som News - Page 53 of 79 - CNX Software

June 6, 2018June 18, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Linux 4.17 Release – Main Changes, Arm & MIPS Architectures

Linus Torvalds released Linux 4.17 last Sunday: So this last week was pretty calm, even if the pattern of most of the stuff coming in on a Friday made it feel less so as the weekend approached. And while I would have liked even less changes, I really didn’t get the feeling that another week would help the release in any way, so here we are, with 4.17 released. No, I didn’t call it 5.0, even though all the git object count numerology was in place for that. It will happen in the not _too_distant future, and I’m told all the release scripts on kernel.org are ready for it, but I didn’t feel there was any real reason for it. I suspect that around 4.20 – which is I run out of fingers and toes to keep track of minor releases, and thus start getting mightily confused – I’ll switch […]

June 4, 2018June 4, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Firefly Core-PX3-SEJ SoM Features Rockchip PX3-SE Industrial-Grade Processor

Allwinner is not the only Chinese fabless silicon vendor to offer industrial grade processors, as Rockchip PX3 SE quad core Cortex A7 processor can also operate in the industrial temperature range (-20°C to 80°C). I had covered Rockchip PX3 previously, but it’s the first time I read about Rockchip PX3-SE processor, and Firefly is the first company to integrate the processor into a product, namely Core-PX3-SEJ system-on-module. Core-PX3-SEJ module specifications: SoC – Rockchip PX3-SE quad core Cortex A7 processor @ 1.3 GHz with Arm Mali-400MP2 GPU – See datasheet for details System Memory – 512MB, 1GB or 2GB dual-channel DDR3 Storage – 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB eMMC flash Edge Connector – 204-pin DDR3 SO-DIMM connector with Storage – Micro SD card interface Connectivity SDIO interface for WiFi & Bluetooth module Gigabit Ethernet Display – HDMI up to 1080p, CVBS, MIPI DSI or LVDS for LCD display Audio – Via […]

June 1, 2018September 10, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Allwinner T2 is a Rebranded Allwinner A20 Processor Operating in Industrial Temperature Range

Last month, Allwinner unveiled A40 and A60 industrial and military grade processors leveraging IP blocks from the old-but-popular Allwinner A20 dual core processor. This is good news for software support, as A40 and A60 should hopefully become supported in U-boot and the Linux kernel without too many efforts, as well as for companies or makers requiring wider temperature ranges in their products. However, those new processors were not pin-to-pin compatible with Allwinner A20, so a PCB redesign would be required. That’s where Allwinner T2 comes into play, as reported by Olimex, it is a rebranded Allwinner A20 dual core Cortex A7 processor with an industrial temperature range (-40 to +85 °C) that makes it suitable for automotive infotainment. I actually covered Allwinner T2 back in 2015, but at the time Allwinner did not mention anything about temperature range, and SATA support – found in A20 – was not shows in […]

May 31, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

Banana Pi BPI-S64 Core is a “Compute Module” based on Actions Semi S700 Processor

SinoVoIP has launched many development boards & SBCs under the Banana Pi brands, but so far they had not designed any system-on-modules (SoM). Banana Pi BPI-S64 Core is their first SoM, which they refer to as “Compute Module” for the compulsory Raspberry Pi reference, and it’s not based on Allwinner or Realtek processors used in many of their recent boards, but instead an Actions Semi S700 quad core Cortex A53 processor. Banana Pi BPI-S64 Core specifications: SoC – Actions Semi S700 quad core Arm Cortex-A53 processor with Arm Mali-450MP4 GPU with OpenGL ES2.0/1.1, OpenVG 1.1, EGL 1.5 support System Memory – 2GB LPDDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash Edge Connector – 204-pin SO-DIMM connector Power Supply – PMIC on-board Dimensions – 67.5 x 30 mm The company also provides Banana pi BPI-S64 core kit for getting started with the module. Development kit preliminary specifications: SODIMM slot for Banana BPI-S64 Core […]

May 23, 2018May 23, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

A Closer Look at Mediatek MT8516 Cortex A35 SoM / Devkit for Android Things

Earlier this month, Google released Android Things 1.0, the first stable release for the IoT operating system, and announced several certified SoMs (systems-on-module) based on NXP i.MX 8M, Qualcomm SDA212 & SDA624, and MediaTek MT8516 SoCs. However at the time, beside some information about the processor itself, there was not many details about MT8516 system-on-module. Since then, MediaTek wrote a blog post about their Cortex A35 solution for Android Things & Google Assistant, so let’s have a look. First the MT8516 SoM is not exactly what I had expected, but instead a complete single board computer, and this is why they call it virtual SoM (vSOM). Google defines the latter as reference design provided by the chip vendors and certified by Google. Mediatek MT8516 quad core Cortex A35 vSoM / development board specifications: SoC – MediaTek MT8516 quad core Cortex A35 processor without GPU System Memory – 4Gbit (512MB) DDR3L […]

May 10, 2018May 10, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Toradex Launches Apalis iMX8 Computer-on-Module based on NXP i.MX 8QuadMax SoC

Toradex Apalis iMX8 is another system-on-module powered by NXP i.MX 8QuadMax hexa core Arm Cortex A72 + 53 processor, which comes with 4GB LPDDR4 RAM, up to 16GB flash, and an on-board dual-band 802.11ac 2×2 MU-MIMO Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 ready module. The company has just opened early access for selected customers, so it has become possible to start developing products with the MXM3 computer-on-module. Apalix i.MX8 module specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 8QuadMax hexa core processor with 2x Arm Cortex-A72 cores @ 1.6 GHz, 4x Arm Cortex-A53 cores @ 1.26 GHz, 2x Cortex-M4 real-time core @ 266 MHz, and dual Vivante GC7000XSVX GPU System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 (64 Bit) Storage – Up to 16GB eMMC flash On-module Connectivity Gigabit Ethernet via Microchip KSZ9031 transceiver with low power features Dual-band 802.11ac 2×2 MU-MIMO Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 via Azurewave AW-CM276NF M.2 1216 LGA module Audio – NXP SGTL5000 low […]

May 8, 2018May 8, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Android Things 1.0 Released with Support for NXP i.MX 8M, Qualcomm SDA212/SDA624 and Mediatek MT8516 SoMs

Brillo Project was renamed to Android Things with the release of a developer preview back in December 2014, and the operating system enabling developers and companies to build and maintain Internet of Things devices at scale. The OS has now graduated so-to-speak with the release of Android Things 1.0 with long-term support for production devices, and this was to be expected as several Android Things devices were announced earlier this year. The new release adds supports for new system-on-modules (SoMs) based on the NXP i.MX8M, Qualcomm SDA212, Qualcomm SDA624, and MediaTek MT8516 SoCs. These modules are certified for production use with guaranteed long-term support for 3 years, and development hardware and reference designs for these SoMs will be available in the coming months. The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B and NXP i.MX7D boards and system-on-modules are still supported, but support for NXP i.MX6UL devices will be deprecated. Check out the […]

May 4, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Acme Systems CM3-PANEL Panel PC based on Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 Sells for 99 Euros and Up

After their first Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 based board called CM3-Home designed for home automation, Acme Systems has designed a new RPi CM3 carrier board called CM3-PANEL for panel PCs / tablets. They sell four variants of their panel PC built around the board with or without WiFi module and/or 868MHz RF module, and offer customization services for people willing to purchase at least 100 pieces. CM3-PANEL based Panel PC specifications: Socket for Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 Display – 7″ (800×480 resolution) with 10-point capacitive touch Camera – MIPI connector for Raspberry Pi Camera Up to 24 GPIO lines available for extensions or LCD backlight control Camera led and camera shutdown control SPI bus (5 GPIOs) Hardware PWM lines (2 GPIOs) Serial line PCM line (4 GPIOs) I2C bus Model specific features: CM3-PANEL-W – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi @ 2.4GHz (RaLink RT5370N USB module) CM3-PANEL-U – 1x USB host […]