CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

July 12, 2019July 12, 2019 by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 12 Comments

Beelink L55 Review – An Intel Core i3-5005U Mini PC Tested with Windows 10 & Ubuntu 18.04

With the shortage of Gemini Lake processors, some manufacturers have taken to releasing new mini PCs using older CPUs. The Beelink L55 is one such example and uses Intel’s Broadwell I3-5005U CPU which is a dual-core 4-thread 2.00 GHz processor with Intel’s HD Graphics 5500. The L55 is a ‘NUC’ style mini PC and physically consists of a 128 x 126 x 46 mm (5.04 x 4.96 x 1.81 inches) box case with a front panel that includes the power button, a headphone jack and a couple of 3.0 USB ports and then on the rear, two more 3.0 USBs, two 2.1 USBs, HDMI (1.4), DP and two gigabit Ethernet ports. Note that there is no SD or micro SD card slot. The full specifications include: The L55 comes with either a 256GB or 512GB (as tested in this review) M.2 SSD with pre-installed Windows 10 Home version 1809 together […]

July 11, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Linux 5.2 Release – Main Changes, Arm, MIPS & RISC-V Architectures

Linus Torvalds announced the release of Linux 5.2 last Sunday: So I was somewhat pre-disposed towards making an rc8, simply because of my travels and being entirely off the internet for a few days last week, and with spotty internet for a few days before that [*]. But there really doesn’t seem to be any reason for another rc, since it’s been very quiet. Yes, I had a few pull requests since rc7, but they were all small, and I had many more that are for the upcoming merge window. Part of it may be due to the July 4th week, of course, but whatever – I’ll take the quiet week as a good sign. So despite a fairly late core revert, I don’t see any real reason for another week of rc, and so we have a v5.2 with the normal release timing. There’s no particular area that stands […]

July 11, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Amlogic A311D and S922X-B Processors Support 8K VP9 Video Decoding

We’ve already written about future processors that will support 8K video decoding, such as Rockchip RK3588 that is expected to launch in early 2020. But I’ve just read claims that Amlogic A311D and S922X-B processors could also decode VP9 8K at 30 fps. So let’s have a look at Amlogic A311D datasheet first: Amlogic Video Engine (AVE-10) offloads the Cortex-A53 CPUs from all video CODEC processing. It includes dedicated hardware video decoder and encoder. AVE-10 is capable of decoding 4Kx2K resolution video at 75fps with complete Trusted Video Path (TVP) for secure applications and supports full formats including MVC, MPEG-1/2/4, VC-1/WMV, AVS, AVS+, AVS2 RealVideo, MJPEG streams, H.264, H265-10, VP9 and also JPEG pictures with no size limitation. The independent encoder is able to encode in JPEG or H.265/H.264 up to 1080p at 60fps There’s only mention of 4Kx2K decoding at up to 75fps, and further down in the document, […]

July 11, 2019 by Tiwalade Joanna Okedara - 1 Comment

AAEON Launches BOXER-8150AI Compact Embedded Box PC Features 8 USB 3.0 Ports

The new compact embedded solutions’ addition to the BOXER-8100AI family is specially designed for artificial intelligence (AI) support. According to its makers, AAEON, it has a configuration of eight USB 3.0 ports made available through four USB controllers chips. This makes it perfect for a wide range of computer vision applications, some of which are visual inspection, quality control, and facial recognition. Now, each USB chip controls a pair of USB 3.0 ports. By dedicating one chip to one pair of ports, each chip handles less data traffic overall. This also improves bandwidth from connected devices and allows the BOXER-8150AI to maximize speeds and framerates of AI image processing. The product is currently in stock and available for purchase on AAEON online store for $1,142.00. Key Features of BOXER-8150AI Nvidia TX2 Module HMP Dual Denver 2 + Quad ARM A57 8GB LPDDR4 32GB eMMC 5.1 HDMI 2.0 8x USB […]

July 11, 2019July 11, 2019 by Stephen Vicinanza - 3 Comments

pi-top[4] Raspberry Pi 4 based mini PC has launched on Kickstarter for $199

The announcement about the pi-top [4] came out a short time ago, as a portable mini-pc running the Raspberry Pi 4 board, and plans of package deals for backers on Kickstarter. The campaign started on July 9 2019 and was fully funded within 4 hours. Pi-top has now set a new goal featuring several price packages, each with features, applications and components that expand on what was reported in the original article covering the pi-top [4] mini-pc. The Main Campaign and Company Pi-top is based in Austin and Brownsville Texas. They produce hardware, software and project kits based around the Raspberry Pi family of boards. The latest device is an expandable and multi-purpose platform mini-PC based on the Raspberry Pi 4, and enhanced by sensors, LED’s, components and software. The Kickstarter campaign has already been funded, and there are now a stretch goal and three packages being offered. The pi-top […]

July 10, 2019July 10, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Gateworks Ventana GW5910 SBC Targets WiFi, BLE & Sub-1GHz IoT Gateways

Freescale/NXP i.MX6 based Gateworks Ventana single board computers have been around at least since 2013 and were initially targeting networking processing applications for the industry. They could be used into all sort of gateways with cellular or WiFi connectivity for instance, thanks to the presence of mini PCIe sockets. But the latest Gateworks Ventana GW5910 SBC does not exclusively relies on mini PCIe cards for wireless connectivity, as it includes an onboard Laird Sterling 802.11b/g/n WiFi & Bluetooth module, as well as optional TI CC1352P dual-band Wireless MCU supporting Sub-1GHz and 2.4GHz RF, and an optional on-board u-blox GPS module, which should lower the total cost compared to solutions with mini PCIe cards. Ventana GW5910 specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX6 Dual Core Arm Cortex-A9 SoC Processor @ 800MHz System Memory – 512MB DDR3-800 SDRAM Storage – 256MB Flash System Memory, microSD card slot, mSATA socket Connectivity Gigabit Ethernet Port Onboard […]

July 10, 2019February 16, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Inforce Introduces Snapdragon 660 & 845 Modules with On-Device AI

Inforce Computing has just launched two new pin-compatible system-on-modules, namely Inforce 6502 and Inforce 6701, powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 & Snapdragon 845 SoC respectively. In their newsletter, the company claims those are their first modules with on-device AI capabilities with the Snapdragon 660 enabling “advanced visual computing, enhanced graphics and on-device machine learning capabilities”, while the more powerful Snapdragon 845 is better suited for “immersive multimedia experiences including optimized AI performance for a more responsive, power-efficient user- experience and capture of cinema-grade videos in UHD@60fps resolution. Inforce 6502 Snapdragon 660 SoM Specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 with 8-core Kryo 260 processor, Adreno 512 GPU, Qualcomm Hexagon 680 DSP with Hexagon Vector eXtensions (HVX) for Caffe2 and Tensorflow System Memory & Storage – 3GB LPDDR4, Dual-Channel + 32GB eMMC flash in single eMCP package Connectivity Bluetooth 5.0 + Wi-Fi 5 802.11ac 2×2 with MU-MIMO and Dual Band Simultaneous (DBS) […]

July 10, 2019July 10, 2019 by Stephen Vicinanza - 2 Comments

Arduino Compatible ASME TIGER Board Supports Thread on NXP Kinetis KW41Z WiSoC

The new Arrow ASME Tiger board is the latest addition to the ASME line up, with an eye towards IoT hardware prototyping. The board carries two MCUs for different types of development depending on the operators need. The board is Thread and WiFi ready, and the Tiger is also Arduino compatible. The MCU’s are as follows: The ATSAMD21J18A-64 Ultra-low-power microcontroller using the 32-bit ARM Cortex-M0+ processor. The WiSoC is the KW41Z which is an ultra-low-power, highly integrated single-chip device that enables Bluetooth® low energy (BLE) v4.2 and IEEE® 802.15.4 RF connectivity for portable, extremely low-power embedded systems. The working unit is for very low power applications. The integrated balun reduces system cost and board area, and the sensors are plentiful and easy to access. You’ll find a user guide (PDF), as well a bootloader and sample code on Github. Specifications for the SMART SAMD21 Memory 256KB in-system self-programmable Flash 8KB […]