Hardware Category - Page 963 of 1114 - CNX Software

August 14, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

MYIR ARM9 Linux Development Boards & Computer-on-Modules Powered by Freescale i.MX28 Processor

MYIR MYD-IMX28X development boards and MYC-IMX28X CPU modules had been announced in May 2014, but I’ve just found out about them via the company’s newsletter. The CoMs are powered by Freescale i.MX28 ARM9 processors (i.MX283 or i.MX287), feature 128 MB RAM, 256 MB Flash, and connect to a baseboard to make the development boards. Target applications include smart gateways, human-machine interfaces (HMIs), handheld devices, scanners, portable medical, experimental education as well as other industrial applications. MYC-IMX28X CoMs MYC-IMX28X computer-on-module specifications: Processor – Freescale i.MX283 or i.MX287 ARM926EJ-STM processor up to 454MHz with 128KB SRAM, 128KB ROM, 1280 bits of OCOTP ROM, 16KB/32KB I and D Cache System Memory – 128MB DDR2 SDRAM Storage – 256MB NAND flash, 128KB SPI flash Connectivity – On-board Ethernet PHY Connectors – 2x 1.27mm pitch 2 x 40-pin SMT male expansion connectors with access to Ethernet – Up to 2 Ethernet (two for i.MX287, one for i.MX283) USB […]

August 13, 2014February 22, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

MIPS Creator CI20 Development Board Powered by Ingenic JZ4780 SoC

There are plenty of ARM based development boards running Linux and Android, but with MIPS it’s a different story. Microchip does have some affordable development board powered by their MIPS MCUs, but these don’t have the hardware specs to run Linux based operating systems, and Ingenic Newton Platform for wearables can run Android and Linux, but it appears to be reversed to companies with virtual no documentation. There are some MIPS platform running OpenWRT on hardware such as routers or Wi-Fi boards, but these can’t be considered fully supported development boards. But Imagination Technologies is trying to make MIPS more relevant, first by launching Prpl developers’ community, and MIPS Creator CI20 development board powered by Ingenic JZ4780 dual core MIPS32 (Xburst) core processor with PowerVR SGX540 GPU should soon be available with complete documentation and source code. Let’s go through the hardware specifications first: SoC – Ingenic JZ4780 dual core […]

August 13, 2014November 23, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Toshiba TZ5000 ApP Lite Media Player Development Kits Run Android 4.4 and Ubuntu Linux

Toshiba has recently announced two development kits powered by their TZ5000 ApP Lite SoC featuring two ARM Cortex A9 cores, PowerVR SGX540 GPU, PowerVR VXD395 GPU, an optional 4GB MLC NAND, and Ensigma C4500 Wi-Fi baseband engine into a single chip solution that targets Over-The-Top (OTT) tuners and IP media boxes, wearable devices, digital signage, thin clients, and more. The first development kit, RBTZ5000-6MA-A1, is a full size board that supports Ubuntu, the other one, RBTZ5000-6MA-A1, is an HDMI stick form factor board running Android 4.4. Toshiba RBTZ5000-2MA-A1 Board (Ubuntu) RBTZ5000-2MA-A1 Starter Kit specifications: SoC – Toshiba TZ5011XBG dual core Cortex A9 processor @ 1.0 GHz with PowerVR VPU and GPU, and Ensigma C4500 Wi-Fi baseband engine System Memory – DDR3L-1600 Storage – 8GB eMMC (external) + MicroSDXC Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac 2×2 MIMO (via Ensigma C4500), Bluetooth 4.0. Ethernet is available via a daughter board connected to ADB. USB […]

August 13, 2014August 13, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

USB Type-C Reversible Connectors Specifications Published

We now have all sorts of USB receptacles and connectors, but this is supposed to eventually change thanks to type-C connectors, which are small and robust enough to be used in laptop, computer, smartphones, and other type of devices, and will replace the USB type A, micro and mini USB ports. Type-C connectors will also be reversible, so there won’t be a way to insert the cable upside down. The USB 3.0 Promoter Group has just announced the completion of the USB Type-C specification, and transferred it to the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) for ongoing management and the establishment of a compliance and certification program. Key features of Type C specifications include: Entirely new design Tailored for emerging product designs Robust enough for laptops and tablets; slim enough for mobile phones Similar to size of USB 2.0 Micro-B Usability enhancements – Reversible plug orientation and cable direction Supports scalable power charging […]

August 13, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

BotFactory’s Squink Prints and Assembles Electronic Circuits in Minutes (Crowdfunding)

When you design a circuit board, you first draw the schematics, then the PCB layout, and when you are happy with the result, output Gerber files, and send them to a company who will make a board for you. The last step usually takes a few days, and when you get it back the board may not work as expected, and you have to modify the PCB layout again, and request new boards, further delaying your project. Some students of NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering realized this issue, when only one out of eight teams managed to complete a EEG project on time mainly due to production delays as manufacturers took about 10 days to make and ship back the board. So some of them came together with one of their professor created BotFactory company and came up with Squink, a personal electronic factory, powered by the BeagleBone Black, that […]

August 11, 2014October 20, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Vigekwear is a Modularized, Open source, Wearable BLE Development Kit (Crowdfunding)

[Update: Atomwear has been renamed to Vigekwear due to (Intel’s) copyrights infringement]. Giayee is a company mainly manufacturing Android tablets, thin clients, and mini PCs, but their latest product, called Atomwear, is a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) development kit based on Nordic nRF51822 chipset that comes with various modules such as battery charger, accelerometer, gyroscope, OLED display, heart rate monitor, etc… which connect together via 24-pin connector on a standard rigid baseboard or a flexible printed circuit (FPC). All modules are connected via the same 24-pin connector with power, I2C, SPI, UART, ADC, and GPIOs signals. The baseboard and FPC both contain 6 such connectors connected in parallel for up to 6 modules, and two baseboard can be connected together via a bridge circuit to accept more modules. The minimum configuration is with a BLE MCU module, and a power module. The different boards and modules are listed as follows: […]

August 11, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Parallax Propeller 1 P8X32A Open Source Multi-core MCU

Lots of electronics devices are now powered by open source software such as Linux, open source hardware is not as wide-spread, but gaining tracking traction thanks to the like of Arduino, Beagleboard.org, Olimex, and many projects on crowdfunding websites, and now we even start seeing some open source silicon. Existing open source processors include LEON3 (SparkV8) MCU, OpenRisc, and just very recently, LowRISC, based on 64-bit RISC-V instruction set architecture, has been announced with the backing of some of Raspberry Pi co-founders, Google ATAP, etc… and is currently being developed at the University of Cambridge, UK. Parallax Propeller 1 P8X32A is another MCU which has been open sourced last week. Propeller 1 P8X32A had however been released in April 2006, and can be sourced as a 40-pin DIP chip for prototyping, and 44-pin QFP and QFN for production, and come with the following key features: Power Requirements: 3.3 VDC […]

August 10, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

Rockchip RK3288 Temperature Testing and Antutu Benchmarks

There are many upcoming Rockchip RK3288 based devices, and in the listing the CPU frequency varies from 1.6 GHz to 2.0 Ghz. so it’s difficult to know exactly what to expect. Ugoos has done some testing with their UT3 board measuring temperature after Antutu benchmark for different CPU clock frequencies and fan/fanless combinations. The board comes with a rather tiny heatsink which may explain some of the results below. They also added a small fan on top in about half the tests to compare the temperature against an heatsink only solution. Without further delays let’s go through the results: Frequency Antutu Score Temperature (heatsink) Temperature (Back of PCB) Heatsink only Heatsink + fan Heatsink only Heatsink + fan 1.608 GHz 38655 67 °C N/A 70 °C N/A 1.704 GHz 39853 72 °C 50 °C 75 °C 60 °C 1.800 GHz 41440 83 °C 52 °C 85 °C 62 °C 1.920 […]