CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

March 11, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

Electrolama to Launch 802.15.4/Zigbee USB Dongle and Raspberry Pi “HAT”

Electrolama (@omerk and friends) has been working on two open-source hardware 802.15.4/Zigbee projects with “zig-a-zig-ah” (aka “zzh”) USB stick based on Texas Instruments CC2652R SimpleLink multi-standard wireless MCU and Zoe (Zigbee + Poe) development board based on Raspberry Pi HAT form factor and powered by TI CC2530 SimpleLink 2.4 GHz SoC alongside CC2592 range extender. Both boards are released under an Apache-based Solderpad Hardware License 2.0, and target users of the Zigbee2MQTT project. The boards could soon also get native support in Home Assistant via the “zigpy-cc” library which adds support in ZHA (Zigbee Home Automation) integration component. Zig-a-zig-ah USB Stick Preliminary specifications: WiSoC – Texas Instruments CC2652R SimpleLink multi-standard wireless MCU with support for Thread, Zigbee, Bluetooth 5 Low Energy, IEEE 802.15.4g, 6LoWPAN, and proprietary systems. (Note: CC2652RB is also considered as it does not require an external crystal oscillator) Host Interface – USB via CH340 USB-UART bridge Misc […]

March 10, 2020March 10, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

AirView Wireless Touchscreen Display Works with Phones, Laptops, Raspberry Pi, Etc. (Crowdfunding)

We’ve already written about several displays that take USB-C, HDMI or/and WiFi inputs to add a monitor to phones or computers including DUO add-on display and LAPSCREEN. AirView is another one of those and has launched on Kickstarter with a 13.3″ and 15.6″ Full HD versions featuring a touchscreen, built-in Miracast & AirPlay support, as well as HDMI and USB-C ports. It works with Android/iOS phones, traditional laptops & computers, SBC’s such as Raspberry Pi, and even game consoles. Two Airview models are available with the following hardware specifications: 15.6-inch model 1920×1080 resolution @ 60 Hz (4K model planned, but not available in KS) IPS display Multi-touch support Brightness – 250cd/m2 SRGB gamut – 98% Dimensions – 352 x 228 x 9.4 mm Weight – 1080 grams 13.3-inch model 1920×1080 resolution @ 60 Hz IPS display Multi-touch support Brightness – 300cd/m2 SRGB gamut – 100% Dimensions – 310 x 200 […]

March 10, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

FWS-2275 3 LAN Ports Rugged Network Appliance is Designed for Secure Industrial IoT Networks

AAEON FWS-2275 is a rugged network appliance powered by an Intel Celeron N3350 processor and equipped with 3 LAN ports to bring vital functions and security to industrial networks. Specifically, the device is designed for network solutions such as UTM (Unified Threat Management) systems, firewalls, and SD-WAN (Software-defined WAN) appliances. FWS-2275 specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N3350 dual-core Apollo Lake processor @ 1.10 / 2.40 GHz with Intel HD graphics, built-in Intel AES-NI; 6W TDP System Memory – 2GB LPDDR4 (soldered) Storage – 16GB eMMC flash (32GB optional) Video Output – Optional HDMI connector Networking 3x Gigabit Ethernet ports (1x WAN + 2x LAN) via Intel i211 Optional WiFi or 4G LTE via mini Card (see expansion section) USB – 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports; 1x micro USB port for console Serial – 1x RS-232/422/485 Expansion Full-size mini PCIe slot with SIM Socket 8-pin external header with 4x digital […]

March 10, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Android 10 on Xiaomi Mi A2 (Lite) or When Firmware Updates Go Wrong

I’ve been using Xiaomi Mi A2 smartphone since December 2018. At the time, it shipped with Android 8.0, but I soon got an update to Android 8.1, and later to Android 9.0. I’m quite satisfied with the phone as it receives (almost) monthly security updates, works reasonably faster, features a decent camera, and overall does the job. The biggest complaint I have so far is about storage. It comes with 32GB eMMC flash and no MicroSD card slot, and it’s constantly full, so I have to clear the cache often, and sometimes I need to uninstall an app and reinstall it in order to install an update. Sometimes in January, I got a notification about Android 10 updates, but since I was out of space, I only installed it late February after some serious storage cleaning… The update went smoothly, and after some adjustment to the settings I was back […]

March 9, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Thundercomm Announces Qualcomm based Modules for Smart Speakers, LTE IoT, Smart Retail, and 5G Applications

Based in California in the US, Thundercomm Technology Co., Ltd. (aka Thundercomm) is a provider of IoT products & technologies for OEM/ODMs, enterprises and developers. The company introduced several Qualcomm based “TurboX Systems-on-Module” for smart speakers, LPWAN IoT devices with NB-IoT and LTE Cat M1 connectivity, smart retail applications, and 5G powered devices. TurboX C404 and C405 SOMs for Smart Speakers and Soundbars Key features and specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon C404 / C405 with CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 @, 1.4 GHz GPU (C405 Only) – Qualcomm Adreno 306 GPU @ 600 MHz DSP -2x Hexagon QDSP6 v66 – Low Power Audio Subsystem & Audio Compute DSP System Memory & Storage – 1GB LPDDR3 + 8GB eMMC flash in eMCP package; SD card signals Connectivity 2×2 MIMO WiFI 5 802.11 a/b/g/ac + Bluetooth 5.0 + FM via WCN3999 Gigabit Ethernet (RGMII) Display Interfaces (C405 Only) 4-lane MIPI DSI port […]

March 9, 2020April 7, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

SECO Unveils 3.5″ Ryzen Embedded SBC, Docker-Compatible EDGEHOG OS Linux Distribution

After IBase IB918, here’s another 3.5″ Ryzen Embedded SBC courtesy of SECO SBC-C90 equipped with a choice of Ryzen Embedded V1000 or R1000-series processor, dual Gigabit Ethernet, and four DisplayPort++ ports. Separately from the hardware announcement, SECO has launched a Yocto-based, Docker-compatible Linux distribution called EDGEHOG OS and supporting containers, OTA updates, and remote management. SECO SBC-C90 SBC Specifications: SoC (one or the other) AMD Ryzen Embedded V1000 family: Ryzen Embedded V1807B quad-core/octa-thread @ 3.35GHz (3.8 Boost) with AMD Radeon Vega 11 Graphics; TDP 35-54W Ryzen Embedded V1756B quad-core/octa-thread @ 3.25GHz (3.6 Boost) with AMD Radeon Vega 8 Graphics; TDP 35-54W Ryzen Embedded V1605B quad-core/octa-thread @ 2.0GHz (3.6 Boost) with AMD Radeon Vega 8 Graphics; TDP 12-25W Ryzen Embedded V1202B dual-core/quad-thread @ 2.3GHz (3.2 Boost) with AMD Radeon Vega 3 graphics; TDP 12-25W AMD Ryzen Embedded R1000 family: Ryzen Embedded R1606G dual-core/dual-thread @ 2.6GHz (3.5 Boost) with AMD Radeon Vega […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs

March 8, 2020February 23, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

FreeNAS Operating System Becomes TrueNAS CORE

Old FreeNAS vs TrueNAS Software Development Process

So far, iXsystems managed two FreeBSD based operating systems for network access storage (NAS): devices: FreeNAS an open-source version supported by the community, and TrueNAS with more enterprise-grade features and commercial support working on the company’s hardware of the same name (TrueNAS flash-powered arrays). Even though lots of the code was shared, the company found out that maintaining both projects separately negatively affected the development efficiency and quality of the software since they had to maintain two build processes, two QA processes, and two sets of documentation. The situation is illustrated in the diagram above, but the company has decided to work on improving the development process, and FreeNAS and TrueNAS will share the same build, QA processor, documentation and even release starting with TrueNAS 12. That means there will be a single binary with two versions: TrueNAS CORE previously known as FreeNAS, without the need for license keys, and […]

March 7, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Raspberry Pi or UP Board based Linutop Runs Digital Signage or Web Kiosk Software

Linutop is a French company offering software and hardware solutions for digital signage and secure web kiosks, and this morning we received an email about Linutop OS now working on Raspberry Pi 4 board. Linutop OS is a Xubuntu (x86) or Raspbian (Arm) based OS using XFCE desktop environment, and shipping with the company’s Linutop Kiosk program used to setup a web kiosk or a digital signage player controlled via Linutop TV Digital Signage CMS (Cloud or self-hosted). The kiosk/DS software and the content management system (CMS) are not open-source, but there are free demo versions. If you want to install the full version it will cost you 79 Euros, and a self-hosted license for the CMS goes for 196 Euros. The company also offers Arm and x86 digital signage players based on Raspberry Pi or UP Board SBCs. Linutop XS/XS3 Linutop XS is based on a Raspberry Pi 2 […]