CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

December 6, 2022December 6, 2022 by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 5 Comments

MeLE PCG02 Pro Review – A Fanless Intel Celeron J4125 / N5105 mini PC with an ultra-compact form factor

MeLE has launched a new ‘stick’ mini PC called the PCG02 Pro. It comes in two models featuring either a mobile Gemini Lake Refresh or a Jasper Lake processor. Both models appear physically similar however the memory, WiFi, Bluetooth, and USB ports differ plus only the lower-powered model includes an M.2 NVMe or SATA slot. MeLE kindly sent both models for review and I’ve looked at the performance running both Windows and Ubuntu. MeLE PCG02 Pro hardware overview The MeLE PCG02 Pro physically consists of a 146 x 61 x 20mm (5.75 x 2.40 x 0.79 inches) rectangular plastic case that ‘wraps’ around a plastic inner frame. The outside of the case has a knurled or cross-hatched pattern (engineered to provide high thermal conductivity) and the inner frame has the WiFi antennas glued to it. As passively cooled mini PCs, the first model known as the PCG02 Pro J4125 uses […]

December 6, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

Armbian 22.11 released with 64-bit RISC-V UEFI, ultra minimal images support

Armbian 22.11 has just been released with three new SBCs, support for 64-bit RISC-V UEFI, a new ultra-minimal image optimized for software development, and various improvements. Armbian was born as a framework to build better OS images, usually Debian or Ubuntu, for Arm-based single board computers from Orange Pi, Hardkernel (ODROID), FriendlyElec, Banana Pi, and others, but now with the release of Armbian 22.11, support for the RISC-V architecture has started since the system can now generate 64-bit RISC-V UEFI images. Some other highlights of Armbian 22.11 include: Added support for Banana Pi BPI-M5 (Amlogic S905X3), ODROID-M1 (Rockchip RK3568), and Rock Pi 4C Plus (Rockchip RK3399-T) Enabled community images with a weekly release cycle Added ultra minimal images optimized for software deployment Improved support for the Rock Pi S (Rockchip RK3308) Kernel upgrade is frozen by default to improve stability I could not find details about the new “Minimal” images, […]

December 6, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

$200 Swarm M138 kit enables two-way satellite connectivity for IoT projects

Sparkfun has launched a Satellite Transceiver Kit based on the Swarm M138 satellite and GNSS modem that allows low-bitrate two-way connectivity for IoT projects anywhere on earth. Remote IoT applications have benefited from LPWAN standards such as LoRaWAN and NB-IoT, but in some extreme cases coverage may still be challenging, so satellite communication may be the only practical option. It used to be really expensive, but Swarm makes this more affordable, and companies like SigFox and Semtech also have (or had?) plans to use low-earth orbit satellites for their respective LPWAN technologies. Swarm M138 kit content and specifications: Swarm M138 mini PCIe satellite modem and GNSS receiver module MCU – Arm Cortex-M4 microcontroller Up to 1 Kbps data rate, up to 912 bytes packet size Frequency 137-138 MHz (downlink) 148-150 MHz (uplink) Dimensions – 51.0 x 30.0 x 5.3 mm Weight – 9.6 grams Temperature Range – -40°C to +85°C […]

December 5, 2022July 10, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

UniHiker education platform teaches STEM with Mind+ and Jupyter

DFRobot UniHiker is a STEM education platform with a 2.8-inch touchscreen display, a Rockchip RK3308 quad-core Cortex-A35 processor, a GD32V RISC-V microcontroller, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, as well as various headers for expansion, and a BBC Micro:bit compatible edge connector. The UniHiker runs Debian 10 Linux and can be used to teach programming using Mind+ visual programming IDE or Jupyter open-source interface, as well as IoT and AI basics thanks to tutorials and lessons available in Chinese only as the platform clearly targets the education market in mainland China at this point in time. Unihiker specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3308 Quad-core Arm Cortex-A35 processor @ 1.2GHz without GPU MCU – Gigadevice GD32VF103C8T6 RISC-V microcontroller @ 108MHz with 64KB flash, 32KB SRAM System Memory – 512MB DDR3 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash, MicroSD card socket Display – 2.8-inch touchscreen color display with 320×240 resolution Connectivity – 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi & […]

December 5, 2022December 8, 2022 by Sponsored Post - No Comments

GEEKOM’s Christmas promotion – Save $50 on Jasper Lake mini PCs (Sponsored)

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are done, but GEEKOM has started a Christmas promotion for two Jasper Lake mini PCs that will run until December 31, 2022. The GEEKOM MiniAir 11 mini PC reviewed by Ian with Windows 11 and Ubuntu 22.04 this past summer, is offered for $179 with the code coupon XMAIR11A, or a $50 discount compared to the retail suggested price of $229. Ian found out the mini PC worked well in both Windows and Ubuntu with a near-silent operation but noted the lack of a SATA bay for expansion and limited BIOS options. It is powered by an Intel Celeron N5090 quad-core Jasper Lake processor clocked up to 2.9GHz, equipped with 8GB RAM and a 256GB SATA SSD with Windows 11 Pro pre-installed, and two 4K capable video output including one HDMI port and one miniDP port. You’ll find more detailed specifications in our write-up about […]

December 5, 2022December 5, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

DFI EC70A-TGU embedded computer promises long-term support until 2035 (at least)

Some industries require long-term support of hardware, and DFI’s EC70A-TGU rugged embedded computer could fit the bill as the Tiger Lake IOTG processor used in this model has a 15-Year CPU life cycle guaranteeing availability until Q3 2035. The fanless computer is equipped with 8GB RAM, supports M.2 NVMe SSD storage, also well M.2 expansion slots for 5G modules, features HDMI and VGA video output, four serial DB3 ports, and offers up to four Ethernet ports and up to six USB ports through three SKUs with a different number of USB and Ethernet ports. DFI EC70A-TGU specifications: Tiger Lake UP3 “IoTG” SoC (one or the other) @ 1.5GHz to 4.4GHz depending on SKU Embedded Intel Core i7-1185G7E quad-core processor with Iris Xe graphics; TDP: 28W Intel Core i5-1145G7E quad-core processor with Iris Xe graphics; TDP: 28W Intel Core i3-1115G4E dual-core processor with Intel UHD graphics; TDP: 28W Industrial-grade Intel Core […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs

December 5, 2022December 5, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Getting Started with CrowBot BOLT smart robot car

Elecrow CrowBot BOLT & Game Controller Assembled

CrowBot BOLT is a smart robot car based on an ESP32 wireless microcontroller and designed for the education market with the ability to program the robot with visual programming, Arduino, or MicroPython. Elecrow sent me a sample of the CrowBot BOLT kit for evaluation so I’ll have a look at the hardware, show how to assemble it, showcase the features of the built-in firmware, and demonstrate how to program the robot with visual programming, Arduino, and MicroPython using some of the provided code samples. CrowBot BOLT unboxing The package lists some of the highlights with 16 teaching courses, support for multiple programming platforms, scalability with Grove connectors, and the inclusion of the Joystick that’s also programmable. The CrowBot BOLT comes as a kit so there will need to be some work to do to assemble the robot, but no soldering is required (in normal cases, more on that later). The […]

December 4, 2022January 30, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 43 Comments

Cool Pi 4 Model B – A much faster alternative to Raspberry Pi 4 SBC

Cool Pi 4 Model B is a powerful alternative to Raspberry Pi 4 SBC with mostly the same form factor and interfaces but equipped with a Rockchip RK3588S octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 processor that will run circles around the Broadcom BCM2711 SoC found in the Raspberry Pi board. We’ve already reviewed Rockchip RK3588/RK3588S single board computers and mini PC such as Rock 5B, Khadas Edge2 Pro, and Mekotronics R58, and we were impressed by the performance, but if you prefer to have such a board in Raspberry Pi 4 form factor, then the Cool Pi 4 Model B might be for you. Cool Pi 4 Model B specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588S octa-core processor with 4x Cortex-A76 cores @ up to 2.4 GHz, 4x Cortex-A55 cores, an Arm Mali-G610 GPU with OpenGL ES 3.2, OpenCL 2.2, and Vulkan 1.1 support, 8Kp60 video decoder for H.265/AVS2/VP9/H.264/AV1 codecs, 8Kp30 video encoder, and a 6 […]