vPlayer – A 1.69-inch ESP32-S3 touchscreen video display with custom expansion options

vPlayer touchscreen video display

The vPlayer is an ESP32-S3 touchscreen video display that can be used for continuous MJPEG video playback from a microSD card. It features a 280 x 240 1.69-inch smartwatch-sized touchscreen display with backlight control and also offers expansion options via JST SH/SR connectors (UART, I2C, and I2S audio), and additional I/O pads on the PCB. All these features also make it suitable for applications such as weather displays, live traffic cameras, computer stats monitors, wildlife cameras, and fetching data from the Internet. vPlayer specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core 32-bit microcontroller @ 240MHz Memory and Storage – 4MB Flash and 2MB PSRAM Wireless – WiFi 4, Bluetooth 5.0 Storage – MicroSD card slot via MMC 4-bit interface Display – 1.69-inch touchscreen (280×240) P169H002-CTP TFT LCD ST7789V2 single-chip controller/driver CST816 touch controller Backlight control USB – 1x USB-C for power and data transfer Expansion JST SH/SR 1mm connectors for […]

Luckfox Lyra boards feature Rockchip RK3506G2 triple-core SoC, display interface, optional Ethernet port

Luckfox Lyra RK3506G2 RJ45 display interface

The Luckfox Lyra boards feature a Rockchip RK3506G2 triple-core Arm Cortex-A7 SoC with one Cortex-M0 real-time core, 128MB on-chip DDR3, a MIPI DSI display interface, and built on a 22nm process. Three versions are available with the Luckfox Lyra, Lyra B (with 256MB flash), and Luckfox Lyra Plus offering similar features, but the longer Plus model also adds a 10/100Mbps Ethernet RJ45 connector besides having 256MB SPI NAND flash. These are Luckfox’s first boards featuring the RK3506G2 processor, offering Ethernet connectivity and a display interface. But it’s not quite the first Arm Linux board from the company with Ethernet and a display interface, and we covered the Luckfox Pico Ultra micro development board all based on a Rockchip RV1106G3 SoC earlier this year. The company also introduced the similar-looking LuckFox Pico Pro and Pico Max boards powered by an RV1006G2 SoC in February, but instead of a display interface, they […]

Sensy32 Board is an ESP32-S3 sensor platform with up to six sensors for environmental monitoring in IoT applications

Sensy32 Board ESP3-S3 sensor platform

The Sensy32 Board is a compact sensor platform powered by Espressif’s flagship ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth microcontroller. The development board brings different monitoring devices together on the same PCB for easier integration into IoT ecosystems. It is a multipurpose device with several sensors bundled to measure and monitor ultraviolet light intensity, altitude, pressure, orientation, humidity, temperature, motion, and human presence. It includes a 9-degree-of-freedom inertial measurement unit (IMU) for 3D space orientation, while the built-in MEMS microphone can be used for audio input in voice detection and noise measurement applications. The onboard ESP32-S3 microcontroller powers the array of features and also offers Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity. The Sensy32 ESP32-S3 sensor platform also integrates an LCD screen for immediate feedback and real-time monitoring. We have covered other ESP32-based environment sensors such as the Qsen-07 multi-sensor board, AirGradient ONE, MoreSense MS-06, and Studio LUFF’s Air Quality Sensor. Sensy32 specifications: MCU […]

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 […]

4D Systems Raspberry Pi RP2350 display modules come in touch and non-touch options for embedded applications

gen4-RP2350 RP2350 display modules

4D Systems, an Australian company specializing in intelligent display solutions, has released Raspberry Pi RP2350-powered display modules with touch and non-touch options. The display modules are available in eight different sizes from 2.4-inch to 9.0-inch and different resolutions from 240×320 up to 800×480 pixels. They are “Powered by Raspberry Pi”-certified and leverage the Raspberry Pi RP2350’s dual-core architecture and security features for “secure, professional-grade applications that require modern UI”. 4D Systems is well-known for its high-quality displays designed for developers looking to create sophisticated user interfaces in embedded systems. There are four touch panel options for each gen4-RP2350 display module: non-touch, resistive touch, capacitive touch, and capacitive touch with a cover lens bezel (CLB). The gen4-RP2350 series also features a 30-pin FPC/ZIF socket to fit a 0.5mm pitch FFC for connecting a motherboard or accessory board. We have already covered Waveshare’s RP2350-LCD-1.28 display module but the gen4-RP2350 display modules are […]

Waveshare Double Eye LCD module is a high-tech alternative to googly eyes

Waveshare 0.71inch DualEye LCD Module

Waveshare has recently launched the Double Eye LCD module (also known as the 0.71inch DualEye LCD module), a high-tech alternative to googly eyes, with two 0.71-inch round IPS displays with 160×160 pixels of resolution and 65K color depth. It uses the GC9D01 driver and communicates via an SPI interface. The module operates at a 3.3V or 5V and is designed so that both ESP32 and Arduino boards can drive it. These features make this device useful for applications like wearables, robotics, IoT devices, etc… Waveshare Double Eye LCD module specifications: Display Type – Dual 0.71-inch round LCD displays Resolution – 160×160 pixels Panel – IPS (wide viewing angle) Colors – 65K colors Pixel Pitch – 37.5 × 112.5 µm Controller and Driver Driver – GC9D01 Interface – SPI Operating Voltage – 3.3V / 5V Dimensions Display – 18 mm ∅ per round LCD Module  – 51 x 20 mm The […]

SenseCAP Indicator – An ESP32-S3 and RP2040-based Meshtastic LoRa device with a 4-inch touchscreen display

ESP32S3 Meshtastic LoRa Indicator

The SenseCAP Indicator is a 4-inch capacitive touchscreen device designed for IoT connectivity and Meshtastic applications powered by Espressif Systems ESP32-S3 and Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontrollers. It supports Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n) and Bluetooth 5.0 LE connectivity, as well as LoRa using the Semtech SX1262 chip. The device also provides Grove connectors for expansion and a microSD slot supporting up to 32GB. Preloaded with Meshtastic firmware, the SenseCap Indicator is ready to function as a Meshtastic desktop or car node and can be reconfigured into a LoRaWAN Single-Channel Gateway. It features a 3.95-inch RGB touchscreen with 480×480 resolution, which is larger than most other Meshtastic solutions we’ve covered. Previously, we reviewed the SenseCAP Indicator D1Pro, which shares many features with the SenseCAP Indicator. However, the D1Pro integrates tVOC and CO2 sensors, along with an external Grove AHT20 TH sensor for precise temperature and humidity measurements. With real-time air quality monitoring from the […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC