CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

July 2, 2022February 27, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 27 Comments

ROMA Linux laptop to feature quad-core RISC-V SoC, support Web3, NFT, cryptocurrencies, etc…

ROMA is an upcoming Linux laptop equipped with an unnamed quad-core RISC-V processor with GPU and NPU, up to 16GB RAM, 256GB storage, primarily aimed at software developers, and with Web3 technology integration. The ROMA laptop will be born out of the collaboration between DeepComputing working on engineering and Xcalibyte taking care of system tuning, plus PW (assembly), ECP (security), XC (crypto), Rexeen (voice), and the LatticeX Foundation (PoS blockchain, NFT). ROMA laptop preliminary specifications: SoC – Quad-core RISC-V CPU with GPU for graphics, NPU for AI (12nm chip for the Pro model, 28nm chip for the Standard model) System Memory – 16GB LPDDR4/LPDDR4X RAM Storage – 256GB eMMC flash Security – Arm SC300 security enclave processor Display, keyboard, touchpad I agree that’s a bit light on details. We’re told the laptop will support most Linux operating systems and the company will offer free SoC and SoM upgrades, as well […]

July 1, 2022July 1, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

ZigUNO – An Arduino UNO-sized Zigbee board that works with PTVO firmware

ZigUNO Zigbee development board comes with an Ebyte E18-MS1 module equipped with Texas Instruments SimpleLink CC2530 8051 Zigbee microcontroller and follows Arduino UNO form for Arduino Shield compatibility. The board works with PTVO Zigbee firmware that comes with a graphical configuration tool to select the Zigbee chip used (CC2530), configure I/O behavior (input/output, pull-up, etc…), and more. The developers also suggest using DIYRuZ projects as examples to get started. ZigUNO board specifications: Zigbee module – Ebyte E18-MS1-PCB module with TI SimpleLink CC2530 8051 microcontroller with Zigbee 3.0 (and IEEE 802.15.4) connectivity, 256kB Flash and 8kB RAM, PCB antenna Expansion – Arduino UNO headers (3.3V only, not 5V tolerant) Power Supply – 5V up to 1.5A via 5.5/2.1mm DC jack, 2-pin terminal block, or micro USB port Dimensions – 82x54x13 (Arduino UNO form factor) Temperature Range – 0 to 50°C You’ll find the hardware design files including EasyEDA PDF schematics, BoM, […]

July 1, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

AEC-Q100 qualified module features Allwinner T507-H processor for automotive applications

We first wrote about Allwinner T507 when we covered a module and devkit from Forlinx, but now MYiR Tech has designed its own AEC-Q100 qualified system-on-module (MYC-YT507H) and the MYD-YT507H development board based Allwinner T507-H processor. MYC-YT507H – Allwinner T507-H SoM Specifications: SoC – Allwinner T507-H with a quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.5GHz, Arm Mali-G31 MP2 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 3.2/2.0/1.0, Vulkan1.1, OpenCL 2.0; 4K60 H.265/VP9/AVS2 video decoder, 4K H.264/MJPEG video encoder System Memory – 1 or 2GB LPDDR4 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash, 32Kbit EEPROM (or is it 32KB/256Kbit – see block diagram below) 222x castellated holes with 1.0mm pitch for carrier board connection Networking – 1x RGMII and 1x RMII Video 1x HDMI 2.0a up to 4Kp60 2x single-channel LVDS or 1x dual-channel LVDS or 24-bit RGB up to 1080p60 1x TV CVBS output with PAL/NTSC Camera – 1x DVP digital camera, 1x MIPI CSI […]

July 1, 2022July 1, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Wirelessly powered sensor evaluation kit comes 1W power transmitter, two battery-free sensors

Energous WattUp wireless power technology delivers power at various ranges (up to a few meters), and so far, we’ve seen it in wearables like garments, as well as smart glasses and earbuds development kits. The company has now launched a wirelessly powered sensor evaluation kit for the Internet-of-Things (IoT) based on the 1W WattUp PowerBridge transmitter with Bluetooth LE 5.0, plus two battery-free sensor nodes based on Atmosic ATM3202 Bluetooth LE 5.0 Cortex-M0 microcontroller with energy-harvesting capabilities. Wirelessly powered sensor evaluation kit content & features: 1W WattUp PowerBridge transmitter Bluetooth LE microcontroller Energous EN4100 transmitter IC Energous EN3210 power amplifier 2x Atmosic battery-free sensors MCU – Atmosic ATM3202 Cortex-M0 microcontroller @ 16 MHz with integrated RF energy-harvesting using MPPT (maximum power point tracking) algorithm to maximize harvesting performance Sensors – Temperature & humidity sensor, 3-axis accelerator Power consumption – A 1/4th of the power consumption of a typical BLE beacon […]

June 30, 2022August 11, 2022 by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 12 Comments

Beelink MINI S Review – A Low-cost mini PC tested with Ubuntu 22.04 and Windows 11

Whilst the first mini PCs were relatively simplistic using low-powered Intel Atom processors with minimal memory, storage, and ports, more recent mini PCs have become so advanced they can challenge SFF builds for both performance and functionality. However, such mini PCs come with prices to match. Beelink has now released the MINI S which is a mini PC that goes back to the basics and is based on a cut-down version of their earlier Beelink U59 mini PC and priced to match. Beelink kindly sent one for review and I’ve looked at performance running both Windows and Ubuntu and compared it directly against the U59. Beelink MINI S hardware overview The Beelink MINI S physically consists of a 115 x 102 x 41mm (4.53 x 4.02 x 1.61 inches) square plastic case. As an actively cooled mini PC, it uses Intel’s new 10 nm Jasper Lake N5095 processor which is […]

June 30, 2022June 30, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

tio is a serial device I/O tool for Linux targeted at embedded developers

There are already several serial terminal programs such as Putty and minicom, and in recent times, I’ve been using Bootterm myself. But that does not mean there isn’t room for more and Martin Lund has developed tio serial device I/O tool for Linux. Martin found out many of the existing tools are very modem focused or a bit cumbersome to use, so he developed tio as the simpler alternative which puts less focus on classic terminal/modem features and more focus on the needs of embedded developers and hackers.

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs

June 30, 2022June 30, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments

Raspberry Pi Pico W – A $6 Raspberry Pi Pico board with WiFi 4

I was expecting the next official Raspberry Pi board to be either an update of Raspberry Pico with WiFi and Bluetooth or with a machine learning accelerator and the new $6 Raspberry Pi Pico W delivers that wish through the addition of 2.4GHz WiFi 4. Having said that, I was actually expecting a competitor to ESP8266 or ESP32 with a new Raspberry Pi wireless microcontroller, but it did quite happen that way as the Raspberry Pi Pico W features the same Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ microcontroller found in Raspberry Pi Pico board coupled with an Infineon CYW43439 chip that’s supposed to support both 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth LE 5.2. Bluetooth is not enabled right now, but may be at a later stage. Raspberry Pi Pico W specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ microcontroller @ 133 MHz with 264KB SRAM Storage – 2MB QSPI flash Connectivity […]

June 29, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

NORVI GSM industrial controller with WiFi and cellular connectivity supports Arduino or ESP-IDF programming

NORVI GSM ESP32 cellular industrial controller

We’ve already seen ESP32 WiFI & Bluetooth SoC combined with a cellular modem several times already, and a couple of days ago, I wrote about LILYGO T-A7068X ESP23 board with a 4G LTE modem. Iconic Devices team has made another cellular ESP32 product with the NORVI GSM industrial controller. The DIN-Rail mountable USB programmable controller is offered with a choice of SIMCOM SIM800L 2G-only modem or QUECTEL EC21-G modem adding 3G UMTS/HSPDA+ and 4G LTE cellular connectivity. It also offers Ethernet connectivity, digital and analog inputs, relay outputs, and a small 0.96-inch OLED information display with options varying depending on the exact model. NORVI GSM specifications: Main module – ESP32-WROOM-32 with ESP32-D0WDQ6 dual-core microcontroller @ up to 160 MHz with 520 KB SRAM, 4 MB flash, 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity Cellular module (one or the other) SIMCom SIM800L quad-band GSM/GPRS module Quectel E21-G worldwide 4G LTE, […]