CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

August 7, 2021August 7, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Arduino powered 5-key keypad includes a rotary encoder

JC Pro Macro - Arduino Keyboard with Rotary Encoder

There was a time when people were happy to interact with their computer with a standard keyboard and mouse. But in recent years, we’ve noticed more programmable, custom-designed keyboards with more ergonomy, a built-in touchscreen display, integrated into a multi-function USB dock/hub, as well as tiny keypads with a couple of mechanical keys to speed up specific functions. JC Pro Macro is another one of those compact USB keypads. Powered by an Arduino Pro Micro board, the keypad features five mechanical keyboard keys, and adds a rotary encoder, plus an optional I2C OLED display for debugging, and some I/Os to control external hardware like a fan. JC Pro Macro keyboard’s features and specifications: MCU board – Arduino Pro Micro compatible board with Microchip ATmega32U4 AVR microcontroller User input 5x programmable keyswitches Rotary encoder to control volume or other “rotary-y” elements, plus a 6th input switch, i.e. you can press it […]

August 6, 2021August 6, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

The RISC-V Platform Specification aims to ensure RISC-V hardware and software compatibility

The RISC-V platform specification aims to define a set of rules to make sure operating systems like Linux or the Zephyr Project can boot properly on all RISC-V hardware compliant with the specs. If you’ve ever worked with the Arm Linux kernel over ten years ago, you may remember board files, which were replaced by device tree bindings, and eventually, Arm defined several standards culminating with Arm SystemReady certifications allowing compliant Arm platforms to boot off-the-shelf OS images like in the x86 world. While we are probably a long way from a “RISC-V SystemReady” platform certification program, the RISC-V platform specification is currently being worked on to define requirements for two types of platforms with optional extensions: OS-A Platform: This specifies a rich-OS platform for Linux/FreeBSD/Windows…flavors that run on enterprise and embedded class application processors. Current extension: Server Extension M Platform – This specifies an RTOS platform for bare-metal applications […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM

August 6, 2021August 6, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments

Allwinner H313 HDMI TV Stick runs Android 10, features an Ethernet port

TOX2 is an HDMI TV stick powered by Allwinner H313 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor that we first found in an X96Q TV box. The device runs Android 10 operating systems and happens to provide Ethernet connectivity, a rarity for this form factor. The dongle also comes with 2GB LDRR4 RAM, 16GB eMMC flash, and dual-band WiFi 5, and supports 4Kp60 video output through a male HDMI 2.0 port. TOX2 specifications: SoC – Allwinner H313 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.35 GHz with Arm Mali G31 MP2 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 3.2 and Vulkan System Memory – 2GB LPDDR4 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash, MicroSD card socket Video & audio output – HDMI 2.0a port up to 4Kp60 Video playback H.265 up to 4Kp60 H.264, VP9 Profile 2, AVS2 up to 4Kp30 H.263, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, MPEG-1, Xvid, Sorenson Spark, VP8, AVS/AVS+, VC1 up to 1080p60 Video encoding – H.264 […]

August 6, 2021September 3, 2021 by Saumitra Jagdale - No Comments

Microsoft Azure IoT, Balena, Particle, or Toit – Choosing the Right IoT Development Platform

With the ongoing fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0), IoT technologies are playing a major role in automating industrial processes. Integrating existing systems with IoT results in an intelligent solution that focuses more on providing better adaptability and resource efficiency. If you start building such systems from scratch while ensuring reliability and other factors, it will surely take a lot of research and time. This is where an IoT development platform steps in to save your time and makes things a lot easier. The main idea behind these platforms is to avoid reinventing the wheel and to provide standardized functions and features, so you don’t waste your time implementing something that someone has already done for you. You can collect data, control and manage apps and connect to their cloud services for better machine-to-machine communication. This article will look at some modern IoT development platforms and finally compare them to help […]

August 5, 2021December 22, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Overview and List of System-on-Module and Computer-on-Module Standards – Q7, SMARC, COM HPC, and More

A System-on-Module (SoM), also known as a Computer-on-Module (CoM), is a small board with the key components of a computer such as SoC, memory, and possibly others components such as PMIC (Power Management IC), an Ethernet PHY, as well as one or more connectors used to connect to a baseboard, also called carrier board, which features standard ports such as Ethernet (RJ45), USB ports, SATA, power jack and so on. The advantages of using of baseboard + SoM design compared to a single board are at least twofold: Most of the PCB design complexity is often around the CPU/SoC and high-speed buses connected to the CPU/SoC. So you could buy an SoM, design your own baseboard and get a complete design relatively in a short amount of time, with reduced development resources and costs. The design is modular, so you could easily upgrade from one SoM to another one. For […]

August 5, 2021September 26, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

BL-63B – A smaller BL602 IoT module that sells for $1.5

Bouffalo Labs BL602 is a low-cost, low-power RISC-V microcontroller that offers 2.4 GHz WiFi and Bluetooth 5.0 LE connectivity for IoT projects for about the price of ESP8266. We first discovered it last year, together with a development board. Pine64 created its own PineCone board fitted with the $2 PineNut module, and some reverse-engineering work has started on BL602 SDK. But there’s now another smaller BL602 module with “Machine Intelligence” (that’s the company name) BL-63B that sells for $1.5 on Taobao in China, as well as on LCSC Electronics albeit you’d need to purchase 1000 pieces to get that price, and single-unit pricing is currently $2.5. BL-63B WiFI & BLE module specifications: SoC – Bouffalo Labs BL602 32-bit RISC-V processor @ up to 192 Mhz with 276KB RAM, 128KB ROM, 1Kbit eFuse, WiFi and BLE Storage – 2MB flash Wireless 2.4GHz 802.11b/g/n WiFI 4 1×1 SISO up to 65 Mbps […]

August 5, 2021August 10, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

Board for 60 ESP-01 modules that update firmware from Github, mine “Duino Coins”

When I first saw the large ESP-01 V1.0 board on Facebook, I thought it was designed to speed up firmware updates of up to 60 ESP-01 modules. The developer, Thanormsin, just explained it would take 5 to 24V DC input to power all ESP8266 attached to it. It looks cool to have so many But there was no PC interface to update the firmware, so it did not make sense to me, even if it could be used for OTA firmware updates, as the first time, one would have to manual update the firmware. So I discussed with Thanormsin, and he explains to me his initial arrangement was a cable mess. That is why he designed a board to make it neater, and easier to manage. Each ESP-01 module can update firmware from the Internet, more especially from Github, as each time a new firmware version is uploaded to Github, […]

August 4, 2021August 4, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Intel Core i5-1135G7 Tiger Lake mini PC with 12GB RAM sells for $700 and up

Minisforum TL50 is a mini PC based on Intel Core i5-1135G7 Tiger Lake quad-core/octa-thread processor that ships with 12GB RAM, and optional 256GB and 512GB SSD preloaded with Windows 10 Pro. The mini PC also features two 2.5 Gbps Gigabit Ethernet ports, two 2.5-inch SATA drives, one M.2 slot for NVMe SSD, and supports 8K and 4K monitor setups through HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB-C video outputs. It was announced a few months ago, but it’s now available for sale for $699.99 and more on Banggood depending on storage options. MINISFORUM TL50 specifications: SoC – Intel Core i5-1135G7 4 cores/8 threads Tiger Lake processor @ 2.4 GHz / 4.20 GHz (Turbo) with 8MB cache, 80 EU Intel Iris Xe Graphics @ up to 1.30GHz; TDP: 12 to 28W System Memory – 12GB LPDDR4 soldered on board Storage M.2 2280 socket for NVMe PCIe SSD optionally fitted with a 256GB or 512GB […]

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