t-chip News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

April 17, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

EC-R3568PC is a compact rugged mini PC based on Rockchip RK3568 SoC

Firefly EC-R3568PC is a compact rugged mini PC powered by Rockchip RK3568 SoC with a built-in 1 TOPS AI accelerator, up to 8GB RAM, 128GB flash, M.2 NVMe and SATA 3.0 storage, dual Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 2.0 output, RS232 and RS485 interfaces through an RJ45 socket, and more. The fanless embedded computer is designed to be wall-mounted, and operates in a wide -20°C – 60°C temperature range making it suitable for smart NVR, cloud terminal, IoT gateway, and industrial control applications. EC-R3568PC specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3568 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ up to 2.0GHz with Arm Mali-G52 2EE GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.0, Vulkan 1.1. 1 TOPS NPU, VPU with 4Kp60 H.265/H.264/VP9 video decoding, 1080p60 H.265/H.264 video encoding System Memory – 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB LPDDR4 Storage 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, or 128GB eMMC flash 16MB SPI Flash M.2 PCIe 3.0 socket for 2242 / 2280 NVMe […]

August 22, 2018August 22, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments

Review of Firefly-RK3399 Board with Android 8.1 Firmware

Last week, I tested Android 7.1 on NanoPC-T4 Rockchip RK3399 SBC, and this week, I’ve given a try at Android 8.1 (Beta) on Firefly-RK3399 Board. Since it’s still a beta version, I’m expecting some issues and we’ll have to see how it performs at this stage of development. Firefly-RK3399 Kit Assembly I had to do some assembly before starting the board. It took me some 30 minutes to complete, so I’ll quickly go through the steps. Beside the default kit, the company also sent me a fansink ($7.9) and an M.2 to SATA board + required cable ($16) which will be part of the assembly instructions. The first step is to peel off the protective films on both sides of the acrylic case. I then fastened my own 2.5″ hard drive with four screws provided in the default kit. I then installed the M.2 to dual SATA adapter board in […]

July 2, 2018July 3, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Firefly Team Mailbag – Rockchip Development Boards and Accessories

T-Chip Intelligent Technology Co. is a hardware and software technology services company, and a few years ago they setup the “Firefly Team” to provide development boards running Android and/or Linux distributions to the maker community. If I remember correctly the company started with Firefly-RK3288 development board powered, as its name implies, by Rockchip RK3288 processor. Since then they’ve launched several other Rockchip development boards and modules, which I’ve covered on this blog. The company decided to send me some of their recent boards and accessories, so let’s have a look at what I received in my “mailbag”. I’ve also taken a few photos for those who did not watch the video or prefer close up photos. ROC-RK3328-CC “Renegade” Development Board The first board is ROC-RK3328-CC “Renegade” board which was first launched via a crowdfunding campaign by Libre Computer. Both companies have been collaborating on some boards, and Libre Computer makes […]

March 13, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Android based Station OS Firmware Focuses on Multimedia and Retro Gaming for ROC-RK3328-CC and Firefly-RK3399 Boards

If you’re interesting in gaming and multimedia, one choice is to run Linux based RetrOrangePi or RetroPie on your favorite development board/SBC, and soon, with the upcoming release of Kodi 18, multimedia and retro gaming will just be an app installation away in Android, and other supported operating systems, since RetroPlayer retro-gaming emulator is part of the latest – and yet-to-be-released – version of Kodi. In the meantime, if you own a ROC-RK3328-CC and/or Firefly-RK3399 board(s), you may want to try Station OS, a firmware based on Android with a focus on 4K video playback and retro gaming. The description claims that Stations OS includes “more than 20 kinds of optimization for video and games, achieve multimedia center, Kodi 4K hardware decoding, game simulator hardware acceleration, real-time cast screen display, network acceleration, perfect Root.” The firmware does not use Kodi directly, but RKMC fork instead with some improvements, and they […]

January 8, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Firefly ROC-RK3328-CC Development Board Now for Sale for $35 and Up

Remember Libre Computer Renegade SBC – aka ROC-RK3328-CC – based on Rockchip RK3328 processor, and launched last month on Indiegogo? The crowdfunding campaign successfully completed a few days ago with over $20,000 raised from close to 250 backers. When we zoomed on the board we could see markings on the board indicated that it was made by Firefly team, the makers of boards such as Firefly-RK3288 Reload or Firefly-RK3399, and the company is now selling the board with 1 or 2GB RAM for respectively $35 and $50 plus shipping, but the 4GB version is not up for sale at this stage. Firefly-ROC-RK3328-CC board specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3328 quad core Cortex A53 processor with ARM Mali-450MP2 GPU System Memory – 1, 2, or 4GB DDR4 Storage – eMMC 5.x flash module socket (8 to 128 GB) + micro SD card slot Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0a up to […]

September 20, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Firefly Introduces RK3399 CoreBoard with up to 4GB RAM, 128GB eMMC Flash

Firefly-RK3399 is a development board powered by Rockchip RK3399, and the company behind the board has now launched a system-on-module called RK3399 Coreboard with 2 to 4GB RAM, 8 to 128GB flash, a PMIC, and a 314-pin MXM 3.0 edge connector exposing various I/Os. RK3399 CoreBoard specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core big.LITTLE processor with dual core ARM Cortex A72 up to 2.0 GHz and quad core Cortex A53 processor, ARM Mali-T860 MP4 GPU with OpenGL 1.1 to 3.1 support, OpenVG1.1, OpenCL and DX 11 support System Memory – 2GB or 4GB DDR3 Storage – 8, 16, 32 or 128 GB eMMC flash Carrier Board Interface – 314-pin MXM 3.0 edge connector with Ethernet, PCIe, HDMI 2.0, DP 1.2, MIPI DSI, eDP 1.3, S/PDIF, I2S, GPIO, USB, etc… signals Power Supply – 5V/3A input; RK808 PMIC Dimensions – 82 x 63 mm Weight – 24 grams The company provides support […]

December 5, 2016December 20, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 35 Comments

Firefly-RK3399 Rockchip RK3399 Development Board Launched on Kickstarter for $139 and Up

Firefly-RK3399 is the first, and for now the only one, development board equipped with the latest Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core Cortex A72 & A53 processor. It’s just not available yet, but the board has now been launched on Kickstarter where it is offered for $139 to $199 depending on options. Firefly-RK3399 board specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core big.LITTLE processor with dual core ARM Cortex A72 up to 2.0 GHz and quad core Cortex A53 processor with ARM Mali-T860 MP4 GPU with OpenGL 1.1 to 3.1 support, OpenVG1.1, OpenCL and DX 11 support System Memory Standard – 2 GB DDR3 Plus devkit – 4 GB DDR3 Storage Standard – 16 GB eMMC flash, micro SD card, M.2 socket Plus devkit – 32 GB eMMC flash, micro SD card, M.2 socket Video Output & Display Interfaces 1x HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60 Hz 1x DisplayPort (DP) 1.2 interface up to […]

November 25, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

Firefly-RK3399 Development Board Will Fly with Rockchip RK3399 Hexa-core Processor

ARM Cortex A72 class development boards are usually quite expensive, and cheaper boards like Mediatek X20 development board ($200) appears to be out of stock very often, and software support is limited to Android 6.0. But things look to improve soon, as T-Chip is about to release Firefly-RK3399 development board powered by Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core Cortex A72/A53 processor. Firefly-RK3399 (preliminary) specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core bit.LITTLE processor with dual core Cortex A72 up to 2.0 GHz and quad core Cortex A53 processor with ARM Mali-T860MP4 GPU with OpenGL 1.1 to 3.0 support, OpenVG 1.1, OpenCL and DX 11. System Memory – 2 to 4 GB DDR3 Storage – 16 to 32 GB eMMC flash + micro SD card Video Output & Display Interfaces – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60 Hz, eDP 1.2 interface, YUV interface, 1x MIPI DSI interface Video Decode – 4K VP9 and 10-bit H.265 […]