CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

June 1, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Quartz64 Model B SBC with 4GB RAM is now available for $59.99

While it may be hard to buy a Raspberry Pi these days, there are various alternatives with the Raspberry Pi 3/4 form factor, including Pine64’s Quartz64 Model B SBC powered by a Rockchip RK3566 processor that has just launched for $59.99 with 4GB RAM. The Quartz64 Model B is a smaller version of the Quartz64 Model A launched earlier this year, that comes with HDMI 2.0a and MIPI DSI display interfaces, a MIPI CSI camera interface, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0, as well as several USB 2.0/3.0 ports, and of course, a 40-pin Raspberry Pi compatible GPIO header. Quartz64 Model B specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3566 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor up to 1.8 GHz with Arm Mali-G52 GPU supporting OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.0, Vulkan 1.1, 0.8 TOPS NPU for AI acceleration System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 Storage 128 Mbit SPI Flash optional eMMC module from 16GB up to […]

June 1, 2022June 1, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

How to use a ToF laser ranging sensor with Arduino and Wisblock

Laser ranging has many applications in production and life, such as ranging, positioning, obstacle avoidance, and so on. Time-of-Flight (ToF) ranging, as a type of laser ranging technology, is often used for real-time object detection in robots, autonomous vehicles, and traffic management because of its accuracy, fast response, and low power consumption. The face detection function of mobile phones also uses this technology. This article will introduce the WisBlock RAK12014 ToF laser ranging sensor module, and use the WisBlock development board to demonstrate how the module works. What is a ToF laser ranging sensor module? A ToF laser ranging sensor module uses laser pulses to measure the distance between itself and a target object. The WisBlock RAK12014 ToF laser ranging sensor module is based on STMicro VL53L0X, the smallest ToF ranging sensor in the world. The WisBlock RAK12014 provides accurate distance measurement and can measure distances up to 2 meters. […]

May 31, 2022May 31, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Lichee RV-86 RISC-V Linux 4-inch panel targets home automation, HMI applications

When Sipeed first introduced the Lichee RV module with Allwinner D1 RISC-V SoC last November, they also teased the Lichee RV-86, an “86 Box” with a 4-inch 480×480 touchscreen display, an XR829 WiFi and Bluetooth module, Ethernet (via USB), two microphones, a GPIO header, and support for WAFT (WebAssembly Framework for Things). I’ve just noticed the Lichee RV-86 has been for sale for several months, so it may be interesting to have a closer look, and now there’s also an option to get a 720×720 touchscreen display. Lichee RV-86 specifications: SoM – Sipeed Lichee RV Nezha compute module with Allwinner D1 RISC-V processor @ 1 GHz, 512MB or 1GB DDR3, microSD card slot, and USB Type-C OTG port Display 4-inch 480×480 IPS capacitive touch screen OR 4-inch 720×720 IPS capacitive touch screen It is also possible to connect an 8-inch 1280*800 IPS capacitive touch screen to the board Audio – […]

May 31, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

ARIES Embedded unveils OSM modules based on Renesas Arm or RISC-V microprocessor

In another case of “Arm or RISC-V? Why not both“, ARIES Embedded has introduced “MSRZG2UL” and “MSRZFive” OSM compliant system-in-packages (SIPs) based on respectively Renesas RZ/G2UL Arm Cortex-A55/Cortex-M33 and RZ/Five AX45MP RISC-V microprocessors and designed for industrial controllers, IoT devices, and embedded systems with a basic GUI. Both solder-on modules come in the OSM Size S form factor (30x30mm), 512MB to 4GB of DDR4 RAM, a 4GB eMMC NAND flash, various interfaces including Gigabit Ethernet and CAN-FD, and are available in either commercial (-0°C to +70°C) or industrial (-40°C to +85°C) temperature ranges. “MSRZG2UL” and “MSRZFive” specifications: SoC MSRZG2UL module – Renesas RZ/G2UL single-core Cortex-A55 processor @ up to 1GHz with Cortex-M33 real-time core @ up to 200MHz MSRZFive module – Renesas RZ/Five single-core RISC-V AX45MP processor @ to 1.0 GHz System Memory – 512MB – 4GB DDR4 RAM Storage – 4GB eMMC NAND Flash 332 contacts with Display I/F […]

May 31, 2022May 31, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

4K USB AI camera is powered by Rockchip RV1126 SoC with 2.0 TOPS NPU

ThinkCore TC-RV1126 is a USB AI camera powered by Rockchip RV1126 quad-core Cortex-A7 processor with a 2.0 TOPS NPU and equipped with a Sony Starvis IMX415 CMOS image sensor with 4K resolution (3840 x 2160). The Linux-powered camera module features a USB Type-C port compatible with UVC & UAC protocols so that it can work without drivers on Windows, Android, Linux, Mac OS, and most other operating systems with a USB stack. TC-RV1126 camera specifications: SoC – Rockchip RV1126 quad-core Arm Cortex-A7 @ 1.5 GHz + RISC-V MCU @ 400 MHz, 2D graphics engine, 2.0 TOPS NPU with support for INT8/ INT16, 14M ISP System Memory – 2x DDR3 chip (128M x 16), so that should be 512MB RAM (TBC) Storage – 1 Gbit (128MB) SPI NAND flash Camera Image sensor – Sony Starvis IMX415 1/2.8-inch 8MP CMOS sensor with night vision Capture up to 3840×2160 @ 30 fps Supported […]

May 30, 2022May 31, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Raspberry Pi RP2040 board comes with 0.42-inch display, Qwicc I2C connector

We’ve recently written about ESP32-C3-0.42LCD board with ESP32-C3 wireless microcontroller, a 0.42-inch display, and a Qwicc connector for expansion. But it turns out the developer, 01Space, has also launched an almost identical board, RP2040-0.42LCD, with Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU replacing the ESP32-C3 WiFi and Bluetooth MCU. RP2040-0.42LCD board specifications: SoC – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ microcontroller at up to 125 MHz, with 264KB SRAM Storage – 2 MB SPI flash Display – 0.42-inch OLED USB – 1x USB Type-C port for power and programming Expansion Qwiic I2C connector 7-pin and 8-pin headers with up to 11x GPIOs, 2x SPI, 2x I2C, 4x ADC, 1x UART, 5V, 3.3V, VBAT, GND Misc Reset and Boot buttons RGB LED, power LED Power Supply 5V via USB-C port or Vin VBAT pin for battery input 3.3V regulator with 500mA peak output Dimensions – 23.5 x 18 mm Weight – About 2.5 grams The […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs

May 30, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 53 Comments

NanoPi R5S Rockchip RK3568 mini router launched for $59 and up

The Rockchip RK3568-powered NanoPi R5S SBC with two 2.5GbE ports, one Gigabit Ethernet port, and M.2 NVMe storage is now available for $59, or $75 with a metal enclosure. As previously mentioned, the mini router board is equipped with 2GB RAM, 8GB eMMC flash, two USB 3.0 ports, as well as an HDMI output for people wanting to make use of the Rockchip RK3568 processor’s multimedia capabilities, or simply have a user interface on a monitor. NanoPi R5S specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3568 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ up to 2.0 GHz with Arm Mali-G52 MP2 GPU, 0.8 TOPS AI accelerator, 4Kp60 H.265/H.264/VP9 video decoder, 1080p60 H.264/H.265 video encoder System Memory – 2GB LPDDR4X Storage 8GB eMMC flash for OS Key M socket for M.2 2280 (PCIe 2.0 x1) NVMe SSD support Optional SPI flash for network boot MicroSD card socket Video Output – 1x HDMI 2.0 port up to 4Kp60, […]

May 29, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Khadas VIM4 SBC review – Part 3: Ubuntu 22.04

Here’s the last part of Khadas VIM4 review with Ubuntu 22.04 “Jammy Jellyfish”. You may want to check out our previous parts with the unboxing and first boot, followed by Android 11 if you haven’t already done so. Ubuntu 22.04 installation on Khadas VIM4 I used the same method of installation with OOWOW firmware that can download the image directly from Khadas server, and install it to the eMMC flash. Since I already had Android 11 running on the board, I had to keep pressing the function key (middle), then shortly press the reset button, before releasing the function key and entering OOWOW interface. From there, I selected Ubuntu 22.04 Gnome, and went ahead with the download. The download was fast with the 758.2MB compressed image downloaded in a couple of minutes, then I simply selected “Install” to go further, and replace Android 11… .. and after rebooting the board […]

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