ODROID-GO is an Arduino Compatible, ESP32 based Portable Gaming Console Kit

ODROID-GO

When I first saw Hardkernel made ODROID-GO portable gaming console, I immediately thought they did a Linux device ala PocketCHIP, since so far the company has only designed Android & Linux development board. But ODROID-GO game console is actually based on Espressif ESP32 WiSoC,  programmable with the Arduino IDE, and launched to celebrate Hardkernel’s 10-year anniversary. ODROID-GO specifications: SoC – Custom ESP32-WROVER module with ESP32 SoC @ up to 240 MHz, 16 MB Flash, and 4MP PSRAM Storage – micro SD card slot connected via SPI Display –  2.4″ 320×240 TFT LCD (SPI) Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz – 2.5GHz, Bluetooth 4.2 BR/EDR, BLE Speaker – 0.5Watt 8Ω Mono USB – 1x micro USB port for charging (500mA) and USB-UART communication Expansion Port – 10-pin header with  I2C, GPIO, IRQ at 3.3Volt Misc – Buttons: Menu, Volume, Select, Start, A, B, Direction Pad Battery –  3.7V/1,200mAh Li-Polymer good for […]

Three Add-on Boards for UP Board and UP Squared – UP-AUDIO HAT, UP-CAMERA HAT, UP-POE HAT

AAEON has announced three add-on boards for their Intel based UP board (Cherry Trail) and UP Squared board (Apollo Lake): UP-AUDIO HAT –  Features external ports for a microphone and speakers/headphones UP-CAMERA HAT – Comes with two FPC/FFC connectors for 2M security camera UP-POE HAT – Adds WAN and LAN Gigabit Ethernet ports and PoE support UP-AUDIO HAT AAEON’s UP-Audio HAT currently only works with UP board, and features the following: Audio Codec – Realtek ALC5672 3.5mm Audio Jacks – 1x Line out, 1x MIC Headers – 2x speaker Built-in Components – 2x digital microphones, 1x buzzer Connects to board via 40-pin GPIO female header Dimensions – 85 mm x 56 mm The board is supported in Windows 10, Android 6, and Ubuntu 16.04. UP-CAMERA HAT The camera board works with UP Board, UP Squared and UP Core boards. UP-CAMERA HAT specifications & features: 2x MIPI CSI-2/ DSI DPHY Re-timer […]

Digitize Handwritten Notes with a $10 LCD Writing Pad and CamScanner App

Despite writing about high-tech technology with processors, software, IoT, artificial intelligence news everyday, I’m still very much a pen and paper kind of guy when it comes to taking notes. But this morning, I figured out it’s possible to digitize your notes on the cheap without having to use actual ink and paper, as 8.5″ digital LCD writing pads now cost as little as $10 shipped, and although those are pretty dumb devices with just an erase button and no connectivity nor storage, you can “scan” your notes using CamScanner app for Android and iOS. Specifications for the $10 model: 8.5″ LCD display with 25%-30% reflective ratio Pen Input pressure – 10-20g Power Supply – CR2016 button battery (included) Dimensions – 228 x 147 x 5mm (ABS plastic) Weight – About 110g This will reduce the amount of paper you use and store, and possibly have a positive impact of […]

ALLDOCUBE KNote5 Gemini Lake Tablet Runs Windows 10 on a 11.6″ Display

Gemini Lake Tablet

Intel Gemini Lake processors have already been seen in several mini PCs such as Intel June Canyon NUCs, as well as some laptops from Acer, Jumper, and others, but ALLDOBUCE brings us what looks to be the first Gemini Lake tablet with KNote5 model equipped with a Intel Celeron N4100 processor, 4GB RAM, 128 GB storage, and a 11.6″ display. ALLDOCUBE KNote5 specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N4100 quad core Gemini Lake processor @ 1.10 GHz / 2.40 GHz (Boost) with Intel UHD graphics 600 ; 6W TDP System Memory – 4 GB LPDDR4 Storage – 128 GB internal storage (SSD?), micro SD card slot up to 128 GB Display – 11.6″ FHD (1920×1080) IPS display with 10-point capacitive touchscreen Audio – Dual speaker, microphone, 3.5mm audio jack Connectivity – Dual band 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 1x USB type C port Camera – 2.0MP front-facing camera […]

ESP8266 RGB LED Strip Control with ANAVI Light Controller, Arduino, MQTT, and HTML5

Anavi-Light-Controller-Starter-Kit-Assembly

A few months ago I reviewed ANAVI Light pHat for Raspberry Pi which allows you to control an LED RGB strip from the popular development board. However, if all you need is to switch the RGB LED light on and off, or change the color, the hardware is clearly overpowered for the tasks. So Leon ANAVI designed another board based on ESP8266 – ANAVI Light Controller – which does the same thing with lower cost and more power efficient hardware. Leon sent me a sample for review, so let’s see what we’ve got. ANAVI Light Controller Starter Kit Unboxing I received a package for the Starter kit that’s offered for $39 on CrowdSupply. We’ve got the main board, a USB debugging, an acrylic enclosure with screws and spacers, a one meter RGB LED strip, and some stickers inside the package. If we have a close look at the board we […]

Allwinner T7 Automotive SoC Complies with AEC-Q100 Grade 3 Specifications

Allwinner T2 Car Dashboard Dual Display

Allwinner T-series processors such as Allwinner T2 are designed for the transportation / automotive market for products like smart rear-view mirrors,  infotainment systems, and navigation systems. While the company’s offered wide-temperature range support, AFAIK they did not have a part that had an actual automotive certification so far. This changes with their Allwinner T7 processor which is said to be the first Chinese processor achieving AEC-Q100 Grade 3 qualification. AEC-Q100 is a “failure mechanism based stress test qualification for integrated circuits” brought out by the Automotive Electronics Council. The chip must pass various tests within their specified temperature range (grade): Grade 0: -40°C to +150°C ambient operating temperature range Grade 1: -40°C to +125°C ambient operating temperature range Grade 2: -40°C to +105°C ambient operating temperature range Grade 3: -40°C to +85°C ambient operating temperature range Grade 4: 0°C to +70°C ambient operating temperature range Allwinner T7 comes with an […]

Xilinx Zynq-7020 based PYNQ-Z1 Arm + FPGA Board is Meant to be Programmed with Python

PYNQ Z1

Xilinx Zynq-7000 series is a family of SoC based on Arm Cortex A9 processor coupled with FPGA fabric, and since the introduction in 2012, we’ve seen may board based on the entry-level Zynq-7010 or Zynq-7020 SoCs. Digilent PYNQ-Z1 is another Xilinx Zynq board from the company, but it does not differentiate itself by its hardware features, and instead the software part is the most interesting. The board is designed to be used with PYNQ, a new open-source framework that enables embedded programmers to exploit the capabilities of Xilinx Zynq SoCs without having to design programmable logic circuits, relying instead on Python programming. Digilent PYNQ-Z1 hardware specifications: SoC – Xilinx Zynq-7020 (XC7Z020-1CLG400C) dual core Arm Cortex-A9 processor with FPGA with 1.3 M reconfigurable gates System Memory – 512MB DDR3 Storage – Micro SD card slot, 16MB QSPI Flash with factory programmed globally unique identifier (48-bit EUI-48/64 compatible). Video – HDMI In […]

ModBerry M500 Industrial Computer Upgraded to Raspberry Pi 3 B+ with PoE Support

ModBerry M500 Raspberry Pi 3 B+

TECHBASE has been making modular industrial computers based on hobbyist boards for several years with products like ModBerry​ M300 IoT Gateway. ModBerry M500 is another of their model, powered by a Raspberry Pi 3 board and launched in 2016. The company has now upgraded the industrial gateway to Raspberry Pi 3 B+ board, and added PoE support in the process. ModBerry M500 specifications: SoC – Broadcom BCM2837B0 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.4 GHz with VideoCore IV GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB micro SD card Video & Audio Output – HDMI 1.4 and 3.5mm jack for CVBS (composite + stereo audio) Connectivity Gigabit Ethernet (max 300 Mbps) Dual band 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2 LE Optional Zigbee, LTE/3G, GPS, WiFi, and Bluetooth cards USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports Expansion I/Os 2x RS-232/RS-485 4x digital inputs, 4x digital outputs up to 30V DC 1-wire […]

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