ITEAD has sent us a Smart Home kit for review including the SONOFF NSPanel Pro Android control panel and Zigbee gateway, an enclosure stand, the CAM Slim WiFi camera, and four Zigbee modules, namely the SNZB-01 wireless switch, the SNZB-02 temperature & humidity sensor, the SNZB-03 motion sensor, and the SNZB-04 door/window sensor. In this review, we’ll configure the NSPanel Pro controller with the eWelink app in Android, show how to add the WiFi camera and Zigbee devices directly to NSPanel Pro, and go back to the eWelink app for more advanced features such as scenes with triggers and actions. Sonoff NSPanel Pro kit unboxing Let’s get started by having a closer look at the SONOFF NSPanel Pro controller. As previously noted, the device is based on Rockchip PX30 quad-core Cortex-A35 processor and runs Android 8.1. It acts both as a control panel and a WiFi to Zigbee 3.0 gateway. The […]
Easily add face detection to your project with the Person Sensor module
It’s now much easier to AI features to your project thanks to better tools, but as we’ve experienced when trying out Edge Impulse machine learning platform on the XIAO BLE Sense board, it still requires some effort and the learning curve may be higher than some expect. But for common tasks like face detection, there’s no reason for the solution to be hard-to-use or expensive, and Pete Warden (Useful Sensors) has designed the $10 Person Sensor fitted with a camera module pre-programmed with algorithms that detect nearby faces and reports the results over an I2C interface. Person Sensor specifications: ASIC – Himax HX6537-A ultra-low-power AI accelerator @ 400 MHz with 2MB SRAM, 2MB flash Camera Image Sensor – 110 degrees FOV Image scan rate – 7Hz with no facial recognition Image scan rate – 5Hz with facial recognition active Host interface Qwiic connector for the I2C interface up to […]
Making a weather station with Maker Pi Pico Mini board and SparkFun SerLCD display
Cytron’s Maker Pi Pico Mini comes with a Raspberry Pi Pico or Raspberry Pi Pico W microcontroller board. It has the same features as the larger Maker Pi Pico including a GPIO LED, WS2812B Neopixel RGB LED, a passive piezo buzzer, programmable push buttons, and a reset button. I would like to thank Cytron for sending the Maker Pi Pico Mini board fitted with a Raspberry Pi Pico W as well as a character RGB LCD and a 3.7V Lithium Polymer battery. In this tutorial, we will show how to make an Internet connected weather station with the Maker Pi Pico Mini board using Arduino code and the OpenWeather API. We’ve already covered the Maker Pi Pico Mini board, so we’ll have a closer look at the accessories SparkFun SerLCD character display The SparkFun SerLCD is a 16×2 character display with a Microchip ATmega328P microcontroller that handles commands sent from […]
roboBeats – Interactive music robot doubles as Bluetooth speaker (Sponsored)
Elephant Robotics just launched roboBeats interactive music robot & Bluetooth speaker on Kickstarter. The robot is comprised of a display, two arms, as well as touch sensors, and a speaker for user interaction. The company is known for its robots for education such as the myBuddy 280 or MechArm Pi 270 robotic arms based on Raspberry Pi 4 SBC, and while the roboBeats is more like a toy for children and adults alike, the ESP32 wireless microcontroller powering the desktop robot can also be programmed with the Arduino IDE. roboBeats key features and specifications: Wireless MCU – Dual Xtensa 32-bit microcontroller (ESP32) with WiFi and Bluetooth Display – 320×240 display Audio – Full frequency speaker Two arms Touch interfaces on the front body (chest) and top (head) Motors – Brushless (BLDC) motors with near-silent operation USB – 1x USB Type-C port located under the robot for power and programming Misc […]
Create your own private cellular data network with Ukama (Crowdfunding)
Ukama is an open-source hardware solution enabling users to create their own private 4G LTE cellular data networking with a range of up to 1km, and compatible with the “Citizens Broadband Radio Service” (CBRS) radio band for private networks. The company provides both indoor and outdoor hardware based on a “TRX Module” powered by a Marvell Fusion CNF7130 4G LTE baseband processor, as well as the firmware and software to manage the network. All you need is a power source, for example, the mains or a solar panel, and an optional broadband connection if you do need to connect to the Internet. Ukama hardware Two nodes are offered with the Ukama Home Node (indoor) and the Tower Node (outdoor) which can optionally be coupled with an amplifier unit for an expanded range. Home Node key features: LTE bands: CBRS only Concurrently active devices – Up to 8x RF Configuration – […]
Reolink TrackMix PoE review – A smart 4K PTZ security camera with two lenses, auto-tracking
Reolink has launched another 4K PTZ smart security with human and vehicle detection, plus pet detection (Beta). The Reolink TrackMix PoE comes with two lenses, one with a wide-angle, and the other telephoto lens to zoom on a specific zone, and supports auto-tracking. I’ve had the camera for a few months so I’ll report on my experience with the device. Reolink TrackMix PoE specifications Storage – MicroSD card slot Camera Image sensors – 1/3″ CMOS sensor + 1/2.8″ CMOS Sensor Video Resolution – Up to: 3840 x 2160 (8.0 megapixels) at 25 frames/sec Lenses – f=2.8mm@F=1.6 and f=8mm@F=1.6 Video Format – H.264, H.265 Field of View – Horizontal: 104°-38°; vertical: 60°-21° Zoom Mode – 6x hybrid zoom Day & Night – IR-cut filter with auto-switching Infrared Night Vision – Up to 15 via 2x 850nm LEDs Color Night Vision – 2x spolights at 6500K/450 lumens Pan &Tilt Range – Pan: […]
$10 HDMI to USB 3.2 video acquisition board is based on MS2130 chip
We’ve just written about an open-source hardware Allwinner V851S camera board from YuzukiHD, but he/she has made another interesting board with the YuzukiLOHCC PRO HDMI to USB 3.2 video acquisition board based on MacroSilicon MS2130 HDMI to USB chip, as well as MS9332 one-to-two active splitter, and MS8003/MS8005 microcontroller. YuzukiLOHCC PRO stands for Yuzuki Loop Out HDMI Capture Card PRO, and there are two HDMI ports, one for input and one for output, as well as a USB Type-C port to connect to the host and capture the video input. YuzukiLOHCC PRO key features and specifications: Main chip – MacroSilicon/UltraSemi MS2130 USB 3.2 Gen 1 high-definition video and audio acquisition chip MCU – MacroSilicon MS8005/MS8003 8051-core MCU Splitter – MacroSilicon MS9332 one-to-two active splitter Video Input – HDMI up to 4Kp30 or 1080p60 Video Output – HDMI 2.0 YCbCr420 4Kp60 loop out, 10/12/16-bit deep color, adaptive input equalization, pre-programmed HDCP […]
RelayFi – A Tasmota compatible 4-channel relay board (Crowdfunding)
CoreData Global, a Singapore-based research and development firm, has just introduced the RelayFi 4-channel relay board based on ESP32 and compatible with Tasmota open-source firmware, as well as Espressif’s ESP RainMaker cloud and ESP-NOW networking API. RelayFi is fitted with an ESP32-WROOM-32D WiFi and Bluetooth module, four relays capable of handling a load of 250 VAC/7A or 30 VDC/10A, and EL817C Optoisolators for safety. The board also comes with CH340C USB to TTL chip for programming, an I2C header for expansion, and some jumpers for relay selection. RelayFi specifications: Wireless module – Espressif Systems’ ESP32-WROOM-32D module with ESP32 dual-core Tensilica microcontroller, 32Mbit SPI flash, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n up to 150 Mbps, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, and PCB antenna Relays 4x relays up to 250VAC/7A or 30VDC/10A 4x EL817C optocouplers for safety 4x relay status LEDs Screw terminals Relay selection jumper USB – 1x micro USB port for power and programming via […]