CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

August 11, 2021August 11, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Android 9.0 digital signage player supports 4G LTE, watchdog timer, screen orientation

Rikomagic RKM DS03 is an Android 9.0 digital signage player based on Rockchip RK3399 processor with up 4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC flash storage, HDMI 2.0 output for 4K displays, Gigabit Ethernet, etc… The device looks very similar to an Android TV box, but it does come with some features specifically useful for digital signage players including optional 4G LTE connectivity, a watchdog timer to make sure the system continues running even after the system hangs, an on/off timer to schedule operating times, as well as screen orientation support for landscape or portrait operation. RKM DS03 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core processor with 2x Cortex-A72 cores up to 2.0GHz, 4x Cortex-A53 cores up to 1.5GHz, Mali-T860 MP4 GPU System Memory – 4GB RAM Storage – 32GB eMMC flash, MicroSD card socket Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4Kp60 with CEC support; touchscreen support via USB Audio – 3.5mm audio […]

August 10, 2021November 4, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Challenger RP2040 WiFi board marries ESP8285 with Raspberry Pi RP2040

We’ve already seen Raspberry Pi RP2040 getting WiFi connectivity with boards like Pico Wireless Pack, Wio RP2040 mini, and Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect in ways that do not always make technical and commercial sense as in many cases, the WiFi microcontroller (e.g. ESP32) is more powerful than the Raspberry Pi microcontroller. But Invector Labs’ Challenger RP2040 WiFi board does make more sense, as the company combines Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ MCU with an entry-level ESP8285 WiFi microcontroller, and also offers LiPo battery support, all that in the Adafruit Feather form factor. Challenger RP2040 WiFi board specifications: Main microcontroller – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ MCU @ 133MHz with 264KB SRAM Storage – 8MB flash Network microcontroller – Espressif ESP8285 2.4GHz WiFi 4 SoC with 1MB on-chip flash pre-flashed with Espressif’s AT command interpreter, connected to the main MCU over UART at up to 921600 bps; I/Os via Adafruit Feather […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM

August 10, 2021August 10, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 27 Comments

Desktop and All-in-One Arm Linux computers launched with Baikal-M processor

The last time we wrote news about Baikal Electronics, the Russian company was offering MIPS-based processors, but they’ve now announced that several iRU-branded desktops and one all-in-one computer had been introduced with Baikal-M octa-core Cortex-A57 processor with Mali-T628 GPU, and support for up to 32GB DDR4 RAM, up to 3TB HDD. The computers target the Russian market, especially business to business (B2B) and business to government (B2G) customers, with the use of Astra Linux distribution that contains Russian “data protection tools” such as ViPNet SafeBoot, PAK Sobol, and others. iRU Opal Baikal-M Arm Linux SFF & microtower computers We’ve used to find Arm processors into really compact fanless systems, but it’s the case for iRU Opal computers with two form factors offered: SFF (Small Form Factor) and MT (Microtower). The company says the systems are offered with up to 32 GB DDR4 DIMM memory, up to 1TB SSD storage, and […]

August 10, 2021August 11, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

MinCab is the smallest Raspberry Pi CM4 carrier board ever

Minimal Carrier Board for Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4

Carrier boards for Raspberry Pi CM4 modules are all over the place for routers, NAS, industrial gateways, and more. Here’s another one with the Minimal Carrier Board for Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4, or MinCab, that powers the RPi CM4 module via a USB Type-C port. That’s about all it does, although you would also be able to access some GPIOs, 5V, 3.3V, and GND signals via pads on the carrier board. Specifically, eight GPIOs are accessible with IO14, IO15, IO2, IO3, IO4, IO12, IO13, and IO18. Ivan Kuleshov explains this can be useful for Smart Home systems for instance, but it could be anything that requires WiFI and/or Bluetooth connectivity, a powerful Linux capable processor (as opposed to something like ESP32), and a few I/Os. The MinCab might be a good alternative to the upcoming (and delayed) Raspberry Pi 4 Model A for people wanting to use Broadcom BCM2711 […]

August 9, 2021August 12, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

Intel Atom x5-Z8350 SBC sells for as low as $50 shipped

UP Core is an Intel Atom x5-Z8350 SBC that was introduced in 2017 with 1 to 4GB RAM, 16GB to 64GB eMMC flash storage, and just two ports, namely for HDMI and USB 3.0. The main advantage of the board is its small size (66×56.5 mm). The board is now on backorder for $129 in 2GB/32GB configuration on the official UP Shop, but somehow an Aliexpres store is currently selling 999 pieces of a “Mini Z8350 2G Add 32G Atom Motherboard” that looks exactly like the UP Core board, for $63.99 including shipping (and a heatsink). Note the seller is relatively new, having registered in May 2021 with only 7 followers, so there may be risks involved. Mini Z8350 motherboard specifications (taken from UP Core specs): SoC – Intel Atom x5-Z8350 “Cherry Trail” quad-core processor @ 1.44 GHz / 1.92 GHz (Burst frequency) with Intel HD 400 graphics @ 200 […]

August 9, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

PICO DSP is an Arduino compatible ESP32 development board for audio and DSP applications (Crowdfunding)

ESP32 audio development boards have been around ever since ESP32 boards were introduced starting with Espressif Systems’ own “ESP32-LyraTD-MSC Audio Mic HDK“, and now ESP32 hardware and software have been certified for Amazon Alexa Voice Services. PICO DSP is another ESP32 development board for audio and digital signage processing (DSP) applications. Equipped with a Wolfson WM9878 stereo audio codec, the breadboard-friendly, Arduino compatible board includes two MEMS microphones, audio in and out jacks, a speaker header, plus other audio signals routed to a GPIO header. PICO DSP specifications: SiP – Espressif ESP32-PICO-D4 system-in-package with ESP32 dual-core WiFi 4 & BLE processor, 4MB SPI flash External storage/memory Original Edition – External 64 MB pseudo-static (PSRAM) chip, of which up to 8 MB is currently supported by ESP-IDF. Strawberry Edition – 16 MB of external NOR flash (note: the internal 4MB SPI flash will not be usable after selecting the NOR flash […]

August 9, 2021November 18, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Compact H.265 4K video encoder is made for embedded, medical, and military applications

US-based Z3 Technology has announced the Z3-Q603-RPS, a compact H.265 video encoder system capable of supporting 4K and HD resolutions for embedded, medical, and even military camera applications through NDAA (National Defense Authorisation Act) compliance. The board runs Linux on Qualcomm QCS603 IoT processor for AI and computer vision applications, which we previously found in Microsoft’s Vision AI Developer Kit, supports Ethernet and WiFI 5 connectivity, as well as features such as PTZ (Pan Tilt Zoom). Z3-Q603-RPS H.264 & H.265 video encoder system is comprised of an application board and a module with the following specifications: SoC – Qualcomm QCS603 (aka Qualcomm Vision Intelligence 300 Platform) with four Armv8 cores (2x 1.6GHz Kryo 300 Gold cores, 2x 1.7GHz Qualcomm Kryo 300 Silver cores ), Snapdragon neural processing engine, Adreno 615 GPU at 780 MHz System Memory – TBD Storage – NAND flash (capacity TBD) , MicroSD card socket Video Output […]

August 8, 2021August 25, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

How to use PinePhone as a mobile hotspot

I’ve recently started using my Android phone as a mobile hotspot with mixed results so instead, I’ve switched to using PinePhone as a hotspot with Manjaro Arm Linux with Plasma Mobile instead, and performance seems much more stable now. Early this year, I received Pinephone with PostMarketOS beta, and after playing with it a bit I did not do much with it so far. But in recent times, I’ve been staying in various places without WiFi, so I purchased a lost cost SIM card with a one-year cellular data plan to be able to work from any location using my Android 10 smartphone (Huawei Y9 Prime 2019) as a mobile hotspot. It works most of the time, but sometimes I have massive packet loss, and the only way to recover is to turn off and on the hotspot, and in some cases even reboot the phone. Playing with settings on […]

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