CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

September 9, 2021September 9, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments

Argon EON – A 4-Bay NAS for Raspberry Pi 4 (Crowdfunding)

Argon EON is a 4-bay network access storage (NAS) enclosure designed to work with Raspberry Pi 4 that follows other popular Raspberry Pi cases from the company including the Argon One and Argon One M.2. Also known as the Argon EON Pi NAS, the enclosure features four SATA hard drive ports that will fit two 3.5-inch SATA HDD and two 2.5-inch SATA for a maximum capacity of up to 40 TB with consumer-grade drives, although I suppose it’s not a hard limit. Argon EON Pi NAS specifications: Supported SBC – Raspberry Pi 4 SBC with Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 processor, up to 8GB RAM Storage 4x SATA drive bays with up to 2x 3.5-inch HDD, and up to 2x 2.5-inch SSD/HDD with up to 10TB capacity per drive MicroSD card socket (for OS) Video and audio outputs – 2x full-size HDMI 2.0 ports up to 4Kp60, AV jack with composite […]

September 9, 2021April 8, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

ESP32 Arduino 2.0.0 release adds ESP32-C3 and ESP32-S2 support

As just noted in my article about LILYGO T-32C3 module, the ESP32 Arduino 2.0.0 release happened a few days ago adding ESP32-C3 and ESP32-S2 support to the Arduino IDE. But the news probably warrants its own post and it is a major release of the Arduino code for ESP32 that also includes other new features and changes namely: Upload over USB CDC. Support for the KSZ8081 Ethernet PHY. LittleFS update for partition label and multiple partitions. Added support for RainMaker. BLE 5 features for ESP32-C3 (ESP32-S3 ready). ESPTOOL update. Added 802.11mc WiFi RTT FTM (Fine Time Measurement) support. Online Documentation added (somehow it requires a login to Readthedocs). USB MSC (Mass Storage) and HID support (ESP32-S2 only). UART refactoring (SerialHardware). New examples, boards added, bugs fixed. You can find a more detailed changelog, including the exact files changes in the source code, on Github. If we want to give it […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM

September 9, 2021September 15, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

LILYGO T-32C3 – A small ESP32-C3 WiFi & BLE IoT module with 4MB flash

We’re slowly starting to see more hardware-based on ESP32-C3 RISC-V processor, and LILYGO T-32C3 is a compact module based on the WiFi & Bluetooth LE processor that includes 4MB flash and a PCB antenna. I’d expect T-32C3 to be eventually found in the company’s smartwatches and development boards, and it joins other ESP32-C3 modules from AI Thinker. LILYGO T-32C3 module specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP32-C3 RISC-V processor @ 160 MHz with 400 KB SRAM, 384 KB ROM, 8KB RTC SRAM, 2.4 GHz WiFi 4, Bluetooth 5.0 LE & Mesh Storage – 4MB flash On-board PCB antenna I/Os – 22x castellated holes with GPIO, 3x ADC, SPI, UART, I2C, Boot, Reset, 5V, 3.3V, GND Dimensions – 23 x 11 x 3.5 mm (4-layer PCB) Note the USB interface is not listed in the specs, but USB DN and DP signals are located on GPIO18 and GPIO19 so USB should also be […]

September 9, 2021September 9, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

$150 Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 mini PC runs Android 10

Azulle Ally is an Android 10 mini PC powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 octa-core Cortex-A53 processor coupled with 16GB of storage and 2GB of RAM. Equipped with an HDMI port, wired and wireless networking, as well as a pair of USB 3.0 ports, the small-form factor computer is mostly designed for businesses and applications such as digital signage, IoT, edge computing, wayfinding machines, and more. Azulle Ally mini PC specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 octa-core Arm Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.8 GHz with Adreno 506 GPU with OpenGL ES 3.1, OpenCL 2.0 Full, DirectX 12, Hexagon 546 DSP, and 1080p60 video decoder/1080p90 video encoder for H.265, H.265, VP8, and (decode-only) VP9 System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 16GB eMMC flash Video Output – Micro HDMI 1.4 port up to 1080p60 Connectivity Ethernet RJ45 port Dual-band 802.11b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2 LE USB – 2x […]

September 8, 2021September 25, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

iBASE MI989 – 5G-ready Ryzen V2000 Mini-ITX motherboard offers PCIe x16 & M.2 expansion

We’ve written about Ryzen Embedded V2000 mini-ITX motherboards in the past, but here’s another one with iBASE MI989 equipped with four 4K-capable DisplayPort 1.4 video output, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, three M.2 sockets including a 5G-ready M.2 3052 socket, and a PCIe x16 slot for expansion. iBASE MI989 also supports up to 64GB ECC memory, one SATA III port, multiple USB 3.1/2.0 ports, four serial ports, and more, for embedded applications in retail, healthcare, industrial automation, casinos, and smart cities. iBASE MI989 specifications: SoC – AMD Ryzen V2000 Series Processors either: AMD Ryzen Embedded V2748, 8C/16T up to 2.9GHz (4.25GHz) with 4MB cache, 7 CU Radeon Vega graphics; 45W TDP AMD Ryzen Embedded V2718, 8C/16T up to 1.7GHz (4.15GHz), with 4MB cache, 7 CU Radeon Vega graphics; 15W TDP System Memory – Up to 64GB dual-channel DDR4-3200 (ECC/non-ECC) via 2x SODIMM sockets Storage – 1x SATA 3.0 (up to 6GB/s) […]

September 8, 2021February 8, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

OpenSSL 3.0 released with pending FIPS 140-2 validation

OpenSSL 3.0 has just been released after three years of development, and over 7,500 commits and contributions from over 350 different authors with a new FIPS module that awaits FIPS 140-2 validation by the end of the year, improved documentation, and a change to an Apache License 2.0. OpenSSL’s reputation took a serious hit in 2014 with the Hearbleed bug that allowed attackers to steal the information protected by the SSL/TLS encryption used for most secure Internet communication. The bug was introduced in 2012, and it took almost two years to be fixed. Yet, despite the fix, many projects switched to other SSL libraries like LibreSSL, WolfSSL, or mbedTLS. But it’s good the project is still very much active, and OpenSSL 3.0 succeeds OpenSSL 1.1.1 released in September 2018. Who knows what OpenSSL 2.0… One of the main changes is support for the Provider concept, and OpenSSL 3.0 comes with […]

September 8, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Pantera Pico PC ultra-compact mini PC ships with Windows 10 or Ubuntu (Crowdfunding)

The Pantera Pico PC is an ultra-compact Gemini Lake Refresh mini computer similar to the Chuwi Larkbox Pro, that was supposed to launch in December 2020 through an Indiegogo campaign. Let’s say there have been delays, and the company – XDO Tech – has only just launched the Pico PC on Kickstarter for $149 and up. Pantera Pico PC specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core Gemini Lake Refresh @ 2.0 / 2.7 GHz (Turbo) / 2.4 GHz (Turbo all cores) with Intel UHD Graphics 600 @ 250/750 MHz; 10W TDP System Memory – Dual-channel 4GB or 8GB LPDDR4 Storage – 64 GB to 1TB M.2 2242 SSD, MicroSD card socket Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4Kp60 Audio – 3.5mm speaker/microphone jack, digital audio via HDMI Connectivity Dual-Band WiFi (allegedly WiFi 6, but limited to 422 Mbps?), Bluetooth 5.1 USB – 3x USB3.0, 1x USB2.0 Misc – Power button, […]

September 8, 2021September 8, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

25-key ESP32 Touch Matrix makes good use of ESP32’s touch sensor interface

Besides the addition of Bluetooth, there are many differences between ESP8266 and ESP32 and one of the lesser-known interfaces may be ESP32’s touch sensor interface. India-based Electro Point’s ESP32 Touch Matrix makes good use of the touch sensor interface with 25 touch pads arranged in a 5×5 matrix creating a wireless keypad that could connect over WiFi or Bluetooth to a host. ESP32 Touch Matrix board specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-WROOM-32U with Espressif ESP32-D0WD dual-core Tensilica processor, 32Mbit SPI flash, 2.4 GHz WiFi, and Bluetooth LE connectivity 25 keys arranged in a 5×5 matrix Expansion – 4-pin I2C header for expansion, e.g. an OLED display Programming – Programming headers Misc – RGB status indicator, EN button Power Supply – 5V input via 2-pin header; built-in 3.3v regulator for ESP32 Dimensions – TBD When a capacitive load, such as a human hand) is in close proximity to the sense-pad, the sensor […]