CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

May 31, 2023July 31, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

eEver EJ523D chip enables 4Kp60 video capture or streaming over USB 3.2

eEver EJ523D 4Kp60 HDMI USB video capture

eEver Technology, a subsidiary of eTron Technology, has launched the EJ523D 4Kp60 audio and video capture and streaming processor with a USB 3.2 interface, along with a reference platform currently showcased at COMPUTEX 2023. Over the last few years, we’ve covered some low-cost HDMI to USB 2.0 dongles that capture video up to 1080p30, followed by HDMI to USB 3.0 dongles handling up to 4Kp30, but the latest eEver EJ523D chip will be found in USB 3.2 adapters to capture at up to 4Kp60 resolution with H.265 encoding or 4Kp30 in the NV12 format. Some highlights of the EJ523D: Video capture resolution and frame rate 4K@ 30 fps or 2K @ 120 fps with NV12 4K @ 60 fps with H.265 10-bit HDR/H.264 encoding MJPEG encoding is also supported up to 4K @ 60 fps Integrated scaler – Full range up & down De-interlacing – De-interlace i to p mode […]

May 31, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

ECS RK3568-IS 3.5-inch SBC with Rockchip RK3568 SoC showcased at COMPUTEX 2023

ECS is better known for its LIVA mini PCs and x86 motherboards, but ECSIPC unveiled a 3.5-inch SBC powered by Rockchip RK3568 Arm SoC at Embedded World 2023. However, when I asked for photos or detailed specifications at the time, I was told by a company representative no further details were available. But we now have more information as the company is showcasing the RK3568-IS 3.5-inch SBC at COMPUTEX 2023, and I received some photos from their booth. ECS RK3568-IS specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3568 quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 @ up to 2.0 GHz with ARM Mali-G52 2EE GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2. OpenCL 2.0. Vulkan 1.1, 0.8 TOPS NPU System Memory – 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB DDR3 or LPDDR4X Storage 8GB or 32GB eMMC flash M.2 socket for 2280 NVMe SSD MicroSD card slot Display HDMI 2.0 output eDP 1.3 LVDS or MIPI DSI interface I2C capacitive touch […]

May 30, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

NXP i.MX 91 single-core Cortex-A55 SoC to power Linux-based cost-optimized edge devices

NXP has just unveiled the NXP i.MX 91 single-core Cortex-A55 processor following the introduction of the i.MX 93 in 2021, and designed for cost-optimized edge devices running Linux. The NXP i.MX 93 processor comes with up to two Cortex-A55 cores, a Cortex-M33 real-time core, and an Ethos U65 microNPU, but targeting entry-level Linux systems, the NXP i.MX 91 processor does without the real-time core and the AI acceleration, while still integrating NXP EdgeLock Secure Enclave, and the company highlights support for multiple wireless connectivity options through companion chips such as the IW612 that supports Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, 802.15.4, and the new Matter protocol. NXP i.MX 91 specifications: CPU – Arm Cortex-A55 running at up to 1.4GHz with 256KB L2 cache System Memory – Up to 2.4GT/s x16 LPDDR4 with Inline ECC Storage 3x SD 3.0, SDIO 3.0, eMMC 5.1 1x Octal SPI including support for SPI NOR and SPI […]

May 30, 2023May 31, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

LILYGO T-FPGA devkit combines ESP32-S3 WiSoC with Gowin GW1NSR-4C FPGA

LILYGO T-FPGA development kit is comprised of an M.2 module with an ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth wireless microcontroller and a Gowin GW1NSR-4C FPGA with 4,608 LUTs, and a carrier board that gives easy access to I/Os and comes with a 18650 battery holder. The module comes with a USB -C OTG port connected to the ESP32-S3, and a USB-C FPGA port for the FPGA. The “T-FPGA shield” carrier board includes four Pmod interfaces and a STEMMA Qt/Qwiic connector for expansion, plus several pins for 3.3 and GND, and another 20-pin I/O header. LILYGO T-FPGA specifications: Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3R8 dual-core Tensilica LX7 @ up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration, 512KB RAM, 8MB PSRAM, wireless connectivity Storage – 16MB flash FPGA – Gowin Semiconductors GW1NSR-LV4CQN48PC6/I5 with 4,608 LUT4, 256Kb flash, 64Mb PSRAM, 64Mb Hyperflash, 32Mb NOR flash Connectivity via ESP32-S3 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi […]

May 30, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

$10 Arduino-programmable WCH CH552 macro keyboard is configurable from a web browser

The 4xMacropad is a low-cost, open-source hardware 4-key mechanical macro keyboard based on WCH CH552G 8051-compatible USB microcontroller and whose keys can easily be configured from a web browser generating an Arduino sketch. The CH55x family has been around for several years, and we first wrote about the sub-$2 CH551 Mini development board over 5 years ago, but CH552 variants are also found in more recent hardware such as the Turing Screen Screen information display and another rotary encoder shield with two mechanical keys. The 4xMacropad macro keyboard is another CH522 design, but it’s open-source. 4xMacroPad specifications: MCU – WCH CH552G 8051-compatible microcontroller @ 24 MHz with 16KB flash, 1.25KB SRAM USB – 1x mini USB port for power User input – 4x mechanical key switches with keypads Misc – Power LED, Mode switch (A or B), user button Power Supply – 5V via mini USB port The EasyEDA files, […]

May 29, 2023May 31, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

zigpy-zboss library makes Nordic Semi nRF52840 Zigbee dongles compatible with Home Assistant

zigpy-zboss is a Python library that adds support for Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 modules to zigpy open-source Python Zigbee stack project, as well as other Network Co-Processor radios that run firmware based on ZBOSS Open Initiative (ZOI). This enables integration with compatible Zigbee gateway implementations such as Home Assistant’s ZHA integration component and allows users to directly control Zigbee devices from a wide range of manufacturers such as IKEA, Philips Hue, SmartSung SmartThings, ITEAD SONOFF, Xiaomi Aqara, and others. Home Assistant’s ZHA integration already worked with Zigbee dongles based on Silicon Labs Mighty Gecko EFR32MG21 or Texas Instruments CC2652P microcontrollers, but now it’s possible to use nRF52840 dongles and development as Zigbee Coordinators thanks to the zigpy-zboss library. The zigpy-zboss ZBOSS radio library for zigpy source code and resources can be found on GitHub, but note that this is still an unofficial and experimental port, so testers need to manually […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs

May 29, 2023May 31, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Review of BIGTREETECH Pad 7 Klipper pad with Creality Ender-3 Pro S1 3D printer

Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro + BIGTREETECH Pad 7 Benchy 3D printing

I received the BIGTREETECH Pad 7 7-inch Klipper pad and tablet PC for review earlier this month. I’ve already tested it with a Raspberry Pi CM4 as a Linux tablet PC with touchscreen, and I’ve now reinstalled the BTT CB1 Allwinner H616 system-on-module to run the pre-install Klipper OS and connect the Pad 7 to a Creality Ender-3 Pro S1 3D printer. When I first booted the Pad 7 it ended up with an error message from Klipper complaining about a missing configuration file. I connected to WiFi and update all software packages, but it didn’t help. It’s just because the Pad 7 needs to be configured for a specific printer. We can do so through the web dashboard accessible through a web browser going to http://btt-pad7.local (unless you’d changed the hostname in the system) We’ve got the same error shown in the web interface as Klipper needs to be […]

May 29, 2023June 1, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Arm unveils Cortex-X4, Cortex-A720, Cortex-A520 CPUs, Immortalis-720 GPU

Arm Cortex-X4 Immortalis-G720 SoC block diagram

Arm has just announced the new Total Compute Solutions 2023 (TCS23) with Cortex-X4, Cortex-A720, and Cortex-A520 Armv9.2 CPU cores, and the 5th generation (i.e. no Valhall) Immortalis-720 GPU that will initially be found in SoC for premium smartphones and laptops before reaching the other markets over the years. The announcement follows TCS22 platform announced in June 2022 with Cortex-X3, Cortex-A715 and 510 cores plus the Immortalis-715 GPU that was eventually found in the MediaTek Dimensity 9200 SoC integrated into OPPO and Vivo smartphones, and the new TCS23 CPU cores offer up to 15% performance improvement, 40% higher efficiency, while the Immortalis-720 GPU offers similar performance and efficiency improvements on the graphics front. A typical TCS23 mobile SoC will have a Cortex-X4 premium core, a few Cortex-A720 high-performance cores, and a few Cortex-A520 efficiency cores managed by the new DynamIQ Shared Unit DSU-120 capable of handling up to 14 cores in […]

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