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February 5, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Ceva-Waves Links200 IP supports Bluetooth LE High Data Throughput (HDT) up to 7.5 Mbps, 802.15.4 for Zigbee, Thread and Matter

Ceva has recently unveiled the Ceva-Waves Links200 multi-protocol platform IP with support for Bluetooth LE High Data Throughput (HDT) technology up to 7.5 Mbps and IEEE 802.15.4 for Zigbee, Thread, and Matter designed for TSMC’s low-power 12nm process. Released in 2016, Bluetooth 5 upgraded Low Energy implementation with four times the range and twice the speed of Bluetooth 4.0 LE transmission which meant up to 2 Mbps over BLE, and even the latest Bluetooth 6.0 specification does not change that. There’s just a new LE 2M 2BT physical layer for Bluetooth Channel Sounding. So I was intrigued when the press release of the Links200 further read: Addressing the rising market demand for faster, more efficient Bluetooth connectivity, particularly for low-power audio and latency-sensitive IoT applications, the breakthrough High Data Throughput mode more than doubles the speed of traditional Bluetooth, delivering a data rate of up to 7.5 Mbps. For this […]

January 31, 2025January 31, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Silicon Labs unveils low-cost BG22L BLE 5.4 and BG24L BLE 6.0 SoCs

Silicon Labs has unveiled the BG22L and BG24L SoCs for low-cost, ultra-low-power Bluetooth LE connectivity. These are Lite versions of the company’s BG22 and BG24 SoC families introduced in 2020 and 2022 respectively. The 38.4 MHz Silabs BG22L Arm Cortex-M33 SoC targets high-volume, cost-sensitive Bluetooth 5.4 applications like asset tracking tags and small appliances. In comparison, the 78 MHz BG24L Cortex-M33 SoC offers an affordable entry-level solution with AI/ML acceleration and Bluetooth 6.0 Channel Sounding to locate items or implement access control in crowded areas such as warehouses and multi-family housing. Since the specs for the BG22L and BG24L are similar to the ones for the BG22 and BG24 chips I won’t reproduce those here, and instead highlights the main features and cost-saving measures. Silicon Labs BG22L Bluetooth LE 5.4 SoC Silicon Labs BG22L highlights: MCU – Arm Cortex-M33 @ 38.4 MHz with DSP and FPU (BG22 is clocked at […]

January 13, 2025January 13, 2025 by Debashis Das - 3 Comments

Seeed Studio XIAO Plus series adds more GPIOs through castellated holes

In response to community feedback for more I/O options, Seeed Studio has recently launched the Seeed Studio XIAO Plus series with 23 castellated mounting pins (20 GPIOs, 3 power pins) and improved back solder points, improving compatibility with carrier boards for complex projects. The new series includes the XIAO ESP32S3 Plus, XIAO nRF52840 Plus, and XIAO nRF52840 Sense Plus which are direct upgrades of the XIAO ESP32S3, XIAO nRF52840 BLE, and XIAO nRF52840 Sense boards. The new design allows for easier assembly and scalable production, with double the I/O options. XIAO ESP32S3 Plus The Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32S3 Plus is a compact development board with a total of 23 pins on the board out of which 11 are through-hole GPIO pins 9 additional SMD castellations GPIO pins and 3 through-hole are power pins. The board is built around an ESP32-S3 MCU so it has 2.4GHz WiFi and BLE 5.0 connectivity. Other […]

January 10, 2025January 10, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Tanmatsu handheld terminal features ESP32-P4 RISC-V MCU, QWERTY keyboard, WiFi, Bluetooth, 802.15.4, and LoRa connectivity

Tanmatsu is a handheld terminal device for hackers, makers, and tech enthusiasts based on the 400 MHz ESP32-P4 RISC-V microcontroller, including a QWERTY keyboard, and supporting various connectivity options with WiFi, Bluetooth LE, 802.15.4, and even LoRa in the 433 MHz or 868/915MHz bands. The handheld computer also features a 3.97-inch MIPI DSI display, a built-in speaker and a 3.5mm audio jack, and various expansion connectors such as a Qwiic connector for I2C/I3C modules, and PMOD and SAO expansion connectors. Tanmatsu specifications: Microcontrollers Espressif ESP32-P4 dual-core RISC-V microcontroller @ 400MHz with 32MB of built-in PSRAM WCH CH32V203C8T6 32-bit RISC-V microprocessor @ up to 144 MHz with 20KB SRAM, 64KB flash used for keyboard matrix and power management Storage 16MB flash for firmware MicroSD card slot supporting SD cards at 3.3v and 1.8v voltage levels (SDIO 3) Display – 3.97-inch MIPI DSI display with 800 x 480 resolution, 65,536 colors Audio […]

January 8, 2025January 8, 2025 by Tomisin Olujinmi - 4 Comments

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

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 […]

January 7, 2025January 6, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

FOSDEM 2025 schedule – Embedded, Open Hardware, RISC-V, Edge AI, and more

FOSDEM 2025 will take place on February 1-2 with over 8000 developers meeting in Brussels to discuss open-source software & hardware projects. The free-to-attend (and participate) “Free and Open Source Software Developers’ European Meeting” grows every year, and in 2025 there will be 968 speakers, 930 events, and 74 tracks. Like every year since FOSDEM 2015 which had (only) 551 events, I’ll create a virtual schedule with sessions most relevant to the topics covered on CNX Software from the “Embedded, Mobile and Automotive” and “Open Hardware and CAD/CAM” devrooms, but also other devrooms including “RISC-V”, “FOSS Mobile Devices”, “Low-level AI Engineering and Hacking”, among others. FOSDEM 2025 Day 1 – Saturday 1 10:30 – 11:10 – RISC-V Hardware – Where are we? by Emil Renner Berthing I’ll talk about the current landscape of available RISC-V hardware powerful enough to run Linux and hopefully give a better overview of what to […]

January 2, 2025January 3, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

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

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 – […]

December 28, 2024December 28, 2024 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

Murata Type 2FR is the world’s smallest tri-radio IoT module with Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, and Thread connectivity

Murata has recently launched the world’s smallest tri-radio IoT modules, the Type 2FR/2FP series, as well as the Type 2KL/2LL series for hosted solutions. These compact modules feature tri-radio communication, including Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, and Thread, with Matter provisioning for interoperability. The 2FR/2FP series is considered the world’s smallest module (12.0 x 11.0 x 1.5mm) of this type with a built-in MCU, making it ideal for low-cost and highly integrated solutions. It prioritizes security with the latest cybersecurity standards and compatibility with the Matter ecosystem. On the other hand, the 2KL/2LL series is designed to work with high-performance processors running Linux or RTOS. These modules provide reliable tri-radio communication with advanced capabilities. Both series are designed for applications, including smart homes, buildings, industrial automation, healthcare, and more, with features like low-power operation, extended battery life, and reduced component count. Murata Type 2FR/2FP modules specifications: MCU – NXP RW610 or RW612 […]