Geniatech ATV495 Max TV Box Gets Google’s Android TV Approval

Last year, I wrote about Geniatech working on getting official Android TV support for ATV495 Max and ATV598 Max set-top boxes with Google Play GMS certification. The certification for the Amlogic S912 model with tuner (AT598 Max) is still being worked on, but the good news is that Amlogic S905X based ATV495 Max has now received Google’s Android TV approval. The case design has changed a little since this first announcement with a more rounded and large design, but other Geniatech ATV495Max specifications have not changed: SoC – Amlogic S905X-B quad core ARM Cortex-A53 processor up to 1.5 GHz with Mali 450MP GPU @ up to 750MHz System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash + micro SD Slot up to 32GB Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz with CEC, HDCP, HDR; 3.5mm AV port (CVBS + stereo audio); Dolby Digital […]

Mediatek MT2621 Supports Dual Mode NB-IoT and GSM/GPRS for IoT, Wearables, and Industry 4.0

Mediatek introduced MT2625 ARM Cortex-M SoC supporting NB-IoT (aka LTE Cat NB1/NB2) compatible with 3GPP Release 14 last summer, and designed for global cellular IoT devices. The company has now unveiled a new NB-IoT part with Mediatek MT2621 ARM7 dual-mode IoT SoC that is capable of both NB-IoT R14 and GSM/GPRS connectivity for applications such as smart trackers, wearables, IoT security, smart metering and industrial applications. The chip would allow you to start deploying devices with GSM connectivity, and once available in your locale, switch to the more efficient NB-IoT protocol. Mediatek MT2621 specifications: Processor – Single ARM7 core @ up to 260MHz Memory – 160KB + 4MB PSRAM Internal Flash Connectivity Integrated Baseband, RF, Antenna, and Modem DSP NB-IoT ultra-low/low/mid bands defined by 3GPP Rel-14 GSM/GPRS Bluetooth 4.2 Display – LCM interface Camera – Camera interface Audio – Audio Amplifier Integrated PMU Mediatek is really light on details, but […]

$45 AIY Vision Kit Adds Accelerated Computer Vision to Raspberry Pi Zero W Board

AIY Projects is an initiative launched by Google that aims to bring do-it yourself artificial intelligence to the maker community by providing affordable development kits to get started with the technology. The first project was AIY Projects Voice Kit, that basically transformed Raspberry Pi 3 board into a Google Home device by adding the necessary hardware to support Google Assistant SDK, and an enclosure. The company has now launched another maker kit with AIY Project Vision Kit that adds a HAT board powered by Intel/Movidius Myriad 2 VPU to Raspberry Pi Zero W, in order to accelerate image & objects recognition using TensorFlow’s machine learning models. The kit includes the following items: Vision Bonnet accessory board powered by Myriad 2 VPU (MA2450) 2x 11mm plastic standoffs 24mm RGB arcade button and nut 1x Privacy LED 1x LED bezel 1x 1/4/20 flanged nut Lens, lens washer, and lens magnet 50 mil […]

MatchBox LoRaWan Gateway Review – Part 1: Unboxing and Teardown

MatchX-LPWAN-Gateway-Installation

Last spring, I wrote about MatchX.io MatchBox LoRaWAN gateway with GPS, WiFi, and Ethernet connectivity. The gateway is equipped based on a Mediatek WiFi module running Linux (OpenWrt/LEDE), Semtech chips for the LoRa part, and support up to 65,535 nodes, such as the as well as MatchStick, MatchModule, and MatchCore sensors provided by the company. I’ve just received MatchBox gateway for review, but I’m still waiting for 920-925MHz LoRa nodes as they are going through the FCC certification process, and I also have to wait for clarifications regarding local regulations. So in the meantime, I’ll check out the gateway hardware. MatchBox LoRaWAN Gateway Unboxing The gateway is shipped with a power supply, power cord, two antennas, an installation guide,… as well as three screws and pegs to wall mount the gateway and power supply, and in case you want to install the gateway on a pole, as shown below, for […]

AWS DeepLens is a $249 Deep Learning Video Camera for Developers

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has launched Deeplens, the “world’s first deep learning enabled video camera for developers”. Powered by an Intel Atom X5 processor with 8GB, and featuring a 4MP (1080p) camera, the fully programmable system runs Ubuntu 16.04, and is designed expand deep learning skills of developers, with Amazon providing tutorials, code, and pre-trained models. AWS Deeplens specifications: SoC – Intel Atom X5 Processor with Intel Gen9 HD graphics (106 GFLOPS of compute power) System Memory – 8GB RAM Storage – 16GB eMMC flash, micro SD slot Camera – 4MP (1080p) camera using MJPEG, H.264 encoding Video Output – micro HDMI port Audio – 3.5mm audio jack, and HDMI audio Connectivity – Dual band WiFi USB – 2x USB 2.0 ports Misc – Power button; camera, WiFi and power status LEDs; reset pinhole Power Supply – TBD Dimensions – 168 x 94 x 47 mm Weight – 296.5 grams The […]

Netgate SG-3100 is an ARM based pfSense Firewall Appliance

pfSense software is a popular open source firewall distribution based on FreeBSD operating system that is entirely managed via a web interface. Up until recently, FreeBSD (see comments section) pfSense would only support x86-64 (Intel or AMD hardware). But progress has been made with pfSense (and FreeBSD) for ARM, and Netgate, the company behind pfSense, is now selling two ARM based firewall appliances with SG-1000 microFirewall powered by Texas Instruments AM3352 Cortex A8 SoC, and sine a little over of month,  SG-3100 firewall appliance based on a more suitable Marvell dual core Cortex A9 processor. Netgate SG-3100 hardware specifications: Processor – Marvell ARMADA 38x 88F6820 dual core ARM Cortex-A9 @ 1.6 GHz with NEON SIMD and FPU System Memory – 2GB DDR4L Non ECC Storage – 8GB eMMC Flash Network Interfaces 2x Gigabit Ethernet configured as dual WAN or one WAN one LAN 4x ports Gigabit Marvell 88E6141 switch, uplinked […]

HDMI 2.1 Features Overview

HDMI 2.1 was announced last January with support for up to 10K @ 120 Hz while using Display Stream Compression (DSC) and new 48Gbps cables, as well as other improvements. The HDMI Forum has now released version 2.1 of the HDMI specifications. The detailed specifications are only available to HDMI adopters, but an overview of the specifications can be downloaded by simple mortals. From the table above, we can see HDMI 2.1 adds 7 new features compared to HDMI 2.0b: Dynamic HDR (HDR dynamic metadata) – HDR data (depth, detail, brightness, contrast, and color gamuts) can now be optimized on a scene-by-scene or even a frame-by-frame basis Enhanced audio return channel (eARC) – eARC supports high-bitrate home theater audio formats, object-based audio, uncompressed 5.1 and 7.1, and 32-channel uncompressed audio thanks to up to 37 Mbps audio bandwidth. Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) – Syncs up source and display with continually […]

Acme CM3-Home is a Raspberry Pi 3 Compatible Board Designed for Home Automation

Raspberry Pi CM3 & CM3L modules are used in so many devices it’s hard to keep up. From NEC digital signage displays, to industrial touch panels, and IoT gateways, the Broadcom BCM2837 based system-on-module are found in more and more products and solutions, and number of announcements seems to have increased over the last few months. The latest product to leverage Raspberry Pi CM3L SoM is made by Italy based Acme Systems, and designed for home automation. CM3-HOME comes with opt0-isolated inputs compatible with KNX and DALI buses, various connectivity options (Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth, 868MHz ISM radio…), and other expansion port. Two edition of the boards are available: LITE and FULL, with the former suitable for most home automation project, and the latter adding support for some commercial lighting systems and energy harvesting Radio ISM nodes. Acme CM3-Home specifications: 200-pin SODIMM Module Slot compatible with Raspberry Pi CM3 / CM3L […]

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