Posted on by Tomisin Olujinmi - 5 Comments on NRFICE is a Bluetooth FPGA board in the Arduino UNO form factor (Crowdfunding)

NRFICE is a Bluetooth FPGA board in the Arduino UNO form factor (Crowdfunding)

nrfice fpga board

The NRFICE FPGA is a Bluetooth FPGA board designed for edge computing and IoT applications. It is built upon a combination of the dual-core nRF5340 Bluetooth SoC and the Lattice ICE40UP5K FPGA. The ICE40 UltraPlus is a low-power, high-performance FPGA for edge computing and artificial intelligence projects and the nRF5340 is a Bluetooth 5.3 SoC that supports Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Bluetooth Mesh, Thread, NFC, and Zigbee. Through the Nordic nRF5340, NRFICE can load a project directly into the iCE40 FPGA, bypassing the usual extensive toolchain setup. This enables a new class of FPGA development, where bitstreams can be hosted in the cloud, selected by a user on their phone, and loaded wirelessly to the board. It features a built-in J-Link OB for easy debugging and programming without the need for emulator dongles and is similar to the previously covered Segger emPower evaluation board in this regard. This board supports […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments on Duo 256M is a compact SBC based on SG2002 multi-architecture SoC

Duo 256M is a compact SBC based on SG2002 multi-architecture SoC

Duo 256M SBC

Duo 256M is a small board powered by SOPHGO SG2002 multi-architecture Arm/RISC-V/8051 SoC with 256MB of on-chip RAM and a 1 TOPS NPU, a microSD card for storage, a camera connector, a USB-C port for power and programming, and two headers for GPIO expansion. We covered the SOPHGO SG2002 (and SG2000)  Arm+RISC-V+8051 AI SoC earlier this month saying a couple of boards were expected very soon. We’ve already covered Sipeed LicheeRV Nano with optional Ethernet or WiFi 6, and now we’ll look at the Duo 256M designed by Milk-V Technology in more detail since it’s available now. Duo 256M specifications: SoC – SOPHGO SG2002 Main core – 1GHz 64-bit RISC-V C906 or Arm Cortex-A53 core (selectable) Minor core – 700MHz 64-bit RISC-V C906 core Low-power core – 25 to 300MHz 8051 MCU core NPU – 1 TOPS INT8, supports BF16 Integrated 256MB DDR3 (SiP) Storage MicroSD card slot 32Gbit NAND […]

Khadas Edge2 Arm mini PC
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments on Testing AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS’ AI Engine in Windows 11

Testing AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS’ AI Engine in Windows 11

AMD Ryzen 7940HS AI Engine Image Sorting

Some of the newer AMD Ryzen processors come with an AI Engine (also called NPU or IPU) that works in Windows 11 including the Ryzen 9 7940HS, Ryzen 7 7840HS, Ryzen 5 7640HS, Ryzen 7 7840U, and Ryzen 5 7640U. I’ve just completed the review of the GEEKOM A7 mini PC powered by an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS CPU with Windows 11 – but need to wait before publishing it – so I decided to try the AI engine on the Ryzen 9 7940HS processor. The AI Engine relies on AMD XDNA architecture, and AMD provides instructions to get started with examples, demos, and developer resources. So I decided to try some examples, but for some reasons I’ll explain below, I eventually had to settle for some demos. Ryzen AI software installation (for the demos) The examples hosted on GitHub require us to install dependencies for the Ryzen AI software […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on SparkFun Thing Plus – ESP32-C6 board comes with 16MB flash, LiPo battery support

SparkFun Thing Plus – ESP32-C6 board comes with 16MB flash, LiPo battery support

SparkFun Thing Plus ESP32-C6

SparkFun has launched yet another ESP32-C6 board with the “Thing Plus – ESP32-C6”  based on the ESP32-C6-WROOM-1-N16 module with 16MB flash and a PCB antenna and  range of I/Os and power options. The board features 28 through holes with up to 23 multi-function GPIOs and a Qwicc connector for expansion, and supports 5V or LiPo battery power through respectively a USB-C port a 2-pin JST connector combined with a charging chip, and a fuel gauge. SparkFun Thing Plus – ESP32-C6 specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-C6-WROOM-1-N16 MCU – ESP32-C6 32-bit single-core RISC-V microcontroller with 2.4 GHz WiFI 6, Bluetooth 5 LE, and 802.15.4 radio (Zigbee and Thread); Matter-compatible Storage – 16 MB flash PCB Antenna Storage – MicroSD card slot USB – 1x USB Type-C port for power and programming Expansion 12-pin + 16-pin headers with 23x multifunctional GPIOs Up to 7x 12-bit ADC channels Up to 2x UART channels (with […]

Posted on by Sponsored Post - 1 Comment on 5% discount for Intel NUC 11 with Core i7-1165G7 CPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD (Sponsored)

5% discount for Intel NUC 11 with Core i7-1165G7 CPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD (Sponsored)

10% discount Intel NUC 11

Intel decided to pull the plug on its NUC business in 2023, but that does not mean those are not available for sale anymore, and the Intel NUC 11 (NUC11PAHi7) powered by an Intel Core i7-1165G7 SoC with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD is now offered on Amazon with a 5% discount when using the coupon code A5QFKRCQ. Introduced in 2021, the Intel NUC11PAHi7 supports up to four 4K displays through HDMI, Mini DP, and Thunderbolt interfaces, offers 2.5GbE and WiFi 6 connectivity, three USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, and even a CIR (Consumer InfraRed) port. Intel NUC11PAHi7 specifications: SoC – Intel Core i7-1165G7 quad-core/octa-thread Tiger Lake UP3 processor @ up to 2.8 GHz / 4.7 GHz (Turbo) with 96EU Iris Xe Graphics; 15W TDP (configurable between 12 and 28W) System Memory – 16GB DDR4-2666 via SO-DIMM sockets expandable up to 64GB RAM Storage 512GB M.2 NVMe (PCIe Gen4) […]

Posted on by Debashis Das - 1 Comment on STMicro STM32WL5MOC SiP Module is pre-certified for LoRaWAN & Sigfox networks

STMicro STM32WL5MOC SiP Module is pre-certified for LoRaWAN & Sigfox networks

STM32WL5MOC wireless prototyping board

STMicroelectronics has recently introduced the STM32WL5MOC system in package (SiP) module with a dual-core STM32 microcontroller, sub-1 GHz RF radio, power supply, and passive components into a 10×10 mm LGA package. According to ST, the new chip uses the STM32WL module which we have seen used in Arduino MKR-inspired MKR Windy board, smart building, and many other LoRa devices. STMicroelectronics’ STM32WL, an Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller, operates in sub-GHz ISM bands (413-479MHz, 826-958MHz, and 169MHz later in 2024) for protocols like wireless M-Bus (mode N) and Wize. It supports multi-protocol and multi-modulation (4-(G)FSK, 2-(G)FSK, (G)MSK, DBPSK, DSSS, OOK, ASK) for various wireless standards (Sigfox, KNX, WiSun, mioty, M-Bus, etc.) and introduces power-saving features for up to 15 years of battery life. STM32WL5MOC SiP module specifications: Core Specifications:  STM32WL55JC SoC with 32-bit Arm Cortex-M4 and Cortex-M0+ CPUs, up to 48 MHz. Adaptive real-time accelerator (ART Accelerator) for efficient flash memory execution. DSP instructions […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs
Posted on by Tomisin Olujinmi - No Comments on Ovrdrive USB is an open-source, privacy-oriented USB flash drive that can self-destruct (Crowdfunding)

Ovrdrive USB is an open-source, privacy-oriented USB flash drive that can self-destruct (Crowdfunding)

Ovrdrive USB flash

We have previously covered the Tillitis Tkey, an open-source security key in a USB-C case but the Ovrdrive USB stick is not a security key. It is a simple, plain USB flash drive with a special security feature. It will appear completely blank unless you plug this drive in three times in quick succession. The Ovrdrive flash drive is aimed at journalists in repressive areas and security researchers but may be useful to other security and open-source hardware enthusiasts. As for how it works, the Ovrdrive has two identical circuits connected to the ATtiny24A microcontroller that controls the rapid plug-in functionality. When the flash is plugged in, the microcontroller powers on, and the CHG1 node goes high, charging C3 through D2. The pin will remain high for a while and then slowly discharge via R1 and body resistance. C3 and the identical C14 will remain high through power cycling/a quick […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 29 Comments on CERBERUS 2100 is a BASIC-programmable educational board with Z80 and 6502 8-bit CPUs

CERBERUS 2100 is a BASIC-programmable educational board with Z80 and 6502 8-bit CPUs

CERBERUS 2100 8-bit computer board

Olimex has just announced the launch of the CERBERUS 2100 open-source hardware, educational, multi-processor 8-bit computer with both Z80 and 6502 CPUs, as well as a Microchip AVR processor serving as an I/O controller. The CERBERUS 2100 features several CPLD and is fully programmable from the lowest level (individual gates and flip-flops) up to BASIC interpreters running on the Z80 and 6502 CPUs. Olimex did not design this themselves as the hardware design is from Bernardo Kastrup (aka TheByteAttic), while BASIC interpreters were written by Alexander Sharikhin (6502) and Dean Belfield (Z80). CERBERUS 2100 specifications: Processors Zilog Z80 8-bit microprocessor at 4 or 8 MHz (user selectable) Western Design Center W65C02S 8-bit microprocessor at 4 or 8 MHz (user selectable) “FAT-CAT” (Custom ATmega328pb) Microchip 8-bit AVR ATMega328PB microcontroller at 16 MHz CPLDs (ATF1508AS-7AX100) FAT-SCUNK (Scan CoUNter and clocK) and FAT-CAVIA (ChAracter Video Adapter) for video circuit connected to a 25.175 […]

Khadas VIM4 SBC