CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

May 26, 2024May 26, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

ODROID-H4 Plus review – Part 2: Intel N97 NAS Kit and fanless SBC tested in Ubuntu 24.04

In the first part of the ODROID-H4+ kit review, I checked out the hardware and showed how to install the Intel N97 SBC into the H4 Type 3 case taking up to four 2.5-inch SATA drives. I’ve now had time to test the ODROID-H4 Plus with Ubuntu 24.04 both as an actively cooled NAS kit and a fanless SBC and will report benchmark results, 2.5GbE and storage test results, 4K and 8K YouTube video playback capability, check IBECC memory support, measure power consumption, and more in the second part of the review. Ubuntu 24.04 installation on ODROID-H4 Plus The ODROID-H4 Plus SBC does not come with any preinstalled OS since there’s no storage by default, so I installed Ubuntu 24.04 on the 128GB M.2 NVMe SSD I inserted into the board. The installation went relatively smoothly, but in hindsight, I would have probably installed the OS before installing the SBC […]

May 25, 2024May 28, 2024 by Sponsored Post - No Comments

Beyond the mini PC – Customizable computing solutions for any industry (Sponsored)

In today’s fast-paced business world, the demand for efficient, customizable, and powerful computing solutions has never been greater. According to a 2022 report by Grand View Research, the global market for custom-built PCs is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.5% from 2021 to 2028, driven by increasing demand for tailored computing solutions across various industries. Companies are turning to personalized technology to optimize processes and gain a competitive advantage. Therefore, when a company needs hardware specifically designed for their business, Azulle delivers. Azulle provides enterprise-grade mini PCs tailored to your business’s unique requirements through component enhancements, OEM, ODM, and more. Performance and Flexibility with Modular Design The right hardware for your business can boost efficiency and performance. Modular mini PCs are small computing devices that prioritize flexibility and customization allowing users to upgrade parts without replacing the whole unit, increasing the longevity and scalability […]

ArmSoM CM5 - Raspberry Pi CM4 alternative with Rockchip RK3576 SoC

May 25, 2024July 5, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Pironman 5 is a fancy tower PC case for the Raspberry Pi 5 with NVMe M.2 SSD, oversized fans, RGB LEDs

SunFounder Pironman 5 is an enclosure for the Raspberry Pi 5 SBC that looks like a small Tower PC equipped with two RGB LED fans and a tower cooler with a PWM fan for cooling, and support for an NVMe SSD drive through the company’s Pironman 5 NVMe PiP HAT+ expansion board. The case also includes a small OLED information display, a power button for safe shutdown, two full-size HDMI ports, a spring-loaded microSD card socket for easy insertion and removal, an IR receiver for media center applications, and externally accessible 40-pin GPIO header so users can still play with GPIO while the Raspberry Pi 5 is inside the case. Pironman 5 key features and specifications: Designed for the Raspberry Pi 5 SBC (a board like Radxa Rock 5C could be installed instead, but software for OLED display, RGB LEDs, fan control, etc… might be an issue) Storage Pironman 5 […]

May 24, 2024May 24, 2024 by Tomisin Olujinmi - 3 Comments

Inkplate 6 MOTION STM32-powered wireless e-paper display offers higher resolution and faster refresh rates (Crowdfunding)

The Inkplate 6 MOTION is a new product from Soldered Electronics in their Inkplate series of wireless e-paper displays. It is a 6-inch e-paper display with a partial refresh rate of 11fps which reduces obvious latency in rendering dynamic content such as videos, animations, and scrolling text. The display is driven by an STMicroelectronics dual-core STM32H743 microcontroller, with an ESP32-C3 as a secondary processor. It features Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for networking and a host of peripheral interfaces for physical connectivity. It includes several sensors such as a rotary encoder for quick navigation, a gravitational accelerometer with a gyroscope for tracking device orientation, and a motion detection sensor. We covered the original Inkplate 6 display when it launched on Crowd Supply in 2019. The Inkplate 6 is much less expensive than the new model but has a lower screen resolution (800 x 600 px) and slower refresh rates (256ms). Furthermore, it […]

May 24, 2024May 25, 2024 by Debashis Das - 3 Comments

SupTronics Raspberry Pi 5 UPS HAT X1202 V1.1 takes four 18650 batteries delivering up to 25W

SupTronic Raspberry Pi 5 18650 Battery UPS HAT

For the tinkerers and DIYers out there, keeping a Raspberry Pi project running reliably, day in and day out, especially when the power is out is crucial, and previously Raspberry Pi UPS solutions have been available for years with products like Pascal Herczog’s Red Reactor, PiJuice Zero, PiVoyager, or LiFePO4wered/Pi+ and many others. But the problem with all these old solutions is that they cannot handle the power requirements of the new Raspberry Pi 5, especially when the PCIe is active and other peripherals are attached to it. This is where the SupTronics Raspberry Pi 5 UPS HAT comes in. This new SupTronics X1202 V1.1 UPS Shield includes four 18650 batteries and can deliver 5V with a higher current output of up to 5A, or 25W of power. Additionally, it includes automatic power switching and battery level detection via I2C, an integrated fuel-gauge system, battery protection mechanisms, and fast charging support, making […]

May 24, 2024 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - 11 Comments

SONOFF SwitchMan M5 Matter Review – A Matter Smart Wall Switch tested with eWelink, Apple Home, and Home Assistant

Review SONOFF SwitchMan Smart Wall Switch M5 Matter

We received the latest Smart Wall Switch from SONOFF, called the SwitchMan Smart Wall Switch-M5 Matter, which we will refer to in short as M5 Matter. This model supports Matter (over WiFi) and is very similar to its predecessor, the SwitchMan Smart Wall Switch-M5, with the addition of Matter. The M5 Matter provides an alternative option for easy integration with other Smart Home platforms that support Matter. This device is the second one from SONOFF to support Matter, we already reviewed the first Matter device, the SONOFF MiniR4M at the end of last year. Matter, developed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), is supported by major companies such as Apple, Amazon, Google, LG, and Samsung, as well as other smaller companies. It could be a boon for Smart Home enthusiasts seeking a universal communication standard between devices, offering more choices, less complexity, and potentially lower costs. Let’s take a closer […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs

May 24, 2024May 24, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

50W high-power wireless charging boards target industrial, medical, and smart home applications

STMicro has introduced a combo of 50W wireless charging transmitter and receiver boards, namely the STEVAL-WBC2TX50 transmitter board and the STEVAL-WLC98RX receiver board, for the development of high-power wireless charging solutions such as medical and industrial equipment, home appliances, and computer peripherals. The transmitter board, based on the STWBC2-HP transmitter system-in-package (SiP), supports up to 50W of output power using the STMicro’s proprietary Super Charge (STSC) protocol, as well as the Qi 1.3 5W Baseline Power Profile (BPP) and 15W Extended Power Profile (EPP). The receiver board, based on the STWLC98 wireless power receiver IC, can handle up to 50W charging power through STSC, supports Qi BPP and EPP charging, and implements features such as Adaptive Rectifier Configuration (ARC) to extend charging distance by up to 50% and accurate voltage and current measurement for Foreign Object Detection (FOD). STEVAL-WBC2TX50 transmitter board highlights: STWBC2-HP wireless power transmitter chip MCU – STM32G071 […]

May 23, 2024May 23, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

EdgeCortix SAKURA-II Edge AI accelerator deliver up to 60 TOPS in an 8W power envelope

SAKURA-II M.2 and PCIe Edge AI accelerators

EdgeCortix has just announced its SAKURA-II Edge AI accelerator with its second-generation Dynamic Neural Accelerator (DNA) architecture delivering up to 60 TOPS (INT8) in an 8Watts power envelope and suitable to run complex generative AI tasks such as Large Language Models (LLMs), Large Vision Models (LVMs), and multi-modal transformer-based applications at the edge. Besides the AI accelerator itself, the company designed a range of M.2 modules and PCIe cards with one or two SAKURA-II chips delivering up to 120 TOPS with INT8, 60 TFLOPS with BF16 to enable generative AI in legacy hardware with a spare M.2 2280 socket or PCIe x8/x16 slot. SAKURA-II Edge AI accelerator SAKURA-II key specifications: Neural Processing Engine – DNA-II second-generation Dynamic Neural Accelerator (DNA) architecture Performance 60 TOPS (INT8) 30 TFLOPS (BF16) DRAM – Dual 64-bit LPDDR4x (8GB,16GB, or 32GB on board) DRAM Bandwidth – 68 GB/sec On-chip SRAM – 20MB Compute Efficiency – […]

Boardcon Rockchip and Allwinner SoM and SBC products