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) - No Comments on STMicro VD55G1 – A small, low-power global shutter I3C camera sensor for computer vision

STMicro VD55G1 – A small, low-power global shutter I3C camera sensor for computer vision

STMicro VD55G1 global shutter camera sensor

STMicro VD55G1 is a new global shutter I3C camera sensor with a small die size of 2.7 x 2.2 mm, 804 x 704 pixels native resolution, and consuming about 1mW in its ‘always-on’ autonomous mode to wake up the host when motion is detected. Camera sensors are available with rolling or global shutter, with most from the former type, but as we’ve seen in our reviews of the e-Con Systems See3CAM_24CUG (USB 3.1) and the Raspberry Pi Global Shutter (MIPI CSI) global shutter cameras, the latter is much better we capturing moving objects clearly at high frame rates with fewer artifacts than with rolling cameras. The VD55G1 global shutter sensor will also benefit from the same advantage but is offered in a smaller package working over MIPI CSI and/or I3C, making it suitable for devices with small batteries used in applications such as eye tracking or motion estimation. STMicro VD55G1 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments on CWWK x86-P5 fanless mini PC with two 2.5GbE ports ships with up to Intel Core i3-N305 CPU

CWWK x86-P5 fanless mini PC with two 2.5GbE ports ships with up to Intel Core i3-N305 CPU

x86-P5 mini PC

CWWK x86-P5 is a fanless mini PC powered by an Intel Alder Lake N-series N100 (quad-core) or Core i3-N305 (octa-core) and equipped with two 2.5GbE ports using Intel i226V controllers making it suitable for networking applications such as a firewall or a soft router. But it’s also a standard mini PC with two HDMI 2.0 ports, two USB 3.2 ports, and up to four USB 2.0 ports making it a candidate to run Promox with both a desktop OS like Windows 11 or Ubuntu 22.04 and a networking OS such as pfSense or OpenWrt. CWWK x86-P5 specifications: Alder Lake-N SoC(one or the other) Intel Processor N100 quad-core processor @ up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel UHD graphics; TDP: 6W Intel Core i3-N305 octa-core processor @ up to 3.8 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 32EU Intel UHD Graphics; TDP: 15W System Memory – Up to 32GB DDR5 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on Raspberry Pi releases PCIe FFC connector specifications, new HAT+ standard

Raspberry Pi releases PCIe FFC connector specifications, new HAT+ standard

Raspberry Pi 5 PCIe pinout and FFC cable

Raspberry Pi has released two new specifications one for the PCIe FFC connector and related cable and the other for the new Raspberry Pi HAT+ (HAT Plus) standard that’s simpler, takes into account new features in Raspberry Pi 4/5, and has fewer rules around mechanical dimensions. PCIe FFC connector specifications The Raspberry Pi 5 was announced over 2 months ago with a new PCIe FFC connector, and people may been playing around with it and even launching products such as an M.2 HAT for the Raspberry Pi 5 since then even though the pinout and specifications were not available. But Raspberry Pi has now released the specifications (PDF) for the PCIe FFC found in the Raspberry Pi 5 and likely future models as well. The 16-pin 0.5mm pitch FFC connector features a single lane PCIe interface, something we knew already, but the pinout diagram and recommendations for the FFC cable […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on UP 7000 SBC review – Part 2: Ubuntu 22.04 on a fanless Intel N100 single board computer

UP 7000 SBC review – Part 2: Ubuntu 22.04 on a fanless Intel N100 single board computer

UP 7000 Ubuntu 22.04 review

The UP 7000 is a credit card-sized Alder Lake-N single board computer that can be used as an alternative to the Raspberry Pi 5 for industrial applications. AAEON sent me a model with an Intel Processor N100 CPU, 8GB LPDDR5, and a 64GB eMMC flash, and I went through an unboxing in the first part of the review, compared its mechanical design to the earlier UP 4000 and Raspberry Pi 5 SBC , and also installed Ubuntu 22.04 since the UP 7000 board did not come with any OS and would initially boot to the UEFI shell. I’ve now spent more time with the board and I will report my experience with the UP 7000 SBC running Ubuntu 22.04 in this article checking out features, performance, video playback, power consumption, and so on using the UP 4000 review with Ubuntu 22.04 I did last year as a template plus some […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on LONGER Laser B1 30W review – A 33-36W laser engraver tested with LightBurn

LONGER Laser B1 30W review – A 33-36W laser engraver tested with LightBurn

LASER LONGER B1 30W review

Today we will review the LONGER Laser B1 30W laser engraver with the LightBurn program. The machine is equipped with a laser module comprised of six 6W laser diodes for a total power of 33 – 36 W when accounting for some variation in the power delivered by each diode. The Laser B1 can cut through 20 mm thick wood and 10 mm thick black acrylic in just one cut, and with multiple passes, it can also handle up to 25mm thick wood 50mm thick black acrylic, and even 0.1mm thick stainless steel. The kit comes with an air pump to improve the cutting ability and prevent/limit burns around the engraving or cutting area, and has a working area of 450 x 440 mm. Laser B1 30W specifications Laser Technology –  Diode Laser Technology Work area –  450x440mm (17.72×17.32-inch) Laser wavelength –  50nm Focal length –  Fixed Focus-50mm Laser spot […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 25 Comments on Radxa Zero 3W SBC – Rockchip RK3566 SoC, 8GB RAM, WiFi 6 in Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W form factor

Radxa Zero 3W SBC – Rockchip RK3566 SoC, 8GB RAM, WiFi 6 in Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W form factor

RADXA Zero 3W

More Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W lookalikes are coming to market, as after the Allwinner H618-based Orange Pi Zero 2W, the Radxa Zero 3W has now been introduced with a 1.6 GHz Rockchip RK3566 processor and up to 8GB RAM, plus WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity, which makes it one of the most powerful Arm Linux SBCs in the compact Raspberry Pi Zero form factor. The board also comes with an optional eMMC flash with up to 64GB capacity, a microSD card, a micro HDMI port, two USB Type-C ports, a MIPI CSI camera connector, and of course, the usual 40-pin Raspberry Pi GPIO header. Radxa Zero 3W specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3566 CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor @ 1.6 GHz (Note the RK3566 is usually clocked at up to 1.8 GHz but may have been underclocked here due to heat issues at the higher frequency as the […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on NORVI ESP-HMI-5C ESP32-based HMI features a 5-inch resistive touchscreen display

NORVI ESP-HMI-5C ESP32-based HMI features a 5-inch resistive touchscreen display

ESP32-S3 5-inch HDMI display

NORVI ESP32-based human-machine interface (HMI) solution features a 5-inch LCD with a resistive touchscreen driven by an ESP32-S3 wireless module and support for the LVGL library. NORVI previously brought us some headless ENET industrial controllers including some with Ethernet beside the WiFi connectivity built into the ESP32 microcontroller, but the NORVI HMI device is the first product from the company with a proper display suitable for HMI applications. NORVI HMI (ESP-HMI-5C) specifications: Wireless module ESP32-S3-WROOM32-1-N16R8 MCU – ESP32-S3 dual-core LX7 microprocessor @ up to 240 MHz with Vector extension for machine learning, 512 KB SRAM Memory – 8MB octal SPI PSRAM Storage – 16MB flash Connectivity – WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5 with LE/Mesh PCB antenna Storage – MicroSD card slot (SPI interface) Display – 5-inch LCD Display with Resistive Touch Audio – Built-in Buzzer Communication interfaces – Ethernet (W5500) and RS485 I/Os 4x digital inputs – Range 18V to 32V […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on ESP32 may soon get an open-source WiFi MAC layer

ESP32 may soon get an open-source WiFi MAC layer

ESP32 open-source WiFi MAC driver

Most, if not all, WiFi hardware relies on closed-source binary blobs including ESP32 wireless MCU, but there’s now work underway to reverse engineer a WiFi MAC layer for the ESP32 to make it a truly open-source platform. Espressif ESP32 wireless microcontrollers already have an open-source framework (ESP-IDF) and toolchain, people can customize the code to some extent, but this excludes the wireless bits (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, low-level RF functions) that are distributed as closed-source precompiled libraries integrated into the firmware. There were some efforts to provide an open-source stack for the BL602 chip but it never went anywhere, and the ESP32 may become the first target with an open-source driver without any blobs, excluding FPGA-based projects such as OpenWiFi. The early-stage implementation currently supports the following features: Sending WiFi frames Receiving WiFi frames Send an ACK packet as a reply to packets that are sent to the ESP32 Connect to an […]

EmbeddedTS embedded systems design