ios News - Page 17 of 19 - CNX Software

November 27, 2013November 27, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

LightBlue Cortado is an Arduino Compatible Board Programmed Wirelessly via Bluetooth LE (Crowdfunding)

We’ve already seen several Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Arduino compatible boards being crowd-funded such as RFDuino and BLEDuino, but there’s now another board designed by Punch Through Design: LightbBlue Cortado. The board is programmed wirelessly directly via Bluetooth LE, instead of USB as in the two aforementioned boards, which means programming via iPad or Android tablets becomes more convenient. Here are the technical specifications of the board: MCU – Atmel ATmega328P @ 8MHz with 32KB Flash, 1KB EEPROM, 2KB SRAM Bluetooth – LBM313 Module with Texas Instruments CC2540, 256 KB Flash. Bluetooth range: 30.5m. Power consumption in sleep mode: 0.9μA I/O – 4 PWM pins, 2 Analog inputs, 8 GPIO, I2C and SPI Sensor – 3-Axis Accelerometer Misc – RGB LED, protoboard section, adhesive backing Power – Coin cell battery. Battery life exceeding one year for low power applications There’s no USB, so the only way to program the board is via […]

November 15, 2013November 15, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Coin is a Smart Card that Replaces All Your Other Cards (Credit, Debit, Loyalty…)

You may have a few cards in your wallet: credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, membership cards, … and it’s just convenient to carry them around all the time. There will soon be a solution with Coin, a smart card where you can store all your other cards data, and use this smart card instead. In order to register your physical cards (up to 8 cards for one Coin), you’ll need to install an application in your Android smartphone, or your iPhone, take a picture of both sides of the cards, and swiping the Coin though a small device provided with the card. Then, when you want to make a purchase, you just click on the button of the Coin to select the card to use, and carry on with your purchase are you would normally do. You may worry about security concerns, but the company behind the Coin has […]

November 14, 2013November 14, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Ninja Sphere Home Automation and Monitoring Platform

Ninja Blocks is an company providing open source hardware solutions for home automation. Their first product was called Ninja Blocks Kit which includes a Ninja Block (Beaglebone + Arduino based gateway, but they now also support the Raspberry Pi), sensors, sockets, cables, and a power supply, and works with Ninja Platform, an open source software framework. The goal was to simplify the process of developing automation applications by taking care of all low levels tasks such as electronics, embedded programming, network protocols.., and letting “end users” / developers focus on their application. The company is now working on a new version called the Ninja Sphere, including a “Spheramid” gateway, location waypoints (Bluetooth low energy tags), and smart power sockets. Here are the key features of the gateway: Processor – ARM Cortex A8 (probably Texas Instruments Sitara) Color LED Matrix Connectivity – Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE, Zigbee, and Wi-Fi USB Port – […]

August 29, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 23 Comments

Broadlink SP1 Wi-Fi Smart Socket Can Be Turned On/Off by Android or iOS Devices

Broadlink SP1 is a smart socket with Wi-Fi connectivity that you can control remotely with your Android or iOS mobile device through a specific app in order to turn on and off lights, water heater, and other electrical appliances. This type of product already exists for example with Belkin Wemo, but Broadlink SP1 is cheaper as it sells for $32.90 including shipping, against $49.99 + shipping for Belkin Wemo Switch. So let’s have a closer look. For this type of device there aren’t that many technical specifications, but they are very important as you need to make sure it matches your electrical grid specs, equipment power rating, and socket type: Material – ABS Power Plug – Three flat-pin plug (Australia type) Voltage – 90~245V @ 50-60 Hz Output Current – 10A Output Power – 2200W Dimensions – 8.9 cm x 7.7 cm x 5.8 cm Temperature Range – -10’C to […]

August 27, 2013November 19, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

$49 (and up) Hex is an Arduino-compatible, Soon-to-be Open Source Nanocopter Kit

Do you remember Mecam, an upcoming $49 nanocopter with a camera? AFAIK, it’s not there yet, but a similar product with a similar price point is now “available” on Kickstarter. Hex nanocopters (quadcopter and hexacopter versions) are not voice-controlled, and do not come with a camera by default, but you can control them with iOS or Android mobile devices, and a camera can be fitted if needed. It comes as a kit, so you’ll have to assemble it yourself, and since it’s fully open source, you could even customize it to your taste. Hex specifications: Propellers – Size: 56×8.5 mm, Fits shaft: 1.0 mm Motors – Diameter: 7.0 mm, Length: 20 mm, Shaft diameter: 1.0 mm, Over 50,000 rotations per minute (rpm) Flight Control System: Flight control – Microwii Copter Processor – Atmel ATMega32u4 Gyro and Accel – InvenSense MPU6050 (6-axis) Battery – 350mAh battery (Flight Time – 7 minutes) […]

August 23, 2013August 23, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Sky Drone FPV HD Video Solution For Drones Uses 3G or 4G/LTE Networks and the BeagleBone Black

Earlier this week, I wrote about SparqEE CELLv1.0 a low cost cellular module to allow applications such as RC helicopter with extended range thanks to cellular networks. It turns out there’s currently a crowdfunding campaign that aims to bring such solution to market, but using 3G/4G USB dongles instead. Sky Drone FPV (First Person View) is an HD video system that can be controlled using 3G or 4G/LTE networks, and features the BeagleBone Black as the controller board. It would usually be attached to a quadcopter, by there’s not reason why you could not also use it with RC ground vehicles. Let’s start with the technical specifications: Controller Board – BeagleBone Black 3G/4G LTE Modem: Option 1 – Huawei E397Bu-501 for US / Americas (4G LTE FDD 1700/2100MHz and 700MHz) Option 2 – Huawei E398u-1 for Europe / Asia (4G LTE FDD 900/2600 MHz) Camera: Option 1 – Full HD […]

August 20, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Ostec Wi-Fi Telescopes, Wi-Fi and USB Portable Microscopes for iOS, Android, and PCs

Ostec Electro-Optical Science and Technology, is a company headquartered in Shenzhen, China, with a factory based in Guangzhou, that manufactures optical devices such as telescopes, microphones, endoscopes, and scanners that connects to your computer, or tablet via USB or Wi-Fi. Charbax of armdevices.net interviewed the company in April at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair, and uploaded the video (see bottom of post) very recently. Let’s have a closer at some of the products. KoPa WiFi Telescope (Model TW501) The first device is TW501 Wi-Fi telescope that comes with a tablet holder, and allows you to visualize the picture directly on your smartphone, tablet, or other Wi-Fi capable device either via specific Apps or via the web browser. It apparently not suited for astronomy, but can be used for bird watching, building surveillance, hiking, and any application where you may need to take close-up pictures or videos. Wi-Fi Telescope Specifications: Sensor […]

August 2, 2013December 24, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

$49 OVO Egg-Shaped Media Player Helps You Collect and Organize Online Videos With your Smartphone

If you’re often watching online videos on your smartphone, and when back home, you’d rather continue watching those on your television, OVO may be for you. The device is a tiny media player shaped like an egg, with a multimedia processor, a minimum amount of RAM and flash, and Wi-Fi. The full specifications haven’t been provided, but here’s what we know about the hardware: SoC- Full HD Media Processor System Memory – 2Gbit DDR3 (256 MB) Storage – 2GBit NAND Flash (256 MB) Connectivity – 2×2 WiFi 802.11b/g/n single-band Video Output – HDMI 1.4 Dimensions – 61.85 mm (h), 63.32 mm (w), 72.78 mm (d) Weight – 77 grams There’s no word about the OS, but it’s probably running some sort of Embedded Linux distribution. Another interesting point about the hardware is that the Wi-Fi module is not placed horizontally, but inclined, and according to the company this improves Wi-Fi […]