kicad News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

June 27, 2024June 27, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

FourThirdsEye is an open-source hardware 10.7MP IMX294 camera module for the Raspberry Pi 5/CM4

FourThirdEyes IMX294 camera module Raspberry Pi 5

Will Whang’s FourThirdsEye project is an open-source hardware camera module designed for Raspberry Pi 5 SBC and Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 SoM using a Sony IMX294 Type 4/3 CMOS image sensor. The camera module can capture 10.7 MP images and 4K (4096 x 2160) videos with improved low-light performance and dynamic range (4.63 um pixel size) compared to existing Raspberry Pi camera modules. Will claims it’s perfect for photography enthusiasts, developers, and makers who want a more powerful camera for their Raspberry Pi projects. FourThirdsEye camera module specifications: Sony IMX294 sensor Output image size – Diagonal 21.63 mm (Type 4/3) aspect ratio 17:9 & 4:3 Number of effective pixels 4168 (H) × 2176 (V) approx. 8.93M pixels (aspect ratio 17:9) 3792 (H) × 2824 (V) approx. 10.71M pixels (aspect ratio 4:3) Unit cell size – 4.63 μm (H) × 4.63 μm (V) Optical blacks Horizontal – Front: 0 pixels, […]

May 28, 2024May 27, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Olimex open-source hardware NXP i.MX 8M Plus industrial-grade SoM runs mainline Linux

Olimex has just announced the iMX8MP-SOM-4GB-IND industrial-grade, open-source hardware system-on-module based on NXP i.MX 8M Plus Arm AI SoC and 4GB LPDDR4 thar runs mainline Linux and operates in the -20°C to +85°C temperature range. The CPU module also features a wide range of interfaces exposed through female headers including HDMI 2.0, MIPI-DSI, LVDS, dual MIPI CSI, dual Gigabit Ethernet, CAN FS and more. Olimex also designed the iMX8MP-SOM-EVB evaluation board for easy evaluation. Olimex iMX8MP-SOM-4GB-IND system-on-module Specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Plus (MIMX8ML8CVNKZAB) CPU Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.6 GHz Arm Cortex-M7 real-time core @ 800 MHz Cache – 512KB GPU – Vivante GC7000UL 3D GPU, Vivante GC520L 2D GPU VPU – 1080p H.265/H.264 video decoder & encoder DSP HiFi 4 DSP AI accelerator – 2.3 TOPS Neural Processing Unit (NPU) System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 Storage – EEPROM for Linux configuration Display and camera […]

April 11, 2024April 16, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

LattePanda Mu is an x86 Compute Module based on Intel Processor N100 CPU

The LattePanda Mu is a compute module/system-on-module based on the popular Intel Processor N100 quad-core Alder Lake-N processor that can run Windows or Linux and aims to provide a more powerful solution than the Raspberry Pi 5 and upcoming Raspberry Pi CM5 (Compute Module 5). The LattePanda Mu does not follow any SoM standard and instead comes in a custom 69.6 x 60mm form factor using a 260-pin SO-DIMM edge connector. The module is equipped with 8GB RAM and 64GB eMMC flash by default, and the interfaces exposed through the edge connector (PCIe, USB, Ethernet, HDMI…) make it suitable for a range of applications such as IoT, robotics, digital signage, and edge computing through custom carrier boards. LattePanda Mu specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N100 quad-core Alder Lake-N processor @ up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel HD graphics @ 750 MHz; TDP: 6W System Memory – […]

March 25, 2024March 25, 2024 by Debashis Das - 3 Comments

Olimex VGA2HDMI is an open hardware board for VGA to HDMI conversion

Olimex VGA2HDMI is an open-source hardware VGA-to-HDMI converter specially designed and tested to work with the CERBERUS 2100, AgonLight 2, and Agon Origins boards. The board has a VGA port as input and an HDMI port as output and a USB-C port is there to provide the external power required for the board. In one of our previous posts, we wrote about the NovaVGA Shield, which adds VGA output to your Arduino UNO. Now, with the help of this board, that capability can be extended to HDMI. There are also extenders that carry VGA signals over Ethernet cables, a topic we have covered in another post. With this new board, you can convert that VGA signal to HDMI. It’s not like there aren’t other VGA to HDMI converters on the market; a quick Amazon search gave me the VENTION VGA to HDMI Adapter, but among them, most were HDMI to […]

February 5, 2024February 7, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Wiser wireless-to-serial kit eases the debugging and programming of embedded devices (Crowdfunding)

WiSer is a wireless-to-serial communication kit comprised of a USB dongle (WiSer-USB) and a USB TTL debug board (WiSer-TTL) – both built around an ESP32-S2 microcontroller – that allows users to establish a P2P wireless connection between a host computer and a development board or sensor. It works like a typical USB to TTL debug board except it operates over WiFi, and it’s especially useful to debug code, update firmware, log data, or transfer files without a USB cable or even a Wi-Fi router since the connection to peer-to-peer. It looks especially useful when the host and DUT are too far apart, and my review samples are often on another table around 1.5m from the nearest USB port of my laptop, so I could see some use for it myself… WiSer specifications: Wireless SoC – ESP32-S2 Wi-Fi (and Bluetooth) microcontroller USB – 1x USB Type-C port providing a virtual serial […]

January 24, 2024January 23, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

FOSDEM 2024 schedule – Open-source embedded, mobile, IoT, robotics, RISC-V, etc..

FOSDEM – which stands for Free and Open Source Software Developers’ European Meeting – is a free-to-participate event where thousands of developers meet in Brussels on the first week-end of February to discuss open-source software & hardware projects. FOSDEM 2024 will take place on February 3-4 with 880 speakers, 818 events, and 66 tracks. Although I won’t attend, I’ve created a virtual schedule like every year 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 “FOSS Mobile Devices”, “ Energy: Reimagining this Ecosystem through Open Source”, “RISC-V”, and others. FOSDEM Day 1 – Saturday, February 3, 2024 10:30 – 10:55 – Screen Sharing on Raspberry Pi 5 Using VNC in Weston and Wayland with the Yocto Project and OpenEmbedded by Leon Anavi In 2023, embedded Linux developers received eagerly awaited news: […]

January 19, 2024January 19, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

8 Euros ESP32-H2-DevKit-LiPo is an open-source hardware Bluetooth 5 LE and 802.15.4 (Zigbee/Thread/Matter) board

Olimex ESP32-H2-DevKit-LiPo is an open-source hardware board based on ESP32-H2-MINI-1-N4 wireless module with Bluetooth 5 Low Energy (LE) and an 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee, Thread, and Matter connectivity, and that can be powered by a LiPo battery. The ESP32-H2 RISC-V microcontroller is coupled with 4MB flash in the wireless module, and the board comes with two rows of 15 pins for up to 19 GPIOs with alternate functions such as ADC, SPI, UART, I2C, etc… plus pUEXT and Qwiic/Stemma connectors for expansion modules. The board also features two USB-C ports, one for connected directly to the ESP32-H2 and the other for USB to UART programming/debugging. ESP32-H2-DevKit-LiPo specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-H2-MINI-1-N4 MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-H2 32-bit RISC-V microcontroller at up to 96 MHz with 320 KB SRAM, 128 KB ROM, 4 KB LP memory, Bluetooth 5.2 LE/Mesh and 802.15.4 (Zigbee/Thread/Matter) radios. Storage – 4MB flash storage PCB antenna Dimensions […]

November 29, 2023November 29, 2023 by Kumpee Teeravech - 5 Comments

AirGradient ONE Kit Review – An open-source indoor air quality monitor

The product we are reviewing today is the “AirGradient ONE” air quality monitor kit which is an updated version of the earlier AirGradient air quality monitor. The device is equipped with sensors from Sensirion and Plantower, allowing it to measure many air quality parameters such as CO2, PM2.5, TVOCs, NOx, temperature, and humidity. It is an indoor air quality monitor that is both open-source software and open hardware. This means that the Arduino source code, schematic diagrams, PCB, and 3D models of the enclosure are available to developers. AirGradient ONE DIY Kit Unboxing The device was packaged within a cardboard box, with a greeting card from the manufacturer. The card features a QR code linking to a webpage with the installation guide. Since I requested the Kit version (there’s also a fully assembled model), some sensors were not pre-assembled and they were well-packaged in separate seals. The main PCB was […]