Espressif Systems & Amazon have recently announced ESP32-PICO-V3-ZERO Alexa Connect Kit (ACK) module providing out-of-box connectivity to ACK cloud services, support for features such as Alexa control, “Frustration-Free Setup” and Amazon Dash replenishment for connected devices. The tiny (23 x 16 x 2.3mm) module is based on the company’s ESP32-PICO-V3 System-in-Package (SiP) based on ESP32-V3 dual-core Xtensa LX6 WiFI and Bluetooth SoC, a 4 MB SPI flash, a crystal oscillator, filter capacitors, and an RF matching network. The module supports 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, and Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity and comes with a PCB antenna and a u.FL connector to plug in an external antenna [Update: That should be an RF test connector instead, see comments]. ESP32-PICO-V3-ZERO module interfaces to a host MCU through a UART interface, and to speed-up time-to-market the module comes pre-certified for regulatory certifications such as FCC, CE, SRRC, IC, and RCM. The module […]
Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 Coming Next Year with PCIe/NVMe Support
The Raspberry Pi 4 features a Broadcom BCM2711 processor with Cortex-A72/A53 cores that makes it competitive against other SBC’s based on Rockchip RK3399 or Amlogic S922X/A311D processors. The new processor also happens to have a PCIe interface, but it’s not exposed on the board since the interface is used by VIA VL805 PCIe USB 3.0 controller for the four USB 3.0 ports on the little computer. At the time, we expected the PCIe interface to be exposed in future Raspberry Pi boards or a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4. But some people did not feel like waiting and instead hack the Raspberry Pi 4 SBC to access the PCIe interface. That hack is clearly not for everyone though… But based on a recent interview of Eben Upton with Tom’s Hardware we got pretty much confirmation that the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 will be coming next year, and expose PCIe […]
J721E DRA829/TDA4VM/AM752x – Texas Instruments Cortex-A72 based Monster SoC’s
Texas Instruments unveiled their first 64-bit processor in 2018 with TI AM654 “Keystone III” quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 + dual lockstep Cortex-R5F processor designed for general embedded and industrial applications. The company is now working on a more powerful processor with J721E SoC with Cortex-A72 cores belonging to the K3 Multicore SoC architecture platform appearing in TI Linux git repository. Ti J721E is a monster of an SoC, not necessarily in terms of CPU processing power, but it has an amazing amount of features and peripherals. I’m not going to list all specifications of this monster SoC, and we’ll do with J721E highlights instead: CPU Dual Cortex-A72 up to 2.0 GHz in a single cluster Up to three clusters of lockstep capable dual Cortex-R5F MCUs @ 1.0 GHz AI Accelerator / DSP Deep-learning Matrix Multiply Accelerator (MMA) @ up to 1.0 GHz (8 TOPS for 8-bit inference) C7x floating-point Vector DSP […]
Linux powered STMicro STM32MP1 Solder-down QFN-Style SoM Measures 27x27mm
STMicro STM32MP1 Cortex A7/M4 processor was launched last year with support for Linux and Android. Since then we’ve seen a few STM32MP1 SBC‘s, development kit and modules, with some of the latter really compact with DHCOR STM32MP157 SoM found on Avenger96 board measuring just 29x29mm. Direct Insight has now unveiled QFN-style solder-down QSMP systems-on-module based on STM32MP1 that measure just 27 x 27 x 2.3mm and manufactured in Germany by Ka-Ro Electronics. Direct Insight / Ka-Ro STM32MP1 QSMP modules specifications: SoC QSMP-1510 module – STMicro STM32MP151A single-core Cortex-A7 processor up to 650 Mhz, plus Arm Cortex-M4 real-time core up to 200 MHz QSMP-1530 module – STMicro STM32MP153A dual-core Cortex -A7 processor up to 650 MHz, plus Arm Cortex-M4 real-time core up to 200 MHz QSMP-1570 module – STM32MP157C dual-core Cortex -A7 processor up to 650 MHz, plus Arm Cortex-M4 real-time core up to 200 MHz and Vivante 3D GPU with […]
Particle Takes Pre-orders for its Cellular Tracking SoM, Evaluation Kit, and Tracker One Asset Tracker
Earlier this year, Particle announced its Tracking System turnkey solution comprised of Tracker SoM LTE IoT module, Tracker One asset tracker with enclosure, as well as Particle Tracking Services software suite with geolocation services, fleet management, and an open device firmware application framework to integrate with off-the-shelf IoT sensors and enable OTA firmware updates. The hardware devices were expected for June/July 2020, and the company has now started to take pre-orders for Tracker SoM, its evaluation kit, and Tracker One for respectively $79.99, $99.99, and $127.99. Shipping is expected to start in August 2020. We already covered Tracker SoM in our initial article with the full specifications, but basically, it’s a Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 powered module with 8MB flash, ESP32 for WiFI (including support for indoor location), U-blox Neo-M8U GNSS module, and a choice of Quectel BG96 LTE CAT M1 module for the US or Quectel EG91-X CAT 1 module […]
ROScube Pico SBC Runs Ubuntu & ROS on Intel Atom or Rockchip PX30 Processor
ADLINK has launched ROScube Pico SBC designed for robotics projects and powered by either an Intel Atom x5 Apollo Lake processor or a Rockchip PX30 Arm Cortex-A35 processor via their SMARC-compliant system-on-modules namely LEC-AL and as LEC-PX30. Both models run Ubuntu and ROS/ROS-2 operating systems simultaneously, and the company also provides NeuronBot robotics development and demo kit based on the SBC. ROScube Pico SBC and Devkit If ROScube Pico looks similar it’s because it appears to be based entirely on ADLINK previously announced ADLINK Industrial-Pi (I-Pi) SMARC Development Kit based on Rockchip PX30, and Vizi-AI development starter kit based on Atom x5-E3940 SoC and Movidius Myriad X VPU. Those are the specifications listed for ROScube Pico: SMARC Module For ROScube Pico NPS-1 – LEC-AL with Intel Atom processor, Intel Movidius Myriad X AI accelerator, 8GB LPDDR4 RAM, 32GB eMMC For ROScube Pico NPS-4 – LEC-PX30 with Rockchip PX-30 quad-core Cortex-A35 […]
Exor GigaSOM GS01 SoM and Devkit Combine Intel Atom E39xx CPU and Cyclone 10 GX FPGA
EXOR International has worked in collaboration with Arrow Electronics to design and manufacture GigaSOM GS01 system-on-module combining an Intel Atom E39xx Apollo Lake processor and Cyclone 10 GX FPGA. The module and corresponding development kit are specifically designed for smart factory & “Industrie 4.0” applications with the processor running Intel’s time-coordinated computing plus a real-time “IoT stack”, and the FPGA supporting IEEE 802.1 time-sensitive networking (TSN) and 10Gbps connectivity. GigaSOM GS01 module specifications: Apollo Lake SoC (one or the other) Intel Atom x5-E3930 dual-core processor @ 1.3 GHz / 1.8 GHz (Turbo) with 12EU Intel HD Graphics 500; 6.5W TDP Intel Atom x5-E3940 quad-core processor @ 1.6 GHz / 1.8 GHz with 12EU Intel HD Graphics 500; 9.5W TDP Intel Atom x7-E3950 quad-core processor @ 1.6 GHz / 2.0 GHz with 18EU Intel HD Graphics 505; 12W TDP FPGA – Intel Cyclone 10 GX up to 220 KLE System Memory […]
TQMa65xx Embedded Module Features TI Sitara AM65xx SoC, Six TSN Ethernet Interfaces
Texas Instruments Sitara AM654 Cortex-A53/R5 SoC was launched in 2018 as the first 64-bit processor from the company and specifically targetting Gigabit industrial Ethernet networks with support for Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN). Since the processor launch, we’ve seen a couple of Sitara AM65xx modules such as PHYTEC phyCORE-AM65x SoM and Mistral AM65x Industrial SOM. There’s now another option with TQ Embedded TQMa65xx embedded module featuring a choice of 5 AM65xx dual-/quad-core processor, up to 4GB RAM, up to 64GB eMMC flash, and various I/Os via a 560-pin connector that includes six Gigabit TSN Ethernet interfaces. TQ Embedded TQMa65xx embedded module specifications: SoC – Texas Instruments Sitara AM6526, AM6527, AM6528, AM6546, or AM6548 with dual-core or quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.1 GHz, dual Cortex-R5 dual-lockstep processor @ 400 MHz, optional Imagination SGX544 GPU (AM6xx8 SKU) System Memory – Up to 4GB DDR4 SDRAM with optional ECC Storage – Up to 64GB eMMC […]