PicoVoice offline Voice AI engine has now a free tier that allows people to create custom wake words and voice commands easily for up to three users on any hardware including Raspberry Pi and Arduino boards. I first learned about PicoVoice about a year ago when the offline voice AI engine was showcased on a Raspberry Pi fitted with ReSpeaker 4-mic array to showcase the company’s Porcupine custom wake word engine, and Rhino Speech-to-Intent engine. The demo would support 9 wake words with Alexa, Bumblebee, Computer, Hey Google, Hey Siri, Jarvis, Picovoice, Porcupine, and Terminator. More importantly, the solution allows you to easily create your own custom words in minutes from a web interface by simply typing the selected wake word, with no need for hundreds of voice samples or waiting weeks to get it done. So I tried “Hey You” first, but I was told it was too short, […]
A $25 16MP camera with autofocus for Raspberry Pi boards (Crowdfunding)
ArduCam has launched a $25 16MP camera with autofocus for Raspberry Pi boards with 40% higher resolution than the 12MP Raspberry Pi HQ camera, while keeping the compact form factor of the 8MP Raspberry Pi Camera V2. The camera is equipped with a 16MP Sony IMX519 sensor, works with any Raspberry Pi board with a MIPI CSI interface, and the company claims that with the existing camera tuning algorithms from the Raspberry Pi Foundation, the camera module beats the Raspberry Pi HQ camera’s quality in every aspect including sharpness, saturation, exposure, and more. The downside is that it lacks supports for interchangeable lenses. Arducam 16MP camera specifications: Sensor – Sony IMX519 sensor with 4656 x 3496 pixels resolution Still resolution – 16MP Video modes – 1080p30, 720p60 Optical size – Type 1/2.53″ Focal ratio – 1.75 Focal length – 4.28 mm Autofocus – Yes with range 10cm to ∞. As […]
Raspberry Pi 4 PLC Industrial controller targets IIoT applications
I’ve just noticed Boot&Work Corp was now offering an “Industrial Shields” branded PLC industrial computer powered by Raspberry Pi 4 SBC. We previously covered the company in 2017 at a time when they provided Arduino-based PLC modules optionally controlled with 10.1-inch panel PCs based on ARM Linux SBCs such as Raspberry Pi or Banana Pi. The “Raspberry Pi PLC Industrial Controller” is offered with either optoisolated outputs or relay outputs, and optional GPRS connectivity. The Linux PLC is equipped with up to 36 digital inputs, 16 analog inputs, 8 analog outputs, and 6 interrupts, as well as communication interfaces such as CAN bus, up to 2x Ethernet ports, dual RS-485, WiFi, and Bluetooth. Raspberry Pi PLC Industrial Controller basic specifications: Single board computer – Raspberry Pi 4 SBC with 2GB to 8GB RAM, WiFi 5, and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity Storage – 8GB MicroSD card Video Output – 2x Micro HDMI […]
CaribouLite RPi HAT open-source SDR Raspberry Pi HAT tunes up to 6 GHz (Crowdfunding)
CaribouLite RPi HAT is an open-source dual-channel software-defined radio (SDR) Raspberry Pi HAT – or rather uHAT – that works in the sub-GHz ISM range and optionally the 30 MHz – 6 GHz range for the full version. Developed by Israel-based CaribouLabs, the micro HAT is equipped with a Lattice Semi ICE40LP1K FPGA, a Microchip AT86RF215 RF transceiver, two SMA antenna connectors, a Pmod expansion connector, and designed for any Raspberry Pi board with a 40-pin GPIO header. CaribouLite RPi HAT specifications: FPGA – Lattice Semi ICE40LP with 1.28 kLE RF Chipset – Microchip AT86RF215 Sub-GHz / 2.4GHz transceiver Qorvo’s RFFC5072 integrated Mixer IC (for full version only) Tuning Range CH1 Full version – 30 MHz – 6 GHz ISM version – 2.4 – 2.4835 GHz CH2 – Sub-1GHz Max Sampling Rate – 4 MSPS ADC/DAC Resolution – 13-bit Max RF Bandwidth – 2.5 MHz Transmit Power – up to […]
IoThing Digital IO board handles up to 300V for Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and various other boards (Crowdfunding)
AlterStep’s IoThing Digital is a digital I/O module with two high-power Omron G5Q-14 relays and two isolated AC or DC input channels based on Texas Instruments ISO1211 that can handle up to 300 V. The board also integrates a DC-DC converter and mikroBUS slot that allows it to be used with compatible MCU boards, and the company also provides adapters for popular form factors such as Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Adafruit Feather, Teensy, and others. IoThing Digital specifications: mikroBUS socket for mikroElektronika Click expansion boards BOKRA Lite MCU boards (Some details below) 2x Omron G5Q-14 SPDT relays – 3A/30V DC or 3A/250VAC via terminal blocks Terminal block for 2x digital outputs configurable from 9V to 300V, DC and AC PCF8574 8-bit I/O expander chip with I²C bus for relay control and digital signal input I2C interface with support for 100 KHz and 400 KHz, address selection via jumpers Grove I2C connector […]
Seaberry Mini-ITX carrier board for Raspberry Pi CM4 exposes 11 PCIe slots and sockets
The Raspberry Pi CM4 may only have a one PCIe x1 Gen 2 interface, but this has not stopped ALFTEL from designing Seaberry, a mini-ITX carrier board for the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 with eleven slots and sockets making use of the single 5 Gbps PCIe Gen 2 interface. The board also offers two SATA ports, one Gigabit Ethernet port, one RJ45 console port, two HDMI ports, a micro SD card slot, two USB 2.0 ports, as well as the usual 40-pin GPIO expansion header, besides the PCIe x16 slot, a PCIe x1 side slot, and M.2 and mPCIe sockets. Seaberry carrier board specifications: Compatible systems-on-module Raspberry Pi CM4 module (Regular or Lite) Radxa CM3 Pine64 SoQuartz Storage – 1x MicroSD card for Raspberry Pi CM4 Lite, 1x M.2 socket for NVMe SSD (See PCIe expansion section) Video Output – 2x HDMI output ports, 1x MIPI DSI connector Camera […]
10.1-inch Raspberry Pi All-in-One touchscreen display review – Part 1: Unboxing and installation
I’ve just received a 10.1-inch touchscreen display designed for Raspberry Pi model B boards with 1200×800 resolution from the EVICIV store on Amazon that also offers models with 1366×378 and 1920×1200 resolutions, and allows users to create an All-in-One computer based on the popular SBC. The product can also be used as a standalone display connected to an HDMI or USB-C (via DisplayPort Alt mode) source, so it could be interesting for all sorts of projects and not only ones relying on Raspberry Pi boards. In the first part of the review, I’ll check out the hardware, install a Raspberry Pi 4, and boot it to check out whether it works, before going into more details in the second part of the review. RPI All-in-One Touchscreen Display Unboxing The package lists some of the specs and highlights features of the device with a built-in stereo speaker, support for older and […]
Meet Dot – A stamp sized 2-wheel robot powered by a Raspberry Pi RP2040 board
Kaisar (aka Roboticbits) has developed a tiny robot based on Pironomi Tiny 2040 Raspberry Pi RP2040 development board, which he/she claims is the smallest in the world, but it might not be depending on how one measures it. Nevertheless, the Dot is a cool project with two wheels with a 3V DC motor attached to the 22.9 x 18.2 mm board, and a 70mA battery to power the mini robot. Here’s what it looks like in action. Introducing Dot.. a stamp size @Raspberry_Pi #RP2040 robot.. the smallest in the world! Makes a proper use of the @pimoroni #Tiny2040!#raspberrypi #robot #robotics #make pic.twitter.com/rnYghWY6NJ — RoboticBits (@roboticbits) November 11, 2021 Eventually, the robot should be documented on Github, but at this time we have limited information with a photo accompanying the video demo above. Tom’s Hardware got more details about the software as well, with Kaisar saying the firmware was developed with […]