Excited to share my first review, written for CNX Software! This time, we’re diving into the Seeed Studio mmWave Human Detection Sensor Kit, which harnesses the power of mmWave radar. The technology I’m particularly interested in for its smart home potential. Therefore, I jumped at the chance when CNX Software offered a product review opportunity. The kit arrived promptly at my doorstep just one week after accepting CNX Software’s offer. Here are my initial findings of the product and its capabilities to replace existing motion detection products. Unboxing the mmWave sensor kit I opened the DHL box and found the neatly bubble-wrapped mmWave Human Detection Sensor Kit. Alongside the kit, I discovered a bonus: the MR60FDA1 60GHz mmWave Sensor – Fall Detection Module Pro. This higher-frequency module boasts better resolution and even adds a fall detection feature compared to the kit’s included module, the MR24HPC1. However, the MR24HPC1 24GHz mmWave Sensor […]
Renesas’ RX23E-B MCU offers a low-drift 24-bit A/D converter with a 125 kSPS sampling rate
Renesas’ new RX23E-B MCU offers a low-drift 24-bit delta-sigma A/D converter with up to 125 kS/S Sampling Rate – That is eight times faster than its predecessor. This controller is clocked at 32-MHz and offers up to 256 KB Flash memory rail-to-rail programmable gain instrumentation amplifiers, ±10 V input pins, a low-drift voltage reference, and on-chip excitation current sources. This year Renesas introduced a range of new products including, the RZ/T2L Arm Cortex-R52 with an EtherCAT controller, and the RA4E2 and RA6E2 Arm Cortex-M33 MCUs for wearables and appliances. Renecus also released its first 32-bit RISC-V CPU this year, you can check those out if interested. Features of Renesas’ RX23E-B MCU: CPU: 32 MHz 32-bit RXv2 core Includes FPU/DSP instructions Memory: 256 KB code Flash 8 KB data Flash 32 KB SRAM 24-bit Delta-Sigma ADC with PGA: High data rate: max 125 kSPS Ultra-low noise: 190 nVRMS at 977 SPS/gain=64 […]
T-Keyboard-S3 4-key USB mechanical keyboard features keycaps with 0.85-inch color display
LILYGO T-Keyboard-S3 is an ESP32-S3 powered USB mechanical keyboard with four keys each equipped with a keycap featuring a 0.85-inch 128×128 color display to show different icons or characters. We have already covered several programmable small mechanical keyboards/keypads or macropads, so the first time I saw the T-Keyboard-S3 I did not think much of it until I read the $65 price tag on Aliexpress which I found excessive for this type of device. That’s only until I realized that each resin keycap has its own color display that the price made sense, and it makes quite a versatile macropad as you could easily program multiple layouts depending on the use case. T-Keyboard-S3 specifications: Wireless module ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 MCU – ESP32-S3R8 dual-core LX7 microprocessor @ up to 240 MHz with Vector extension for machine learning Memory – 8MB PSRAM Storage – 16MB SPI flash Connectivity – WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5 with LE/Mesh […]
Review of GEEKOM Mini Air12 mini PC with Windows 11 Pro (Part 2)
We’ve already done an unboxing and teardown of the GEEKOM Mini Air12 mini PC in the first part of the review and we’ve now had time to test Windows 11 Pro on the Intel Processor N100 mini PC equipped with 16GB SO-DIMM DDR5 and a 512GB M.2 SSD. Despite the low-end processor, the mini PC boots quite fast and it’s perfectly usable to browse the web, play YouTube videos, and perform other tasks like office work and photo editing. In part 2 of the review, we’ll test Windows 11 Pro thoroughly with a software overview, features testing, benchmarks, storage and network performance tests, thermal performance, fan noise, and power consumption of GEEKOM Mini Air12. Software overview and features testing Going to System->About in the Windows settings confirms we have a Mini Air12 mini PC powered by an 800 MHz (based frequency) Intel Processor N100 CPU, with 16GB of RAM, and […]
Congatec conga-TC675r – A COM Express Type 6 module with soldered RAM, 13th Gen Intel Core CPU
We’ve noticed a surge in the popularity of COM Express modules and Congatec has recently announced six new conga-TC675r COM Express Type 6 Computer-on-Modules based on 13th Gen Intel Core (Raptor Lake) processors that happen to come with soldered RAM instead of the usual SO-DIMM memory slots found in this form factor. The modules come with up to 14(6P+8E) cores and 20-thread, ultra-fast LPDDR5x memory, all within a total TDP of 45W. According to Congatec, this device is designed to work under extreme temperatures (-40°C to +85°C), and is built to withstand the highest standards for shock and vibrations notably thanks to the user of soldered onboard RAM, making this device suitable for off-road vehicles for mining, construction, agriculture, forestry, and other demanding mobility applications. Previously we have seen manufacturers like ADLINK announce COM Express modules based on the 13th Gen architecture, and both ADLINK and Congatec have also just […]
Infineon launches PSoC Edge Cortex-M55/M33 microcontrollers for enhanced AI and ML applications
Infineon’s new PSoC Edge series of microcontrollers integrates the Arm Cortex-M55 core with Helium DSP and the Ethos U55 NPU unit for advanced AI tasks. It also includes a power-efficient Arm Cortex-M33 core paired with an NNLite(DSP/NPU) for simpler AI tasks. This setup allows the device to be more efficient in varying load conditions. Infineon’s PSoC lineup is a configurable microcontroller powered by Arm Cortex-M4, Cortex-M3, or Cortex-M0+ cores. The main USP (Unique Selling Point) of this lineup is its configurable digital and analog components. This feature makes them somewhat similar to an FPGA, but an FPGA is far more difficult to program than these microcontrollers and they are also very power-hungry. The device is equipped with advanced HMI and “Always-on” capability. “Always-on” is a feature of this device to constantly monitors and responds to signals automatically, making it suitable for smart homes, security, wearables, robotics, and many more. Key […]
ODROID-M1S review – Part 1: Ubuntu 20.04, Vu8S touchscreen display, UPS Kit, and WiFi Module 5BK
Hardkernel ODROID-M1S single board board was recently launched to celebrate the company’s 15th anniversary. While the ODROID-M1 board was introduced with the Rockchip RK3568 SoC last year, the new ODROID-M1S board is smaller and cheaper starting at just $49 and comes with a Rockchip RK3566 SoC. Hardkernel sent us a sample of the ODROID-M1S board for review with 8GB of memory and 64GB of storage as well as accessories. Let’s unpack the box before trying it out with Ubuntu 20.04 Desktop and testing each accessory. ODROID-M1S unboxing with ODROID-Vu8S display, UPS kit, and WiFi dongle The review package we received from Hardkernel included the ORDROID-M1S SBC in its plastic enclosure, the VU8S 8-inch touchscreen display, a UPS board, and a dual-band WiFi 5 USB dongle. The UPS module comes without a battery, so we had to find an 18650 battery to use it. As we’ll see further below, the UPS […]
Firefly AIO-3588Q 8K AI Board Features Octa-Core CPU and 6 TOPS NPU
Firefly has recently launched the AIO-3588Q 8K AI board powered by a powerful Rockchip RK3588 SoC, up to 32GB of RAM, 8K video encoding-decoding, Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi 6, 5G/4G, and multiple display support. With all these features this board is designed to target the industrial, commercial, and automotive markets. Previously, we have covered many SBCs and SoMs designed by Firefly such as the similarly named Firefly AIO-3588SG; feel free to check those out if you’re interested. Features and specifications of the AIO-3588Q 8K AI Board: SoC – RockChip RK3588: CPU – Octa-core 64-bit (4x Cortex-A76+4x Cortex-A55), 8nm process, up to 2.4GHz. GPU – ARM Mali-G610 MP4, supports OpenGL ES3.2/OpenCL 2.2/Vulkan1.1, 450 GFLOPS. NPU – Up to 6 TOPS, supports INT4/INT8/INT16, compatible with TensorFlow/MXNet/PyTorch/Caffe. ISP – Integrated 48MP ISP with HDR & 3DNR. VPU – Supports 8K @ 60fps and 4K @ 60fps video decoding/encoding, including H.265/VP9/AVS2, and H.264 AVC/MVC. RAM […]