CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

June 18, 2022June 18, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

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 […]

June 17, 2022June 17, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

u-blox unveils miniature MIA-M10 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 […]

June 17, 2022September 5, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

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

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 […]

June 17, 2022 by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 9 Comments

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 […]

June 17, 2022July 19, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

CrowPi L is a $200 laptop shell for 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 […]

June 16, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Ubuntu Core 22 released for IoT devices and embedded systems

Canonical has just released Ubuntu Core 22, a containerized variant of Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, optimized for IoT devices and embedded systems and supporting Ubuntu’s new real-time kernel. In Ubuntu Core, everything is a snap, including the kernel, OS, and applications both to improve security to sandbox each package and to enable updates of specific packages from the IoT App Store over-the-air (OTA). If something goes wrong during the update, the system will automatically roll back to the previous version, so the device cannot be bricked. The Snap system also minimizes network traffic through delta updates. Ubuntu Core 22 also provides advanced security features with secure boot, full disk encryption, secure recovery, as well as confinement of the OS and applications as discussed above. Customers also benefit from Canonical’s 10 years (until 2032) of security maintenance of kernel, OS, and application-level code, which can be important for deployments in enterprise and […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs

June 16, 2022July 11, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

MECOOL KP1 smart projector runs Android 11 for TV on Amlogic S805X2 TV Stick

MECOOL KP1 is a Full HD projector equipped with the MECOOL KD5 HDMI dongle powered by an Amlogic S805X2 quad-core Cortex-A35 processor with 1GB RAM and 8GB flash and running Android 11 for TV. Most Android projectors are equipped with a low-end processor accompanied by an outdated version of Android, and while the Amlogic S805X2 SoC found in the KP1 is not a workhorse, Android 11 for TV OS should make it useable for a few more years, and it might even be possible to upgrade the TV stick down the road. MECOOL KP1 specfications: TV Stick – MECOOL KD5 with SoC – Amlogic S805X2 quad-core Arm Cortex-A35 processor with Arm Mali-G31 MP2 GPU, 1080p60 10-bit AV1, H.265, VP9 P-2, H.264, AVS2, MPEG4/2/1 video decoder System Memory – 1GB LPDDR4 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash Video Output – HDMI 1.4 port Connectivity – Dual-band WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2 OS […]

June 15, 2022June 17, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

KIOXIA XFMEXPRESS XT2 tiny 18x14mm removable NVMe SSD complies with XFM DEVICE standard

KIOXIA Corporation, previously known as, Toshiba Memory Corporation, has started sampling of the XFMEXPRESS XT2 removable PCIe/NVMe storage device compliant with XFM DEVICE Ver.1.0-standard with dimensions of just 18×14 mm. The new storage standard and device are mostly designed for space-constrained applications ranging from ultra-mobile PCs to IoT devices and various embedded applications that may require fast, removable storage. We do not have the full specifications for the XFMEXPRESS XT2, but here are the highlights: Host interface – PCIe 4.0 x 2 lanes, NVMe 1.4b interface with similar performance to M.2 SSDs Removable storage similar to microSD card Dimensions 18 x 14 x 1.4mm (252 mm2 footprint) compliant with JEDEC XFM DEVICE Ver.1.0 form factor 22.2 x 17.75 x 2.2mm when considering the drive & connector As I understand, the new storage device is meant to deliver much higher performance than microSD cards, while providing a thinner and smaller form […]