CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

August 26, 2024August 26, 2024 by Tomisin Olujinmi - 5 Comments

Integrated motor driver and controller bundles ESP32-S3 and TMC2209 for IoT applications

The PD Stepper is a NEMA 17 integrated stepper motor driver and controller board powered by USB power delivery that combines an ESP32-S3 wireless microcontroller, the Trinamic TMC2209 ultra-silent motor driver, and other components onto a single board for Smart Home and automation applications. The maker, Josh R., states that the PD Stepper isn’t another “just because we can” project. It addresses the need for an integrated motor driver and controller module that can used in compact or space-constrained designs. The ESP32-S3 SoC controls the other components on the board and provides wireless connectivity as well as access to development tools and libraries such as ESPHome and ESP-Now. The motor driver IC, Analog Devices’s Trinamic TMC2209, offers efficient, noiseless control of two-phase stepper motors. Other onboard components and connectors include an AS5600 magnetic rotary position sensor, a 3.3V buck converter, a Qwiic/Stemma QT connector, a motor connector, and an AUX […]

August 26, 2024 by Debashis Das - 6 Comments

Microchip LAN887x industrial single-pair gigabit Ethernet transceivers can communicate over 40 meters of cable

Microchip LAN887x family of PHY Transceivers

Microchip has released the LAN887x family of single-pair gigabit Ethernet transceivers adding to their line of Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) devices. This new family of transceivers supports 100BASE-T1(compliant with IEEE 802bw-2015) and 1000BASE-T1(compliant with IEEE 802.3bp) network speeds and can handle extended cable lengths up to 40 meters. They also integrate time-sensitive networking (TSN) protocols and comply with ISO 26262 functional safety standards. Additionally, they can operate in low-power mode with features like EtherGREEN technology and OPEN Alliance TC10 sleep mode. All these features make this IC useful for applications such as automotive, industrial, avionics, robotics, and automation fields. Microchip previously released the LAN8770 100BASE-T1 Ethernet PHY Transceiver which has a max cable length of 15 meters for UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) cable and 40 meters for STP (Shielded Twisted Pair) cable. The speed was limited to 100 Mbps, but now, with the release of the new 1000BASE-T1 ethernet controllers, […]

ArmSoM CM5 - Raspberry Pi CM4 alternative with Rockchip RK3576 SoC

August 26, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Flexduino is an Arduino UNO clone made of a flexible PCB

YouTuber “EDISON SCIENCE CORNER” has designed yet another Arduino UNO clone but with a twist as the board is made out of a flexible PCB. Companies like JLCPCB, PCBWay, and others have been offering flexible PCB manufacturing services for a while, mostly for flat cables or small boards that need to fit around a case, but the Flexduino is a complete Arduino UNO clone made of a flex PCB, and it looks rather cool. The flexible Arduino board does work as shown with the RGB LED and power LED in the photo above and YouTube video below, but its usefulness is rather limited, and some corners had to be cut as for instance there’s no ground plane. Nevertheless, it’s a nice demo of flexible PCB technology. The video on the EDISON SCIENCE CORNER channel provides a short demo, shows how the PCB was designed (EasyEDA), and go through the ordering […]

August 26, 2024 by Sayantan Nandy - No Comments

Renesas RRH62000 multi-sensor indoor air quality monitoring module features particle, VOC, and gas sensors

Renesas Electronics has introduced the RRH62000, a compact multi-sensor module for indoor air quality monitoring. It integrates particle detection, VOC, and gas sensing with an onboard Renesas MCU for sensor management. The module is designed for use in air purifiers, smoke detectors, HVAC systems, weather stations, and smart home devices. The RRH62000 is an integrated sensor module that measures key air quality parameters, including particulate matter (PM1, PM2.5, PM10), total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), Indoor Air Quality Index (IAQ), estimated carbon dioxide (eCO2), temperature (T), and relative humidity (RH). These measurements are combined into a single package, with digital outputs available for each sensor, enabling simultaneous measurement. The module features a six-pin connector for easy plug-and-play integration. The RRH62000 is available with the RRH62000-EVK evaluation kit, which simplifies the testing of the integrated sensor module. The module measures critical air quality parameters and connects to a Windows PC via USB. […]

August 26, 2024August 26, 2024 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

Nuvoton NuMicro MA35D1-powered industrial SoM and dev board features dual GbE ports, cellular connectivity, and more

MYIR has recently introduced MYC-LMA35 industrial SoM and its associated development board built around the Nuvoton NuMicro MA35D1 microprocessor with two Arm Cortex-A35 cores and one Arm Cortex-M4 real-time core for processing. The SoM comes in a BGA package with connectivity options such as dual Gigabit Ethernet, cellular connectivity, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, and various other interfaces like RS232, RS485, USB, CAN, ADC, GPIO, and more. All these features make this SoM and its associated dev board useful for demanding edge IIoT applications like industrial automation, energy management systems, smart city infrastructure, and remote monitoring solutions. Previously we have seen MYIR introduce various SoM and development boards like the MYC-LR3568 Edge AI SoM, and the MYC-YF13X SoM and we have also written about similar industrial dev boards such as the Firefly ROC-RK3576-PC, the Nuvoton NuMicro M2L31 development board, and many more. Feel free to check those out if you are interested in the topic. […]

August 25, 2024August 25, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Review of Napcat wireless NVR with solar-powered security cameras

Napcat solar-powered wireless NVR review

After I reviewed the NapCat smart video doorbell last June, the company asked me to review a wireless NVR with solar-powered security cameras and I understood I would receive a kit with four solar-powered cameras and an NVR with storage preinstalled. In this review, I’ll go through an unboxing, a quick teardown of the NVR, the installation process, and my experience with the Napcat NVR user interfaces (connected to HDMI) and the Napcat Life Android app which I also used with the video doorbell. Napcat wireless NVR N1S22 kit unboxing The package I’ve received reads “N1S22” model of a “Solar-powered Security Camera System” and is quite smaller than I expected. One reason for the small size is that my kit only comes with two cameras instead of four, and the company also did a good job of making everything take as little space as possible. On the net, you’ll see […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs

August 24, 2024August 25, 2024 by Tomisin Olujinmi - 5 Comments

ESP8266-powered Netgotchi network security scanner aims to protect your home network

The Netgotchi network security scanner is a simple, compact device based on an ESP8266 wireless microcontroller with a single goal: to defend your home network from intruders and potential bad actors. It is described as “Pwnagotchi’s older brother,” a network guardian that keeps your network safe instead of penetrating it. If you are unfamiliar with Pwnagotchi, it is an A2C-based (advantage actor-critic) “AI” that can penetrate Wi-Fi networks using WPA key material obtained from passive sniffing or de-authentication attacks. The Netgotchi is a reverse Pwnagotchi that alerts you to intruders or breaches in your network. It runs on a simple microcontroller and cannot employ reinforcement learning like the Pwnagotchi. Rather, it pings the network periodically and reports any new potential security threats. The device’s design is as simple as its purpose. It is an ESP8266 microcontroller connected to an OLED display and running an Arduino .ino script, enclosed in a […]

August 23, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Arduino Core for ESP32 gets a Zigbee wrapper library

Some of the newer Espressif Systems wireless SoCs such as the ESP32-H2 and ESP32-C6 support Zigbee through their built-in 802.15.4 radio. It’s been working since the release of the ESP-IDF 5.1 framework along with the ESP-Zigbee-SDK for a while, but Arduino support was less straightforward. But this is about to change as an Espressif engineer nicknamed P-R-O-C-H-Y has recently added a Zigbee wrapper library for the ESP-Zigbee-SDK to Arduino Core for ESP32 that works with ESP32-C6 and ESP32-H2 as standalone nodes and other SoC can be used as radio co-processor attached to an RPC (802.15.4 radio layer). The wrapper library currently supports the following: Zigbee classes and all Zigbee roles Zigbee network scanning Allow multiple endpoints on the same Zigbee device (not tested yet) Supported Home Assistant devices On/off light + switch Color Dimmable light + switch Setting Manufacturer and model name Other tasks currently planned include supporting “Temperature sensor […]

Boardcon Rockchip and Allwinner SoM and SBC products