We previously covered Q-Wave Systems’ Melon S3 board combining a Xilinx Spartan 3E FPGA with ESP8266, but the Thai company is back is a completely different product: EagleEye Smart Camera. The board is powered by Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+ (CM3+) with 16GB or 32GB flash, and equipped with a 5 MP camera for machine vision and robotics applications. There are two version of the board Uno and Industrial with the latter adding 24V digital input and outputs, circuit protections and support for industrial temperature range. EagleEye smart camera key features & specifications: SoM – Raspberry Pi CM3+ with Broadcom BCM2837B0 quad core cortex-A53 processor, 1 GB RAM, and 16GB or 32 GB flash Camera – 5 MP OV5647 image sensor, CS/M12 lens holder + 4mm CS lens Video Output – mini HDMI port Networking – 10/100M Ethernet USB – 1x USB 2.0 host port up to 1.2A Expansion Uno […]
HuskyLens AI Camera & Display Board is Powered by Kendryte RISC-V Processor (Crowdfunding)
A couple of years ago, I reviewed JeVois-A33 computer vision camera powered by Allwinner A33 quad-core Cortex-A7 processor running Linux. The tiny camera would implement easy-to-use software for machine vision with features such as object detection, eye tracking, QR code and ArUco marker detection, and so on. The camera could handle the tasks at hand, but since it relied on purely software computer vision, there were lag for some of the demo applications including 500ms for single object detection, and up to 3 seconds for YOLO test with multiple object types using deep learning algorithms. That’s a bit slow for robotics project, and software solutions usually consume more than hardware accelerated ones. Since then, we’ve started to see low-cost SoC and hardware with dedicated hardware AI accelerators, and one of those is Kendryte K210 dual-core RISC-V processor with a built-in KPU Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) hardware accelerator and APU audio […]
Waveshare Jetbot AI Kit for NVIDIA Jetson Nano Board Sells for $100 and Up
NVIDIA Jetson Nano developer kit was launched for $99 last March with impressive specifications for the price including one module with four Arm Cortex-A57 cores, a 128-core Maxwell GPU, and 4GB LPDDR4 RAM. The company also introduced Jetbot robot based on the new board, with all instructions available on Github, but until now you had to put some efforts to build it up as the fairly long list of parts had to be purchased or 3D printed separately. It’s now become easier, as Waveshare has started selling their Jetbot AI kit on Amazon for $122.99 without Jetson Nano, and $259.99 with, meaning you may be better off purchasing NVIDIA board separately for around $100, or you may purchase the complete kit directly on Waveshare website for $215.99 plus shipping, or $99.99 without the SBC. Jetbot AI kit content: Optional NVIDIA Jetson Nano SBC 64GB micro SD Card Metal box Camera […]
Arduino based Clover Platform Targets STEM Education in Vietnam
We’re already seen there’s an active maker community in South East Asia with products such as KidBright32 educational board in Thailand, and Singapore & Thailand based MakerAsia’s recent launch of the open-source KB-IDE for ESP32 targets. Vietnam based Clover Team also introduced a STEM platform for students late last year with hardware, an IDE, and a mobile application. The team has made three educational kits: Clover EDU Basic with Clover Master Board and basic modules Clover Car Robot with Clover Master Board, motor, motor driver module, line sensor, distance sensor, Bluetooth module Clover Inventor that includes all items from Clover EDU Basic and Clover Car Robot plus a WiFi module. The Master board is compatible with the Arduino UNO platform (software-wise) and comes with the following key features: Connectivity – Header for ESP8266 WiFi module Expansion – 4x RJ11 ports for input and output with color signs, and compatible with […]
Microchip SAMA5 based Giant Board Launched on Crowd Supply for $50 and Up
Earlier this year we gave you details about some new development board, most especially about the Giant board. A tiny single board computer that runs Linux on Arm Cortex-A5 processor. This super tiny single-board computer (SBC) is based on the Adafruit Feather form factor. Unlike its name, the giant board is actually a small microchip. And it packs an awful lot of power for its size. The news is that it has launched on Crowd Supply for $50 and up. In addition, the giant board implements the power of size, which makes it unique. It squeezes SBC into a package the size of a microcontroller board. This will in turn relax memory, storage, and processing constraints. Consequently allowing you to effectively work on your projects. Another thing to know about the Giant Board is that it runs full Debian Linux. Giving developers and users access to an endless number of […]
DJI Launches RoboMaster S1 Education Robot
DJI is one of the world’s leading technology companies. They specialize in the manufacturing of high-end drones and other innovative and creative techs. Recently they announced the launch of their new product, Robomaster S1 education robot. The game-changing educational robot uses innovative hands-on learning, this makes it fun and smart. Furthermore, the new S1, which is a lot different from what DJI makes, is packed with a lot of features. This educational robot allows users to learn and understand science, math, physics, programming, and more. Although the official selling price of the S1 is $499, most resellers are expecting to sell it at a higher price. Resellers will sell it at about $699, which is a big difference from the official price. When CNX Software spoke to one of the resellers, they mentioned the reason for the high price, stating that “suppliers did not provide the RoboMaster S1’s cost” so […]
Xilinx Arm FPGA, Snapdragon SoM’s, and Wandboard SBC Field Trip to Space
Most embedded systems are used here on planet earth, but some do take off heading for space, and this week I come accross two separate projects leveraging Arm processors and FPGAs, as well as Ubuntu/ROS and Android operating systems: SpaceX Starlink communication satellites and Astrobee robots roaming in the international space station (ISS) SpaceX Starlink Satellites with Xilinx Ultrascale+ Arm + FPGA SoC SpaceX is about to launch a cloud of 60 Starlink communication satellites that aims to provide internet communication anywhere in the world. That’s just a start as eventually the plan is to get up to 12,000 of those satellites. Usually, we would not know many technical details about the satellites, but as one reader pointed out (Thanks Lawrence!), a Reddit thread about the launch, also pointed to a NASA document revealing the satellites are powered by Xilinx Ultrascale+ quad core Cortex-A53 processor with FPGA fabric. Milestone 2 […]
ZED Depth and Motion Tracking Camera Supports NVIDIA Jetson Nano Board
When NVIDIA launched their low cost Jetson Nano development board earlier this week, one reader asked whether it would support binocular depth mapping. It turns out Stereo Labs has updated the SDK (Software Development Kit) for the ZED depth and motion tracking camera in order to support the latest NVIDIA developer kit. Jetson Nano can manage depth and positional tracking at 30 fps in PERFORMANCE mode with 720p resolution, and while the more powerful and expensive Jetson TX2 achieves doubles the performance at 60 fps, it does so at a much higher cost. ZED depth and motion tracking camera specifications: Video 2.2K @ 15 fps (4416×1242 resolution) 1080p @ 30 fps (3840×1080 resolution) 720p @ 60 fps (2560×720 resolution) WVGA @ 100 fps (1344×376 resolution) Depth Resolution – Same as selected video resolution Range – 0.5 to 20 m Format – 32-bits Stereo Baseline – 120 mm Motion 6-axis Pose […]