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August 8, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

TW68 Smart Bracelet Measures Blood Pressure and Heart Rate for $22 and Up

Some people may need to frequently measure their blood pressure because of their health condition, but it’s often a cumbersome experience, so they may get lazy, and not do it as often as needed. TW68 smart bracelet should make this easy, as it’s your typical fitness tracker with an heart rate monitor, but adding the capability to also measure blood pressure. It’s also very cheap, and I first found it on DealExtreme where it sells for just $24. TW68 specifications: MCU – Nordic Semi NRF51822 ARM Cortex M0 micro-controller with 2.4 GHz radio Data Storage – 7 days detailed data, 23 days total data Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0 LE Display – 0.49″ OLED display Sensors – PixArt-PAH8001EI blood pressure sensor; 6-axis Invensense-MPU6500 accelerometer and gyroscope Function Health tracker: Blood pressure measurement, Heart rate monitor, Pedometer, Sleep tracker Other functions: Call/Message notification, Fall reminder, Social sharing, Time, Alarm clock Misc – […]

August 5, 2016May 8, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 120 Comments

NEXBOX A95X (Amlogic S905X) TV Box Review – Part 2: Android 6.0 and Kodi 16.1

Last week I publish the first complete review of an Amlogic S905X device with MINI M8S II TV box review, and while the device work in a smooth and stable manner, some features did not work as expect such as HDMI audio pass-through. I’ve now had the change to compare it to another S905X with NEXBOX A95X, not to confuse with its “homonym”: NEXBOX A95X with Amlogic S905 processor. I’ve already taken pictures of the device and accessories, and checked out the hardware in the first part of the review, so today, I’ll report my finding playing with Android 6.0 firmware, Kodi video and audio capabilities, and check whether bugs and issues found on MINI M8S II are also present in the device. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions NEXBOX A95X is really a tiny device, so it’s no surprise that it only comes with two USB 2.0 ports, and […]

July 27, 2016July 27, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

RuuviTag Open Source Bluetooth & NFC Sensor Beacon is Based on Nordic Semi nRF52832 SoC (Crowdfunding)

I’ve recently featured Puck.js Bluetooth 4.2/5.0 Beacon on CNX Software, but there’s another similar option with RuuviTag, also powered by the latest Nordic Semi nRF52832 ARM Cortex-M4 SoC, and RuviiTag+ version that includes multiple sensors: 3-axis accelerometer, and temperature, humidity, and pressure sensor. RuuviTag & RuuviTag+ specifications: SoC – Nordic Semi nRF52832 ARM Cortex-M4F micro-controller @ 64 MHz with Bluetooth Smart and NFC Connectivity Bluetooth 4.2 Smart, Bluetooth 5.0 Ready; over 500 meters line of sight range (with -4dBm power); up to 1.4 km with +4 dBm Integrated NFC antenna Expansion – 8x through holes with 6x GPIOs, and 2x power signals Sensors On-chip temperature sensor RuuviTag+ – Bosch BME280 environmental sensor (pressure, humidity, and temperature), STMicro LIS2DH12 3-axis accelerometer Misc – User/reset button, 2x LEDs, 10-pin SWD debug connector Battery – CR2450 / CR2477 battery up to 10 years depending on application Dimensions – N/A Temperature Range – -40°C […]

July 26, 2016July 26, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Bagel is a Smart Bluetooth Tape Measure Compatible with Android and iOS Phones (Crowdfunding)

The tape measure is a pretty simple tool allowing you to measure length, and I assume most people will write results on a piece of paper. Battery powered Bagel tape measure changes that as it allows measurements with a string, through a wheel, or an ultrasonic sensors, store the data in its internal memory with voice to text memo, and also sends back data over Bluetooth to your smartphone. Bagel Labs tape measure specifications: Three measure modes – string (up to 3 meters), wheel (up to 10 meters), or ultrasonic sensor (0.3 to 5 meters) Storage – 32 MB flash for up to 100 measurements and voice memo (Both metric and imperial units supported) Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0 LE Audio – Microphone for voice to text recording Display – 0.96″ OLED display; 128×96 resolution USB – 1x micro USB port for charging Misc – laser pointer for ultrasonic measurement; save […]

July 25, 2016July 25, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

OSHCHIP Breadboard Friendly Bluetooth Smart Board Comes in a Tiny 16-pin DIP Package

OSHCHIP is a tiny development board powered by a Nordic Semi ARM Cortex-M0 Bluetooth LE / ANT SoC that neatly fits on a breadboard, and beside wireless connectivity thanks to its 2.4 GHz radio, also provides up to 14 I/Os to interface with external hardware. OSHCHIP specifications: Nordic Semi nRF51822 ARM Cortex-M0 MCU @ 16 MHz with 256KB Flash Memory, 32KB SRAM Radio – 2.4 GHz Radio with support for 4 protocols: Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) / Bluetooth Smart, Gazell, ESB (Enhanced Shock Burst), and optionally ANT Antenna – Built-in antenna, range is 10 to 20 feet, depending on environment (metal, desks, chairs, …) Expansion – 14 general purpose I/O pins. All peripherals (except the ADC) can use any I/O pin: UART, 10-bit ADC, Counter/Timers, SPI, I2C Security – AES Encryption, Random Number Generator. Misc – Temperature sensor, RTC, Watchdog Timer Quadrature Decoder, 3 LEDs, Power Supply – 1.8V to 3.6V […]

July 18, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

$16 Bluetooth 4.0 LE Bracelet Monitors Babies’ Temperature

With electronics getting cheaper and smaller everyday, I’m expecting medical diagnostic / monitoring tools with become more convenient and affordable, and products from the more advanced Scanadu, to much simpler Bluetooth blood pressure monitors will help people better monitor their health themselves. I’ll also getting frequent request about the availability of soon-to-be FDA approved Omron Project Zero blood pressure smartwatch. Today I’ve come across a simple $16.51 Bluetooth Smart bracelet that could be useful to monitor the temperature of sick babies or very young children. Technical specifications: Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0 LE with up 18 meters range Sensor – Temperature between 32 and 43 degree Celsius with -/+ 0.1 deg. accuracy Smartphone compatibility – Android 4.3+ or IOS 7.0+ Functions – Thermometer; Temperature Alarm; Medical Records; Health Management, Cloud Backup. Power Supply – CR2032 battery Wristband Length – 14~19cm Weight – 19 g The band must be worn in such as […]

July 13, 2016July 14, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Puck.js Bluetooth 5.0 Ready Beacon is Programmable with JavaScript (Crowdfunding)

I first found out about Bluetooth LE tags in 2012 with SticknFind project, and since then many other companies have designed their own Bluetooth beacon mostly to find objects such as your keys or pets. Puck.js is also a Bluetooth 4.2 LE beacon, but has many more features including compatibility with the upcoming Bluetooth 5.0 standard, and some GPIOs programmable with JavaScript (Espruino implementation), and corresponding visual programming editor. Puck.js hardware specifications: Bluetooth Smart SoC – Nordic Semi nRF52832 ARM Cortex-M4F micro-controller @ 64 MHz Connectivity Bluetooth 4.2 LE/smart, Bluetooth 5.0 Ready; up to 80 meters range in open space On-chip NFC support Expansion – 8x through holes with 6x GPIOs, and 2x power signals Sensors – MAC3110 magnetometer, on-chip temperature sensor Misc – 1x tactile button, 4x LEDs (R, G, B, IR) Battery – CR2032 210mAh battery good for about a year (application dependent) Dimensions – 35mm diameter, 10mm […]

July 6, 2016July 6, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Nordic Semiconductor nRF52832 Cortex-M4 ANT & Bluetooth LE SoC Gets Even Tinier

Nordic Semiconductor nRF52832 is a Bluetooth 4.2 LE SoC based on an ARM Cortex-M4F core that was first released about a year ago in a QFN48 package targeting IoT and Wearables. But if your application is really tight on space and the 6x6mm package is just too big, the company has just introduced a 3.0×3.2mm WL-CSP (Wafer Level Chip Scale Package ) package for nRF52832 decreasing the area to about one quarter of the QFN package The specifications are exactly the same as the QFN, but let’s see what we’ve got in that 9.6mm2 package: MCU Core – ARM Cortex-M4F @ 64 MHz with DSP & FPU, 512kB Flash and 64kB RAM 2.4 GHz radio for ANT, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, and Gazell connectivity; 5.5mA peak RX/TX currents; on-chip RF Balun On-chip NFC tag Peripherals – 3x Master/Slave SPI, 2x Two-wire interface (I²C), UART (RTS/CTS), 3x PWM, Digital microphone interface (PDM) Security […]