CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

April 3, 2023April 3, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Pocket AI – A portable NVIDIA RTX A500 eGPU for AI developers, embedded & industrial applications

We’ve previously seen it’s possible to connect an eGPU to a mini PC through a PCIe x16 to M.2 NVMe adapter or a Thunderbolt 3 port, but while it’s fine to install on your desk for gaming or develop AI applications, the eGPU being larger than most mini PCs, it’s a little too big to integrate into products, and potentially inconvenient to carry around. ADLINK Pocket AI portable eGPU changes that with an NVIDIA RTX A500 GPU housed in a 106 x 72 x 25mm box that’s about the size of a typical power bank and connects to a host through a Thunderbolt 3 connector. The company says the upcoming eGPU is mostly designed for AI developers, professional graphics users, and embedded industrial applications, but can also be for gaming. Pocket AI specifications: GPU – NVIDIA RTX 500 Architecture – NVIDIA Ampere GA107 Base clock: 435 MHz Boost clock: 1335 […]

April 2, 2023April 2, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 26 Comments

NanoPi R6C review – Ubuntu 22.04, NVMe SSD, USB debug

FriendlyElec has recently announced the NanoPi R6C mini PC that a variant of the Rockchip RK3588S powered NanoPi R6S mini PC and 2.5GbE router that we reviewed with FriendlyWrt/OpenWrt and Ubuntu 22.04 earlier this year, but with just one 2.5GbE and one GbE interface, a built-in M.2 NVMe SSD socket and USB-C Debug UART port for easy external access to the serial console. The company sent me a NanoPi R6C sample for review, but since we’ve already tested the similar NanoPi R6S extensively, I’ll write a single-post mini review this time around, checking out the hardware, and focusing on testing the new features such as the NVMe SSD and the USB debug port when running Ubuntu 22.04. NanoPi R6C unboxing As usual, the device came in a non-descript cardboard package with a few 3M rubber pads. The most obvious change compared to the NanoPi R6S is that all main ports […]

ArmSoM CM5 Raspberry Pi CM4 alternative with Rockchip RK3576 SoC

April 2, 2023April 2, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 43 Comments

Pine64 Star64 SBC with StarFive JH7110 RISC-V SoC with GPU to launch for $69.99 and up

Pine64 RISC-V Linux single board computer

Pine64 Star64 is a single board computer (SBC) powered by StarFive JH7110 quad-core 64-bit RISC-V processor equipped with an Imagination BXE-4-32 GPU, and in a form factor similar to the earlier Pine64 model A boards such as the Quartz64 Model A. The Star64 SBC ships with either 4GB or 8GB of RAM, an HDMI 2.0 video output connector, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, a WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 module, USB 3.0 ports, a PCIe slot, and a GPIO header for expansion. Star64 specifications: SoC – StarFive JH7110 with CPU – Quad-core 64-bit RISC-V (SiFive U74 – RV64GC) processor @ up to 1.5 GHz GPU – Imagination BXE-4-32 GPU @ up to 600 MHz supporting OpenGL ES 3.2, OpenCL 1.2, Vulkan 1.2 VPU 4Kp60 H.265/H.264 video decoder 1080p30 H.265 video encoder System Memory – 4GB or 8GB LPDDR4 Storage – MicroSD card slot, eMMC flash module socket up to 128GB, 128Mbit […]

April 1, 2023April 2, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

X88Pro 13 8K TV box runs Android 13 on Rockchip RK3528 SoC

Rockchip demonstrated the Rockchip RK3528 TV box SoC at Mobile World Congress 2023, and the first Android 13 TV boxes based on the processor are now showing up for sale starting with the LEMFO X88Pro 13 TV box. The device comes with up to 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, supports up to 8Kp25 video decoding, features Fast Ethernet and WiFi 6 networking, as well as a few USB ports, and possibly optical S/PDIF audio output. LEMFO X88Pro 13 (preliminary) specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3528 CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor GPU – Arm Mali-450 GPU VPU H.265/HEVC up to 8Kp25 H.264/AVC, VP9 up to 4Kp60 VP8, MPEG-1 MPEG-2, MPEG-4, VC1 up to 1080p60 System Memory / Storage configurations: 2 GB RAM and 16 GB flash 4 GB RAM and 32 GB flash 4 GB RAM and 64 GB flash A microSD card is most likely present too Video Output – […]

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

STMicro STLINK-V3PWR debugging & programming probe supports power measurement

STMicro STLINK-V3PWR is a new in-circuit debugging and programming probe made for STM32 microcontrollers and that is said to provide accurate power measurement. The probe is especially useful for battery power IoT and wireless applications and is able to measure current values from nanoamps up to ~500mA with up to ±0.5% accuracy. The STLINK-V3PWR can also power the target over a single USB cable up to 2A. STMicro STLINK-V3PWR key features and specifications: 1‑Quadrant source measurement unit: Programmable voltage source from 1.6 to 3.6 V Output current rating 500 mA with over-current protection (OCP) at 550 mA Programmable sampling rate from 1 SPS to 100 kSPS Dynamic measurement 100 nA to 550 mA current 160 nW to 1.65 W power measurements 50 kHz bandwidth 1.6 MHz acquisition / 2% accuracy Compatible with EEMBC ULPMark tests Auxiliary output voltage source from 1.6 to 3.6 V under up to 2 A (no current measurement, OCP at 2.5 A) Debugging of […]

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

SOPHON BM1684/BM1684X Edge AI computer delivers up to 32 TOPS, decodes up to 32 Full HD videos simultaneously

Firefly EC-A1684JD4 FD and EC-A1684XJD4 FD are nearly identical Edge AI embedded computers based on respectively SOPHON BM1684 and BM1684X Arm AI SoC delivering up to 32 TOPS of AI inference, and capable of decoding up to 32 H.265/H.264 Full HD videos simultaneously for video analytics applications. The BM1684(X) SoCs are equipped with eight Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 2.3 GHz to run Linux, and the systems come with up to 16GB RAM, 128GB flash, two Gigabit Ethernet ports to receive the video streams, one HDMI output up to 1080p30 for monitoring, as well as RS232 and RS485 DB9 connectors, and a few USB ports. Firefly EC-A1684JD4 FD and EC-A1684XJD4 FD specifications: SoC – SOPHGO SOPHON BM1684/BM1684X CPU – Octa-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 2.3GHz TPU BM1684 64 NPU arithmetic units with each NPU containing 16 EU arithmetic units, or 1,024 EU in total Up to 17.6 TOPS (INT8), […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs abd SoMs

March 31, 2023March 31, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Metal enclosures for the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 IO board

Waveshare metal box for Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 IO Board

I was informed about the “CM4 IO Computer” based on the official Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 IO board housing in a metal enclosure along with the Raspberry Pi CM4 module. I initially thought it was new, but it’s been out at least since 2021. Nevertheless, it turns out there are at least two of this type of metal enclosures for the CM4 IO board, and when buying full systems, they may provide a way to source Raspberry Pi CM4 system-on-modules since individual modules are so hard to purchase if you are not a company with some minimum monthly production volume. As a development platform, the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 IO board is not optimized for cost or size, but there’s apparently enough demand that at least two companies – EDATEC and Waveshare – decided to make metal enclosures for them. EDATEC metal enclosure for the Compute Module 4 […]

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

SONOFF TX Ultimate “T5” smart touch wall switch support gestures, custom covers

Sonoff TX Utimate TX Smart Touch Wall Switch

SONOFF TX Ultimate smart touch wall switch, also known as the SONOFF T5, is another wireless switch from the company with up to 3 gangs, RGB color edge lights around the 86x86mm switch, as well as support for gestures and custom covers. Gestures like swipe left or right are possible because the full area of the SONOFF T5 switch acts as a touch sensor, and the RGB LEDs around the device enable ambient lights in the room at night. The switch can also provide haptic feedback to the user during use with a built-in speaker and vibration motor. SONOFF TX Ultimate specifications: Model numbers – T5-1C-86, T5-2C-86, T5-3C-86 depending on the number of buttons Wireless – 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi Input and Output power 1-gang: 100-240V~50/60 Hz up to 5A 2-gang: 100-240V~50/60Hz up to 10A (5A per gang max) 3-gang: 100-240V-50/60 Hz up to 15A (5A per gang max) Dimensions – […]