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January 9, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Pilet is a Raspberry Pi 5-powered modular, portable computer with 5-inch or 7-inch display, optional built-in keyboard (Crowdfunding)

Pilet is a modular, open-source hardware, portable computer designed for the Raspberry Pi 5 SBC, and equipped with a choice of displays, keyboards, and an optional battery module that can last for up to 7 hours. Two models are available: the Pilet 5 with a 5-inch display, an integrated keyboard, a trackball, a scroll wheel, a navigational switch (D-Pad), and game buttons, and the Pilet 7 with a larger 7-inch display and support for detachable modules such as a keyboard, gamepad, or deck. Pilet specifications: Supported SBC – Raspberry Pi 5 Storage – MicroSD card, NVMe SSD via module Display Pilet 5 – 5-inch IPS MIPI DSI display with 1280×800 resolution, capacitive touch screen. Pilet 7 – 7-inch IPS MIPI DSI display with 1280×800 resolution, capacitive touch screen. Video Output- 2x micro HDMI ports Networking Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port 802.11ac WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 Optional LTE cellular via module […]

January 3, 2025January 3, 2025 by Tomisin Olujinmi - 6 Comments

Looktech’s AI-powered smart glasses offer a 14-hour battery life, 13MP camera, and linear audio for $209 and up (Crowdfunding)

Looktech AI Glasses are AI-powered smart glasses with a “privacy-focused design” and several lens options. They are similar to Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses but support GPT-4, Claude, and Gemini instead of Meta AI. Like Meta’s smart glasses, the Looktech AI Glasses incorporate headphones, a camera, and an AI model for a hands-free experience and personalized AI assistance. According to Looktech, the smart glasses can track calories, find recipes, set reminders, and perform image searches. The in-built 13MP camera can be used to capture high-res images and videos and the open-ear dual speakers provide “rich, spatialized immersive audio while keeping you aware of your surroundings.” Looktech has given some hardware specifications for the product but the list is a bit sparse. We have covered the much cheaper but underpowered LILYGO T-Glass. Although there are no promises of a physical AI agent, the Looktech glasses are similar to the M5Stack’s Module LLM […]

November 15, 2024November 15, 2024 by Tomisin Olujinmi - No Comments

CYOBot v2 ESP32-S3-based open-source modular robotics platform supports up to 16 servos (Crowdfunding)

CYOBot v2 ESP32-S3 modular robotics platform

Create Your Own Bot (CYOBot) v2 is an open-source, modular robotics platform for students, educators, hobbyists, and future engineers based on the ESP32-S3 microcontroller and featuring up to 16 servo motors for complex control. The CYOBot v2 is a follow-up to the previous quadrupedal robotic platform from the same company. It adds new features such as a modular design, an upgrade to the ESP32-S3 chip, more motor channels, and an expansion block with more peripherals. It also supports integrating AI systems, such as ChatGPT, for added functionality. The CYOBot supports up to three configurations via the CYOBrain — which powers the robotics platform and controls the servo motors — and separate 3D-printed components. The CYOBot Crawler is a four-legged robot powered by eight 180-degree servo motors. The CYOBot Wheeler form factor features four 360-degree motors linked to wheels at the end of each leg and is essentially a hybrid between […]

November 14, 2024November 13, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Nova open-source hardware Raspberry Pi RP2040 board features a 70 RGB LED matrix (Crowdfunding)

Vcc Labs’ Nova is a tiny, open-source hardware Raspberry Pi RP2040 development board with a USB-C port, a 70 (7×10) addressable RGB LED matrix, and two 12-pin GPIO headers for expansion. It can be used for wearables, mini-displays, interactive art, fun games, and more. Nova specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ microcontroller @ up to 133 MHz with 264KB SRAM Storage – 2MB QSPI flash “Display” – 7×10 WS2812 addressable RGB LEDs, each measuring just 1x1mm USB – USB Type-C port for power, data, and programming Expansion – 2x 12-pin header with 20x GPIO, 2x SPI, 2x I2C, 2x UART, 4x ADC, Vin, 5V, 3.3V, and GND Misc – Reset and BOOT buttons Power Supply 5V via USB-C port 7V to 18V via Vin pin Power consumption – 9 Watts with all LEDs at full brightness Dimensions – 30.48 x 20.32 mm (PCB only) Weight – 4.76 grams […]

November 4, 2024November 7, 2024 by Sponsored Post - No Comments

Revopoint MetroX 3D Scanner: Blue Laser Scanning Breakthrough at an Appealing Price! (Sponsored)

As an innovator in 3D scanning technology, Revopoint has unveiled its latest product, the Revopoint MetroX 3D scanner. The Kickstarter campaign started on October 15th and will run until November 14th, offering MetroX at only $689 (MSRP $999) now. Four Scanning Modes MetroX is a versatile 3D scanner that combines blue laser and blue structured light technology. Its four scanning modes give users the right tools to optimally capture every aspect of small to medium objects, from flat areas to complex details. Cross Lines laser: Fourteen crossed lines rapidly scan larger surfaces at speeds of up to 800,000 points/second. No scanning spray is needed for glossy or black areas. Parallel Lines laser: Seven high-powered parallel blue laser lines are projected to accurately capture fine details, edges, and complex surfaces. Full-field structured light: Using blue structured light, it offers high-speed scanning at up to 7 million points/second for efficient point cloud […]

October 26, 2024December 22, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

RP2040 FlexiBoard is a bendable Raspberry Pi Pico clone made of flexible PCB (Crowdfunding)

[Update December 22: The project was previously called FlexiPi, but Raspberry Pi considered it infringed on its trademarks, so the name was changed to RP2040 FlexiBoard instead]. RP2040 FlexiBoard is a bendable Raspberry Pi RP2040 board made of flexible PCB with the same layout as the original Raspberry Pi Pico, but featuring a USB-C port instead of a micro USB port on the official board. This follows the Flexduino flex PCB clone of the Arduino UNO made by “EDISON SCIENCE CORNER”, but the smaller design of “TOP Gadgets” RP2040 FlexiBoard may make it potentially more useful since it could be inserted into tight or round enclosures. RP2040 FlexiBoard specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ microcontroller @ 48 MHz (overclockable to 133 MHz) with 264KB SRAM Storage – 2MB QSPI flash USB – 1x USB Type-C 1.1 port used for power and programming Expansion 2x 20-pin 2.54mm pitch header […]

October 18, 2024 by Tomisin Olujinmi - 22 Comments

Spectra is a customizable, JavaScript ESP32-S3 and nRF52832 smartwatch (Crowdfunding)

Spectra is a JavaScript-based hackable smartwatch based on the ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth microcontroller that aims to offer the quality of high-end consumer smartwatches with the repairability of a maker-targeted device. The Spectra smartwatch combines the ESP32-S3 microcontroller with a Nordic Semi nRF52832 co-processor to optimize the battery life. The ESP32-S3 is maxed out with 8MB of RAM and 32MB of external flash memory, and the microSD card slot in the watch supports up to a 512GB memory card. It shares a similar concept with the Bangle.js and the Bangle.js 2 customizable smartwatches. According to the maker, Spectra is not bound to be fully open-source, since the project uses “external proprietary code [they] aren’t allowed to share.” They plan to publish Arduino libraries and hardware design files, but there is no live GitHub repository yet. Other hackable smartwatches include the TinyWatch S3, the ZSWatch, and the Sensor Watch Pro. Spectra […]

October 11, 2024 by Sayantan Nandy - 1 Comment

AirCard Pro and AirNotch Pro Bluetooth trackers support Google/Apple network integration (Crowdfunding)

Rolling Square introduces its latest Bluetooth trackers – AirNotch Pro and AirCard Pro – designed for use with personal items like keys, wallets, bags, and more. Both trackers are designed for portability, and the AirNotch Pro is designed as a keyring, while the AirCard Pro suits wallets with a thinner, credit card-like design. The products integrate into Apple and Google’s tracking networks, with some features currently limited to Apple. Previously, we covered the SenseCAP T1000, a credit card-sized LoRaWAN GPS tracker powered by Semtech’s LR1110. Several years ago we covered some Bluetooth beacons such as the Puck.js or RuuviTag, but we have yet to explore Bluetooth-only trackers with wireless charging capabilities. Rolling Square AirCard Pro Bluetooth trackers AirCard Pro technical features: Network White version – Operates on Google’s Android Find My Device network (Android 6 or above) Black version – Operates on Apple Find My network (iOS 14 or above) […]