Waveshare has recently launched the RoArm-M2-S and RoArm-M2-Pro ESP32 robotic arms with four degrees of freedom, or 4-DOF for short. The main difference is that the RoArm-M2-S is equipped with standard servos, while the RoArm-M2-Pro features all-metal ST3235 bus servos, adding more durability and performance. Designed for educational and robotics applications, the 4-DOF RoArm-M2 is sturdy yet lightweight, built using carbon fiber and aluminum alloy. It can handle payloads up to 0.5kg and has a workspace diameter of 1 meter. The arm offers high precision with a 12-bit magnetic encoder and dual-drive technology for improved torque and stability. On top of that, it features a 12-bit magnetic encoder and dual-drive technology for improved torque and stability. Other features include a 360° omnidirectional base and support for both wireless (WiFi, ESP-NOW) and wired (USB) control. These features make this device suitable for various applications including industrial automation, education, research, and DIY robotics projects. Waveshare […]
Mercury X1 wheeled humanoid robot combines NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX AI controller and ESP32 motor control boards
Elephant Robotics Mercury X1 is a 1.2-meter high wheeled humanoid robot with two robotic arms using an NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX as its main controller and ESP32 microcontrollers for motor control and suitable for research, education, service, entertainment, and remote operation. The robot offers 19 degrees of freedom, can lift payloads of up to 1kg, work up to 8 hours on a charge, and travel at up to 1.2m/s or about 4.3km/h. It’s based on the company’s Mercury B1 dual-arm robot and a high-performance mobile base. Mercury X1 specifications: Main controller – NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX CPU – 6-core NVIDIA Carmel ARM v8.2 64-bit CPU with 6MB L2 + 4MB L3 caches GPU – 384-core NVIDIA Volta GPU with 48 Tensor Cores AI accelerators – 2x NVDLA deep learning accelerators delivering up to 21 TOPS at 15 Watts System Memory – 8 GB 128-bit LPDDR4x @ 51.2GB/s Storage – 16 […]
ESP32 Rainbow is an open-source, ESP32-S3-powered ZX Spectrum single board computer (Crowdfunding)
Retrocomputing enthusiasts will be delighted to learn that a new ZX Spectrum replica is on the market: the ESP32 Rainbow. The single board computer swaps the Zilog Z80 for an ESP32-S3 microcontroller chip running an emulator, bringing the classic 80s computer back to life with a modern twist. It features a built-in color display, a microSD card slot for storage, a built-in touch keyboard in the ZX Spectrum style, and a USB Type-C port for power and data. The keyboard was recreated using full-color UV printing and is the most true-to-life component of the ESP32-S3-based ZX Spectrum single board computer. The touch keys won’t likely offer the best typing experience but that is reminiscent of the original ZX Spectrum. A lovely cherry on top is that the onboard USB-C port supports HID and the device can be used as a keyboard on another computer. The ZX Spectrum is one of […]
Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024 – International deals and coupons
While Black Friday and Cyber Monday used to be a US-only event, it changed many years ago, and we’ve been writing about international Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals and coupon codes since 2014, since a large portion of our audience cannot benefit from promotions on Amazon’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday events that will take place from November 21 until December 2 this year. So I’ve gathered some international Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024 deals and discount coupon codes from relevant manufacturers and popular online stores such as Aliexpress, Banggood, and others. Aliexpress Black Friday and Cyber Monday event Aliexpress’ Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024 event has already started. There are three periods: Nov 19-21 PST – Warm Up event where users can find and add items to the cart before purchasing during the main event. Nov 22-30 PST – “On Sale” event with discounts up to […]
DFRobot EDGE102-DMX512 lighting controller combines ESP32-S3 MCU and DMX512 protocol chip
DFRobot’s EDGE102-DMX512 is a DMX512 lighting programming controller based on ESP32-S3 wireless MCU designed for efficient management of stage, theater, and venue lighting. With integrated WiFi and Bluetooth, the controller supports wireless programming and control, simplifying the setup of advanced lighting systems. It offers RS485 (master/slave modes) interfaces, I2C, UART, and GPIO pins for compatibility with a wide range of sensors and boards. This controller enables automation through sensor integration, supporting devices such as infrared detectors, sound level meters, and laser sensors. Its eight optically isolated industrial switch inputs ensure seamless compatibility with PNP sensors, allowing lighting effects to respond automatically to environmental inputs. By reducing dependence on manual DMX consoles, it is well-suited for automated lighting in theaters, stages, and commercial venues. EDGE102-DMX512 specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration Memory – 512 KB of internal […]
Conexio Stratus Pro nRF9151 low-power IoT development kit supports LTE-M/NB-IoT, DECT NR+, GPS, and more
Conexio Stratus Pro nRF9151 is an IoT development kit based on Nordic Semi nRF9151 system-in-package (SiP) with LTE-M/NB-IoT, DECT NR+, and GNSS connectivity designed for battery-powered cellular-connected products such as asset trackers, environmental monitors, smart meters, and industrial automation devices. It’s offered with the “Stratus Pro Expansion Dock” allowing users to add WiFi 6 through an nRF7002 expansion board and various other modules via Grove, Qwiic, MikroBus, and Seeed Studio’s XIAO connectors or sockets. It’s an update to the original Conexio Stratus Pro based on nRF9161 introduced last June with a very similar feature set. Let’s have a deeper look to find out any potential differences between the two versions of the devkit. Conexio Stratus Pro nRF9151 specifications (with changes highlighted in bold or strikethrough): System-in-package – Nordic Semi nRF9151 SiP MCU – Arm Cortex-M33 clocked at 64 MHz with 1 MB Flash pre-programmed MCUBoot bootloader, 256 KB RAM Modem […]
CYOBot v2 ESP32-S3-based open-source modular robotics platform supports up to 16 servos (Crowdfunding)
Create Your Own Bot (CYOBot) v2 is an open-source, modular robotics platform for students, educators, hobbyists, and future engineers based on the ESP32-S3 microcontroller and featuring up to 16 servo motors for complex control. The CYOBot v2 is a follow-up to the previous quadrupedal robotic platform from the same company. It adds new features such as a modular design, an upgrade to the ESP32-S3 chip, more motor channels, and an expansion block with more peripherals. It also supports integrating AI systems, such as ChatGPT, for added functionality. The CYOBot supports up to three configurations via the CYOBrain — which powers the robotics platform and controls the servo motors — and separate 3D-printed components. The CYOBot Crawler is a four-legged robot powered by eight 180-degree servo motors. The CYOBot Wheeler form factor features four 360-degree motors linked to wheels at the end of each leg and is essentially a hybrid between […]
Waveshare ESP32-P4-NANO board offers Ethernet, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5, MIPI display and camera interfaces, GPIO headers
Waveshare ESP32-P4-NANO is the first third-party ESP32-P4 RISC-V board we’ve seen and it follows the launch of the Espressif Systems’ ESP32-P4-Function-EV-Board devkit introduced this summer. While the ESP32-P4 is a general-purpose microcontroller, the ESP32-P4-NANO board still implements wireless connectivity through an ESP32-C6 WiFI 6 and Bluetooth LE 5.4 module and offers a range of interfaces such as an Ethernet RJ45 port with optional PoE, MIPI DSI and CSI interfaces, a USB Type-A OTG port, and GPIO headers for expansion. ESP32-P4-NANO specifications: Microcontroller – ESP32-P4NRW32 MCU Dual-core RISC-V microcontroller @ 400 MHz with AI instructions extension and single-precision FPU Single-RISC-V LP (Low-power) MCU core @ up to 40 MHz GPU – 2D Pixel Processing Accelerator (PPA) VPU – H.264 and JPEG codecs support Memory – 768 KB HP L2MEM, 32 KB LP SRAM, 8 KB TCM, 32MB PSRAM Storage – 128 KB HP ROM, 16 KB LP ROM Wireless module – […]