module, but unless I’m mistaken, the T3S3 E-Paper is the first board from LILYGO that combines ESP32-S3 SoC with e-Paper display and a LoRa module. It builds upon the earlier LILYGO T3S3 board with a 0.96-inch OLED. LILYGO T3S3 E-Paper specifications: ESP32-S3-WROOM-1U wireless module SoC –  ESP32-S3FH4R2 dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller @ up to 240 MHz with 2.4 GHz 802.11n WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE connectivity Memory – 2MB PSRAM Storage – 4MB SPI flash IPEX antenna connector Storage – MicroSD card slot Display – 2.13-inch e-Paper display (DEPG0213BN) with 250×122 resolution; size: 48.55 x 23.70mm Wireless 2.4 GHz […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on DFI ASL9A2 COM Express Mini Type 10 module features Intel Atom x7000RE Amston Lake processor

DFI ASL9A2 COM Express Mini Type 10 module features Intel Atom x7000RE Amston Lake processor

DFI ASL9A2 COM Express Mini Type 10 Amston Lake module

DFI ASL9A2 is a COM Express Mini Type 10 module based on Intel Atom x7000RE Amston Lake processors which are pin-to-pin compatible with the Alder Lake-N Series processors and designed for the embedded market with a wider operating temperature range. The credit card-sized COM Express Mini module supports up to 16GB LPDDR5 memory, up to 128GB an eMMC flash, and exposes various interfaces such as 2.5GbE, PCIe Gen3, SATA 3.0, DDI and eDP/LVDS for dual display support, ten USB 3.2/2.0, and more. DFI ASL9A2 specifications: SoC (one or the other) Amston Lake Intel Atom x7211RE dual-core processor @ 1.0 to 3.2 GHz with 6MB cache, 16EU Intel UHD graphics; 6W TDP Intel Atom x7213RE dual-core processor @ 2.0 to 3.4 GHz with 6MB cache, 16EU Intel UHD graphics; 9W TDP Intel Atom x7433RE quad-core processor @ 1.5 to 3.4 GHz with 6MB cache, 32EU Intel UHD graphics; 9W TDP Intel […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments on Microchip PIC64GX is a quad-core 64-bit RISC-V microprocessor for real-time processing

Microchip PIC64GX is a quad-core 64-bit RISC-V microprocessor for real-time processing

Microchip PIC64GX

Microchip has introduced its first 64-bit RISC-V microprocessor family with the PIC64GX pin-to-pin compatible with the company’s PolarFire SoC FPGA devices and designed for edge designs for the industrial, automotive, communications, IoT, aerospace, and defense segments. The PIC6GX MPU supports asymmetric multiprocessing (AMP) to run Linux, real-time operating systems, and bare metal in a single processor cluster with secure boot capabilities. The company further claims the PIC64GX MPU is “the first RISC-V multi-core solution that is AMP capable for mixed-criticality systems”. The first member of the PIC64GX RISC-V family is the PIC64GX1000 microprocessor. Microchip PIC64GX1000 specifications: CPU Quad-core SiFive U54 64-bit five-stage, single-issue, in-order pipeline RISC-V (RV64GC) processor at up to 625 MHz with AMP and deterministic latencies, PMP and MMU units Single-core SiFive E51 64-bit RISC-V (RV64IMAC) monitor processor core at up to 625 MHZ with PMP unit Cache L1 memory subsystem with Single-Error Correct, Double-Error Detect (SECDED) Flexible […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments on Banana Pi BPI-R4-NIC-BE14 WiFi 7 module for BPI-R4 SBC launched for $74

Banana Pi BPI-R4-NIC-BE14 WiFi 7 module for BPI-R4 SBC launched for $74

Banana Pi BPI-R4-NIC-BE14 WiFi 7 Module

The Banana Pi BPI-R4 was introduced last year as a WiFi 7 router board with two 10GbE SFP cages and four GbE ports based on MediaTek Filogic 880 SoC. The only issue is that WiFi 7 is implemented through a dual mini PCIe module that was not available until now. The good news is that the tri-band Banana Pi BPI-R4-NIC-BE14 WiFi 7 module for the Banana Pi BPI-R4 board can now be purchased for $73.69 on Aliexpress. It is based on MediaTek MT7995AV WiFi 7 chipset, MT7976CN dual-band (2.4GHz and 5 GHz) chipset, and MT7977IAN 6GHz chipset. Banana Pi BPI-R4-NIC-BE14 specifications: MediaTek MT7995AV WiFi 7 – IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be compliant 32-bit RISC-V MCU for Wi-Fi protocols and Wi-Fi offload Embedded SRAM and ROM UART interface with hardware flow control MediaTek MT7976CN dual-band 2.4GHz 2×2 MIMO and 5GHz 3×3 MIMO MediaTek MT7977IAN 6GHz 3×3 MIMO Bandwidth 2.4 GHz – 20 and […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC