Qualcomm QCS6490-based Rubik Pi 3 AI SBC supports Android, Linux, and LU operating systems

RUBIK Pi AI SBC

Thundercomm has officially launched the Rubik Pi 3 SBC built around the Qualcomm QCS6490 SoC with a 12.5 TOPS AI accelerator. The SBC comes in a “PI-CO ITX” form factor that combines the Pico-ITX standard and the 40-pin GPIO header found on Raspberry Pi SBCs. The SBC comes with a standard set of interfaces, including USB, HDMI out, MIPI-CSI camera support, Ethernet, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.2, and much more. Additionally, the SBC features a 40-pin header for GPIO, UART for debugging, audio output, and RTC battery support. The company mentions that it is the first Pi-based system using Qualcomm’s AI platforms, hence it supports Raspberry Pi HAT/HAT+ expansion boards, making it suitable for various AI, IoT, and edge computing projects. Rubik Pi 3 SBC specifications: SoC – Qualcomm QCS6490 CPU – Octa-core Kryo 670 with 1x Gold Plus core (Cortex-A78) @ 2.7 GHz, 3x Gold cores (Cortex-A78) @ 2.4 GHz, 4x […]

$12 Plant Bot is an ESP32-C3 soil sensor and pump driver for fully automated indoor plant care

Plant Bot ESP32-C3 Plant Monitor

The Plant Bot is an open-source, Internet-enabled plant monitor powered by the ESP32-C3 microcontroller and integrating a corrosion-resistant capacitive moisture soil sensor and a pump driver on a single printed circuit board, eliminating the need for additional cabling. The Plant Bot is designed to automate indoor plant care by combining moisture sensing, light sensing, and pump activation. It can be powered via USB or a single coin cell battery which lasts up to a week with daily updates. An onboard multi-color LED visually represents the current soil condition, ranging from red (dry) to blue (moist). The “Soil Level” line on the board indicates the maximum depth to which the sensor or device should be inserted into the soil. According to the maker, the Plant Bot will remain unaffected by corrosion if the soil level does not exceed this line. Other solutions we’ve covered with a soil sensor usually separate the […]

Seeed Studio introduces ESP32-C3-based Modbus Vision RS485 and SenseCAP A1102 LoRaWAN outdoor Edge AI cameras

Seeed Studio's Modbus Vision RS485 and SenseCAP A1102 outdoor Edge AI cameras

Seeed Studio has recently released the Modbus Vision RS485 and SenseCAP A1102 (LoRaWAN) outdoor Edge AI cameras based on ESP32-C3 SoC through the XIAO-ESP32C3 module for WiFi and the Himax WiseEye2 processor for vision AI. Both are IP66-rated AI vision cameras designed for home and industrial applications. The RS485 camera is designed for industrial systems and features a Modbus interface, making it suitable for factory automation and smart buildings. The SenseCAP A1102 uses LoRaWAN for long-range, low-power monitoring in remote locations. Both offer advanced AI for tasks like object detection and facial recognition. Besides its built-in RS485 interface, the Modbus Vision RS485 also supports LoRaWAN and 4G LTE connectivity via external Data Transfer Units (DTUs). With over 300 pre-trained AI models, the camera can do object detection and classification tasks making it suitable for industrial automation, smart agriculture, environmental monitoring, and other AI-driven applications requiring high performance. The SenseCAP A1102 […]

ASROCK Industrial launches NUC(S) Ultra 200 (Intel Arrow Lake-H) and 4X4 AI300 (AMD Ryzen 300 AI) motherboards and BOX PCs

ASROCK Industrial NUC Ultra 200 BOX PC Motherboard

Following new SoC announcements by Intel and AMD at CES 2025, ASRock Industrial has launched the NUC(S) Ultra 200 BOX Series and NUC Ultra 200 Motherboard Series powered by Intel Core Ultra 200H Arrow Lake-H processors with of to 99 TOPS of AI inferencing power, and the 4X4 BOX AI300 Series and 4X4 AI300 Motherboard Series based on  AMD Ryzen AI 300 processors with up to 50 TOPS of NPU performance. ASROCK NUC(S) Ultra 200 BOX PCs & NUC ULTRA 200 motherboards NUC(S) Ultra 200 specifications: Arrow Lake-H/U SoC (one or the other) Intel Core Ultra 7 255H (6P+8E) processor up to 5.1 GHz with 24MB cache, Intel Arc 140T GPU (74 TOPS), and Intel AI Boost (13 TOPS); PBP: 28 Watts Intel Core Ultra 5 225H (4P+8E) processor up to 4.9 GHz with 18MB cache, Intel Arc 130T GPU (63 TOPS), and Intel AI Boost (13 TOPS); PBP: 28 […]

ZigEasy GEX is a series of ZigBee 3 & DigiMesh coordinators powered by the XBee 3 and XBee SX 868 modules

ZigEasy GEX Zigbee DigiMesh coordinators

The ZigEasy GEX series is a lineup of Zigbee / DigiMesh coordinators and Ethernet gateways based on Digi International’s XBee 3 and XBee SX 868 modules. These devices connect a ZigBee or DigiMesh network to a local Ethernet network or the internet. This makes it easier to create a robust Zigbee/DigiMesh network that can send and receive data from servers. The GEX2400 and GEX2400S devices integrate the Digi XBee3 module which supports Zigbee, 802.15.4, DigiMesh, and BLE and is configured directly with the XCTU software (USB or TCP/IP). The Digi SX 868 module on the GEX868 and GEX868S coordinators only supports DigiMesh. The “S” models include TLS 1.2 and AES-256 encryption for secure internet communication and are ideal for use cases that require internet access. These ZigEasy GEX Zigbee / DigiMesh coordinators can be used in mesh networks for smart homes, monitoring weather conditions, and tracking agricultural data. They can […]

ESP32-C61-DevKitC-1 development board features ESP32-C61 low-cost WiFi 6 and Bluetooth LE 5.0 SoC

ESP32-C61-DevKitC-1 development board

The ESP32-C61-DevKitC-1 is a development board based on the upcoming ESP32-C61 low-cost WiFi 6 and Bluetooth LE 5.0 SoC that was first unveiled in January 2024, and offered with two USB-C ports, two buttons, an RGB LED, and GPIO headers. In my 2024 year in review report, I noted that Espressif would likely launch the ESP32-C5 dual-band WiFi 6 SoC in 2025, but I completely forgot about the ESP32-C61 which is basically a cost-down version of the ESP32-C6. I’ve now noticed the documentation of the  ESP32-C61-DevKitC-1 development board and ESP32-C61-WROOM-1 module is now available, so we have more details about those and the ESP32-C61 itself, so let’s have a closer look. ESP32-C61-DevKitC-1 specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-C61-WROOM-1 SoC – ESP32-C61HR2 CPU – Single 32-bit RISC-V core clocked up to 120MHz Memory – 320KB SRAM, 2MB PSRAM Storage –  256KB ROM Wireless – WiFi 6 and Bluetooth LE 5.0 Storage – […]

GGBEE RMW002 WiFi AC smart switch supports Alexa, Google Assistant, and Cozy Life app

GBEE mini wi fi smart switch

The GGBEE RMW002 is a mini WiFi AC smart switch designed to make your appliances smarter. It supports a voltage range of 100-240V AC and a maximum current of 16A/20A. With built-in WiFi, the switch connects to the Cozy Life app for easy remote control of your appliances. It also supports voice commands through Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant allowing for hands-free operation. Additional features include group control, countdown timers, and dual-control wiring options. The device has very similar from-factor and features to that of a SONOFF ZBMINIR2 or  SONOFF MINI Extreme (MINIR4M) but there are significant price differences if you are comparing the RMW002  to any SONOFF devices since the GGBEE switch is quite cheaper. GGBEE RMW002 specifications: SoC – Boufallo Lab BL602 32-bit RISC-V wireless SoC Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi 4 via BL602 Input Voltage range – 100-240V AC (50/60Hz) Max Current: 16A or 20A depending on […]

vPlayer – A 1.69-inch ESP32-S3 touchscreen video display with custom expansion options

vPlayer touchscreen video display

The vPlayer is an ESP32-S3 touchscreen video display that can be used for continuous MJPEG video playback from a microSD card. It features a 280 x 240 1.69-inch smartwatch-sized touchscreen display with backlight control and also offers expansion options via JST SH/SR connectors (UART, I2C, and I2S audio), and additional I/O pads on the PCB. All these features also make it suitable for applications such as weather displays, live traffic cameras, computer stats monitors, wildlife cameras, and fetching data from the Internet. vPlayer specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core 32-bit microcontroller @ 240MHz Memory and Storage – 4MB Flash and 2MB PSRAM Wireless – WiFi 4, Bluetooth 5.0 Storage – MicroSD card slot via MMC 4-bit interface Display – 1.69-inch touchscreen (280×240) P169H002-CTP TFT LCD ST7789V2 single-chip controller/driver CST816 touch controller Backlight control USB – 1x USB-C for power and data transfer Expansion JST SH/SR 1mm connectors for […]

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