Arduino has introduced the Portenta Proto Kit ME (Motion Environment) at CES 2025 with the kit designed to allow engineers, designers, and innovators to turn ideas into functional prototypes quickly. The kit does not include new hardware, but it is based on the Arduino Portenta H7, Mid Carrier, and Nicla Sense ME module, as well as other off-the-shelf parts such as a 4G LTE and GNSS module and some Modulino modules, plus three months of Arduino Cloud access. The company expects the prototyping kit to be used for predictive maintenance, environmental sensing, and industrial automation prototypes. Arduino Portenta Proto Kit ME kit content: Portenta H7 board based on STMicro STM32H747 Arm Cortex-M7 @ 480 MHz + M4 @ 200 MHz MCU capable of handling ML workloads and advanced processing Portenta Mid Carrier with gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0 port, MIPI CSI and Arduino camera connectors, CAN Bus, mPCIe socket, GPIO header, […]
CNX Software’s 2024 Year in review, website statistics, and what to expect in 2025
That’s it! 2024 is almost over, and it’s time to reflect on what happened during the year. So I’ll look at the highlights of 2024, share some CNX Software website traffic statistics, and speculate on what may be ahead of us in 2025. Looking back at 2024 Raspberry Pi was super active this year with 22 product launches that included boards and modules like the Raspberry Pi 5 with 2GB RAM, Raspberry Pi Pico 2 and Pico 2 W, Raspberry Pi CM5, expansion modules like the Raspberry Pi AI camera, AI HAT+, and M.2 HAT+, new accessories such as the Raspberry Pi Touch Display 2 and the Raspberry Pi Monitor, and the new Raspberry Pi 500 keyboard PC among others. As usual, there was also plenty of announcement of accessories from third parties, and some boards with the new Raspberry Pi RP2350 Arm/RISC-V microcontroller. There weren’t any ground-breaking Arm processors […]
RootMaster is a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W-based hydroponic automation system with STM32G4 MCU, CAN Bus, sensors
The RootMaster is a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W-based hydroponic automation system designed to precisely manage water and environmental conditions. The solution also integrates an STM32G4 microcontroller to handle real-time operations such as controlling pumps and peripherals, managing sensors, and processing data from external sensors like water level indicators. It also generates PWM signals to control the power of connected devices and handles communication with external modules through a CAN FD interface. While STM32 handles hardware-level tasks, the Raspberry Pi Zero 2W manages high-level control and user interaction. The RootMaster can be programmed with Python, C, C++, or other programming languages and is useful for applications like Hydroponics automation, water circulation, and environmental control. RootMaster specifications MCU – STMicro STM32G473 32-bit Arm Cortex-M4 microcontroller @ 170 MHz for real-time operations Main controller – Compatible with Raspberry Pi Zero 2 WH for GUI and other interfaces Sensors pH sensor for nutrient solution […]
STMicro ST67W611M1 IoT module features Qualcomm QCC743 SoC with Wi-Fi 6, BLE, and 802.15.4 radios
ST Microelectronics has introduced the ST67W611M1 IoT module developed in partnership with Qualcomm and integrating the latter’s QCC743 multi-protocol connectivity chip with Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3 Low Energy (BLE), Thread-compatible IEEE 802.15.4 connectivity, and support for Matter-over-Wi-Fi. Additionally, it features 4MB of flash storage and provides options for a PCB or external antenna via a uFL connector. The module is designed to connect with STMicro’s STM32 microcontroller and microprocessor families through SPI and/or UART, making it easy to add wireless connectivity to STM32-based projects, including those using the new STM32N6 chips with an in-house Neural-ART machine learning accelerator. These features make this chip suitable for smart home devices, industrial IoT systems, wearables, healthcare monitors, and connected appliances. ST67W611M1 specifications: Wireless Connectivity Wi-Fi 6 with up to 20 dBm output power Bluetooth Low Energy 5.3 with 2 Mbps throughput Thread support Supports Matter protocol over Wi-Fi for future-proof connectivity Storage – […]
STM32MP135 Pico-ITX SBC features 38x32mm EBYTE CPU module with 512MB RAM, 512MB NAND flash
EBYTE ECB10-135A5M5M-I is a pico-ITX single board computer (SBC) equipped with a small STM32MP135 Arm Cortex-A7 CPU module from the company equipped with 512MB DDR3L, 512MB NAND flash, a Gigabit Ethernet PHY, and power circuitry. The industrial-grade SBC itself features RGB and HDMI 2.0 connectors supporting up to 1366×768 resolution, 3.5mm Line in and out jacks, several USB connectors, and two “UIO” expansion ports with RS485, RS485, CAN Bus, GPIO, and other I/Os. These features make the board suitable for industrial automation, smart cities, display and control terminals, and other industrial applications. EBYTE ECB10-135A5M5M-I specifications: EBYTE ECK10-135A5M5M-I core board SoC – STMicro STM32MP135AAF3 single-core Arm Cortex-A7 core clocked at 650MHz System Memory – 512MB DDR3L Storage – 512MB SLC NAND flash Networking – Gigabit Ethernet PHY Host interface – 128-pin stamp holes Power Management 3.3V/1A power input PMIC – STPMIC1APQR 2x 1.7-3.0V LDO with 350mA max current Dimensions – 38 […]
T-Keyboard-S3 Pro 4-Key USB mechanical keyboard adds rotary encoder, support for daisy-chaining up to six keyboards
Last year, we featured the T-Keyboard-S3, a USB mechanical keyboard with ESP32-S3, and four mechanical keys each fitted with a 0.85-inch color display. The upgraded T-Keyboard-S3-Pro adds a rotary encoder and four magnetic interfaces on each side controlked by an STM32G030 MCU to daisy-chain the host keyboard with up to 5 slave keyboards in a 3×2 grid. Previously, we featured the ANAVI Macro Pad 12, Macro Pad 10, and Macro Pad 2 programmable keyboards. Feel free to explore those as well. LILYGO T-Keyboard-S3 Pro specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 used in the host model only MCU – ESP32-S3R8 dual-core LX7 microprocessor @ up to 240 MHz with Vector extension for machine learning Memory – 8MB PSRAM Storage – 16MB SPI flash Connectivity – WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5 with LE/Mesh PCB antenna Secondary MCU – STMicro STM32G030F6P6 for I2C magnetic connectors CPU – Arm 32-bit Cortex-M0+ CPU, frequency up to […]
STM32-powered MM6108-EKH05 Wi-Fi HaLow evaluation kit supports Bluetooth, Camera, and Qwicc/MikroBus modules
Morse Micro has recently launched the MM6108-EKH05 Wi-Fi HaLow Evaluation Kit designed to reduce the development and deployment time of IoT products. Built around the Morse Micro MM6108 HaLow SoC, this kit combines long-range, low-power wireless connectivity with a range of integrated sensors, making it ideal for IoT engineers and developers. Key features include Wi-Fi HaLow connectivity, an STM32U585 Cortex-M33 MCU, integrated sensors (temperature, humidity, accelerometer), 16 MB of SPI Flash memory, programmable GPIOs, power measurement tools, and WPA3 security for reliable and secure communication. The kit also includes alternative power options including USB, battery, or external power, and embeds support for a camera, MikroBus and Qwicc expansion modules, Bluetooth, and current measurement circuitry. All these features make this kit useful for applications including smart homes, industrial automation, and agricultural monitoring. MM6108-EKH05 specifications: MCU – STM32U585 Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller @ 160 MHz with TrustZone, 2 MB Flash Storage – 16Mbit […]
STMicro releases STM32N6 Cortex-M55 MCU series with in-house NPU and dedicated computer vision pipeline
STMicro has announced the availability of the STM32N6 microcontroller series based on the 800MHz ARM Cortex-M55 and the 600 GOPS-capable Neural-ART Accelerator. The STM32N6 is the company’s “newest and most powerful STM32 series,” bringing MPU-level performance to MCUs. It is the first STM32 to feature the Arm Cortex-M55 and offer up to 4.2MB of embedded RAM. Additionally, the chip includes ST’s NeoChrom GPU and an H.264 hardware encoder. According to Remi El-Quazzane, MDRF (Microcontrollers, Digital ICs, and RF Products) President at STMicro, the STM32N6 “marks the beginning of a long journey of AI hardware-accelerated STM32, which will enable innovations in applications and products in ways not possible with any other embedded processing solution.” STMicro offers two versions of the STM32N6 MCU: the STM32N6x7 AI line featuring the Neural-ART accelerator and the STM32N6x5 GP (general-purpose) product line without an NPU. The microcontroller series is primarily targeted at computer vision and audio […]