Hybrid Time-of-Flight (ToF) 3D range image sensor offers up to 30-meter range

ToF sensor 30-meter range

We’ve written about STMicro Time-of-Flight ranging sensors several times over the year, including the latest VL53L8 which offers a range of up to 4 meters. But if your application would benefit from a more extended range, Toppan and Brookman Technology have designed a three-dimensional range image sensor (3D sensor) capable of measuring distances from one to 30 meters. using a hybrid Time-of-Flight (ToF) method. That method, proposed by Professor Shoji Kawahito of Shizuoka University, is a new sensing technology combining the indirect ToF method of measuring distance by phase difference and the direct ToF methodology for measurement based on time differences. The hybrid method is said to be more tolerant to ambient light noise than the conventional indirect ToF method, especially outdoors. Highlights of the hybrid ToF sensor: Measurement of distances up to 30 meters, or over 5x further than conventional models Noise-canceling function to facilitate outdoor measurement. Each pixel […]

Iono RP D16 industrial IO module features Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU

Iono RP D16 industrial IO module Raspberry Pi RP2040

Sfera Labs has launched another Raspberry Pi RP2040-based hardware platform with the Iono RP D16 industrial IO module following the Exo Sense RP multi-sensor module we covered last month. The Iono RP D16 module provides sixteen digital 24V I/O lines, an RS-485 serial interface, a wide range 12-28V power supply input, and its DIN-rail case enables installation in electrical cabinets and automation control systems. Iono RP D16 specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller @ 133MHz with 264kB on-chip SRAM Storage – 16MB SPI flash Inputs/Outputs via terminal blocks Up to 16x 24V 640mA outputs driven by high-side switches that can also be configured as push-pull drivers for high-speed switching (via MAX14912 chips) Up to 16x 24V IEC 61131-2 compliant current-sinking inputs (via MAX22190 chips) 4x TTL level I/Os (1-Wire, I2C, Wiegand support) Serial  –  RS-485 interface to the RP2040 serial lines via terminal block with electrostatic […]

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BP Doctor PRO review – A 2-in-1 smartwatch and blood pressure monitor

YHE BP Doctor Pro 2-in-1 smartwatch & blood pressure monitor

So far, If I wanted to monitor my blood pressure monitor and overall fitness, I’d use a Bluetooth blood pressure monitor (Koogeek BP2) plus a fitness tracker/smartwatch such as Weloop Key S3. It does the job, but WearWiz has come up with something much more compact with the BP Doctor Pro 2-in-1 device that acts as both a smartwatch/fitness tracker and a blood pressure monitor, and at $299, offers a cheaper alternative to the $500 FDA-approved Omron Heartguide. The company sent a sample to CNX Software for review, so we’ll have a look at the device and accessories, the Android app, and features such as blood pressure monitoring, HRM, SpO2 level monitoring, and more. The review is rather long, so if you are short on time, you may want to check the two sections: Blood pressure monitoring with BP Doctor PRO smartwatch Conclusion with Pros and Cons BP Doctor PRO […]

Mixtile reveals U.2 to PCIe/SATA breakout board for Rockchip RK3588 cluster

Mixtile Blade 3 cluster: boards connection

Mixtile Blade 3 is a Rockchip RK3588 SBC with up to 32GB RAM designed for server applications, notably to build clusters through a U.2 edge connector with 4-lane PCIe Gen3, SATA 3.0 to interconnect multiple boards. What was not clear so far is how multiple boards would be connected, as we were just shown two boards connected by a U.2 cable, which does not scale, and does not provide power as the 12V input also comes with the U.2 connector. The company has now provided more details showing how it’s done, namely through a breakout board that connects to the U.2 edge connector, and allows cluster design as shown below. The U.2 breakout board comes with a 6-pin connector 12V power, pair of SFF-8643 (mini SAS) connectors for PCIe daisy-chaining, and a SATA port. Since short SFF-8643 cables are hard to find, Mixtile will provide custom 15-cm cables with the […]

u-blox unveils miniature MIA-M10 GPS module

u-blox MIA-M10Q miniature GPS module

u-blox has introduced what could be the world’s smallest GNSS module with the 4.5×4.5mm u-blox MIA-M10 miniature module supporting GPS, BeiDou, Galileo, and GLONASS satellite navigation systems. The MIA-M10 is said to be about half the size of competing products and has been specially designed for size-constrained battery-powered asset tracking devices, as well as space-constrained industrial sensors and consumer goods. The company also claims its power-save modes can double the battery life by balancing position accuracy and power consumption. u-blox MIA-M10 GNSS module specifications: GNSS – BeiDou, Galileo, GLONASS, GPS / QZSS Number of concurrent GNSS – 4 Oscillators MIA-M10C – Crystal MIA-M10Q – TCXO MIA-M10Q only – SAW filter, LNA Host Interfaces – 1x UART, 1x DDC (I2C compliant) Supply Voltage MIA-M10C  – 1.3 to 1.98V MIA-M10Q – 1.76V to 3.6V Power Consumption – < 25 mW Dimensions – 4.5 x 4.5 x 1.0mm Temperature Range – -40°C to […]

SONOFF POW Elite ESP32 WiFi power meter switch handles up to 20A load

SONOFF POW Elite ESP32 Power Meter

SONOFF POW Elite is an ESP32-powered smart power meter switch that can handle up to 20A max load to monitor the power consumption of all appliances in a whole room. The data can be visualized in real-time on the built-in LCD or via the eWelink app, up to six-month of hourly power consumption history can be saved, and the system can also be integrated with third-party solutions such as a Home Assistant, IFTTT, and Alexa Energy dashboard. SONOFF POW Elite specifications: WiSoC – Espressif Systems ESP32 dual-core Xtenxa processor @ up to 240 MHz with 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity Wireless – 2.4GHz 802.11 b/g/n WiFi 4 (Bluetooth does not seem to be used) Power Input/Output POWR316D model – 100-240V~ 50/60Hz 16A Max POWR320D model – 100-240V~50/60Hz 20A Max Dimensions – 98 x 54 x 31mm (DIN Rail mountable) Casing Material – PC V0 (Tested with UL94v-0 […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs

Beelink SER3 & SEi8 mini PCs review – Part 2: Ubuntu 22.04

Previously, I reviewed Beelink’s new SEi8 and SER3 mini PCs running Windows 11, so in this part, I will cover Ubuntu 22.04. Hardware Recap The SEi8 is an actively cooled Intel mini PC that physically consists of a 124 x 113 x 41 (4.88 x 4.45 x 1.61 inches) square metal case with a plastic top and uses Intel’s 14++ nm Coffee Lake Refresh Core i3-8109U processor from 2018 which is a dual-core 4-thread 3.00 GHz mobile processor boosting to 3.60 GHz with Intel’s Iris Plus Graphics 655. In comparison, the SER3 is an AMD mini PC and is physically very similar, consisting of a 126 x 113 x 40mm (4.96 x 4.45 x 1.57 inches) square metal case. It is also actively cooled and uses AMD’s 14 nm Zen Ryzen 3 3200U Picasso processor from 2019 which is a dual-core 4-thread 2.6 GHz mobile processor boosting to 3.5 GHz […]

CrowPi L is a $200 laptop shell for Raspberry Pi 4

CrowPi L Laptop Shell Raspberry Pi 4

Two years ago, we reviewed CrowPi 2 Raspberry Pi 4 laptop designed for STEM education with embedded electronics modules and Letscode software with step-by-step tutorials to learn Scratch and Python programming. I found it quite good, but many people were mostly interested in having a Raspberry Pi 4 laptop, and the price tag was a bit high at the time. That’s probably why Elecrow has now designed for CrowPi L laptop shell for Raspberry Pi 4 based on the CrowPi 2 but without all the electronics modules, and with a built-in battery to operate more like an actual laptop. CrowPi L laptop shell specifications: Compatible SBC’s – Raspberry Pi 4 Model B only Storage – Full-size SD card slot Display – 11.6-inch 1366×768 IPS screen (CrowPi 2 was 1920×1080) Video Output – HDMI output for external monitor Camera – 2MP camera Audio – Built-in microphone and stereo speaker; 3.5mm audio […]

Boardcon Rockchip and Allwinner SoM and SBC products