Intel Curie Board Designed for Wearables is Powered by Quark SE SoC

Intel announced the Edison board at CES 2014, a board targetting wearables and IoT applications about the size of an SD card. At CES 2015, the company has gone smaller, by unveiling the button-sized Intel Curie module powered by a new Intel Quark SE SoC with a motion sensor, Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity and battery charging capabilities. Intel Curie specifications: Low-power, 32-bit Intel Quark SE SoC 384kB Flash memory, 80kB SRAM Low-power integrated DSP sensor hub with a proprietary pattern matching accelerator Bluetooth Low Energy 6-axis combo sensor with accelerometer and gyroscope Battery charging circuitry (PMIC) The module runs an unnamed open source RTOS, and the company will provide IQ software kits for references applications for wearables, such as counting steps, apps for mobile device, and so on. Intel Curie is  expected to be found in smart products such as rings, bags, bracelets, pendants, fitness trackers and buttons. There’s basically no […]

LinkIt A-Core Packs Mediatek MT2502A SoC into a Tiny Module for Wearables

LinkIt ONE is a development board based on Meditak MT2502A SoC for wearables, and developed by SeeedStudio. With GPS, Wi-Fi, and GSM/GPRS connectivity, and a LiPo battery, it’s great to experiment IoT or wearable applications, but if you plan to launch an actual product, it could be nice to have a module, and built a baseboard around it. That’s exactly what SeeedStudio is working with LinkIt A-Core module. LinkIT A-Core module specifications: SoC – Mediatek MT2502AV ARM7 SoC @ 260 MHz with 32MB PSRAM and 32MB Flash on-chip. External Storage – 16M external Flash (MX25U12835F) Cellular Connectivity – GSM/GPRS quad-band 850/900/1800/1900MHz with RF7198 RF transmitter. Connectivity – Bluetooth 2.0 / 2.0 EDR / 4.0, GPS compatible GPS/GNSS (requires external GPS module) Expansion – 48 general purpose digital I/O Power supply: DC 3V~4.2V Power Consumption – > 3mA Dimensions – 19x23x2 mm The module is still in development, and the company welcomes […]

Crowdfunding Report for 2014 on CNX Software Blog

Following up on my 2013 Crowdfunding Report, I’ve gone through all 55 Kickstarter and Indiegogo crowdunding projects featured on CNX Software between December 2013 and November 2014 (inclusive) to see how well they fared. The table below sort projects chronologically as they were published on this very blog. Date Project Crowdfunding Site Funded? Pledged amount / Goal Expected Delivery Actual Delivery Comments 2. Dec. 2013 Micro Python Kickstarter Yes 97,803 GBP / 15,000 GBP 03/2014 04/2014 Available @ https://micropython.org/store/#/store 5. Dec. 2013 Plugaway Kickstarter Yes $162,835 AUD / $50,000 AUD 04/2014 – People upset because of lack of updates. Project might be dead, and backers lost their money 6. Dec. 2013 AIRTAME Indiegogo Yes $1,268,332 / $160,000 05/2014 12/2014 People have started received the beta versions, after a massive 8-month delay 7. Dec. 2013 Crystal Board Kickstarter No $14,574 / $200,000 04/2014 – The project appears to be dead 10. […]

Top 10 Posts of 2014 and Stats on CNX Software

Wow! After a slow start of the year, 2014 has been a busy year as new devices based on newer processor from Amlogic started to flood the market in Q2, soon followed by even more Rockchip RK3288 based media players, and then some more Amlogic S805 and Allwinner A80 boards and devices. It’s now the last day of the year, so just like in 2013, it’s time to look back on the main trends of the year, and based on the list of the top 10 most visited posts below, the new generation of ARM Android media players were the most important story of the year on CNX Software, but we also saw more IoT devices and board like Vidonn X5 or LinkIT One, lots of new Wi-Fi modules, and by the end of the year ESP8266 seemed to have won that fight, but being found in $3 Wi-Fi modules. […]

Gemalto Cinterion Concept Board Features 3G Connectivity, Arduino Headers for Secure Java M2M Applications

Gemalto is a digital security company providing software solutions, smart cards, and secure modules, and one the largest manufacturer of SIM cards. The company has launched a developer board earlier this year called Cinterion Concept Board with the company’s Cinterion EHS6 M2M Java embedded machine-to-machine (M2M) 3G module, and Arduino compatible headers. Cinterion Concept Board specifications: 2G/3G M2M Module – Gemalto Cinterion ESH6 with Java ME embedded support Cellular Connectivity GPRS/EDGE Class 12, HSPA, 5 bands 3G, 4 bands 2G. Voice support. On-board antenna (top left side on picture) SIM card holder Expansion Arduino Compatible headers 8 GPIO with level shifters, and corresponding LEDs USB – 1x mini USB port for power, 1x mini USB port for debugging and power Misc – Start on/off, and user buttons, LEDs for serial interface. Power – 5V via either mini USB ports, solder pads for external battery. Dimensions – N/A The board is […]

Olimex Introduces Open Source Hardware ESP8266 Wi-Fi Modules, Evaluation Board Coming Soon

ESP8266 has become popular as module based on this SoC make it incredibly cheap to add Wi-Fi to all sort of things, the SDK available, and a community has gathered around the solution. Olimex has jumped on the bandwagon, and is now provided two open source hardware ESP8266 modules: MOD-WIFI-ESP8266 which makes it easy to interface to other Olimex boards thanks to its UEXT connector, and MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-DEV with  two rows of 0.1″ connectors and an unsoldered UEXT pad, is better suited if you want to integrate it with your own baseboard, or experiment with a breadboard. An evaluation board called MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-EVB will be launched a little later. Both modules share most specifications: SoC – Espressif Systems ESP8266 32-bit RISC processor with 802.11 b/g/n support(32-pin QFN package), Wi-Fi – 802.112 b/g/n with WEP, TKIP, AES, and WAPI engines, Wi-Fi direct (P2P), and soft-AP. On-board antenna and u.FL connector Expansion MOD-WIFI-ESP8266 – […]

Semtech LoRa SX1272 RF Module Enables Up to 30 KM Wireless Range for Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Waspmote, and More

Libelium’s Waspmote is a board based on Atmel ATmega1281 MCU that interfaces with over 80 sensors, and various wireless communication modules, and targets professional wireless sensor network applications such as irrigation systems, smart metering, smart cities, smartphone detection, building automation, and so on. They have some professional kits for over 3,000 Euros including training, but a more affordable Starter Kit is also available for 199 Euros on Cooking Hacks. But I’m not going to cover Waspmote in details today. I just mention it because of an article on embedded.com mentioning compatibility with a Libelium / Semtech LoRa SX1272 RF module delivering up to 30km range in ideal conditions (and usually 22+ km range in LOS), and about 2km range in urban settings. I previously featured XBee-PRO 900HP RF Module with a 45km range, so the Semtech module is just another option, and it works not only with Waspmote, but also the […]

Add Wi-Fi to Arduino Boards for $3 with ESP8266 Wi-Fi Serial Module

There has been some buzz around ESP8266 Wi-Fi module, mostly because of its low price, and SDK availability, meaning it could become the Wi-Fi equivalent of ENC28J60 Ethernet module, and that for $5 you could potentially add Wi-Fi to your Arduino board for example. Since then, the price has come down even further, and if you are prepared to buy 5 pieces, you can now get the module for less than $3 / piece shipped, alternatively a single module costs $4, and a complete Wi-Fi + Arduino Uno (clone) kit goes for $15. A community has also been built around the chip, and a several project have been made with Arduino boards and ESP8266 module. The best way to find information is to go to ESP8266 community forum, as well as read the Wiki on github. There’s currently a GCC toolchain for Espressif Systems ESP8266, open source tools for working […]

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