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Theobroma Announces Rockchip RK3368 and RK3399 Qseven System-on-Modules

Theobroma Systems, an embedded system company based in Austria, has designed several Allwinner systems-on-module compliant with μQseven & Qseven standards in the past. The company has now started to work with Rockchip and reached “an advanced design stage” for the development of μQseven and QSeven systems-on-module powered by RK3368 and RK3399 processors. RK3368-uQ7 module specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3368 octa-Core ARM Cortex-A53 processor up to 1.2GHz with Imagination Technologies PowerVR G6110 GPU System Memory – up to 4GB DDR3-1600 SDRAM on-module (512MB, 1GB, 2GB (default) and 4GB configuration available) Storage – Up to 128GB eMMC flash on-module (8GB default), 16 Mbit to 128 Mbit SPI NOR flash on-module Video Capabilities –  H.264 decoding up to 2160p30, H.265 decoding up to 2160p60, video encoding up to 1080p30 Connectivity – GbE PHY on-module CAN – On-module communication offload controller for CAN 230-pin MXM edge connector with: 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet USB – 1x […]

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Getting Started with Pine64 PADI IoT Stamp – Part 2: Serial Console, GCC SDK, Flashing & Debugging Code

PADI IoT Stamp module powered by Realtek RTL8710AF ARM Cortex M3 WiFi SoC is a potential competitor to Espressif ESP8266 modules.  Pine64, the manufacturer of the module, sent me their kit with a $2 IoT stamp, a breakout board, a USB to TTL debug board and a J-Link debug board. In the first part of the review I’ve shown the hardware and how to assemble PADI IoT stamp kit. In the second part I’m going to write a tutorial / getting start guide showing how to control the board with AT commands, build the firmware with GCC SDK, and finally demonstrate how to flash and debug the firmware with the J-Link debugger. The Quick Start Guide indicates you need to connect the USB to TTL debug board to UART2 instead of UART1 as I did on the very similar B&T RTL-00 RTL8710AF module, and set connection settings to 38400 8N1. […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM
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Intel Apollo Lake Compute Sticks Coming in Q2 2017

Apollo Lake processors have been announced in mini PCs, laptops, development boards, systems-on-module, as well as in Intel’s own NUCs. A new leaked roadmap has now revealed that Intel plans to two Apollo Lake “Michigan City” compute sticks sometimes around Q2 2017. There will be two yet-to-be-named models: Windows OS – 2GB RAM, 32GB eMMC flash No OS – 4GB RAM, 64 GB eMMC flash Both devices will come with 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2, a USB 3.0 port, a USB 2.0 port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and an HDMI port with CEC support, as well as a 1- year warranty. That’s all we know from the leaked roadmap. Price should probably be only slightly higher than to the one of Atom Cherry Trail HDMI TV sticks, considering UP2 Board is selling for 89 Euros (Celeron N3350 dual core version) and 169 Euros (Pentium N4200 quad core version) , and […]

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R-Box Pro 3G Android TV Box Review – Part 2: Android 6.0 Firmware

The vast majority of octa-core Android TV Boxes sold on the market comes with 2GB RAM, but Amlogic S912 based R-Box Pro TV box was interesting with its 3GB RAM option (aka R-Box Pro 3G), as I wondered if I would see any noticeable improvements during my tests with the extra RAM. We’ve already confirmed the the hardware comes with 3GB RAM using 2x 1GB + 2x 512MB RAM chips configuration in the first part of the review last month, and it’s now time to check out whether this translates to anything in Android, as well as go through the usual hard-to-get features to work like automatic frame rate switching and HD audio pass-through. First Boot, Firmware Update, and First Impressions One positive with the device is the four USB ports, so this time I did not need an USB hub at all, and connected a USB HDD, two RF […]

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How to Create a Bootable Recovery SD Card for Amlogic TV Boxes

I reviewed Rikomagic MK22 TV box about two weeks ago, and with the firmware I had, online firmware update was not enabled, and the company only released .IMG firmware for Amlogic USB Burning Tool, a windows-only tool that’s not well designed, and requires some procedure that vary slightly from boxes to boxes which in some cases forces to buy a male to male USB cable. I’ve now started reviewing R-Box Pro TV box also based on Amlogic S912 processor, online firmware update is not working either, and again I only managed to find .IMG firmware for the box on GeekBuying. However, I’ve been informed that “USB Burning Tool” firmware can now be flashed through a micro SD card, or USB flash drive with all recent Amlogic TV boxes, so I’ve tried this method instead of R-Box Pro, and decided to report my experience in this post following some instructions on […]

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Getting Started with Sonoff TH16 ESP8266 Relay and Sensor using the Stock Firmware and eWelink Android App

Sonoff TH16 is a WiFi relay device powered by Espressif ESP8266 WiSoC, able to handle a load up to 16A (3500Watts @ 220V), and including a jack for sensors. The company recently sent me a sample together with  Sonoff AM2301 temperature and humidity sensor, and Sonoff POW power meter device, and in the first part of my Sonoff review I checked out the hardware for all three items. In the second part, I’ll report my experience with Sonoff TH16 and the temperature sensor with a practical example, as I’ve installed it to control a groundwater pump. What you see above is a picture of my house water tank with two pumps, the white one keep the pressure in the taps and is always on, and the blue one pumps the water from the ground and is the one I’m going to control. Over the last year or so, I’ve tried […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025
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Xiaomi Introduces Mi Box 3c and 3s TV Boxes with Artificial Intelligence Capabilities

Xiaomi has launched two new upgraded models based on their Mi Box 3 TV box powered by Amlogic S905-H processor, with Mi Box 3s with Amlogic S905X-H and 2GB RAM, and Mi Box 3c with Amlogic S905-H and 1 GB RAM. Beside the box hardware changes, the most significant updates are the replacement of MIUI TV interface by allegedly the first set-top box system with AI in the world, which the company calls Patch Wall, as well as Mi Touch IR remote control which include a touch ring in place of the usual arrow keys (3s only). Xiaomi Mi Box 3s specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905X-H quad core ARM Cortex A53 processor + Mali-450MP GPU System memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 8GB eMMC flash Video Output – HDMI2.0a port with HDR support + AV port Audio – Dolby and DTS support Connectivity – WiFi 802.11ac Dual band 2.4 / […]

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Siemens SIMATIC IOT2000 UL Approved Educational & Industrial IoT Gateways are Powered by Intel Quark Processor

Siemens has recently released SIMATIC IOT2000 series IoT gateways based on Intel Quark X1000/X1020 processor also used in Intel Galileo Gen 2 board with both IOT2020 educational version, and IOT2040 industrial version featuring UL-approval, Arduino headers, and a mini PCIe expansion socket. SIMATIC IOT2040 specifications: SoC – Intel Quark X1020 32-bit processor @ up to 400 MHz with 16KB cache (2.2W TDP) System Memory – 1 GB RAM Storage – micro SD slot Connectivity – 2x Ethernet ports Serial – 2x RS232/485 interfaces USB – 1x USB 2.0 port, 1x micro USB device port Expansion – Arduino UNO compatible headers, mini PCIe socket Misc – Battery-backed RTC Power Supply – 9 to 36V DC wide-range power supply Dimensions – 144x90x54 mm Weight – About 200 grams Temperature Range – 0 °C to up to +50 °C Certificates – CE, UL, FCC, KCC, RCM The device support wall-mount and DIN rail […]

Boardcon CM3588 Rockchip RK3588 System-on-Module designed for AI and IoT applications