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

FOSDEM 2025 Schedule Embedded

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 […]

I-Pi SMARC Amston Lake development kit features Intel Atom x7433RE SoC, 8GB LPDDR5, two Raspberry Pi GPIO headers

I-Pi SMARC Amston Lake devkit

ADLINK’s I-Pi SMARC Amston Lake is a fanless development kit based on SMARC 2.1-compliant system-on-module with an Intel Atom X7433RE quad-core SoC, 8GB LPDRR5 memory, and up to 256GB eMMC flash, plus a carrier board with dual 2.5GbE with TSN, two Raspberry Pi-compatible GPIO headers, and a range of other interfaces. Those include 4-lane MIPI DSI, HDMI, eDP, and dual-channel LVDS display interfaces, two MIPI CSI camera interfaces, a 3.5mm audio jack, four USB Type-A ports, three PCIe M.2 sockets for storage, wireless, and cellular connectivity. I-Pi SMARC Amston Lake devkit specifications: LEC-ASL SMARC 2.1 module Amston Lake SoC  – Intel Atom x7433RE quad-core processor with 6MB cache, 32EU Intel UHD graphics; 9W TDP System Memory – 8GB LPDDR5 Storage – 32GB to 256GB eMMC flash Host interface – 314-pin MXM edge connector Storage – 1x SATA III (6 Gbps) Display – Dual-channel 18-/24-bit LVDS Camera – 2-lane MIPI CSI, […]

RootMaster is a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W-based hydroponic automation system with STM32G4 MCU, CAN Bus, sensors

RootMaster Hydroponics Controller

The RootMaster is a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W-based hydroponic automation system designed to precisely manage water and environmental conditions. The solution also integrates an STM32G4 microcontroller to handle real-time operations such as controlling pumps and peripherals, managing sensors, and processing data from external sensors like water level indicators. It also generates PWM signals to control the power of connected devices and handles communication with external modules through a CAN FD interface. While STM32 handles hardware-level tasks, the Raspberry Pi Zero 2W manages high-level control and user interaction. The RootMaster can be programmed with Python, C, C++, or other programming languages and is useful for applications like Hydroponics automation, water circulation, and environmental control. RootMaster specifications MCU – STMicro STM32G473 32-bit Arm Cortex-M4 microcontroller @ 170 MHz for real-time operations Main controller – Compatible with Raspberry Pi Zero 2 WH for GUI and other interfaces Sensors pH sensor for nutrient solution […]

Sfera Labs Strato Pi Max DIN rail industrial controllers now support the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5

Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 industrial controllers

The Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 (CM5) was launched at the end of last month, and we are starting to see companies slowly announce upgraded CM4 designs. Yesterday, we wrote about EDATEC ED-IPC3100 DIN-Rail mountable industrial computers, and today, we’ll cover Sfera Labs’ addition of the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 to their Strato Pi Max DIN rail industrial controllers. The controllers still feature a gigabit Ethernet port, a 10/100M Ethernet port, two USB 2.0 ports, a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller for power management and boot sequence control, and support expansion modules for up to sixteen RS-485 or RS-422 ports, four CAN V2.0B ports, digital and analog I/O, and more. Strato Pi Max specifications (as of December 2024): Base Module Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 Zymbit SCM options. Microcontroller – Raspberry RP2040 dual ARM Cortex-M0+ at 133 MHz. Storage – eMMC, microSD (dual for XL), M.2 PCIe […]

Portwell PJAI-100-ON rugged Edge AI embedded system features NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano for industrial quality control

Portwell PJAI-100-ON

Portwell has launched the PJAI-100-ON, a rugged and compact embedded system powered by the NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano SOM and designed for demanding industrial environments. It operates reliably across a wide temperature range of -20°C to 60°C with a fanless, quiet design that requires minimal maintenance. Equipped with dual Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports and M.2 slots for wireless connectivity, the PJAI-100-ON is tailored for Edge AI applications. This system enhances quality control in manufacturing by using advanced optical inspection technology to detect defects, improving quality assurance and reducing production errors. Previously, we covered other Jetson Orin Nano embedded systems, including Aetina’s AIE-KO21, AIE-KO31, AIE-KN31, and AIE-KN41 and DFI X6-MTH-ORN fanless Edge AI Box computer, as well as Portwell’s WEBS-21J0-ASL another rugged embedded system built around an Intel Atom x7000RE Amstom Lake Nano-ITX motherboard and equipped with an Hailo-8 AI accelerator. Portwell PJAI-100-ON specifications: SoM – NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano CPU […]

Forlinx launches NXP i.MX 95 SoM and development board with 10GbE, CAN Bus, RS485, and more

NXP i.MX 95 board with 10GbE, CAN Bus, RS485

Forlinx FET-MX95xx-C is a system-on-module (SoM) based on NXP i.MX 95 SoC with up to six Cortex-A55 cores, an Arm Cortex-M7 real-time core clocked at 800 MHz, an Arm Cortex-M33 “safety” core clocked at 333 MHz, and equipped with 8GB LPDDR4x and 64GB eMMC flash. The company also provides the feature-rich OK-MX95xx-C development board based on the i.MX 95 module with a wide range of interfaces such as dual GbE, a 10GbE SFP+ cage, terminal blocks with RS485 and CAN Bus interface, three USB Type-A ports, two PCIe slots, and more. Forlinx FET-MX95xx-C system-on-module Specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 9596 CPU 6x Arm Cortex-A55 application cores clocked at 1.8 GHz (industrial) with 32K I-cache and D-cache, 64KB L2 cache, and 512KB L3 cache Arm Cortex-M7 real-time core clocked at 800 MHz Arm Cortex-M33 safety core clocked at 333 MHz GPU – Arm Mali-G310 V2 GPU for 2D/3D acceleration with support […]

Renesas RX260 and RX261 64 MHz RXv3 MCUs target power-efficient touch applications

Renesas RX260 RX261 RXv3 microcontrollers

The Renesas RX260 and RX261 two new 64 MHz microcontrollers part of the high-performance, high-efficiency RX product family with integrated capacitive touch-sensing and high power efficiency in both active and standby modes. The microcontrollers are based on the RXv3 core with a performance score of 355 CoreMark @ 64MHz, which is “2.5 times higher than competing 64 MHz class MCUs.” The chips are also power-efficient, with a consumption rate of 69μA/MHz during active operation and 1μA only in standby mode. According to Renesas, the chips are up to 25% more efficient in active mode and 87% more efficient in standby mode than other 64 MHz class MCUs. Another competing factor is the onboard 8KB of data flash, eliminating the need for external EEPROM. The RX260 and RX261 Group MCUs support noise- and water-resistant capacitive touch via Renesas’ third-generation capacitive touch IP (CTSU2SL). They also integrate an “automatic judgment function” that […]

Microchip PIC32MZ-W1 is a 32-bit MIPS WiFi MCU with 60+ GPIO, USB, CAN Bus, Ethernet, and more

PIC32MZ W1 and WFI32 2.0 Curiosity Board

Microchip recently released the PIC32MZ-W1 wireless MCU along with 20 other WiFi parts, including WiFi MCUs, link controllers, network controllers, and plug-and-play modules. Among them, the PIC32MZ-W1 wireless MCU is the most interesting because of its 32-bit MIPS microAptiv M-class core running at up to 200MHz, advanced hardware security features, and integrated Microchip Trust Platform for secure cloud authentication. Over the years ESP32 MCUs have become the go-to choice for wireless applications. Still, one problem we always have with ESP32 SoCs is their limited GPIO option due to their strapped-out pin structures. But this new MCU has over 60 GPIO pins to work with along with Ethernet MAC, USB, CAN Bus, CANFD, SPI, I2C, SQI, UART, ADC, JTAG, and more. PIC32MZ-W1 wireless MCU specifications MCU MIPS32 M-Class core clocked at 200 MHz 16KB I-Cache, 16KB D-Cache microMIPS mode (up to 35% smaller code size) DSP extensions (4x 64-bit accumulators, single-cycle […]

EmbeddedTS embedded systems design