Many PCB vendors now provide flexible PCB manufacturing services, but Murata goes further with stretchable PCB technology that’s not only bendable but can be twisted and stretched to better fit on the body for bio-sensing and medical applications even on parts such as an elbow. Traditional bio-monitoring sensors have some limitations. For example, they can become unstuck when the body moves, damage the delicate skin of infants and the elderly, data may be distorted due to body movement, and Murata explains “there is a risk of a decline in insulation and the occurrence of ion migration when using a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (TPU), known as a stretchable base material, in a high humidity environment”. The company’s stretchable printed circuits ((SPC) are supposed to solve or at least mitigate all those issues. The technology is under development, but Murata still shared some highlights of the technology: Stretchable electrode printing in compliance […]
Seeed Studio’s XIAO MG24 and XIAO MG24 Sense boards target battery-powered Matter and BLE applications
Seeed Studio has added two members to its XIAO family of tiny MCU boards with the XIAO MG24 and XIAO MG24 Sense boards based on Silicon Labs EFR32MG24 multi-protocol wireless SoC and designed for battery-powered Matter over Thread and Bluetooth LE 5.3 applications. Both 21×17.8 mm USB-C boards feature a 78MHz Silabs MG24 Cortex-M33 microcontroller with 256kB SRAM and 1536KB flash, an additional 4MB SPI flash on-board, and 22 pins and pads for GPIO pins, analog inputs, and power signals, plus a reset button and two LEDs. The “Sense” model adds an analog microphone and a 6-axis IMU sensor. XIAO MG24/MG24 Sense specifications: SoC – Silicon Labs EFR32MG24 (EFR32MG24B220F1536IM48-B) MCU cores Arm Cortex-M33 @ 78.0 MHz with DSP instruction and floating-point unit for user application Arm Cortex-M0+ core for wireless Memory – 256 KB RAM Storage – 1536 KB flash Wireless protocols – Matter, OpenThread, Zigbee, Bluetooth Low Energy 5.3, […]
UP Squared Pro 710H SBC combines Alder Lake-N CPU with Hailo-8 AI accelerator for the machine vision market
AAEON UP Squared Pro 710H is a 4×4-inch SBC and developer board designed for machine vision applications with an Intel Processor N97 or Core i3-N305 Alder Lake-N CPU and a 26 TOPS Hailo-8 Edge AI processor. The single board computer supports up to two MIPI CSI cameras via a 61-pin connector and offers expansion capabilities through a 40-pin Raspberry Pi-compatible header and three M.2 sockets for 5G, Wi-Fi, and NVMe storage support. While it’s only designed to operate in the 0 to 60°C temperature range, it does have industrial features such as 12V to 36V DC input and two RS-232/422/485 connectors. UP Squared Pro 710H specifications: Alder Lake N-series SoC (one or the other) Intel Processor N97 quad-core processor up to 3.6 GHz with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel UHD Graphics Gen 12 @ 1.2 GHz; TDP: 12W Intel Core i3-N305 octa-core processor up to 3.8 GHz with 6MB cache, 32EU Intel […]
STMicro’s low-power ST1VAFE3BX AI biosensor integrates biopotential signal monitoring and motion tracking
STMicroelectronics (STMicro) has announced the ST1VAFE3BX biosensor, a highly integrated chip that combines “cardio and neurological sensing with motion tracking and embedded AI functionalities,” and is targeted at healthcare and fitness wearables. The ST1VAFE3BX biosensor chip integrates biopotential inputs with an accelerometer and a machine learning core for reduced power consumption. It features a complete vertical analog front end (vAFE) for simplified detection of vital signs in electrocardiography, electroencephalography, and other healthcare monitoring applications. Inertial sensing by the accelerometer is synchronized with biopotential sensing “to infer any link between measured signals and physical activity.” The integrated machine-learning core (MLC) and finite state machine (FSM) allow for ultra-low-power and accurate biopotential input recognition at a degree of responsiveness that is reportedly faster than the current industry standard. The ST1VAFE3BX is aimed at applications in healthcare and fitness wearables such as smartwatches, smart patches, sports bands, connected rings, and smart glasses. It […]
GEEKOM GT1 Mega AI mini PC Review – Part 1: Specifications, unboxing, teardown, and first boot
GEEKOM GT1 Mega is an AI mini PC based on the latest Intel Core Ultra 5/7/9 Meteor Lake processor. We received a review sample from the company with an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H SoC, 32GB DDR5 memory, and a 2TB NVMe SSD as well as an Intel BE200 WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 module. As usual, we’ll do a three-part review starting with an article with the specifications, an unboxing, and a teardown followed by a thorough review with the pre-installed Windows 11 Pro operating system, and finally with the latest Ubuntu 24.04.1 OS. GEEKOM GT1 Mega specifications GEEKOM provides the following specifications for the GT1 Mega mini PC and motherboard: Meteor Lake SoC (one or the other) Intel Core Ultra 9 185H 16-core (6P+8E+2LPE) processor @ 2.5 / 3.8 / 5.1 GHz (Turbo) with 24MB cache, 8x Xe-cores Intel Arc graphics @ 2.35 GHz, Intel AI Boost NPU; […]
Siterwell wired and wireless smoke alarms offer low false alarm rate, high precision detection (Sponsored)
Siterwell wireless and wired smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms offer a low false alarm rate and high precision detection thanks to a maze design, dual-wavelength light technology, and AI-powered scene learning. Siterwell is a high-tech enterprise that provides integrated solutions across various fields, including smart security, smart home, and smart city based on IoT technology and security products. They are committed to advancing home safety with innovative and efficient solutions. Siterwell smoke alarms specifications and highlights: High-precision detection with an alarm accuracy of 99.96% Design optimized to decrease the number of false alarms with Maze design/micro-mesh design to reduce interference from other particles such as mosquitoes/dust/smoke particles Dual-wavelength light detection to accurately detect smoke from both fast-burning and smoldering fire Mechanical creep simulation, mechanical impact simulation, air-fluid dynamics simulation, and optical modeling to prevent false alarms while cooking AI-powered scene learning – Upon activation, the device begins to learn […]
Intel Processor N150 and N250, Core i3-N355 Alder Lake-N Refresh SoCs show up in ASUS NUC 14 Essential mini PCs
Intel Processor N150, Processor N250, and Core i3-N355 new Alder Lake-N processors have recently shown up in the upcoming ASUS NUC 14 Essential mini PCs and offer a small performance boost compared to existing variants such as the N100, N200, and Core i3-N305. The upcoming NUC 14 Essential family also includes one model with the existing Processor N97 CPU, supports up to three 4K displays via HDMI, DP, and USB-C connectors, offers 2.5 GbE networking, six USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, and a single USB 2.0 port. ASUS NUC 14 Essential (NUC14MNK) specifications: Alder Lake-N SoC Intel Processor N97 quad-core processor @ up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel UHD graphics; TDP: 6W Intel Processor N150 quad-core processor @ up to 3.6 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, Intel graphics; TDP: 6W Intel Processor N250 quad-core processor @ up to 3.8 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, Intel graphics; […]
1.28-inch round color display features Raspberry Pi RP2350, motion sensor, GPIO headers, metal case
Waveshare has recently launched the RP2350-LCD-1.28, a Raspberry Pi RP2350-based 1.28-inch round color display module with 240×240 pixel resolution and a 65K-color IPS panel. This board also features a rechargeable Lithium battery manager, a 6-axis IMU with a 3-axis gyroscope and accelerometer, multiple GPIO pins, and a USB Type-C connector for programming and power. Additionally, it supports USB 1.1 host/device support, temperature sensor, and 24 PWM channels, all configured for flexible I/O options. These features make this device useful for IoT, wearable tech, and embedded applications. The company also provides an optional CNC metal casing that provides durability and heat dissipation for portable or rugged applications. We have previously covered similar development boards with a round display such as the RP2040-powered 0.99″ rounded display, the ESP32-S3 LCD Driver Board, the SB-Components has launched Dual Roundy, and others, but it’s the first to feature the RP2350 microcontroller. RP2350-LCD-1.28 specification: Microcontroller – Raspberry Pi […]