CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

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 […]

June 15, 2022June 20, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Nordic Thingy:53 is a dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 platform for IoT prototyping

As one should have expected after Nordic Thingy:52 and Thingy:91 IoT devkits were introduced in 2017 and 2019 respectively, the Norwegian company has now launched the Thingy:53 platform based on Nordic Semi nRF5340 dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 SoC for IoT prototyping with Bluetooth Low Energy, Thread, Matter, Zigbee, IEEE 802.15.4, NFC, and Bluetooth mesh RF protocols. The development kit also incorporates the nPM1100 PMIC and nRF21540 Front End Module (FEM), a power amplifier/low noise amplifier (PA/LNA) range extender, as well as multiple motion and environmental sensors, as well as a rechargeable 1350 mAh Li-Po battery for power. Nordic Thingy:53 specifications: SoC – Nordic Semi nRF5340 SoC with 128 MHz Arm Cortex-M33 Application core with 1 MB Flash + 512 KB RAM, and a 64 MHz Arm Cortex-M33 Network core with 256 KB Flash + 64 KB RAM Wireless connectivity RF front-end nRF21540 FEM Protocols – Bluetooth LE, Bluetooth Mesh, NFC, Thread/Zigbee, […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM

June 15, 2022June 21, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

BeagleBone AI-64 SBC features TI TDA4VM Cortex-A72/R5F SoC with 8 TOPS AI accelerator

BeagleBone AI-64 is a single board computer (SBC) powered by a Texas Instruments TDA4VM dual-core Cortex-A72 + hexa-core Cortex-R5F processor which also embeds an 8 TOPS AI accelerator, plus three DSP, as well as plenty of I/Os that makes it ideal for advanced AI industrial applications. It follows the BeagleBone-AI SBC launched in 2019, but with much higher specs including a 64-bit Arm processor, 4GB RAM, three USB 3.0 ports, an M.2 E-Key socket with PCIe, USB and SDIO, plus the usual expansion headers that keep compatibility with existing BeagleBone cape add-on boards. BeagleBone AI-64 specifications compared to BeagleBone-AI and BeagleBone Black boards: Another notable change is that a mini DisplayPort has now replaced the micro HDMI port found in earlier boards. The TDA4VM SoC comes with many co-processors, so it will be interesting to see how well those are supported in the software. BeagleBoard.org provides Debian 11.3 with […]

June 14, 2022June 18, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Open-source hardware USB Type-C industrial camera features Lattice Crosslink NX FPGA

Gaurav Singh, acting as Circuit Valley, has designed an open-source hardware USB 3.0 Type-C industrial camera with three boards: one to capture data through a CMOS sensor, another based on a Lattice Crosslink NX FPGA to handle image processing, and finally, a board equipped with an Infineon FX3 USB 3.0 controller for sending the video data to the host. This design allows the DIY camera to be extremely flexible, as for instance, you could keep the FPGA and USB board, and simply change the sensor board for a better/different camera. A 3D printable enclosure is also provided, and the camera supports C-mount lenses, so the lens can also be easily changed as required. Here’s what the final result looks like. Camera specifications: Sensor board Sensor for example Sony IMX290, IMX327, or IMX462 Oscillator FPGA/Host board interface – High-density connector with I2C, 4-lane MIPI with clock, I2C, a few other control […]

June 14, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

NXP unveils MCX general-purpose Arm MCU family with 30x faster machine learning performance

NXP has announced a new MCX general-purpose Arm Cortex-M MCU family designed for advanced industrial and IoT edge computing and integrating an NXP neural processing unit (NPU) capable of delivering over 30 times higher performance than running the AI inference tasks on an Arm Cortex-M33 core alone. The new MCX portfolio builds upon the earlier NXP LPC and Kinetis microcontroller families, but does not replace these, and aims to improve machine learning performance and security for a variety of applications including machine learning, wireless, voice, motor control, analog, and more. The new MCX family will be available in four series: MCX N Advanced series Designed for secure, intelligent applications 150 MHz to 250 MHz Neural processing unit (NPU) and DSP for real-time inference EdgeLock Secure Subsystem MCX A Essential series Optimized to provide critical functionality for applications such as motor control 48 MHz to 96 MHz Built-in timers, low pin […]

June 14, 2022June 15, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3E (CM3E) features Raspberry Pi RP3A0 SiP found in Pi Zero 2 W

After the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4S which we discovered in April, it appears Raspberry Pi Trading has launched another Compute Module for their industrial and commercial customers with the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3E (CM3E) equipped with the same Raspberry Pi RP30A0 SiP found in Raspberry Pi Zero 2W and an 8GB eMMC flash. The new system-on-module (SoM) has not been officially announced but was discovered by Twitter user “Pi 0 in your Pocket” inside an electric vehicle (EV) charger by Wallbox. Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3E specifications (preliminary): SiP – Raspberry Pi RP3A0 with Broadcom BCM2710A1 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.0 GHz with VideoCore IV GPU supporting OpenGL ES 1.1, 2.0 graphics, 512MB RAM Storage – 8GB eMMC flash (other capacities might also be available TBC) 200-pin edge connector with: 48x GPIO 2x I2C, 2x SPI, 2x UART 2x SD/SDIO, 1x NAND interface (SMI) 1x HDMI 1x USB […]

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

June 13, 2022June 13, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Forlinx introduces Renesas RZ/G2L system-on-module and development board

Renesas RZ/G2L or RZ/V2L Cortex-A55/M33 processors have found their way into several system-on-modules and single board computers recently with the likes of Geniatech AHAURA board, Avnet RZBoard, or ARIES Embedded MSRZG2UL OSM module among others. Forlinx Embedded has joined the fray with the Renesas RZ/G2L-based FET-G2LD-C system-on-module, and a corresponding OK-G2LD-C development board with plenty of I/Os including dual Gigabit Ethernet, RS485 and CAN Bus interfaces, built-in WiFi and Bluetooth, plus an optional EC20 4G mini PCIe module. FET-G2LD-C system-on-module Specifications: SoC – Renesas RZ/G2L (R9A07G044Lxx) dual or single-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor @1.2GHz, with real-tme Arm Cortex-M33 core @ 200MHz, Arm Mali-G31 GPU with OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.1/3.2,Vulkan 1.1, OpenCL 2.0, 1080p30 VPU with H.264 AVC/MVC video encoding/decoding System Memory – 1GB / 2GB DDR4 Storage – 8GB or 16GB eMMC flash, 16MB QSPI NOR flash 3x 80-pin B2B connectors with MIPI-DSI and RGB interfaces up to 1920×1080, 2x 1000Mbps Ethernet […]

June 13, 2022June 13, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Fingerbot Sense Zigbee or Bluetooth LE button pusher adds touchless control (Crowdfunding)

When we first wrote about Fingerbot Bluetooth mechanical button pusher to add automation control to (dumb) home appliances over two years ago, I was not convinced about the solution. But it must have gained enough traction, as Adaprox has now launched a sensor version – the Fingerbot Sense – with either Zigbee or Bluetooth connectivity, plus a new touchless control function. It works just the same way as before, simply place the Fingerbot Sense on top of a physical button, and control it with your smartphone, a voice assistant like Amazon Alexa or Google Home, or with the new touchless control, simply wave your hand in front of the button without having to touch it. Fingerbot Sense specifications: Connectivity – Bluetooth LE 4.2 or Zigbee 3.0 Stall torque – 2.0 kgf.cm Maximum movement – 12 mm Optional Toolpack with short, medium, long straight arms, rocker arm, ring arm, cushion blocks […]

Boardcon EM3562 Rockchip RK3562 SBC with 8 analog camera inputs