CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

August 14, 2022August 14, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 19 Comments

BITBLAZE Titan BM15 Arm Linux laptop features Baikal-M1 processor

Russian company Prombit has unveiled the BITBLAZE Titan BM15 Arm Linux Laptop equipped with Baikal-M1 octa-core Arm Cortex-A57 processor manufactured by TSMC, up to 128GB RAM, SSD storage, and a 15.6-inch Full HD display. Baikal-M1, also called Baikal-M, was already found in desktop PCs and All-in-One Arm Linux computers launched last year for the Russian government and businesses, but I think it’s the first time it shows up in a laptop. BITBLAZE Titan BM15 specifications: SoC – Baikal M1 ((BE-M1000) octa-core Cortex-A57 processor @ up to 1.5 GHz with Arm Mali-T628 GPU; 28nm manufacturing process System Memory – 16GB RAM, upgradeable up to 128 GB thanks to the two SO-DIMM DDR4 sockets [Update: Our previous article about Baikal M1 only showed the processor to support up to 32GB RAM, and 64GB DDR4 SO-DIMM modules don’t seem to exist, so the 128GB claim appears to be an error] Storage – 250 […]

August 13, 2022August 13, 2022 by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 23 Comments

Beelink U59 Pro review – A Jasper Lake mini PC with faster GPU performance

Beelink’s newly launched U59 Pro addresses the weak graphical performance offered by the original Beelink U59, which we also noticed in the Beelink MINI S, and was a direct result of the iGPU limitations. By simply upgrading the CPU from a ‘desktop’ to ‘mobile’ Celeron processor the iGPU received a fifty percent boost in execution units. Beelink kindly sent one for review and I’ve looked at performance running both Windows and Ubuntu. Beelink U59 Pro Hardware Overview The Beelink U59 Pro physically consists of a 124 x 113 x 42mm (4.88 x 4.45 x 1.65 inches) square plastic case. As before it is an actively cooled mini PC but now uses Intel’s 10 nm Jasper Lake N5105 processor which is the same quad-core 4-thread 2.00 GHz Celeron processor boosting to 2.90 GHz but with improved Intel’s UHD Graphics as the ‘Graphics Burst Frequency’ increases from 750 MHz to 800 MHz […]

ArmSoM CM5 Raspberry Pi CM4 alternative with Rockchip RK3576 SoC

August 12, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

LattePanda 3 Delta SBC combines Jasper Lake processor and Arduino compatible microcontroller

The LattePanda 3 Delta single board computer with an Intel Celeron N5105 Jasper Lake processor and an Arduino ATmega32U4 Leonardo compatible MCU that initially launched through a Kickstarter campaign in November 2021. The team behind the board has now announced the global availability of the Intel + Arduino SBC on DFRobot starting at $279 plus shipping, which we can compare to the $229 pledge asked during the crowdfunding campaign for reference. LattePanda 3 Delta 864 specifications remain the same also with a few extra details: SoC – Intel Celeron N5105 quad-core Jasper Lake processor @ 2.0GHz / 2.9GHz (Turbo) with Intel UHD graphics 605 @ 450 to 800 MHz; 10W TDP System Memory – 8GB LPDDR4 @ 2933 MHz Storage 64GB eMMC 5.1 flash Support for M.2 NVMe or SATA SSD (See Expansion section) MicroSD card socket MCU – Microchip ATmega32U4-MU 8-bit AVR Arduino Leonardo compatible microcontroller Video Output HDMI […]

August 12, 2022October 30, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

SONOFF NSPanel Pro Android control panel doubles as WiFi & Zigbee Smart Home gateway

ITEAD has introduced the SONOFF NSPanel Pro Smart Home control panel running Android 8.1 on a Rockchip PX30 quad-core Cortex-A35 processor and acting as a Smart Home gateway thanks to an 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee 3.0, and 2.4 GHz 802.11b WiFi for connectivity. The NSPanel Pro follows the ESP32-powered SONOFF NSPanel introduced just last year but offers much more flexibility with Android, 2GB RAM, 8GB eMMC flash, and also offers a slightly larger 3.95-inch capacitive touchscreen display with 480×480 resolution. SONOFF NSPanel Pro specifications: SoC – Rockchip PX30 quad-core Cortex-A35 processor with Arm Mali-G31 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC 5.1 flash Display – 3.95-inch capacitive touchscreen color TFT display with 480×480 resolution Audio – 1W speaker, digital microphone for two-way communication (intercom) Connectivity 802.15.4 radio with Zigbee 3.0 support. Matter and BLE Mesh scheduled for 2023 2.4 GHz 802.11b WiFi Sensor – Light sensor for […]

August 12, 2022August 12, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

$4.9 CAN bus module features GD32E103 Cortex-M4 microcontroller

Seeed Studio has introduced a new CAN Bus Grove module based on 120 MHz Gigadevice GD32E103 Arm Cortex-M4+ microcontroller with support for CAN FD at up to 5Mbps and controlled by AT command over a serial interface. The new module appears to be a drop-in replacement for the company’s $19.90 Serial CAN-BUS Grove module based on Microchip MCP2551 and MCP2515, and the main benefit of the new GD32E103 module is that it is much more cost-effective going for only $4.90 including shipping. GD32E103 CAN BUS Grove module specifications: MCU – Gigadevice GD32E103 Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller @ up to 120 MHz with 64KB to 128KB flash, 20KB to 32KB SRAM CAN Bus – 2-pin terminal block with CAN FD up to 5 Mbps Host connection – 4-pin Grove connector with UART up to 115,200 bps (default 9,600 bps) Misc – Tx and Rx LEDs Operating voltage – 3.3V Dimensions – 40 […]

August 11, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

CrowPi L Review – Part 2: Learn programming and electronics with a Raspberry Pi 4 laptop

CrowPi L review learn programming electronics

In the first part of our review of CrowPi L Raspberry Pi 4 laptop for education, we checked the hardware and accessories such as the CrowTail starter kit with various sensors and other electronics modules, and showed how to install or remove the Raspberry Pi 4 SBC from the laptop shell. I’ve now had more time to play with the educational software, so I’ll report my experience with the laptop when learning game design and hardware control with Letscode visual programming IDE, as well as the Python lessons for more advanced students. Reinstalling CrowPi OS image It’s the rainy season here in Thailand meaning it’s both hot and humid, and even though I’m not entirely sure it’s related, I recently had to reinstall Raspberry Pi OS on one of my Raspberry Pi with a corrupted SD card. It happened again with the CrowPi L after I left it in its […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025

August 11, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

AquaPing is an open-source, battery powered acoustic water leak detector module (Crowdfunding)

The AquaPing is an open-source hardware, ultra-low power acoustic water leak detector sensor based on Texas Instruments MSP430 microcontroller and a microphone that can detect leaks without having to do any plumbing, instead capturing audio for water leak detection, and it even works for leaks behind walls. All signal processing and analysis occur on the MSP430 MCU, so no audio is streamed to the cloud and eavesdropping is impossible, plus the sensor only captures high frequencies out of the range of normal conversations, so eavesdropping is not feasible, plus those higher frequencies are also said to provide highest sensitivity and reliability. AquaPing specifications: MCU – Texas Instruments MSP430FR5994 microcontroller to perform FFT spectral analysis (10x faster/efficient than ARM-Cortex M0+) Audio capture – MEMS microphone covered by a small rectangular plastic structure to form a Helmholtz resonator. Minimum detectable leak rate – 0.01 gpm (gallon per minute) depending on stand-off distance […]

August 11, 2022August 17, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

ESP32 board with rotary encoder gets 2-key keypad shield

LILYGO TTGO T-Encoder, a round-shaped ESP32 board with a built-in rotary encoder, has gotten a shield with a 2-key keypad based on WCH CH552 8-bit microcontroller. Launched several months ago, the TTGO T-Encoder is a USB-powered rotary encoder with ESP32 microcontroller offering WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, and now, you can build a keypad with rotary encoder thanks to T-Encoder shield that features two mechanical switches and keycaps with RGB LED backlight. Since we missed it at launch, let’s check out the tiny TTGO T-Encoder board specifications first: System-in-Package (SiP) – Espressif ESP32-PICO-V3-02 with MCU – ESP32 Xtensa dual-core 32-bit Xtensa LX6 microcontroller up to 240 MHz, 448 KB ROM for booting and core functions, 520 KB SRAM for data and instructions, 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 4.2 BR/EDR + LE connectivity Memory – 2MB SPI PSRAM Storage – 8MB SPI flash Dimensions – 7×7 mm Antenna – Ceramic […]