Category: Broadcom BCMxxxx

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on MagikEye Developer Kit enables 120 fps 3D sensing on Raspberry Pi

MagikEye Developer Kit enables 120 fps 3D sensing on Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi 3D Sensing development kit

MagikEye ILT001 developer kit (DK-ILT001) is a low-latency 3D sensing kit that connects to the Raspberry Pi’s MIPI CSI camera connector and features the company’s Invertible Light Technology (ILT) module with an infrared laser and a CMOS image sensor. The company says a “unique algorithm” developed in-house can generate 3D point cloud datasets acquired at high speeds (up to 120 fps) and with very low latency using simple hardware configuration. The kit targets researchers, students, and hobbyists working on machine vision, robotics, automated carriers, and other projects that can benefit from low-latency 3D sensing. MagikEye DK-ILT001 kit key features and specifications 850nm infrared light laser CMOS image sensor Range up to 1.5 meters (15 to 80 cm recommended) Compatibility – Raspberry Pi Zero W/3B/3B+/4 Power Supply – 3.3V (via MIPI Interface on Raspberry Pi) Power Consumption – 0.6W (average) Dimensions – 44 x 24 x 16 mm (within enclosure) Weight […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on DIY Raspberry Pi 4 mini server includes UPS and OLED information display

DIY Raspberry Pi 4 mini server includes UPS and OLED information display

DIY Raspberry Pi 4 mini server

While the Raspberry Pi 4 SBC has greater multimedia capabilities, it can also be used for headless projects like mini servers or networked access storage (NAS). Michael Klements’ DIY Raspberry Pi 4 mini server is especially interesting as it’s cute, and includes a UPS to handle power failures, plus an OLED display to show information. Here’s the final result. Ideally, you’d need a laser cutter and a 3D printer like the Ender 3 Pro to make the case, but most of the parts are off-the-shelf components including: A Raspberry Pi 4 SBC together with a 32GB MicroSD card for the operating system 52Pi/GeeekPi UPS Plus module (about $25) plus one or two 18650 Lithium-Ion Cells A Low Profile Ice Tower for cooling, but you could probably switch to your own (passive) cooling solution and make the device slightly more compact A 128×64 I2C OLED Display A 5V/3A Power Supply Accessories […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Relay expansion board for Raspberry Pi includes 4.3-inch touchscreen display (Crowdfunding)

Relay expansion board for Raspberry Pi includes 4.3-inch touchscreen display (Crowdfunding)

PiRelay 8-Channel Raspberry Pi touchscreen display

There are plenty of multi-relay boards for Raspberry Pi, but since those are often combined with an HMI for control, SB Components decided to offer an all-in-one solution with an expansion board equipped with eight relays and a 4.3-inch touchscreen display connected to a Raspberry Pi via HDMI and USB. PiRelay 8 specifications: Relays 8x relays with 3.3V/5V trigger signal Input – 250V AC/7A, 30V DC/10A Screw terminal blocks NO (Normally Open) and NC (Normally Closed) modes available Isolation – EL357NC optocouplers with current transfer ratio (CTR) of 50-600% at IF=5mA, VCE=5V Display support – Optional 4.3-inch touchscreen display with 800 x 480 pixels resolution, HDMI input for video, USB for touchscreen support. It also comes with a 3.5mm audio jack, an HDMI audio output, a speaker connector, and mounting holes for the Raspberry Pi. 40-pin GPIO header to connect a Raspberry Pi SBC (Pi 4, Pi 3B+, Pi 3, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Custom Raspberry Pi 3 SBC with eMMC flash powers gateway for washing machines

Custom Raspberry Pi 3 SBC with eMMC flash powers gateway for washing machines

Custom Raspberry Pi 3 SBC eMMC flash

As I was browsing some group on Facebook, I noticed somebody had bought a custom Broadcom BCM2837 SBC that looks very much like a Raspberry Pi 3 board, and that thing was apparently bought from a Saleng, a three-wheeled motorbike with a side cart where people can buy and sell old/second-hand items. All good fun… So without further ado, here’s what the board looks like… Click for higher resolution photos. Both MIPI CSI and DSI connectors are gone, and so is the AV jack. Two of the USB 2.0 ports have made place for a micro USB port and some headers. Looking at the bottom of the board, the MicroSD card slot is gone, because there’s a 16GB Kingston eMMC flash for storage in that location. At first, I was quite confused, first because the Raspberry Pi logo is nowhere to found, then it’s the first “Raspberry Pi” SBC I […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on RasPad 3 Review – Part 2: A Raspberry Pi 4 mini PC with integrated display

RasPad 3 Review – Part 2: A Raspberry Pi 4 mini PC with integrated display

Raspad 3 review

I started RasPad 3 review last week with an unboxing of the tablet shell for Raspberry Pi 4, together with assembly instructions, and a first boot after flashing Raspad OS to the system. In the first part of the review, I mentioned that I’d probably focus the remainder of the review on Ezblock Studio visual programming IDE, as the rest of the software is almost the same as using a standard Raspberry Pi 4, the other difference being the touchscreen-friendly RasPad launcher. But Sunfounder explained to me it would be hard to check out Ezblock as it’s designed to control robots and other hardware platforms, and requires an extra HAT (see Kickstarter campaign) to allow the Ezblock APP to connect through Bluetooth (it cannot be directly linked to Raspberry Pi through the built-in Bluetooth).  Here’s an example of a robot that is compatible with Ezblock Studio: Picar-X. Finally, I was […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on EdgeBox-RPi4 industrial controller offers RS485, RS232 interfaces, isolated DI/DO

EdgeBox-RPi4 industrial controller offers RS485, RS232 interfaces, isolated DI/DO

EdgeBox-RPI4 Raspberry Pi CM4 industrial controller

OpenEmbed EdgeBox-RPi4 is an industrial controller based on Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 fitted with up to 4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC flash, and a 2.4/5GHz WiFi & Bluetooth 5.0 wireless module. The controller exposes isolated RS485 & RS232 serial interfaces, as well as isolated digital inputs and outputs through a 16-pin terminal block, and provides Gigabit Ethernet and optional WiFI and 4G LTE connectivity options. EdgeBox-RPi4 specifications: SoM –  Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 (CM4) with Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 processor running up to 1.5GHz in either two default configurations: 1GB RAM, 8GB flash, no wireless module 4GB RAM, 32GB flash, dual-band WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5 module Storage – M.2 socket for NVMe SSD up to 2TB (See expansion) I/O interfaces via 16-pin terminal block Industrial-grade isolated 2x DI (Digital Inputs), 2x DO (Digital Outputs) Industrial-grade isolated RS485 interface RS232 interface Connectivity Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port Optional WiFI 5 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 27 Comments on RasPad 3 Review – Part 1: Raspberry Pi 4 “tablet” specs, unboxing and assembly

RasPad 3 Review – Part 1: Raspberry Pi 4 “tablet” specs, unboxing and assembly

Raspberry Pi 4 Tablet RasPad OS

RasPad tablet kit for Raspberry Pi 3B+ and other SBC’s was introduced in 2018, but Sunfounder has recently introduced an update, RasPad 3 that supports the more powerful Raspberry Pi 4 SBC. After seeing my review of CrowPi2 Raspberry Pi 4 education laptop, the company asked me whether I’d be interested in reviewing Raspad 3 as well. So here we are, and I’ve received a sample of the tablet kit. As usual, I’ll do a two-part review, with unboxing and assembly of the kit. Since I previously missed the RasPad 3 announcement, I’ll start by listing some of the specifications. RasPad 3 specifications Compatible board – Raspberry Pi 4B with Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 processor, up to 8G RAM Storage – MicroSD card socket Display – 10.1-inch touchscreen IPS display with 1280×800 resolution, 10-point touch Video Output – Full-size HDMI output Audio – 3.5 mm headphone jack, stereo speaker Connectivity […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on MyCobot robotic arm is offered with Raspberry Pi 4 or M5Stack ESP32 modules

MyCobot robotic arm is offered with Raspberry Pi 4 or M5Stack ESP32 modules

myCobot-Pi and myCobot-M5

Elephant Robotics’ MyCobot robotic arm was introduced last year with M5Stack Atom & Basic ESP32 modules with 6-degrees of freedom, a 250 grams max payload, available now for $599. The company has launched a new $699  version – MyCobot-Pi – with most of the same features, except for an upgrade to Raspberry Pi 4B which offers more performance and flexibility. Both versions of MyCobot arm robotic arm support accessories such as a gripper and a suction pump attachable through a LEGO connector, but while the original version – MyCobot-M5 – relies on Arduino programming, the new MyCobot-Pi runs Debian/Ubuntu and ROS operating systems with image recognition algorithms that can work with a variety of cameras. Since we’ve missed last year’s announcement, we’ll cover both models in this article. MyCobot Robotic Arm Despite the mechanical parts being the same, the specifications for MyCobot-M5 and MyCobot-Pi differ quite a lot: Controller MyCobot-M5 […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC