CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

November 22, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Theengs Bridge BLE to MQTT gateway supports Home Assistant, OpenHAB, Jeedom, NodeRed, and more

The Theengs Bridge is a new WiFi & Ethernet BLE to MQTT gateway running the open-source OpenMQTTGateway firmware, compatible with a range of sensors, and supporting Home Assistant, OpenHAB, Jeedom, NodeRed, and other MQTT-compatible systems. It follows the Theengs Plug smart socket introduced at the beginning of the board with many of the same features (minus the socket part…) but adds Ethernet and an external antenna for improved range, and improves modularity with a Grove I2C connector and mounting holes for a LoRa-E5-based Grove module and a prototyping area where you can solder your own circuitry with DIP components. Theengs Bridge specifications: Wireless module MCU – ESP32 microcontroller with WiFi and Bluetooth Storage – 8MB flash PCB antenna and u.FL antenna connector Connectivity 10/100M Ethernet RJ45 port 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth LE with 6dBi 50Ohm external antenna Optional LoRa module via Grove I2C connector MQTT protocol Expansion – […]

November 22, 2023February 29, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

MediaTek unveils 5G RedCap solutions: M60 5G modem and T300 Arm Cortex-A35 SoC

MediaTek has introduced its first 5G RedCap solutions with the M60 5G modem and the MediaTek T300 Arm Cortex-A35 SoC design to bring 5G-NR to wearables, light-weight AR devices, IoT modules, and consumer and industrial Edge AI devices. 5G RedCap (Reduced Capability), part of 3GPP Release 17, aims to keep some 5G features such as low latency, low power consumption, enhanced security, and network slicing while limiting the bandwidth (to around 85 Mbps) in order to be used in IoT devices and products that may not need the bandwidth required by smartphones and computers, but would benefit from longer battery life and a smaller footprint. MediaTek claims to be the first company to unveil 5G RedCap chips with the M60 modem and T300 SoC. MediaTek M60 key features and specifications: 3GPP Release 17 standard 5G modem R17 UE power saving R17 Coverage enhancement R17 Small data transmission LTE & NR-FR1 […]

ArmSoM CM5 - Raspberry Pi CM4 alternative with Rockchip RK3576 SoC

November 21, 2023December 20, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

iKOOLCORE R2 mini PC and router review – Part 1: Specs, unboxing, teardown, and first boot

iKOOLCORE R2 is an Intel Alder-Lake-N mini PC and network appliance (router/firewall/gateway) that comes with four 2.5GbE ports, up to 16GB RAM, NVMe storage, and the usual HDMI and USB ports, and offered with either Processor N95 or Core i3-N305 SoC. It’s the successor of the iKOOLCORE R1 with four gigabit Ethernet ports and Intel Celeron N5095 or Jasper Lake processor, and the company sent us a sample for testing, so we’ll start with listing the specifications, check out the mini PC and accessories with an unboxing, teardown the multilayer mini PC to check out the hardware design and explain how to update the SSD or install a wireless module, and check whether it can still boot to Windows 11 (default, preinstalled OS) after my adventurous teardown… iKOOCORE R2 specifications Alder Lake-N SoC Intel Processor N95 quad-core processor @ up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel UHD […]

November 21, 2023November 21, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

STMicro STM32WL3 sub-GHz wireless MCU targets smart metering, smart building, and industrial monitoring

STMicroelectronics STM32WL3 is an Arm Cortex-M0+ low-power, long-range, multi-protocol wireless microcontroller working in sub-GHz ISM frequency bands, namely 413MHz – 479MHz, 826MHz – 958MHz, and soon 169MHz (2024) for protocols such as wireless M-Bus (mode N) and Wize. The multi-protocol and multi-modulation radio supports 4-(G)FSK up to 600kbit/s, 2-(G)FSK, (G)MSK, DBPSK, DSSS, OOK, ASK modulation schemes suitable for proprietary and standardized wireless protocols such as Sigfox, KNX, WiSun, mioty, M-Bus, and others. STMicro also claims to have implemented new power-saving features that extend the battery life to up to 15 years. STM32WL3 key features and specifications: MCU Core – Arm Cortex-M0+ up to 64 MHz Memory – 16KB or 32KB SRAM with full retention Storage 128KB or 256KB flash 1 KB OTP flash (user data) Wireless RF bands – 413-479 MHz, 826-958 MHz, and soon 169 MHz Data rate – 0.1 to 600 kbit/s Tx power – up to […]

November 21, 2023November 21, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Intel Lunar Lake hybrid mobile processors to integrate on-chip LPDDR5X memory (MoP)

While Intel Meteor Lake mobile processors are yet to become available, we already have a leak that provides quite a lot of details about the next-generation Lunar Lake hybrid mobile processor family (LNL MX) with supports for 8W to 30W base power designs and 16GB or 32GB on-chip LPDDR5x memory (Memory-on-Package, or MoP) to deliver higher memory bandwidth at reduced footprint and power. Developed in collaboration with Microsoft, the new Lunar Lake processor will come with four P-cores and four low-power E-cores, a new generation NPU and GPU architecture for AI workloads, and improved power management for lower power consumption (40% scenario power reduction) and improved battery life. Four SKUs are currently planned with either 16GB or 32GB dual-channel LPDDR5X memory: Core 7 MS3 (+ MoP) – Octa-core “12M” processor with 4x P-cores, 4x E-Cores, 8-core Xe2-LPG GPU, and 6-tile (12K9M) NPU Core 5 MS1 (+MoP) – Octa-core “8M” processor […]

November 21, 2023November 24, 2023 by Sponsored Post - Comments Off

Black Friday 2023 Sale Finally Coming: Lifetime Office 2021 is Only $24.24, Windows 10 and Windows 11 Pro as low as $6! (Sponsored)

Black Friday is the absolute best time to buy just about everything including software keys. This year, Black Friday falls on Friday, Nov. 24. If you’re hoping to save as much money on the latest Software as possible this year, now is the time to start preparing. Godeal24 has already started their Black Friday Crazy SALE which lets you buy genuine Microsoft software at the lowest price to help you save up to 90% or more. You can buy Office 2021 Professional for just $24.24 or Windows 10 Pro for just $8.24, a one-time purchase that will keep you forever. To save more, buying Office 2021 5 PC with friends for $74.24 (only $14.85/PC) is suggested by Godeal24. Mac users can also get Office 2021 Home and Business for just $42.99. Of course, multi-keys will be much cheaper. Buy more, save more. Don’t worry about the price being so low, […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs

November 20, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

SaraKIT – An Raspberry Pi CM4 board with ChatGPT-based voice control, motor control, and plenty of sensors (Crowdfunding)

SaraKIT is a carrier board for the Raspberry Pi CM4 system-on-module with BLDC motor controllers and a range of sensors for robotics, support for ChatGPT-based voice control through three microphones and a ZL38063 audio chip, and two MIPI CSI connectors for cameras. The versatile board can be used for voice-controlled products, robots, home automation systems, and interfacing with smart home or office devices. The company also developed various demos such as a Smartphone-controlled LEGO RC car, a self-balancing LEGO robot, a pan-and-tilt camera, various AI demos using MediaPipe such as face tracking and object detection, as well as audio demos using ChatGPT, Alexa, and/or Google Home. SaraKIT specifications: Support system-on-modules – Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 (CM4) with future CM5 compatibility. MCU – Microchip dsPIC33 16-bit microcontroller with 32 KB SRAM for motor control and LSM6DS3TR sensor Audio Microchip ZL38063 (previously MicroSemi) audio processor for microphone arrays. 3x Knowles SPH0655 […]

November 20, 2023November 20, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

WeAct ESP32H2-N4 – A $6 Bluetooth 5.2 LE, Zigbee 3.0, and Thread development board

WeAct ESP32H2-N4 is a low-cost ESP32-H2 development board with Bluetooth 5.2 LE, Zigbee 3.0, and Thread connectivity with a design very similar to the one of Espressif Systems’ ESP32-H2-DevKitM-1 development board, but sold for just $5.70 plus shipping. The ESP32-H2 wireless microcontroller is basically the little brother of the ESP32-C6 without WiFi and aims at low-power nodes in short-range IoT networks. We have previously seen it in Espressif hardware like the aforementioned ESP32-H2-DevKitM-1 and the ESP Thread Border Router board combining ESP32-H2 & ESP32-S3 wireless chips, but so far not in third-party boards, and WeAct ESP32H2-N4 changes that. WeAct ESP32H2-N4 specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-H2-MINI-1 MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-H2 32-bit RISC-V microcontroller at up to 96 MHz with 320 KB SRAM, 128 KB ROM, 4 KB LP memory, Bluetooth 5.2 LE/Mesh and 802.15.4 (Zigbee/Thread/Matter) radios. Storage – 4MB flash storage PCB antenna Dimensions – 13.2×16.6×2.4 mm USB – 2x […]