wifi

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on SONOFF Zigbee Bridge Ultra (ZBBridge-U) Zigbee 3.0 gateway and Matter Bridge supports up to 256 sub-devices

SONOFF Zigbee Bridge Ultra (ZBBridge-U) Zigbee 3.0 gateway and Matter Bridge supports up to 256 sub-devices

SONOFF Zigbee Bridge Ultra (ZBBridge-U)

SONOFF Zigbee Bridge Ultra, also known as ZBBridge-U, is a Zigbee 3.0 gateway and Matter Bridge powered by a 1.5 GHz Rockchip RV1109 dual-core processor and equipped with Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 multiprotocol SoC. The gateway also offers WiFi and Ethernet connectivity and supports up to 256 Zigbee 3.0 sub-devices improving on the 128 sub-devices supported by the earlier SONOFF ZBBridge-P (ESP32+CC2652P) that also lacks Matter support. The new ZBBridge-U gateway further implements a Turbo mode increasing the line-of-sight range to up to 200 meters. SONOFF Zigbee Bridge Ultra (ZBBridge-U) specifications: SoC – Rockchip RV1109 dual-core Arm Cortex-A7 @ 1.5 GHz with RISC-V MCU @ 400 MHz, 2D graphics engine, 1.2 TOPS NPU, 5MP H.264 and H.265 hardware video decoder and encoder System Memory – 1GB DDR4 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash for the OS Connectivity 10/100M Ethernet RJ45 port 2.4GHz WiFi 4 Zigbee 3.0 via Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 SoC with […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on HackBat – DIY open-source hardware Flipper Zero alternative features Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU, ESP8266 WiFi module, RF transceiver…

HackBat – DIY open-source hardware Flipper Zero alternative features Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU, ESP8266 WiFi module, RF transceiver…

HackBat DIY open source pentesting device

HackBat is an open-source hardware pen-testing device designed for hackers and makers and equipped with a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller, an ESP8266 WiFi module, a sub-GHz RF transceiver, NFC, an OLED display, and more… It’s basically a DIY alternative to the popular Flipper Zero wireless hacking tool, that you can produce and assemble yourself. The Flipper Zero was the victim of its own success with the Canadian government (wrongly) claiming it could easily be used for car theft and planning to ban it (status still unclear right now),  so Flipper Zero alternatives such as the M1 multitool device got some traction as backup solutions with some extra features. But any closed-source device could eventually be banned, something that’s close to impossible for an open-source hardware device like the HackBat although policymakers could still decide to impose heavy fines if they wanted to make this type of device illegal… HackBat key […]

Posted on by Debashis Das - 13 Comments on ESP32-S3-Matrix board features 64 LEDs, GPIO pins, 9-axis “attitude” sensor for robotics and motion control applications

ESP32-S3-Matrix board features 64 LEDs, GPIO pins, 9-axis “attitude” sensor for robotics and motion control applications

Waveshare ESP32 S3 Matrix board

The Waveshare ESP32-S3-Matrix is a microcontroller development board designed for AIoT applications, featuring a larger 8×8 RGB LED matrix (64 LEDs) compared to the 5×5 RGB LED matrix (25 LEDs) on the ESP32-C3/ESP32 based “C3FH4 RGB” / “PICO D4 RGB” board. In addition to that the Waveshare board features two 10-headers for GPIOs, UART, and power signals, along with an integrated QMI8658C attitude sensor (9-axis IMU sensor), making it ideal for robotics and motion control projects. Recently we have seen Waveshare introduce affordable products that are perfect for embedded development like the $15 1.69-inch IPS touch LCD module, the $6.99 ESP32-C6-Pico Board, the $4.99 ESP32-S3-Tiny board and much more feel free to check those out if you are interested in those. Waveshare ESP32-S3-Matrix dev board specifications: MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3FH4R2 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 @ up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration Memory – 512KB RAM, […]

Posted on by Debashis Das - No Comments on Waveshare UGV Rover – A 6-wheel AI robot built around Raspberry Pi 4/5 and ESP32

Waveshare UGV Rover – A 6-wheel AI robot built around Raspberry Pi 4/5 and ESP32

Waveshare Unmanned Ground Vehicle Rover(UGV) for Raspberry Pi 4 and Pi 5

The Waveshare UGV Rover is a 6-wheel robot platform based on Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 as well as an ESP32 module and built for remote exploration, object recognition, and autonomous navigation. Since the source code for the platform will be open-sourced it can also be used for educational purposes, programming, robotics, AI experimentation, and many other applications. This Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) rover features a 2mm thick aluminum body, six 80mm shock-absorbing tires, and a four-wheel drive system controlled by an ESP32 sub-controller. The sub-controller also handles sensors, LiDAR, cameras, and more. The brain or the main controller of the rover is a Raspberry Pi SBC – either a Pi 4B or Pi 5 – which notably handles computer vision and machine learning operations. Since the mounting holes are designed to fit a Raspberry Pi, it is safe to assume that it will fit other SBCs with the same […]

Posted on by Tomisin Olujinmi - No Comments on Alfa Networks AHST7394S Wi-Fi HaLow module enables low-power, long-range IoT connectivity up to 1km

Alfa Networks AHST7394S Wi-Fi HaLow module enables low-power, long-range IoT connectivity up to 1km

Alfa Networks AHST7394S HaLow

Taiwanese wireless equipment manufacturer, Alfa Networks, and US-based Wi-Fi HaLow semiconductor company, Newracom, have collaborated to develop the AHST7394S Wi-Fi HaLow module. The solder-down module is based on Newracom’s NRC7394 SoC, a low-cost and high-efficiency HaLow SoC chipset providing up to 17dbm output power and capable of connecting to a maximum of 8K devices within a single network. The NRC7394 also supports a standalone mode, which enables the execution of a wide range of IoT applications on the embedded ARM Cortex-M3 CPU. While HaLow is more energy-efficient than other Wi-Fi types, low-power operation modes such as legacy, TWT, and WMM-PS can reduce power consumption further. The AHST7394S Wi-Fi HaLow module supports a data rate of up to 15Mbps, over 600 times faster than LoRaWAN while maintaining a good range (over 1km). The second-generation HaLow module is perfect for building long-range, ultra-low-power networks in sub-1 GHz, license-exempt frequency bands. It is a […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Pineboards adds four more Raspberry Pi 5 PCIe HAT+ boards with PCIe x4 slot, mPCIe socket, Coral Dual Edge TPU support, and audio ports

Pineboards adds four more Raspberry Pi 5 PCIe HAT+ boards with PCIe x4 slot, mPCIe socket, Coral Dual Edge TPU support, and audio ports

Pineboards Raspberry Pi 5 HAT

Pineboards, previously known as PineBerry, has launched four new Raspberry Pi HAT+ with a PCIe interface: the Hat uPCIty Lite, HatDrive! Piano, Hat mPCIe, and Hat Ai! Dual. The Polish company decided to change the name from Pineberry to Pineboards since the “berry” name implied they were manufacturing single-board computers, while Pineboards, not to be confused with Pine64 boards, apparently does not :). Nevertheless, let’s have a look at the four new HAT+ boards. Hat uPCIty Lite – PCIe x4 slot and ATX power supply Specifications: Supported SBCs – Raspberry Pi 5 and other SBCs with a compatible 16-pin PCIe FPC connector and form factor PCIe 16-pin PCIe FPC connector (input) PCIe X4 slot (output) to connect PCIe cards such as NVIDIA or AMD graphics cards; Note: only PCIe x1 Gen2 and Gen3 are supported Misc – 12V and PWR LEDs Power Supply 12V/8A via ATX power connector 12V/8A via […]

Posted on by Tomisin Olujinmi - 1 Comment on Olimex ESP32-POE2 board offers up to 25W for power-intensive applications

Olimex ESP32-POE2 board offers up to 25W for power-intensive applications

ESP32 POE2

The Bulgarian hardware manufacturer, Olimex, has designed a new ESP32 board with Power over Ethernet (PoE) functionality. The Olimex ESP32-POE2 board builds on the original ESP32-POE and features the same ESP32-WROOM-32 microcontroller module with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. However, it supports up to 25W power delivery from the Ethernet port via PoE and can be used in more demanding projects. The Olimex ESP32-POE2 board features a low-power design and consumes only 200µA in deep sleep mode. The board can be powered via USB-C, Ethernet, or Li-Po battery. The Ethernet interface is built on Texas Instruments’ TPS2378PW chip with IEEE 802.3at classification and legacy PoE support. Powering with PoE requires at least 37V DC for seamless operation. Two proprietary connectors (UEXT and EXT1) can be used to add sensors and other modules and expand the board’s operation for IoT projects. Users can select between 24V/0.75A or 12V/1.5A power output, with a […]

Posted on by Debashis Das - 5 Comments on $4.99 ESP32-S3-Tiny board measures just 23.50 x 18 mm

$4.99 ESP32-S3-Tiny board measures just 23.50 x 18 mm

waveshare esp32 s3 tiny kit a mini development board

Waveshare has recently released the ESP32-S3-Tiny mini development board powered by ESP32-S3 wireless MCU and measuring just 23.50 x 18 mm. Due to its compact form factor, it does not include a USB-to-UART converter or a USB port. That is why, you will need an additional adapter board with an FPC cable to program it, which costs only $1. Despite its small size, the board is feature-rich. It includes 34 multi-function GPIO pins, along with Wi-Fi, BLE, SPI, I2C, UART, ADC, PWM, and more. The design of the board is very similar to the Raspberry Pi RP2040-powered Waveshare RP2040-Tiny board that we covered last year. However, what sets this board apart is its 34 I/O pins, compared to the 23 found on the RP2040-Tiny board, and wireless connectivity. We’ve also written about several other boards with compact form factors, such as the Unexpected Maker NANOS3 board (28 x 11 mm), […]

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