waveshare News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

February 28, 2025March 8, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

ESP32-S3 infrared thermal imaging camera module offers 80×62 resolution, 45° and 90° wide angle versions

Waveshare has launched an ESP32-S3-based thermal imaging camera module based on the same 80 x 62 infrared camera found in its Thermal-45/90 camera Raspberry Pi HAT and Thermal-45/90 USB camera. The thermal camera module is offered with two field of views, namely 45° for the basic version and 90° for the wide angle variant, twenty solder pads with GPIOs, UART, and I2C for expansion, a USB-C port for power and programming, and a 2-pin header to connect a battery if required. Waveshare “ESP32-S3 IR thermal imaging camera module” specifications: Wireless Module ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 MCU – ESP32-S3 dual-core Tensilica LX7 up to 240 MHz with 512KB SRAM, up to 8MB PSRAM Storage – 16MB flash Wireless – WiFi 4 and Bluetooth LE 5 Thermal Camera – Meridian Innovation MI0802 Resolution – 80 × 62 Field of View (FOV) 56°(D) x 45°(H) x 34°(V) (Baisc version) 122°(D) x 90°(H) x 67°(V) (Wide angle […]

February 27, 2025March 1, 2025 by Debashis Das - 4 Comments

PCIe x1 slot adapters let the Raspberry Pi 5 SBC interface with standard PCIe cards

Waveshare has recently launched the PCIe TO PCIe x1 Board (C) which is a PCIe FFC connector to standard PCIe x1 slot adapter board for the Raspberry Pi 5. But while searching for more details about the board, I also found out about other solutions from 52Pi and Spotpear, which are a bit older, but still worth taking a look because of their unique features and low cost. These Raspberry Pi PCIe x1 slot adapters allow users to connect expansion cards such as network cards, storage controllers, and other PCIe peripherals to the Raspberry Pi 5. Additionally, the board features a dedicated 12V power header and DC jack, which supplies power to the 12V pins of the PCIe slot, for power-hungry devices. These features allow for applications like AI acceleration, high-speed networking, and storage expansion. Waveshare PCIe TO PCIe x1 Board (C) The Waveshare PCIe FFC to PCIe x1 Adapter […]

February 20, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Raspberry Pi Pico SDK 2.1.1 release adds 200MHz clock option for RP2040, various Waveshare boards, new code samples

The Raspberry Pi Pico SDK 2.1.1 has just been released with official 200 MHz clock support for the Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU, several new boards mostly from Waveshare, but also one from Sparkfun, as well as new code samples, and other small changes. Raspberry Pi RP2040 gets official 200 MHz clock support When the Raspberry Pi RP2040 was first released along with Raspberry Pi Pico in 2021, we were told the default frequency was 48 MHz, but the microcontroller could also run up to 133 MHz. Eventually, I think the Cortex-M0+ cores were clocked at 125 MHz by default, although some projects (e.g. PicoDVI) would boost the frequency up to 252 MHz. Frequencies higher than 133 Mhz were not officially supported so far, but the Pico SDK 2.1.1 changes that since the Raspberry Pi RP2040 has now been certified to run at a system clock of 200MHz when using a […]

February 3, 2025February 3, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

RP2350-USB-A – A Raspberry Pi RP2350 board with an extra USB Type-A port using a PIO implementation

Raspberry Pi RP2350 board with USB-A port

Waveshare RP2350-USB-A is a small Raspberry Pi RP2350 board with a USB-C port for power and programming and a USB-A port to use the board as a USB device or host through a programmable IO (PIO) implementation. The board also features an RGB LED and two GPIO headers, which could make it useful for controlling GPIO/I2C/UART/SPI-connected devices when connected to a USB keypad or similar input. Alternatively, it could emulate a keyboard, mouse, or other USB device when connected to a host. RP2350-USB-A specifications: SoC – Raspberry Pi RP2350A MCU CPU Dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 @150MHz with Arm Trustzone Dual-core 32-bit Hazard3 RISC-V @ 150MHz Up to two cores can be used at the same time Memory – 520KB SRAM Storage – 2MB SPI flash for firmware USB USB Type-A port connected to GPIO12, GPIO13, 5V, and GND USB 1.1 Type-C port for power and programming Expansion – 2x 9-pin 2.54mm […]

January 24, 2025January 24, 2025 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

Waveshare ESL color e-paper displays support Bluetooth & NFC, offer 5-year battery life, cloud management

Waveshare recently launched a series of dot matrix ESL color e-paper displays with Bluetooth and NFC connectivity designed for various IoT, retail, industrial, and similar applications. These Electronic Shelf Label (ESL) displays can be updated through a wireless base station that enables device management using Waveshare’s cloud platform. The displays come with a 1,200mAh coin cell battery which according to Waveshare can last approximately 5 years and support four colors: red, yellow, black, and white. With a wide 178° viewing angle and housed in a durable ABS plastic case, they are ideal for applications such as price tags, shelf labels, asset tracking, and conference name tags. Waveshare ESL color e-paper displays specifications Display technology – E-Paper (Electrophoretic) Display colors – Red, Yellow, Black, White Display sizes – 2.13″, 2.66″, 2.9″, 3.5″ (Dot Matrix) Resolution / Pixel density / Display area 2.13″ – 250 × 122 pixels / 130 DPI / 48.55 × […]

January 15, 2025January 15, 2025 by Debashis Das - 2 Comments

ESP32-based Waveshare DDSM Driver HAT (B) for Raspberry Pi supports DDSM400 hub motors

Waveshare DDSM Driver HAT (B) Raspberry Pi DDSM motor driver

Waveshare has recently launched DDSM Driver HAT (B), a compact Raspberry Pi DDSM (Direct Drive Servo Motor) motor driver designed specifically to drive the DDSM400 hub motors. This board is built around an ESP32 MCU and supports wired (USB and UART) and wireless (2.4GHz WiFi) communication. Additionally, the board features a physical toggle switch, which lets it choose between the ESP32 control or USB control modes. On ESP32 control mode you can control the device through a built-in web application. In the USB control mode, the motor driver can be controlled via USB from a host computer sending JSON commands. An XT60 connector is used to power the board, and programming is done through a USB-C port that connects to the ESP32. The board is suitable for robotics projects, especially for mobile robots in 6×6 or 4×4 configurations. Waveshare DDSM Driver HAT (B) specifications: Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-WROOM-32E ESP32 […]

January 13, 2025 by Debashis Das - 6 Comments

Fully enclosed ESP32-S3 board features 1.8-inch AMOLED, microphone & speaker for AI audio applications

ESP32 S3 1.8inch AMOLED display development board

Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-AMOLED-1.8 is an ESP32-S3 development board with an AMOLED display and AI audio support fully housed in a plastic enclosure. The most interesting feature of this devkit is its 1.8-inch AMOLED display with a 100000:1 contrast ratio and a wide 178° viewing angle, plus support for AI speech using its built-in microphone and speaker, and a built-in battery for IoT and AI applications. Other features include a QMI8658 6-axis IMU for motion detection, a PCF85063 RTC for time, and an ES8311 audio codec for high-quality audio. The ESP32-S3 provides Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity and the board also features a USB-C port for power and programming. The AXP2101 power management IC enables battery charging and optimization, while GPIO, I2C, and UART pads allow expansion. Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-AMOLED-1.8 specifications Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3R8 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 @ up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration. Memory – […]

December 17, 2024December 16, 2024 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Raspberry Pi CM5 gets carrier boards with built-in PoE/PoE+

Waveshare Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 IO Board With PoE Feature

Waveshare has recently launched CM5-PoE-BASE-A, a compact development and evaluation board that supports all variants of the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 (CM5). While searching for more information about this product I came across Modulo5 IO PoE+, another development board from Pineboards also designed for the RPi CM5 module. Pineboards’ Modulo5 IO PoE+ offers a premium UK-manufactured PoE+ module capable of delivering 25W continuous power, with support for NVMe storage and compatibility with the Raspberry Pi 5 Active Cooler. On the other hand, Waveshare’s CM5 PoE Base Board features a Gigabit Ethernet port featuring 802.3af/at PoE compliance, peripheral options include dual HDMI, USB 3.2 ports, and NVMe support. Both boards feature specifications similar to the official Raspberry Pi CM5 IO board with the main difference being built-in PoE/PoE+ support, along with some cosmetic changes. While the Raspberry Pi CM5 IO board does come with a 4-pin PoE connector, it requires […]