CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

September 7, 2020September 7, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Intel Jasper Lake Celeron & Pentium Processors Lineup Leaked

Intel has already announced Intel Tiger Lake processors designed for long battery-life, ultra-thin laptops, but which will also be found in industrial applications. I was also told Intel Elkhart Lake processors would be announced on September 24th. Elkhart Lake processors are based on the new Atom Tremont architecture, and so far, I thought they would be the successors to the affordable Gemini Lake processors. But FanlessTech just leaked the Jasper Lake lineup, also based on Tremont and whose SKUs closely match what we would expect from Gemini Lake successors. At this point, there are three desktop SKUs with 10W TDP, and three mobile SKUs with 6W TDP. All processors come with 4MB L2 cache and unspecified Intel UHD graphics. They’ll be manufactured with Intel 10nm process. What’s a bit unusual in the table above is that Intel normally uses “J” letter for 10W desktop processors, and “N” for mobile processors, […]

September 7, 2020August 24, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

CrowPi2 Raspberry Pi 4 Education Laptop Review

I started my review of CrowPi2 Raspberry Pi 4 Learning Kit a while ago and at the time I showed content from the kit and its first boot. I’ve now spent more time with this very special Raspberry Pi 4 laptop and will focus this review on the education part, namely CrowPi2 software, but will also look at thermal cooling under stress with and without a fan, and try to install another Raspberry Pi compatible board inside the laptop shell. CrowPi2 Education Software It’s quite important to read the user manual before getting started as there are a few non-intuitive steps you may have to take. First I assume the wireless keyboard would just connect after pressing the power button, but it did not. The user manual explains the RF dongle is inside the mouse, and once you connect it you’ll be able to use the keyboard that has some […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM

September 6, 2020September 7, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 19 Comments

Arrow Chameleon96 Arm + Cyclone V FPGA Board Sold for $32 (Promo)

First introduced in 2017, Arrow Chameleon96 96Boards SBC comes with an Intel / Altera Cyclone V SE SoC featuring a dual-core Arm Cortex A9 processor clocked at up to 800 MHz and FPGA fabric with 110K Logic Elements. It used to sell for $129, but Arrow & appears to have a promotion now where the Novtech board sells for just $31.34 with free shipping[Update: all available boards are gone, and the product is now out of stock]. It looks like a good opportunity for people interested in playing around with an Arm Linux FPGA platform. Here’s a reminder of Chameleon96 board specifications which the company shamelessly copied from CNX Software: SoC – Intel PSG / Altera Cyclone V SE 5CSEBA6U19I7N with a dual-core ARM Cortex A9 processor @ up to 800 MHz and FPGA fabric with 110K Logic Elements Chips, Ports, and Features connected to FPGA: Integrated USB-Blaster II JTAG […]

September 5, 2020September 6, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

M5StickC PLUS ESP32-PICO Devkit Comes with 1.14-inch LCD, 120 mAh Battery and Buzzer

M5StickC PLUS ESP32-PICO DevKit Bluetooth and WiFi

Shortly after introducing the Core2 ESP32 IoT Development Kit with a 2-inch touch display, 390 mAh battery earlier this week, M5Stack has announced the availability of another ESP32 WiFi & Bluetooth IoT devkit, with the more compact M5StickC PLUS featuring a 1.14-inch display, a 120mAh battery, motion, sensor, a buzzer and the usual Grove connector for expansion. M5StickC PLUS is an upgrade to the original M5StickC that lacks the buzzer and features a smaller 0.96-inch display and a lower capacity 96 mAh battery. The new model can be purchased now for $13.95 plus shipping on Aliexpress, while the original device, that happens to be M5Stack top-selling product, is still available for $9.95. M5StickC PLUS key features and specifications: SiP – Espressif Systems ESP32-PICO-D4 system-in-package with ESP32 dual-core WiFI and Bluetooth IoT processor @ up to 240 MHz, 4MB SPI flash Display – 1.14-inch Color TFT LCD with 135×240 resolution (ST7789v2 […]

September 4, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

MediaTek T750 5G Chipset to Power Fixed Wireless Access Routers and 5G Mobile Hotspots

Most of the 5G modem we covered are designed for mobile devices, but 5G technology also brings opportunities for fixed wireless access routers (FWA routers) potentially replacing fixed broadband modem routers, as well as for 5G mobile hotspots to add coverage in areas without reliable cellular signal. Those are the two markets targetted by the just-announced 7nm MediaTek T750 quad-core Arm processor with support for sub-6GHz frequencies aiming to affordable broadband connectivity to areas with limited DSL, cable, or fiber services, or on the contrary adding wireless services in suburban, rural, and less developed areas. Mediatek T750 5G SoC highlights: Processor – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 CPU GPU / Display – Embedded GPU and display driver to support up to 720p displays Cellular Networking 5G NR FR1 modem with sub-6GHz frequencies support and two-component carrier aggregation (2CC CA) for extended coverage Standalone and non-standalone (SA/NSA) modes supported 5CC LTE carrier aggregation […]

September 4, 2020September 4, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments

PicoRio Linux RISC-V SBC is an Open Source Alternative to Raspberry Pi Board

There’s a lot of interest/hype around RISC-V, and low-cost boards such as Longan Nano or Maixduino are already available, but those are based on microcontroller-class chips, even though it’s possible to run Linux on Kendryte K210 RISC-V board, it comes without MMU, so it’s not for everyone. Linux capable RISC-V boards do exist but cost several hundred dollars or more with the likes of HiFive Unleashed and PolarFire SoC Icicle development kit. If only there was a RISC-V board similar to the Raspberry Pi board and with a similar price point… The good news is that the RISC-V International Open Source (RIOS) Laboratory is collaborating with Imagination technologies to bring PicoRio RISC-V SBC to market at a price point similar to Raspberry Pi. The PicoRio board was presented at the RISC-V Global Forum on September 3rd. I could not find the full presentation slides yet, but there are some screenshots […]

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

September 4, 2020September 4, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Arm Cortex-R82 is a Linux Capable, 64-bit Real-time Processor for Computational Storage Applications

Arm hast just unveiled Cortex-R82 64-bit real-time processor that is Linux-capable and designed for “next-generation enterprise and computational storage solutions”. What’s computation storage? To clearly understand what we’re dealing, let’s first find out what computational storage is via SNIA website: Computational Storage is defined as architectures that provide Computational Storage Services coupled to storage, offloading host processing, or reducing data movement. A Computational Storage Service (CSS) is a data service or information service that performs computation on data where the service and data are associated with a storage device. So If I understand correctly, so far all we asked from SSD’s, hard drives, and other storage, was to move and store data as fast as possible to a host device capable any analyzing the data. But computational storage brings this to the storage device itself, so we may soon have Smart Hard Drives that run Linux and do some of […]

September 4, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

IP67 Rugged GMSL2 Camera Works with NVIDIA Jetson Devkits

e-con Systems has launched an industrial-grade GMSL2 Full HD camera and a deserializer interface board for NVIDIA Jetson AGX Xavier / TX2 Developer Kits. The STURDeCAM20 camera is waterproof with an IP67 rating and ships with a 15-meter coaxial cable with a FAKRA connector, while STURDeCAM20_CUXVR camera kit adds a GMSL deserializer board supporting up to 6 STURDeCAM20 cameras. STURDeCAM20 camera specifications: 2MP camera module with S-mount lens holder Gigabit Multimedia Serial Link 2 (GMSL2) interface with IP67 certified FAKRA connector On-board ISP High Dynamic Range (HDR) and Uncompressed UYVY streaming support Supported resolutions & frame rates VGA (640 x 480) @ 60 fps QHD (960 x 540) @ 58 fps HD (1280 X 720) @ 45 fps 960p (1280 x 960) @ 34 fps FHD (1920 x 1080) @ 30 fps Supply Voltage – 5 to 15V with +/- 5% tolerance Dimensions – 42 x 42 mm (aluminium enclosure) […]