Seeed Studio introduces ESP32-C3-based Modbus Vision RS485 and SenseCAP A1102 LoRaWAN outdoor Edge AI cameras

Seeed Studio's Modbus Vision RS485 and SenseCAP A1102 outdoor Edge AI cameras

Seeed Studio has recently released the Modbus Vision RS485 and SenseCAP A1102 (LoRaWAN) outdoor Edge AI cameras based on ESP32-C3 SoC through the XIAO-ESP32C3 module for WiFi and the Himax WiseEye2 processor for vision AI. Both are IP66-rated AI vision cameras designed for home and industrial applications. The RS485 camera is designed for industrial systems and features a Modbus interface, making it suitable for factory automation and smart buildings. The SenseCAP A1102 uses LoRaWAN for long-range, low-power monitoring in remote locations. Both offer advanced AI for tasks like object detection and facial recognition. Besides its built-in RS485 interface, the Modbus Vision RS485 also supports LoRaWAN and 4G LTE connectivity via external Data Transfer Units (DTUs). With over 300 pre-trained AI models, the camera can do object detection and classification tasks making it suitable for industrial automation, smart agriculture, environmental monitoring, and other AI-driven applications requiring high performance. The SenseCAP A1102 […]

Looktech’s AI-powered smart glasses offer a 14-hour battery life, 13MP camera, and linear audio for $209 and up (Crowdfunding)

Looktech AI-powered smart glasses

Looktech AI Glasses are AI-powered smart glasses with a “privacy-focused design” and several lens options. They are similar to Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses but support GPT-4, Claude, and Gemini instead of Meta AI. Like Meta’s smart glasses, the Looktech AI Glasses incorporate headphones, a camera, and an AI model for a hands-free experience and personalized AI assistance. According to Looktech, the smart glasses can track calories, find recipes, set reminders, and perform image searches. The in-built 13MP camera can be used to capture high-res images and videos and the open-ear dual speakers provide “rich, spatialized immersive audio while keeping you aware of your surroundings.” Looktech has given some hardware specifications for the product but the list is a bit sparse. We have covered the much cheaper but underpowered LILYGO T-Glass. Although there are no promises of a physical AI agent, the Looktech glasses are similar to the M5Stack’s Module LLM […]

Raspberry Pi CM5 review with different cooling solutions (and camera tribulations)

Raspberry Pi CM5 IO board cooling heatsink active cooler

The day of Raspberry Pi CM5 release, I published a mini review of the Raspberry Pi Development Kit for CM5 showing how to assemble the kit and boot Raspberry Pi OS, and I also ran sbc-bench benchmark to evaluate the performance. Sadly, the Broadcom BCM2712 CPU did throttle during the test meaning cooling was not optimal when the CM5 IO board was inside the IO Case and the Compute Module 5 was only cooled by the fan. So today, I’ll repeat the same test with other cooling solutions namely the official Raspberry Pi Cooler for CM5 (that’s a heatsink only),  and EDATEC’s CM5 active cooler similar to the active cooler for the Raspberry Pi 5, but designed for the CPU module. But before that, I’ll do some house cleaning so to speak since last time, I booted Raspberry Pi OS from an NVMe SSD and I noticed the camera did […]

Olimex ESP32-P4-DevKit offers Ethernet, USB JTAG, MIPI DSI and CSI interfaces

Olimex ESP32-P4 devkit

Olimex ESP32-P4-DevKit is a compact development board powered by a 400 MHz ESP32-P4 general-purpose dual-core RISC-V microcontroller with a 10/100Mbps Ethernet RJ45 connector, a USB-C Serial/JTAG connector, MIPI DSI/CSI connectors for a display and a camera, GPIO headers and UEXT connector, Boot and Reset buttons, and a few LEDs. In some ways, it offers similar to the Waveshare ESP32-P4-NANO board we covered last month, but in a different form factor, and it lacks WiFi 6 connectivity and a USB Type-A connector. It’s also much more compact and cheaper than the official ESP32-P4-Function-EV-Board launched this summer, but again, with fewer features. Olimex ESP32-P4-Devkit: Microcontroller – ESP32-P4 MCU Dual-core RISC-V microcontroller @ 400 MHz with AI instructions extension and single-precision FPU Single-RISC-V LP (Low-power) MCU core @ up to 40 MHz GPU – 2D Pixel Processing Accelerator (PPA) VPU – H.264 and JPEG codecs support Memory – 768 KB HP L2MEM, 32 […]

STM32-powered MM6108-EKH05 Wi-Fi HaLow evaluation kit supports Bluetooth, Camera, and Qwicc/MikroBus modules

Morse Micro MM6108 EKH05 evaluation kit

Morse Micro has recently launched the MM6108-EKH05 Wi-Fi HaLow Evaluation Kit designed to reduce the development and deployment time of IoT products. Built around the Morse Micro MM6108 HaLow SoC, this kit combines long-range, low-power wireless connectivity with a range of integrated sensors, making it ideal for IoT engineers and developers. Key features include Wi-Fi HaLow connectivity, an STM32U585 Cortex-M33 MCU, integrated sensors (temperature, humidity, accelerometer), 16 MB of SPI Flash memory, programmable GPIOs, power measurement tools, and WPA3 security for reliable and secure communication. The kit also includes alternative power options including USB, battery, or external power, and embeds support for a camera, MikroBus and Qwicc expansion modules, Bluetooth, and current measurement circuitry. All these features make this kit useful for applications including smart homes, industrial automation, and agricultural monitoring. MM6108-EKH05 specifications: MCU – STM32U585 Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller @ 160 MHz with TrustZone, 2 MB Flash Storage – 16Mbit […]

STMicro releases STM32N6 Cortex-M55 MCU series with in-house NPU and dedicated computer vision pipeline

STM32N6 AI Demo

STMicro has announced the availability of the STM32N6 microcontroller series based on the 800MHz ARM Cortex-M55 and the 600 GOPS-capable Neural-ART Accelerator. The STM32N6 is the company’s “newest and most powerful STM32 series,” bringing MPU-level performance to MCUs. It is the first STM32 to feature the Arm Cortex-M55 and offer up to 4.2MB of embedded RAM. Additionally, the chip includes ST’s NeoChrom GPU and an H.264 hardware encoder. According to Remi El-Quazzane, MDRF (Microcontrollers, Digital ICs, and RF Products) President at STMicro, the STM32N6 “marks the beginning of a long journey of AI hardware-accelerated STM32, which will enable innovations in applications and products in ways not possible with any other embedded processing solution.” STMicro offers two versions of the STM32N6 MCU: the STM32N6x7 AI line featuring the Neural-ART accelerator and the STM32N6x5 GP (general-purpose) product line without an NPU. The microcontroller series is primarily targeted at computer vision and audio […]

Sipeed’s MaixCAM-Pro AI camera devkit adds 2.4-inch LCD, 1W speaker, PMOD interface on top of WiFi 6 and BLE 5.4

Sipeed MaixCAM Pro AI camera devkit

Sipeed has recently released the MaixCAM-Pro AI camera devkit built around the SOPHGO SG2002 RISC-V (and Arm, and 8051) SoC which also features a 1 TOPS NPU for AI tasks. The module includes a 2.4-inch color touchscreen and supports up to a 5MP camera module. Other features include WiFi 6, BLE 5.4, optional Ethernet, built-in audio capabilities, a PMOD interface, GPIOs, and more. Additionally, it features an IMU, RTC chip, and AXP2101 power management for enhanced performance. The module is designed for AI vision, IoT, multimedia, and real-time processing applications. Just a few months back, Sipeed introduced the MaixCAM AI camera devkit, which is also built around the SOPHGO SG2002 RISC-V SoC. The new module improves on the MaixCAM with a redesigned PCB, upgraded casing, and various new features including a 2.4-inch IPS touchscreen (640×480), a 1W speaker, expanded IO interfaces, a power button, and an illumination LED. It also […]

SONOFF CAM Slim Gen2 Review – A tiny indoor security camera tested with eWeLink and Home Assistant

SonoffCAMSlim2 Cover

We have received the latest tiny indoor security camera from SONOFF: the second generation of the CAM Slim series known as the CAM Slim Gen2 (or CAM S2 for shorts). Some of you might remember the first-generation CAM Slim model reviewed by Jean-Luc about two years ago. The Gen2 version keeps the same 1080p resolution but comes with several upgraded features, including AI algorithms to distinguish living beings, customizable detection zones, customizable privacy zones, sleep mode, enhanced low-light image quality, and flexible storage management. Although it’s packed with several enhancements, its price is lower than the Gen1. Let’s delve into the details! SONOFF CAM Slim Gen2 unboxing Inside the box, you’ll find a compact manual, a USB-C cable, a mounting kit, and a sticker template acting as a drilling guide. The camera is smaller than your palm and comes mounted on a versatile, rotatable base, making installation in various positions […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC