Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on ADLINK LEC-RB5 – A Qualcomm QRB5165 SMARC module designed for drones and robots

ADLINK LEC-RB5 – A Qualcomm QRB5165 SMARC module designed for drones and robots

Qualcomm QRB5165 SMARC module

ADLINK Technology LEC-RB5 is a SMARC compliant system-on-module powered by the Qualcomm QRB5165 octa-core Cortex-A77 class processor which we’ve already seen in Qualcomm Flight RB5 high-end drone reference design and Lantronix Open-Q 5165RB system-on-module designed for robotics applications. The LEC-RB5 SMARC module ships with up to 8GB PoP LPDDR4 memory, 256GB UFS storage, provides on-device artificial intelligence capabilities (up to 15 TOPS), support for up to 6 cameras, and low power consumption. The main target applications are high-end robots and drones in the consumer, enterprise, defense, industrial, and logistics sectors. LEC-RB5 SMARC SoM specifications: SoC – Qualcomm QRB5165 octa-core Kryo 585 processor with a Kryo Gold Prime @ 2.84 GHz, 3x 3 Kryo Gold @ 2.42 GHz, 4x Kryo Silver @ 1.81 GHz, Adreno 650 GPU @ up to 587 MHz, Video decode HW acceleration for H.265/HEVC, H.264, MPEG2, MVC, VC-1, WMV9, JPEG/MJPEG, VP8, VP9, video encode HW acceleration for […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments on SiFive Performance P650 RISC-V core to outperform Arm Cortex-A77 performance per mm2

SiFive Performance P650 RISC-V core to outperform Arm Cortex-A77 performance per mm2

SiFive Performance P650

About six months have passed since the SiFive announcement of the Performance P550 “fastest 64-bit RISC-V processor” ever, and the company has now introduced an even faster RISC-V core with the Performance P650 that’s expected to match Cortex-A77 performance. Building upon the Performance P550 design, the SiFive Performance P650 is scalable to sixteen cores using a coherent multicore complex, and delivers a 40% performance increase per clock cycle based on SiFive engineering estimated performance in SPECInt2006/GHz, thanks to an expansion of the processor’s instruction-issue width. The company compares P650 to the Arm family by saying it “maintains a significant performance-per-area advantage compared to the Arm Cortex-A77”. SiFive Performance P650 key features: 64-bit RISC-V (RV64GCB) core Sv39/Sv48 Virtual Memory Support Multi-core, multi-cluster processor configurations with up to 16 cores Performance > 11 SpecINT2006/GHz Thirteen stage, four-issue, out-of-order pipeline tuned for scalable performance Private L2 Caches and Streaming Prefetcher for improved memory […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on Tribulations with Linux on Zidoo M6 Rockchip RK3566 mini PC

Tribulations with Linux on Zidoo M6 Rockchip RK3566 mini PC

Rockchip Short eMMC D0 pin

After our review of the Zidoo M6 mini PC with Android 11, we’ve installed Linux on the Rockchip device, and we did boot to a Linux Qt user interface built with buildroot. Let’s try to see what we can do with the image, and then try Ubuntu from a competing mini PC to check out if that can work. Since there’s no package manager to install a screenshooting program, I tried to use the usual method to take a framebuffer screenshot.

It generated an 8MB file which looked good, but the content was just comprised of zeros.

I asked Zidoo for a method to take screenshots in their Linux image, but I was told there weren’t any at this time… No worries, let’s try some of the applications in the Qt interface starting with the Multivideoplayer: It starts well with 9 videos of Big Buck Bunny playing simultaneously, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on Seeed XIAO BLE – A tiny nRF52840 Bluetooth 5.0 board with (optional) IMU sensor and microphone

Seeed XIAO BLE – A tiny nRF52840 Bluetooth 5.0 board with (optional) IMU sensor and microphone

Seeed XIAO BLE Sense

Seeed Studio has just introduced two new members to their XIAO board family with the Seeed XIAO BLE and XIAO BLE Sense boards equipped with Nordic Semi nRF52840 Bluetooth 5.0 microcontroller, as well as an IMU sensor and microphone on the “Sense” model. Just like the earlier XIAO RP2040 board, the tiny Seed XIAO BLE board can be programmed with Arduino, MicroPython, and CircuityPython, and offers two headers with 7-pin each for GPIOs. What’s really new is the wireless connectivity, the sensors, and a battery charging circuitry. Seeed XIAO BLE specifications: Wireless MCU –  Nordic nRF52840 Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller @ up to 64 MHz with  1 MB flash, 256 KB SRAM, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, Zigbee connectivity Storage – 2 MB QSPI flash Expansion I/Os 2x 7-pin headers with 1x UART, 1x I2C, 1x SPI, 1x NFC, 1x SWD, 11x GPIO (PWM), 6x ADC 3.3V I/O voltage (not 5V tolerant) Sensors […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Android 12 for TV released for ADT-3 Developer Kit

Android 12 for TV released for ADT-3 Developer Kit

Android 12 for TV

While Android 12 images and related AOSP source code were released in October, it took a bit longer for Android 12 for TV. But the latest version of Android for larger screens has apparently been released yesterday on the developer website with Android 12 for TV now available, albeit only for the ADT-3 Developer Kit based on the Amlogic S905Y2 processor. Google says they’ve improved the user experience and compatibility on TV devices with media playback improvements, a refined user interface, enhanced privacy and security, as well as better support for HDMI and TV tuners. Highlights of the Android 12 for TV release include: User Interface Background blurs using RenderEffect and in WindowManager 4K UI support (CNXSoft: up to now most devices were using a 1920×1080 user interface (framebuffer), and play 4K video on another hardware video buffer) Accessibility settings for font sizes Media improvements Automatic refresh rate switching to […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Qualcomm unveils third generation Snapdragon 8cx and 7c+ compute platforms

Qualcomm unveils third generation Snapdragon 8cx and 7c+ compute platforms

Snapdragon 8cx Gen3 features

Qualcomm has introduced the third generation of the Snapdragon 8cx and 7c compute platforms with the high-end 5nm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 processor offers up to 85% faster CPU and 60% faster GPU performance compared to Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2, while the Snapdragon 7c+ Gen 3, designed for entry-level and mid-range laptops and Chromebooks, is said to gain up to 60% CPU performance and achieve up to 70% faster GPU performance uplift compared to the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2. Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx specifications: CPU – Qualcomm Kryo 64-bit CPU. Details based on Anandtech live blog from the Snapdragon Tech Summit: 4x 3.0 GHz Prime cores 4x 2.4 GHz Efficiency Cores 14MB Total Cache (8MB L3+6MB System cache) Performance: +40% for single-thread, +85% for multi-thread GPU – Unnamed Adreno GPU with DirectX 12 (DX12) API support DSP – Qualcomm Hexagon Processor, Qualcomm Sensing Hub AI – Qualcomm […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments on A $25 16MP camera with autofocus for Raspberry Pi boards (Crowdfunding)

A $25 16MP camera with autofocus for Raspberry Pi boards (Crowdfunding)

Raspberry Pi 16MP camera autofocus

ArduCam has launched a $25 16MP camera with autofocus for Raspberry Pi boards with 40% higher resolution than the 12MP Raspberry Pi HQ camera, while keeping the compact form factor of the 8MP Raspberry Pi Camera V2. The camera is equipped with a 16MP Sony IMX519 sensor, works with any Raspberry Pi board with a MIPI CSI interface, and the company claims that with the existing camera tuning algorithms from the Raspberry Pi Foundation, the camera module beats the Raspberry Pi HQ camera’s quality in every aspect including sharpness, saturation, exposure, and more. The downside is that it lacks supports for interchangeable lenses. Arducam 16MP camera specifications: Sensor – Sony IMX519 sensor with 4656 x 3496 pixels resolution Still resolution – 16MP Video modes – 1080p30, 720p60 Optical size – Type 1/2.53″ Focal ratio – 1.75 Focal length – 4.28 mm Autofocus – Yes with range 10cm to ∞. As […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Mobile Platform features 3 GHz Cortex-X2 core, 10 Gbps 5G modem

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Mobile Platform features 3 GHz Cortex-X2 core, 10 Gbps 5G modem

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1

A couple of weeks ago, MediaTek introduces the Dimensity 9000 5G processor with a Cortex-X2 core clocked at 3 GHz, and it was just a matter of time before Qualcomm announces its own Armv9 processor. So here we are with the “Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Mobile Platform” equipped with an octa-core CPU subsystem comprised of one Cortex-X2 core clocked at 3 GHz, Cortex-A710 and Cortex-A510 cores, LP-DDR5 memory, as well as an integrated Snapdragon X65 5G modem capable of 10 Gbps download speeds, and all of that manufactured with the latest 4nm Samsung process. Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (SM8450) specifications: Octa-core Kryo CPU subsystem (details courtesy of Anandtech since Qualcomm will not usually reveal this information) 1x Arm Cortex-X2 core @ 3.0GHz with 1024KB L2 cache 3x Arm Cortex-A710 cores @ 2.5GHz with 512KB L2 cache each 4x Arm Cortex-A510 cores @ 1.80GHz in two clusters, each with an unspecified […]

Boardcon CM3588 Rockchip RK3588 System-on-Module designed for AI and IoT applications