automation News - Page 14 of 63 - CNX Software

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 […]

May 11, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

$14+ Allwinner T113-S3 CPU module comes with 128MB RAM, 256MB NAND flash or 4GB eMMC flash

MYiR MYC-YT113X is a low-cost solderable CPU module powered by an Allwinner T113-S3 dual-core Cortex-A7 processor with 128MB on-chip DDR3 RAM, and fitted with either a 256MB NAND flash or a 4GB eMMC flash for storage. The industrial temperature grade module provides a lower-end alternative to the company’s earlier MYC-YT507H Allwinner T507-H Cortex-A53 CPU module, and offers various display, camera, audio, Ethernet, USB, and low-speed I/Os through a 140-pin stamp hole design. It is designed for HMI, industrial automation, as well as display and control terminals. MYiR MYC-YT113X specifications: SoC – Allwinner T113-S3 CPU – Dual-core Arm Cortex-A7 @ 1.2 GHz with 32 KB L1 I-cache + 32 KB L1 D-cache per core, and 256 KB L2 cache DSP – Single-core HiFi4 VPU – H.265/H.264 video decoding up to 1080p60 and JPEG/MJPEG video encoding up to 1080p60 Memory – 128 MB DDR3 Storage – 4GB eMMC or 256MB NAND flash, […]

May 6, 2023May 9, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

SONOFF SNZB-02D review – A Zigbee temperature & humidity sensor with a 2.5-inch display

We’ve previously tested the SNZB-02 Zigbee temperature and humidity sensor with the SONOFF NSPanel Pro smart panel, but ITEAD has now launched the SONOFF SNZB-02D that integrated the same features plus a 2.5-inch display to visualize the data. They’ve sent us a SNZB-02 sample for review, so after listing the specifications we’ll test SONOFF’s latest Zigbee sensor with Home Assistant. SONOFF SNZB-02D specifications Display – 2.5-inch black&white display Connectivity – Zigbee 3.0 Sensors Temperature sensor with -9.9°C to 60°C range, ±0.2°C accuracy Humidity sensor with 5%—95%RH range, ±2%RH accuracy Battery – 3V CR2450 coin-cell battery good for about 2 years with a 5-second polling rate Dimensions – 62.5 x 59.5 x 18.5mm Material – PC Color: White Unboxing and first try We’ll find the sensor in the usual orange package used for Zigbee devices. The SNZB-02D sensor comes with a quick start guide and a pre-installed battery. Just pull the […]

May 5, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

$60 M5Stack CoreS3 ESP32-S3 IoT controller comes with 2-inch display, VGA camera, multiple sensors

M5Stack CoreS3 is a battery-powered ESP32-S3 IoT controller with WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, a 2-inch touchscreen display, a 0.3MP camera, a microSD card slot for storage, several sensors, plenty of I/Os, a USB Type-C OTG port, as well as a 9V to 24V DC input port. That’s the second ESP32-S3 IoT controller from M5Stack we’ve seen this year, as the CoreS3 follows the smaller M5Stack AtomS3 with a 0.85-inch display, only a few I/Os, and fewer features overall although it does come with an IR transmitter that’s missing from the larger CoreS3. M5Stack CoreS3 specifications: Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3FN16R8 dual-core 32-bit Xtensa LX7 microcontroller with AI vector instructions up to 240MHz, RISC-V ULP co-processor, 512KB SRAM, 2.4GHz WiFi 4 (802.11b/g/n), Bluetooth 5.0 BLE + Mesh, 16MB flash, 8MB PSRAM Antenna – Internal “3D” antenna Storage – MicroSD card slot Display – 2-inch display with 320×240 resolution via ILI9342C […]