CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

October 23, 2021May 30, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Rockchip RK3566/RK3568 SoM’s feature board-to-board connectors or castellated holes

RK3566 & RK3568 SoM with board-to-board connectors

Rongpin Electronics has designed RK3566 and RK3568 systems-on-modules (SoM) with either board-to-board connectors or castellated holes for direct soldering to the carrier board, which adds competition to the Firefly Core-3568J AI Core Rockchip RK3568 system-on-module offered in a SO-DIMM form factor with an edge connector. The Rongpin Pro-RK3566 and Pro-RK3568 core boards are equipped with four high-speed Hirose connectors, while the RP-RK3568 Core board exposes I/Os through castellated holes around the four sides of the CPU module. Rongpin Pro-RK356x system-on-module & devkit Specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3566/RK3568 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ 2.0 GHz with Arm Mali-G52 2EE GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.0, Vulkan 1.1, 0.8 TOPS NPU for AI acceleration, 4Kp60 H.265/H.264/VP9 video decoding, and 1080p100 H.265/H.264 video encoding System Memory – 2GB DDR4 (option for 4GB) Storage – 8GB eMMC 5.1 flash (option for 16GB to 128GB) 4x Hirose board-to-board connectors with Storage 1x SATA […]

October 22, 2021February 25, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

BrainChip AKD1000 SNN AI SoC gets Raspberry Pi and x86 development kits

Brainchip Akida Raspberry Pi & Mini PC devkits

BrainChip has introduced two development kits for its Akida AKD1000 neuromorphic processor based on Raspberry Pi and an Intel (x86) mini PC in order to enable partners, large enterprises, and OEMs to begin testing and validation of the Akida chip. BrainChip Akida neural relies on spiking neural networks (SNN) which enable high-performance, real-time inference at ultra-low power, notably much lower power than traditional AI chips relying on CNN (convolutional neural network) technology. Akida Development Kit based on Raspberry Pi CM4 Specifications: SoM – Raspberry Pi CM4 or CM4 Lite with SoC: Broadcom BCM2711C0 quad-core ARM Cortex-A72 (ARMv8-A) 64-bit @ 1.5GHz plus Broadcom VideoCore VI GPU RAM – 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB LPDDR4 SDRAM Storage – MicroSD card for CM4 Lite, or 2GB to 32GB eMMC for CM4 Networking – Optional 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz 802.11b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, Gigabit Ethernet PHY Carrier board – Official Raspberry Pi […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM

October 22, 2021November 15, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 27 Comments

Intel Celeron J6412 thin Mini-ITX motherboard offers four Ethernet ports

Intel Celeron J6412 thin mini-ITX motherboard quad ethernet

BCM Advanced Research is now sampling the MX6412J thin mini-ITX motherboard equipped with an Intel Celeron J6412 quad-core Elkhart Lake processor, up to 32 GB RAM via two SODIMM DDR4 memory slots, SATA and NVMe storage, as well as found Ethernet ports with namely two 2.5GbE and two Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports. Designed for fanless operation with a large yet thin heatsink, the industrial motherboard also sports two HDMI 4K video outputs, nine USB 3.0/2.0 ports, variable 12-24 DC input, as well as several serial ports, and more. BCM MX6412J specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron J6412 quad-core Elkhart Lake processor @ 2.0 GHz / 2.6GHz (Burst frequency) with 1.5MB cache, 16 EU Intel UHD Graphics; 10W TDP System Memory – 2x 260-pin SODIMM DDR4 memory slots for up to 32GB RAM (Note: Intel Ark list the 32GB limit for the processor, but sometimes they really mean per socket/channel) Storage – […]

October 22, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Windows Subsystem for Android introduced on Windows 11

Following up on the company’s Windows Subsystem for Linux, Microsoft has now introduced the Windows Subsystem for Android that allows Windows 11 users to install Android apps either through the Amazon Appstore or the Microsoft Store. At this time, it is officially reserved for Windows Insiders part of the Beta Channel in the United States on eligible devices running Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm platforms, and at this time 50 apps are available with mobile games such as Lords Mobile, June’s Journey, or Coin Master, the Kindle app for reading books, and kids content that includes Khan Academy Kids and Lego Duply World. More apps are obviously planned, and as I’ll see later there are ways for any Windows 11 users to install Android apps. The Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) is not installed by default, but it will be automatically installed if you either install the Amazon Appstore, the Amazon […]

October 21, 2021October 26, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

M5Stamp C3 RISC-V board supports WiFI 4, Bluetooth 5.0 Long Range and 2 Mbps bitrate

It was only last month that M5Stack launched the M5Stamp Pico module based on an ESP32-PICO-D4 SiP and heat-resistant plastic shell, but M5Stamp C3 board is already out with most of the same specifications and features but an ESP32-C3 RISC-V SoC replaces the ESP32 dual-core Xtensa processor. M5Stamp C3 offers WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 with high bitrate and long-range connectivity and comes with the same heat-resistant plastic shell, but the company also highlights the RSA-3072-based secure boot and the AES-128-XTS-based flash encryption as a more secure way to address Bluetooth security concerns. M5Stamp C3 specifications: WiSoC – ESP32-C3FH4 32-bit single-core RISC-V processor @ up to 160 MHz, with 384KB ROM, 400KB SRAM, 8KB RTC SRAM, 4MB embedded flash, WiFI and Bluetooth Connectivity 2.4 GHz WiFi 4, 20 MHz and 40 MHz bandwidth, IEEE 802.11 b/g/n protocol, up to 150 Mbps Bluetooth 5, Bluetooth mesh, with supports for 125 Kbps, […]

October 21, 2021August 31, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 61 Comments

Khadas VIM4 – An Amlogic A311D2 SBC with 8GB RAM, Wi-Fi 6, HDMI input & output

We’ve just written about the Amlogic A311D2 processor with some pretty interesting features, and Khadas VIM4 will be one of the first single board computers equipped with the latest octa-core processor, succeeding the company’s earlier Khadas VIM3 board powered by an Amlogic A311D hexa-core processor. Khadas VIM4 makes good use of the extra memory allowance with faster 8GB LPDDR4 RAM, and also offers 32GB eMMC flash, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 6, 4Kp60 HDMI input and output, independent USB 3.0, and PCIe (via M.2 socket) interfaces, and more. Khadas VIM4 specifications with bold highlights showing the differences with the VIM3 Pro model: SoC – Amlogic A311D2 octa-core processor with 4x Arm Cortex-A73 cores @ up to 2.2 GHz and 4x Cortex A53 cores @ up to 2.0 GHz, Arm Mali-G52 MP(8EE) GPU, NPU shown as TBD possibly due to license requirements System Memory- 8GB LPDDR4X @ 2112 MHz Storage – 32GB eMMC […]

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

October 21, 2021October 21, 2021 by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 15 Comments

Beelink SER3 Review – A good AMD Ryzen 7 mini PC… after tweaks

Beelink has just launched a new mini PC called the SER3. It is another ‘new’ mini PC using an older CPU, in this case, an AMD mobile processor. However, the performance is surprisingly good once a few tweaks are made to the stock configuration. Beelink kindly sent one for review and I’ve looked at performance running both Windows and Ubuntu together with using an eGPU. Hardware Overview The SER3 physically consists of a 126 x 113 x 40mm (4.96 x 4.45 x 1.57 inches) square metal case. As an actively cooled mini PC, it uses AMD’s older 12 nm Zen+ Ryzen 7 3750H Picasso processor which is a quad-core 8-thread 2.3 GHz mobile processor boosting to 4.0 GHz with Radeon RX Vega 10 Graphics. The front panel has an illuminated power button, dual USB 3.0 ports, a Type-C USB 3.0 port with Alternate Mode, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a […]

October 21, 2021April 26, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 40 Comments

Amlogic A311D2 octa-core Arm processor supports up to 16GB RAM

Amlogic A311D2 octa-core processor is the successor to Amlogic A311D hexa-core SoC with four Cortex-A73 cores, four Cortex-A53 cores, a more powerful Mali-G52 MP8 (8EE) GPU, support for eDP and LVDS video interface, 8Kp24 AV1 video decoding, and support for a whopping 16GB LPDDR4/X memory. But it’s not all! The chip also includes supports for three HDMI 2.1 inputs up to 4Kp60, a 16MP ISP, 4K video encoding, and the more powerful GPU and higher memory bandwidth enable 4K user interfaces which were not feasible on most other Arm hardware barring the NVIDIA Shield. Comparison of Amlogic A311D2 and A311D specifications. * Amlogic A311D multiplexed PCIe and USB 3.0 interfaces means two configurations are possible: 1x USB 2.0 Host + 1 PCIe, OR 1x USB3.0 (No PCIe), but Amlogic A311D2 PCIe and USB 3.0 interfaces are independent, so we are not losing USB 3.0 when using PCIe (5 Gbps). The […]