Some LPWAN standards such as SigFox, LoRa, or nWave allows for transmission of data at low bitrate over several kilometers, and I’ve very recently featured Microchip’s LoRa modules and motes in this blog. So when Texas Instruments sent their December 2015 newsletter entitled Wireless MCU spans 20 km on a coin cell, I decided to have a look, and the company’s CC1310 wireless Cortex-M3+M0 MCU based on a proprietary sub GHz technology also claims to last 20-year on a coin cell for applications such as grid communication infrastructure and heat and water meters. SimpleLink CC1310 key features: Microcontroller – ARM Cortex-M3 @ up to 48 MHz with up to 128KB programmable flash, 8KB DRAM for cache/general purpose, 20KB Ultralow Leakage SRAM Sensor Controller – Ultralow power and autonomous; 16-Bit Architecture; 2KB of Ultralow Leakage SRAM for code and data RF core Cortex M0 core with 4KB RAM, and ROM Data […]
Following up on my 2013 Crowdfunding Report, I’ve gone through all 55 Kickstarter and Indiegogo crowdunding projects featured on CNX Software between December 2013 and November 2014 (inclusive) to see how well they fared. The table below sort projects chronologically as they were published on this very blog. Date Project Crowdfunding Site Funded? Pledged amount / Goal Expected Delivery Actual Delivery Comments 2. Dec. 2013 Micro Python Kickstarter Yes 97,803 GBP / 15,000 GBP 03/2014 04/2014 Available @ https://micropython.org/store/#/store 5. Dec. 2013 Plugaway Kickstarter Yes $162,835 AUD / $50,000 AUD 04/2014 – People upset because of lack of updates. Project might be dead, and backers lost their money 6. Dec. 2013 AIRTAME Indiegogo Yes $1,268,332 / $160,000 05/2014 12/2014 People have started received the beta versions, after a massive 8-month delay 7. Dec. 2013 Crystal Board Kickstarter No $14,574 / $200,000 04/2014 – The project appears to be dead 10. […]
AMD has added six new members to is Embedded G-Series family with “Steppe Eagle” SoCs comprising a CPU, GPU and I/O in a single chip, and “Crowned Eagle” CPUs that are not actually CPUs in the old sense, but SoCs comprised of a CPU and I/O chipset, and all of them also include AMD’s ARM based PSP (Platform Security Processor) built upon ARM TrustZone architecture. You may also remember AMD G-Series APUs which are comprised of a CPU and GPU, and connected to an external I/O chipset, but none of these were announced today. The six new AMD G-Series processors are as follows: “Steppe Eagle” SoCs: GX-424CC – Quad core @ 2.4 GHz with 2MB L2 cache, and a GPU @ 497MHz. DDR3-1866 support. TDP: 25W GX-412HC – Quad core @ 1.2 GHz with 2MB L2 cache, ad a GPU @ 300MHz. DDR3-1333 support. TDP: 7W GX-212JC – Dual core @ 1.2 GHz […]
Throughout all articles in this blog, I use a lot of technical terms and acronyms that you may not be familiar with. This glossary will include technical terms used in Android and Linux devices, development boards, and embedded platforms. If one or more relevant terms or acronyms is/are missing, please let me know in the comment section or via the contact form. 0-9 – A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – I – J – K – L – M – N – O – P – Q – R – S – T – U – V – W – X – Y – Z 0-9 1-Wire – A single-wire (plus ground) communications protocol used for memory products, interface solutions, and by SW tools. 10GbE – 10-Gigabit Ethernet 10Base2 – So-called Thin Ethernet, using RG-58 coax cables and BNC connectors […]
I usually spend most of my time writing about low cost hardware in this blog, but in this post, I’ll deal with higher-end and more expensive devices based on Freescale i.MX6 with Cornfed CONSERVER Server System and corresponding CONSERVER motherboard, as well as Ventana Network Processing Boards. Cornfed CONSERVER Conserver is a low power high-performance ARM processor server system based on Freescale i.MX6 with 4GB RAM, Gigabit Ethernet, and SATA. The hardware specifications are as follows: SoC – Freescale i.MX6Q Quad Core ARM Cortex A9 processor @ 1.2 GHz System Memory – 4 GB DDR3 RAM Storage – ?? GB NAND Flash + 1x SATA2 connector for HDD/SSD Connectivity – 1x Gb Ethernet port USB – 4x USB Host ports Video Output – 1x HDMI port Misc – RS-232 Serial port Power Supply – 35W Internal AC Power Supply Dimensions – Mini-ITX form factor The system is preloaded with Ubuntu, and […]
Kontron has today unveiled the KTT30/mITX, its first embedded ARM based Mini-ITX board (and the first ARM mini-ITX board I’ve ever heard of). The motherboard is powered by Nvidia Tegra 3 quad core processor @ 900 MHz with up to 2 GB DDR3L memory, and consumes less than 7W. Storage is available via 2 SD Card slots, one bootable eMMC, and one SATA 2.0 port. The company expects this ARM Mini-ITX motherboard to be used in applications such as thin clients, Panel PCs, digital signage and Mini-Box PCs. The solution is also suitable for industrial (rail road, instrumentation…) and medical fields as it will be available for at least seven years. By using the Mini-ITX form factor, Kontron KTT30/mITX board can be easily integrated in existing embedded solutions using (x86) mini-ITX boards. Here are the key features of Kontron KTT30/mITX motherboard: SoC – Nvidia Tegra 3 ARM Cortex-A9 Quad Core […]
AMD has unveiled another APU in its Embedded G-Series processor family with the AMD Embedded G-T16R, which aims to provide a more powerful (up to 3x) and less power-hungry (7% less) replacement to AMD Geode LX processors. The AMD G-T16R is targeted at very low power, small form factor and cost-sensitive embedded designs. The company claims the processor consumes about 2.3 watts on average or 4.5 watts thermal design power (TDP). This new AMD embedded processor targets industrial control, point-of-sale, medical appliance and transportation markets. As with the other G-Series platforms, the G-T16R can fit into small form factor boards by implementing a two-chip platform: APU + controller hub. AMD G-T16R is clocked at 615MHz, features a Radeon HD 6250 GPU and supports 1920×1200 resolution via VGA, single link DVI and DisplayPort 1.1a video outputs. It can also output 1080p via HDMI and LVDS. The APU supports Windows Embedded Compact […]
Axiomtek announced the MANO120 mini-ITX motherboard featuring an AMD G-Series APU dual core T56N with AMD A55E FCH which supports dual video output (dual views) via VGA, HDMI and LVDS interface. The board can support up to 4 GB of DDR3 1333 memory, up to 5 SATA hard drives and a CFast slot. The MANO120 also comes with one PCIe x4 slot and one PCI Express Mini Card slot. The company says the MANO120 industrial grade motherboard is ideal for digital signage, DVR (Digital Video Recording), and NVR (Network Video Recorder) applications. Here are Axiomtek MANO120 mini-ITX board specifications. CPU – AMD G-Series APU T56N @ 1.65 GHz with AMD Radeon HD6320 Graphic engine Chipset – AMD A55E FCH System Memory – 204-pin SO-DIMM supports DDR3-1066/1333 max (up to 4 GB) BIOS – AMI EFI 16Mb SPI SSD – CFast slot Expansion Interfaces: PCIe x4 slot PCIe Mini Card CFast […]
