automation News - Page 11 of 60 - CNX Software

August 16, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

SONOFF MINIR4M – A Matter-compatible WiFi Smart Switch

SONOFF MINI Extreme (MINIR4M) is the first Matter-certified home automation device from the company and appears to be based on the same hardware design as the SONOFF MINI Extreme (MINIR4) ESP32 WiFi smart switch that we reviewed last March and is still working fine in my bedroom. Support for the Matter protocol means better interoperability with other brands of Matter-certified products, so you should be able to use the MINIR4M wireless switch with a Samsung Matter-certified Smart Home gateway instead, as well as Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and other apps besides the eWelink mobile app. The main visual difference I see between the MINIR4 and MINIR4M is the color with Orange referring to WiFi support and Green to Matter support. SONOFF MINI Extreme (MINIR4M) specifications: MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32 dual-core wireless microcontroller Connectivity 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 Bluetooth LE used for pairing Matter certification Input – 100-240V […]

August 6, 2023August 5, 2023 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - 13 Comments

SONOFF SNZB-01P/SNZB-02P Review – Zigbee wireless switch and temperature & humidity sensor tested with Home Assistant

SONOFF SNZB-01P & SNZB-02P Zigbee Review Home Assistant

SONOFF launched their 1st gen Zigbee product about a few years ago, and SONOFF have finally started to upgrade their Zigbee devices, and we received two Zigbee 3.0 devices from SONOFF for review, namely the SNZB-01P wireless switch and the SNZB-02P temperature and humidity Sensor. In a nutshell, their appearance looks more modern, with a round shape compared to the rectangular design of the previous models. Importantly, they are sturdier than before, and the battery capacity has increased almost 2x. As we anticipated, they can be used with other Zigbee Hubs from different brands as well. The main application used with both devices is still, of course, eWeLink, which many people are familiar with (a Zigbee Bridge Hub/Bridge is required). However, this review will focus more on the popular app called Home Assistant, which is widely used globally. SNZB-01P wireless switch After trying it out for a while and comparing […]

August 4, 2023August 4, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Home Assistant-compatible 5-24V LED strip controller ships with Sound Reactive WLED firmware

SMLIGHT A1-SLWF-03 is a Home Assistant-compatible addressable RGB LED strip controller based on an ESP32 WiFi and Bluetooth microcontroller that supports 5V to 24V LED strips. The unit is equipped with a built-in digital microphone used by the Sound Reactive WLED firmware to make the RGB LED strip follow the rhythm and tempo of the music, an IR receiver, and a sensor button. SMLIGHT A1-SLWF-03 specifications: SoC – ESP32 dual-core microcontroller with WiFi 4, Bluetooth 4.2/5.x, and 16Mbit flash 4-pole terminal block for RGB LED strips Supported strips – WS2812B, WS2811, WS2813, WS2815, APA102, LPD8806, WS2801, SK9822. Voltage Range – 5-24V DC Up to 2,000 LEDs are supported at 35 fps with two outputs or 3,000 LEDs at 25 fps with two outputs (about 33 to 50-meter LED strips with 60x LEDs per meter) Multiple A1-SPWF-03 controllers can be synced together for controlling even more LED strips. USB – 1x […]

June 29, 2023June 30, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

NEWRACOM NRC7394 WiFi HaLow SoC delivers higher power efficiency and cost-effectiveness

NEWRACOM has just introduced the NRC7394 Wi-Fi HaLow Arm Cortex-M3 SoC with higher power efficiency and lower cost than the previous generation NRC7292 Cortex-M3/M0 HaLow SoC and available in a 6x6mm package. I first wrote about the 802.11ah standard in 2014. Also known as the WiFi HaLow (consumers name), it operates in the 900 MHz band, offers a longer range and lower power consumption for items like IP cameras, and the first products came to market in 2021. I was expecting a flood of new WiFi HaLow devices in 2022 in my year 2021 round-up and it was not exactly a prescient prediction as it never happened. But maybe the new NRC7394 SoC will help make WiFi HaLow devices more popular by lowering the costs and further improving battery life. NEWRACOM NRC7394 key features: CPU – Arm Cortex-M3 core @ 32 MHz for IEEE 802.11ah WLAN and application Connectivity Full […]

June 21, 2023June 22, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Zvidar Z-GW-V01 Smart Gateway runs Home Assistant on Allwinner A133 processor

Allwinner A133 SBC Home Assistant Gateway

Shenzhen Zvidar Technologies’ Z-GW-V01, also known as the Zvidar Smart Gateway is a single board computer powered by an Allwinner A133 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor and running Ubuntu with the Home Assistant open-source automation framework. The SBC provides Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 5, and Bluetooth connectivity by default, but also supports plenty of optional wireless modules with Z-Wave, Zigbee, Thread/Matter, LoRa, or 4G LTE connectivity that are either soldered to the board connected by a mini PCIe socket. The board also includes a few USB ports, and it’s apparently possible to connect a 7-inch display and/or audio interfaces if needed. Zvidar Smart Gateway (Z-GW-V01) specifications: SoC – Allwinner A133 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.6GHz with Imagination PowerVR GE8300 GPU with support for OpenGL ES3.2, Vulkan 1.1, OpenCL 1.2 System Memory – 1GB RAM (option for 512MB, 2GB, or 4GB) Storage – 8GB eMMC flash (option for 4GB, 16GB, or 32GB), […]

May 29, 2023May 31, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

zigpy-zboss library makes Nordic Semi nRF52840 Zigbee dongles compatible with Home Assistant

zigpy-zboss is a Python library that adds support for Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 modules to zigpy open-source Python Zigbee stack project, as well as other Network Co-Processor radios that run firmware based on ZBOSS Open Initiative (ZOI). This enables integration with compatible Zigbee gateway implementations such as Home Assistant’s ZHA integration component and allows users to directly control Zigbee devices from a wide range of manufacturers such as IKEA, Philips Hue, SmartSung SmartThings, ITEAD SONOFF, Xiaomi Aqara, and others. Home Assistant’s ZHA integration already worked with Zigbee dongles based on Silicon Labs Mighty Gecko EFR32MG21 or Texas Instruments CC2652P microcontrollers, but now it’s possible to use nRF52840 dongles and development as Zigbee Coordinators thanks to the zigpy-zboss library. The zigpy-zboss ZBOSS radio library for zigpy source code and resources can be found on GitHub, but note that this is still an unofficial and experimental port, so testers need to manually […]

May 23, 2023May 23, 2023 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - No Comments

SONOFF TX Ultimate Review – A smart touch wall switch with innovative features

SONOFF has been producing a wide range of new products over the years, and since the beginning of the year, the company introduced various new products and features including the iHost Smart Home Hub local hub which no longer requires cloud connectivity. The one we are going to review is the Ultimate Smart Touch Wall Switch (also known as the SONOFF TX Ultimate). SONOFF stated that they wanted to provide a new experience with their smart switch. Initially, we couldn’t imagine what new experiences a smart switch could offer. When we think of SONOFF, we usually associate it with affordable smart switches that are durable and perform as expected, not stylish or feature-rich devices. However, the SONOFF TX Ultimate comes as a complete package with light, color, sound, and touch. SONOFF has also expanded the touch area, so there’s no need to worry about missing the button while pressing it. […]

May 12, 2023May 12, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

AMD Versal AI Edge SoC FPGA system-on-module targets ADAS, robotics, medical imaging, and other AI applications

AMD Xilinx Versal AI Edge System-on-Module

iWave Systems iW-Rainbow-G57M is a system-on-module (SoM) based on the AMD (Xilinx) Versal AI Edge series of Cortex-A72/R5 SoC FPGAs designed to deliver AI acceleration at relatively low power for demanding applications such as ADAS, robotics, and medical imaging. The module comes with up to 8GB 64-bit LPDDR4, 16GB eMMC Flash, 256MB QSPI Flash, delivers up to 45 TOPS of AI performance, and features eight transceivers that can be used for high-speed Ethernet, PCIe, MIPI DSI/CSI interfaces, and/or others as required by the customer’s specific project. iW-Rainbow-G57M specifications: FPGA SoC – AMD Xilinx Versal AI Edge/Prime SFVA784 package (VE2302, VE2202, VE2102, or VE2002) with Dual Arm Cortex-A72 core processor @ up to 1.6 GHz Dual-core Arm Cortex-R5F Up to 328K Logic cells & 150K LUTs Programmable Network on Chip (NoC) Up to 45 TOPS (INT4) AI compute 8x GTYP Transceivers @ 28.21 Gbps (VE2302 & VE2202 only) Memory – Up […]