wearables News - Page 10 of 27 - CNX Software

July 1, 2020July 1, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Snapdragon Wear 4100+ Platform Combines Cortex-A53 Cores with Always-On Cortex M0 Core

Qualcomm entered the wearables market in 2016 with the launch of Snapdragon Wear 2100 quad-core Cortex A7 SoC, followed by other models all based on Cortex-A7 cores including the more recent Wear 3100 platform which also added a QCC1110 co-processor to extend battery life. The company has now made the switch to 64-bit Arm with Snapdragon Wear 4100 and Wear 4100+ both featuring a quad-core Arm Cortex A53 processor and companion chips, but the latter adds QCC1100 Arm Cortex-M0 always-on (AON) co-processor to lower power consumption. Snapdragon Wear 4100+ key features and specifications: SoC – Qualcomm SDM429w or SDA429w CPU – Quad-core Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.7 GHz GPU – Adreno A504 GPU up to 320 MHz with OpenGL ES 3.1 API support DSP – Dual Qualcomm Hexagon QDSP6 v56, dedicated MDSP for modem and GPS, and dedicated ADSP for Open Sensor Execution Environment (SEE) and audio Memory & Storage […]

June 19, 2020June 19, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

nRF52805 Tiny Bluetooth 5.2 SoC is Optimized for Small Two-layer PCB Designs

Nordic Semi has just added a new member to its nRF52 Bluetooth 5 wireless SoC family with nRF52805 offered in a tiny WLCSP package measuring 2.48×2.46 mm and optimized for cost-effective 2-layer PCB designs. nRF52805 key features and specifications: MCU Core – Arm Cortex-M4 @ 64 MHz Storage & Memory – 192 KB Flash, 24 KB RAM Wireless Bluetooth Low Energy and 2.4 GHz proprietary protocols. High bitrate – 2 Mbps, 1 Mbps +4 dBm TX power -97 dBm RX sensitivity (1 Mbps Bluetooth LE) Integrated balun with single-ended output I/Os – UART, SPI, TWI, 2-channel 12-bit ADC Security 128-bit AES Power Consumption 7 mA in TX (4 dBm) 4.6 mA in TX (0 dBm) 4.6 mA in RX (1 Mbps) 0.3 μA in System OFF 1.1 μA in System ON with 24 KB RAM retained and RTC running Supply Voltage – 3.6V max Package – 2.48×2.46 mm WLCSP Note […]

June 3, 2020June 3, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

TTGO T-Watch K210 / K210 AIOT Watches Perform Face Detection with Kendryte K210 RISC-V Processor, ESP32 WiSoC

After covering ESP32 based TTGO T-Watch-2020 programmable watch last month, I noticed LilyGO launched “TTGO T-Watch K210 AIOT” watch with Kendryte K210 RISC-V AI SoC and a camera for face detection and recognition, and while searching for information, I discovered another apparently similar “TTGO T-Watch K210“. But let’s look into the specifications to find out what the differences are. I first came across TTGO T-Watch K210 AIOT, so let’s have a look at some preliminary specifications for this model: AI Processor – Kendryte K210 RISC-V Dualcore 64bit with FPU with 8MB SRAM Storage – 16MB QSPI flash, MicroSD card socket Display I/F – FPC connect for external display (not included) Camera – 2MP OV2640 sensor Audio – MAX98357A Audio codec; CVSD & SBC audio encoding Connectivity – 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 up to 150 Mbps, Bluetooth 4.2 BR/EDR and BLE Debugging – USB-C port via CP2104 Expansion UART, SPI, […]

May 17, 2020May 17, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

Lilygo TTGO T-Watch-2020 is a Nicer Looking Arduino Programmable ESP32 Watch

We’ve covered several ESP32 watches over the last year include TTGO T-Wristand, Watchy, and DSTIKE ESP32 watch. Those don’t really have the nicest looking design, and some people complained about various shortcomings including the difficulty to customize/program the watch. Last year, Lilygo introduced TTGO T-Watch smartwatch that, due to support for expansion boards, was relatively thick, but at least documentation and Arduino code samples can be found on Github. The company has now launched a slicker version with Lilygo TTGO T-Watch-2000. TTGO T-Watch-2020 specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP32 dual-core wireless processor with 520KB SRAM System Memory – 8MB PSRAM Storage – 16MB QSPI flash Display – 1.54-inch LCD capacitive touch screen Audio – Class-D amplifier, buzzer Connectivity – 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.1 via ESP32 Sensors – BMA423 three-axis accelerometer with built-in step counting algorithm, activity recognition / tracking, advanced gesture recognition. Misc – Power button (round), PCF8563 RTC […]

May 7, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

NFC Wireless Charging Coming Soon to IoT Devices and Wearables

NFC is better known for contactless payment and transferring contacts, but one interesting feature is the ability to provide power as we’ve recently seen with batteryless NFC powered E-paper displays. The current NFC implementations can only provide a limited amount of power, but the NFC Forum has recently approved the Wireless Charging Specification that enables wireless charging of small, battery-powered consumer and IoT devices with a smartphone or other NFC charging device at a power transfer rate of up to one watt. One watt is not as much as other similar technologies, but NFC wireless charging (NFC WLC) should be quite more cost-effective since device-specific wireless chargers are not needed. Just take a phone or charger with NFC WLC and all compliant devices could be charged that way. The specification is free to download for NFC Forum members but must be purchased by others. There’s still short abstract available: Wireless […]

March 16, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Omnichip Devkit 2 Features Nordic nRF52832 based zGlue ZiP Multichip Module

We first covered zGlue Integration Platform (ZiP) in 2018 when the company introduced its chip-stacking technology with a fitness tracker based on ZGZL1BA ZiP equipped with chips from Dialog Semiconductor, Analog Devices, Macronix, MCube and others. The concept is similar to SiP (System-in-Package), but zGlue claims the costs and lead times are much lower with the technology. Earlier this year, ZiP was back in the news thanks to Antmicro GEM custom RISC-V/Arm ASIC, and today, I was informed about zGlue Omnichip devkit 2 that is equipped with a ZiP of the same name, and that can be used to evaluate the technology. zGlue OmniChip ZiP zGlue OmniChip ZiP is a multichip module with the following ICs (aka Chiplets) and specifications: Nordic Semiconductor nRF52832 Cortex-M4F microcontroller with Bluetooth LE and NFC connectivity Texas Instruments BQ25120AYFPR battery charger, buck regulator Maxim Integrated MAX86140ENP+ optical pulse oximeter Texas Instruments TMP108AIYFFR temperature sensor Bosch […]

March 16, 2020 by Stephen Vicinanza - No Comments

Adidas GMR Smart Insole Uses Google Jacquard for Enhanced Soccer Tracking

The Adidas GMR (pronounced Gamer) The new Adidas GMR tracking insole is connected to EA Sports FIFA Mobile for smartphone access and data gathering and uses Google’s Jacquard technology for touch-sensitive clothing. Past Shoes for Movement Tracking An athletic shoe that tracks steps was reported on in by CNX Software in the past, in the Xiaomi 90 Minutes Ultra Smart Running Shoe article. A Little About Project Jacquard Jacquard Technology which had been focused on touch-sensitive clothing is where a small device is woven into the item, like in the Levi Trucker Jacket. The tag tracks physical attributes and movements. Jacquard Technology was introduced by Google in 2015 and has been focused on expanding into other areas besides clothing. The tag is accessed through Bluetooth and can record a variety of motion, impact, and other physical aspects of life. The relay in the tag helps the app record the data […]

March 5, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

$55 Watchy Smartwatch Combines ESP32 WiFi & Bluetooth SoC with E-ink Display

SQFMI has designed a (mostly) open-source hardware smartwatch based on an ESP32-S wireless module for WiFI and Bluetooth connectivity, and equipped with an E-ink display of 200×200 resolution. Watchy also comes with a BMA423 accelerometer, four buttons, a DS3231 real-time clock, and a vibration motor. The watch should last around 2 weeks on a charge. I mentioned the watch is “mostly” open source hardware because while the GERBER files, bill of materials (BoM) and the PDF schematics have been released on Github, the KiCAD schematics and PCB layout files have not so far. That still means you can understand the design, repair the design, or even make your own, but if you intended in modifying the design, you’d have some more work to do. Tom Fleet, writing for Hackster.io, does go through different sections of the schematics and explain what they do. One the software side, the watch can be […]