Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Compulab RoboDesigner – Design and order a custom SBC within one hour from your web browser

Compulab RoboDesigner – Design and order a custom SBC within one hour from your web browser

RoboDesigner SBC designer program 3D view

Compulab RoboDesigner is a new web-based tool and service that allows you to design and or a custom SBC using one of Compulab’s system-on-module within about one hour instead of going through the more lengthy process of designing a carrier board by yourself. I’ve given it a try, and it’s really easy to use even if you don’t have any engineering skills. It’s very similar to Gumstix Geppetoo introduced in 2013 for Overo SoMs, and now called Upverter with support for a wider range of modules including Raspberry Pi Compute Modules. The first step is to go to https://robo-designer.com/ and click on Select Functions. Right now, the selection of SoMs is rather limited because there’s only one: CMiMX8M C-Lab CORE with an NXP i.MX 8M Mini processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 16GB eMMC flash. You can then select the I/O modules you want from the list with the remaining […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Tiny WeAct RP2350B Core Board exposes all 48 I/Os from the Raspberry Pi RP2350B microcontroller

Tiny WeAct RP2350B Core Board exposes all 48 I/Os from the Raspberry Pi RP2350B microcontroller

WeAct RP2350B Core Board

WeAct RP2350B Core Board is a small (41.4×41.1mm) USB-C board exposing all 48 I/Os from the Raspberry Pi RP2350B Cortex-M33/RISC-V microcontroller through two 30-pin headers. It offers an alternative to the smaller Solder Party’s RP2350 Stamp XL (44.5 x 25.4 mm) with through and castellated holes and no USB-C port that’s better suited for soldering on a baseboard and to Olimex PICO2-XL and PICO2-XXL open-source hardware boards (50 x 28 mm). WeAct RP2350B Core Board specifications: Microcontroller – Raspberry Pi RP2350B MCU CPU – Dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 processor @ 150MHz Memory – 520KB internal RAM 8KB OTP Storage Package – QFN-80; 10×10 mm Storage 16MB QSPI flash Footprint for a second QSPI FLASH/PSRAM on the bottom side I/Os – All 48x GPIOs broken out via 2x 30-pin headers 2x UART, 2x SPI, 2x I2C 24x PWM 8x ADC 12x PIO state machines HSTX peripheral 5V, 3.3V, VREF, and GND Debugging […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Roboreactor – A Web-based platform to design Raspberry Pi or Jetson-based robots from electronics to code and 3D files

Roboreactor – A Web-based platform to design Raspberry Pi or Jetson-based robots from electronics to code and 3D files

Roboreactor Web based interface to design robots

Roboreactor is a web-based platform enabling engineers to build robotic and automation systems based on Raspberry Pi, NVIDIA Jetson, or other SBCs from a web browser including parts selection, code generation through visual programming, and generating URDF models from Onshape software. You can also create your robot with LLM if you wish. The first step is to create a project with your robot specifications and download and install the Genflow Mini image to your Raspberry Pi or NVIDIA Jetson SBC. Alternatively, you can install Gemini Mini middleware with a script on other SBCs, but we’re told the process takes up to 10 hours… At this point, you should be able to access data from sensors and other peripherals connected to your board, and you can also start working on the Python code using visual programming through the Roboreactor node generator without having to write code or understand low-level algorithms. Another […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on AAEON GENE-MTH6 3.5-inch Meteor Lake SBC offers up to 96GB of DDR5, 9-36V wide power input, PCIe Gen4 FPC connector

AAEON GENE-MTH6 3.5-inch Meteor Lake SBC offers up to 96GB of DDR5, 9-36V wide power input, PCIe Gen4 FPC connector

AAEON GENE-MTH6 3.5-inch meteor lake SBC

AAEON GENE-MTH6 Intel Meteor Lake-powered 3.5-inch “Subcompact” SBC takes up to 96GB DDR5, offers an ERP-compliant 9V-36V wide power input range, and includes an unusual PCIe Gen4 x4 FPC connector to add an M.2 expansion module, or other custom modules. The board also features two 2.5GbE and one GbE port, supports WiFi 6 and 5G via M.2 sockets, a SATA port and an M.2 socket for storage expansion, four display interfaces, a few USB ports, four internal COM ports for RS232 and/or RS485, and more. It is offered with either 15W U-Series (Intel Core Ultra 5 125U / Core Ultra 7 155U) or 28W H-series (Intel Core Ultra 5 125H / Core Ultra 7 155H) processors. AAEON GENE-MTH6 specifications: Meteor Lake SoC (one or the other) Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 16-core/22-thread processor up to 4.8 GHz with 24MB cache, Intel 8Xe LPG graphics @ 2.25 GHz, Intel AI Boost […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on RP2350-USB-A – A Raspberry Pi RP2350 board with an extra USB Type-A port using a PIO implementation

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 […]

Posted on by Tomisin Olujinmi - No Comments on Polverine – A compact, mikroBUS-compatible environmental sensing platform with PM 2.5 and gas sensors (Crowdfunding)

Polverine – A compact, mikroBUS-compatible environmental sensing platform with PM 2.5 and gas sensors (Crowdfunding)

Polverine mikroBUS sensing platform

Polverine is a mikroBUS-compatible environmental sensing platform featuring a BMV080 PM2.5 sensor and a BME690 gas sensor, plus an Espressif ESP32-S3-MINI-1 module to add Wi-Fi 4 and Bluetooth 5 connectivity. The onboard BMV080 sensor is described as the “world’s smallest PM2.5 sensor” at 4.2 x 3.5 x 3mm. The PM2.5 particulate matter sensor is complemented by the BME690 which measures temperature, humidity, and pressure, and detects volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for complete environmental monitoring. The board offers sufficient processing power for quick data handling, with wireless connectivity for easy integration into IoT systems and smart devices. Projected applications for the sensor platform include indoor air quality monitoring, smart homes, HVAC systems, industrial monitoring (gas leak and pollution monitoring), wearables for personal air quality tracking, and anomaly detection in emergency scenarios. We have seen other ESP32-based environmental sensor platforms such as the Sensy32 board, MoreSense MS-06, and AirGradient One, but the […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on Khadas Mind 2 AI Maker Kit Review – Part 3: Ubuntu 24.10 and the importance of power limits

Khadas Mind 2 AI Maker Kit Review – Part 3: Ubuntu 24.10 and the importance of power limits

Khadas Mind 2 AI Maker Kit Ubuntu 24.10 Review

I’ve already reviewed the Khadas Mind 2 AI Maker Kit with Windows 11 Home, and today, I’ll report my experience with Linux on the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V mini PC using Ubuntu 24.10 operating system. I would usually review systems with Ubuntu 24.04 LTS OS, but considering the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V SoC is so new, I installed Ubuntu 24.10 when I tested whether disabling VT-d (IOMMU) would improve Intel Arc GPU performance (it does to some extent), and it turns out it was a good decision because Ubuntu 24.04 requires lots of fixes and workarounds to work the Khadas Mind 2 AI Maker Kit, at least until Ubuntu 24.04.2 is released later this month with a more recent kernel. Khadas Mind 2 AI Maker Kit – Ubuntu 24.10 system information My Ubuntu 24.10 installed has both Linux 6.11 (default) and Linux 6.13 kernels, but I did most […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on Credit card-sized quad relay board runs Tasmota firmware on ESP32 module (Crowdfunding)

Credit card-sized quad relay board runs Tasmota firmware on ESP32 module (Crowdfunding)

Credit card-sized ESP32 quad relay board

The “ESP32 IoT Relay Board” is a credit card-sized ESP32 board with four small 250VAC/30VDC 7A relays that runs Tasmota open-source firmware and supports Alexa & Google Assistant for voice control. There are so many ESP32-based relay boards on the market that I don’t usually feel the need to cover new ones, but Igor Mileshin’s ESP32 IoT Relay Board is smaller than most so I thought it might be interesting to some. The smallest quad-channel relay board I’ve seen so far is the one by Seeed Studio using an STM32 MCU and solid-state relays that measures just 60 x 40mm, but the relays only support up to 2A. ESP32 IoT Relay Board specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-WROOM-32D SoC – Espressif ESP32-D0WD dual-core Tensilica LX6 processor @ 240 MHz Storage – 32Mbit SPI flash Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n up to 150 Mbps, Bluetooth 4.2/5.x LE Relays 4x “industrial-grade” relays supporting […]

Boardcon CM3588 Rockchip RK3588 System-on-Module designed for AI and IoT applications