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March 29, 2023March 29, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

XIAO ESP32S3 board gets some senses with a camera and microphone module, plus a round touchscreen display

Last week, we wrote about the new XIAO ESP32S3, a tiny ESP32-S3 board from Seeed Studio. The company has now launched the XIAO ESP32S3 Sense adding a camera and microphone module connected through a board-to-board connector, as well as the Round Display for XIAO that can help people easily create wearable devices with a touchscreen based on any board from the XIAO family. XIAO ESP32S3 Sense XIAO ESP32S2 Sense specifications: Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3R8 dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller @ 240 MHz with 512KB SRAM, 8MB PSRAM, Wi-Fi 4 & Bluetooth 5.0 dual-mode (Classic + BLE) connectivity Storage – 8MB SPI flash, microSD card slot Antenna – External u.FL antenna USB – USB Type-C port for power and programming Camera – OV2640 camera sensor up to 1600×1200 resolution Audio – Built-in digital microphone Expansion I/Os 2x 7-pin headers with 1x UART, 1x I2C, 1x SPI, 11x GPIO (PWM), 9x […]

March 27, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Tiny RASynBoard combines Renesas RA6M4 MCU with Syntiant NDP120 ML accelerator, WiFi & BLE module, and some sensors

Avnet RASynBoard is a tiny board that packs a lot of features in a 30x25mm form factor with a Renesas RA6M4 Cortex-M33 microcontroller, a Syntiant NDP120 Neural Decision Processor, a Renesas (Previously Dialog Semi) DA16600 Wi-Fi 4 & Bluetooth 5.1 combo module, and a 6-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU) and digital microphone from TDK. The RASynBoard is offered as part of an EVK with the Core Board described above plus an IO board with headers, a Pmod connector, a MikroE Shuttle Click header, a microSD card slot for storage, and a built-in debugger, plus two buttons and an RGB LED. RASynBoard specifications: Main microcontroller – Renesas RA6M4 Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller @ 200 MHz with 1 MB flash memory, 256 KB SRAM ML accelerator – Syntiant NDP120 Neural Engine based on Syntiant Core 2 Deep Neural Network, Arm Cortex M0 and HiFi 3 DSP Wireless module – Renesas DA16600 2.4 […]

March 26, 2023March 26, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Arduino UNO R4 Renesas RA4M1 32-bit maker board offered with optional ESP32-S3 WiFI & BLE module

Arduino have launched an upgrade to their 8-bit Arduino UNO R3 board with the Arduino UNO R4 featuring a 48 MHz Renesas RA4M1 Arm Cortex-M4F 32-bit microcontroller, and an optional ESP32-S3 module for WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity. The new Arduino UNO R4 offered improved performance and greater resources since the MCU is clocked three times faster than the 8bit AVR MCU found in the UNO R3, the board gets sixteen times more RAM (32KB vs 2KB to 32kB) and eight times more flash memory (256KB vs 32kB). The USB Type-B device port has been upgraded to a more modern USB Type-C port and the UNO R4 can take up to 24V supply voltage. Arduino UNO R4 (preliminary) specifications: Microcontroller – Renesas RA4M1 Arm Cortex-M4F MCU @ 48 MHz with 32KB SRAM, 256KB flash. 8KB dataflash Wireless (Arduino UNO R4 WiFi only) – ESP32-S3-MINI-1 module based on ESP32-S3 dual-core […]

March 22, 2023March 22, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

XIAO ESP32S3 is a tiny ESP32-S3 WiFi 4 and BLE 5.0 module for IoT, AI, and robotics

Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32S3 is the new member of the company XIAO family with an ESP32-S3 dual-core wireless microcontroller with WiFi 4 and BLE 5.0 designed for Smart Home, IoT, wearables, and Robotics applications. It succeeds the single-core ESP32-C3-based XIAO ESP32C3 board with the same form factor, but the new XIAO ESP32S3 offers more performance, vector extension for machine learning, more flash, and improved power consumption in deep sleep mode. Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32C3 specifications: Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3R8 dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller @ 240 MHz with 512KB SRAM, 8MB PSRAM, Wi-Fi 4 & Bluetooth 5.0 dual-mode (Classic + BLE) connectivity Storage – 8MB SPI flash Antenna – External u.FL antenna USB – USB Type-C port for power and programming Expansion I/Os 2x 7-pin headers with 1x UART, 1x I2C, 1x SPI, 11x GPIO (PWM), 9x ADC 3.3V I/O voltage (not 5V tolerant) Debugging – JTAG pads Misc […]

March 19, 2023March 25, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

A first look at GL.iNet GL-S200 Thread Border Router kit with three nRF52840 Thread boards

GL-S200 Thread Border Router review with Thread Dev Boards

GL.iNet are better known for their routers, but the company is also offering IoT gateways and Smart Home hubs such as the GL-S10 BLE to MQTT IoT gateway. The company is now preparing to launch the GL.iNet GL-S200 Thread Border Router in early April, and I’ve been asked to do some beta testing before launch, so GL.iNet have sent me a kit with the GL-S200 and three Thread development boards acting as IoT nodes. A Thread Border Router acts as a WiFi or/and Ethernet gateway connecting to battery-powered Thread sensor nodes equipped with a low-power 802.15.4 radio. In this first post, I’ll go through the hardware and specifications, before reporting my finding in a separate post next week. GL-200 Thread Border Router kit unboxing and specifications The development boards are all identical and they were each kept in an antistatic bag. But let’s open the GL-S200 package first. The Thread […]

March 17, 2023March 17, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

WisDuo RAK11720 LoRaWAN & Bluetooth LE module features Ambiq Apollo3 Blue low-power MCU

RAKwireless WisDuo RAK11720 is a LoRaWAN and Bluetooth LE (module) equipped with Ambiq Apollo3 ultra-low-power BLE 5.0 microcontroller and a Semtech SX1262 LoRa transceiver. The Wisduo RAK11720 is pin-to-pin compatible with the STM32WL-based Wisduo RAK3172 LoRaWAN module, and provides an easy upgrade path for IoT applications that require Bluetooth LE connectivity and more memory. WisDuo RAK11720 specifications: MCU – Ambiq Apollo3 Blue AMA3B1KK-KBR-B0 Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller locked at up to 96 MHz with 1MB flash, 348 SRAM, Bluetooth LE 5.0, and an active power consumption of less than < 6 μA/ MHz LoRa Semtech SX1262 sub-GHz radio transceivers LoRaWAN 1.0.3 specification compliant Supported bands: EU433, CN470, IN865, EU868, AU915, US915, KR920, RU864, and AS923-1/2/3/4 LoRaWAN activation via OTAA/ABP LoRa Point-to-Point (P2P) communication Long-range – greater than 15 km with optimized antenna Antennas – 2x IPEX antenna connectors or RF pads for LoRa and Bluetooth I/O expansion – UART, I2C, SPI, […]

March 17, 2023March 20, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Synaptics SYN4382 SoC supports Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, and 802.15.4 connectivity

Synaptics SYN4382 is a triple combo SoC with Wi-Fi 5/6E, Bluetooth 5.3, and IEEE 802.15.4 (Zigbee/Thread/Matter) radios, and manufactured with a 16nm process to lower power consumption for IoT and multimedia applications. The chip can deliver up to 1,200 Mbps WiFi throughput, supports dual-band (RSDB) 2.4 and 5 or 6/6E GHz operation to combine the links at different frequencies, as well as features such as LE Audio for multiple concurrent audio streams in a multi-device environment. Synaptics SYN4382 key features: Wireless Triband 2×2 Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) with 1200 Mbps throughput, RSDB, and support for legacy 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WiFi Bluetooth 5.3 with LE Audio, Channel Sounding (HADM = High Accuracy Distance Measurement) for accurate positioning 802.15.4 radio for Thread and Zigbee Matter interoperability Smart Co-Ex for coexistence in the 2.4 GHz band Multipoint external coexistence interface for LTE, GPS On-chip power amplifiers (PAs) and low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) with support for external PAs […]

March 16, 2023March 17, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

SONOFF MINIR4 review – A Tiny WiFi Smart Switch tested with eWelink app/web, and R5 controller

In this post, we’ll review the SONOFF Mini Extreme, also known as MINIR4, WiFi smart switch based on ESP32 wireless MCU by installing it into a wall-mounted light switch box and controlling it with both the eWelink mobile app for Android and the SONOFF R5 scene controller. SONOFF MINIR4 Installation We’ve already gone through the specifications, unboxing, and teardown in the announcement, so I’ll get straight to the installation part. Note this review was done with a light switch “box” (about 11x6cm) in Thailand, so your mileage may vary. The first challenge is that contrary to the similarly-sized SONOFF ZBMINI Extreme Zigbee switch, the MINIR4 WiFi switch requires a neutral cable, and most lights in Thailand are wired without a neutral wire, so I had to get the neutral wire from the outlet switch box underneath. When I call those “boxes” there are really holes in the wall here… Wiring […]