CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

August 31, 2018August 31, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

BladeRF 2.0 USB 3.0 Software Defined Radio Launched for $480 and Up

Around 5 years ago, several affordable FPGA based open source software defined radio boards launched including HackRF, BladeRF x40 / x115, and USRP B200. The company behind BladeRF has now launched an update of their boards with Blade RF 2.0 coming in two versions namely bladeRF 2.0 micro xA4 and bladeRF 2.0 micro xA9 supporting the same 47MHz to 6GHz frequency range, and 61.44MHz sampling rate, but the latter comes with a more powerful 301KLE Cyclone V FPGA. BladeRF 2.0 hardware specifications: FPGA Micro xA4 – Intel / Altera Cyclone V FPGA with 49 kLE Micro xA9 – Intel / Altera Cyclone V FPGA with 301 kLE Analog Devices RF Transceiver 47 MHz to 6 GHz frequency range 2×2 MIMO, 61.44 MHz sampling rate 56 MHz filtered bandwidth (IBW) Automatic gain control (AGC) Real- time custom gain control tables controlled via SPI and discrete external input pins Automatic IQ and […]

August 31, 2018August 31, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 26 Comments

Lenovo Yoga C630 WOS Laptop Comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 SoC, up to 8GB RAM & 256GB UFS Storage

The first Windows 10 based Arm laptops, also referred to as always-on always connected mobile PC’s, were launched last year with Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, LTE connectivity and promises of 20+ hours of battery life. The laptops did deliver on the last two features, but most reviewers found the devices – such as HP Envy X2 or ASUS Novago TP370 – to be pretty sluggish considering the price you’d paid for them. But Qualcomm did not stand still and announced Snapdragon 850 processor in June, with 30% better system performance, nearly three times faster AI performance, faster LTE connectivity, and a battery life of over 25 hours. So we just had to wait for products announcements, and the first Snapdragon 850 laptop is Lenovo Yoga C630 WOS (Windows on Snapdragon) that comes with 4 or 8GB RAM, 128 or 256GB internal storage, and hopefully provides a smoother user experience, maybe […]

August 30, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

ARCO is a Real Robot that Lives in Virtual Worlds (Crowdfunding)

Hicat launched HICAT.Livera machine vision board for robotics projects on Kickstarter two year ago. The company second project is still related to robotics and machine vision, but geared towards a different target audience, as ARCO robot aims to offer an augmented reality gaming experience to kids, although it’s still hackable/customizable as we’ll see below. The hardware part is mostly comprised of ARCO ROVER robot, and a Bluetooth controller that can be stored in ARCO’s inner capsule, where it recharges and communicates with ARCO through a magnetic pogo connection joint. The listed specifications are rather limited: ARCO ROVER Bluetooth connectivity (nRF52 WiSoC) 10 RGB LEDs Battery – Good for about one hour Power Supply – Via USB type C port Dimensions – 8.9 x 7 x 6.5 cm Weight – ~180 grams Controller Bluetooth (nRF52) Sensor – 3-axis accelerometer for motion detection Trigger and rocker Battery – Good for about one […]

August 30, 2018August 30, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX480FD Laptop Replaces the Touchpad with a 5.5″ “ScreenPad” Display

Touchpads is a feature found in most laptops, but AFAIK there’s not been much innovation recently apart from maybe support for multitouch and gestures. But I’ve just found out ASUS started to showcase laptops without touchpad a few months ago, instead integrating what the company calls a ScreenPad, a 5.5″ touchscreen display placed at the location where you’d normally expect a touchpad. The company’s latest (and second) laptop with a ScreenPad is Asus ZenBook Pro 14 UX480FD, which comes with a 14″ display, processor up to an Intel Core i7-8565U Whiskey Lake-U processor, up to 16GB DDR4 RAM, and up to 1TB PCIe SSD storage, as well as an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Max-Q graphics, 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, and more. You can visit the product page for the full specs, as I’ll focus a bit more on the ScreenPad in this post. The ScreenPad in this laptop is a […]

August 30, 2018August 30, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

TopJoy Falcon Mini Laptop Features an Intel Pentium N5000 Processor, an 8″ Display (Crowdfunding)

UMPC’s (Ultra Mobile PC) or mini laptops have made a sort of comeback in recent years with products such as GPD Pocket 2 mini laptop or One Mix Yoga pocket laptop. Those products come with a low power Intel processor running Windows 10, and a 7″ display, and compact keyboard. TopJoy Falcon is another upcoming mini laptop that should deliver performance right between the Atom x5-Z8350 processor found in One Mix Yoga and the more powerful Core m3-7y30 powering the GPD device with an Intel Pentium Silver N5000 Gemini Lake processor. The device looks similar to its competitor, except it also comes with a larger 8″ display, and as a consequence a slightly larger keyboard. TopJoy Falcon specifications: SoC – Intel Pentium Silver N5000 quad core “Gemini Lake” processor @ 1.10 / 2.7 GHz (Turbo) with Intel UHD graphics 605; 6W TDP System Memory – 8GB RAM Storage – 256GB […]

August 29, 2018August 31, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

BlitzWolf Inexpensive & Compact EU & US Smart Sockets Work with ESPurna & Sonoff-Tasmota Open Source Firmware

When I first started to look into WiFi smart sockets a few years, there were some fairly compact models such as the Linux based Kankun KK-SP3 or ESP8266 based Konke Mini K sockets. In recent years, more wireless smart sockets have come to market, but fewer companies have made compact models, and for example Sonoff S26 or Sonoff S31 smart sockets are not exactly small. But this morning I got contacted by a company called BlitzWolf that sells various accessories including low cost and compact smart sockets for the US and EU markets. It could prove to be interesting, so let’s check out the specifications: BlitzWolf BW-SHP1 US Smart Socket Rated Voltage – 110-240V @ 50-60 Hz Rated Current – 10A (Max) Max Total Power Output – 2000W Dimensions – 4.5 cm ∅ (VO fireproof material) Temperature Range – -10 to +60°C BlitzWolf BW-SHP2 EU Smart Socket Rated Voltage – […]

August 29, 2018August 29, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Seeed Studio Introduces 1 to 8 Channels Grove I2C Solid State Relay Modules

I’ve been playing with products or boards with AC relays for a while, but I never really cared to check about different types of relay. So far, all platforms I tested came with largish blue or black boxes which are SPDT electro-mechanical relays. But as I browsed through Seeed Studio, I found some weirdly-shaped relay modules, much thinner than usual, and fairly more expensive. The main difference is that those are solid state relays, and the boards also include a grove connector that allows microcontrollers or other boards to control the relay over a simple I2C connection. The modules are available in 1-channel, 2-channel, 4-channel, and 8-channel versions with the following specifications: MCU – STMicro STM32F030F4P6 Arm Cortex-M0 micro-controller Relay – Omron G3MC202P module Input Voltage – 4~6V (Rated Input Voltage: 5V) Load Voltage Range – 75 to 264 VAC 50/60 Hz Rated Load Voltage – 100 to 240 VAC 50/60 […]

August 29, 2018October 27, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 27 Comments

Intel Core Y-series and U-series 8th Gen Processors Target Laptops with Built-in Gigabit WiFi, Optional LTE Connectivity

We discovered three Intel Amber Lake processors with a 5W TDP through a leak last month namely Core m3-8100Y, Core i5-8200Y, Core i7-8500Y dual core/quad thread processors. Intel has now made an announcement confirming the launch of Core Y-series (formerly Amber Lake, 5W TDP) and Core U-Series (Whiskey Lake, 15W TDP) 8th generation processors featuring Gigabit WiFi, optional support for LTE and targeting laptop and 2-in-1 hybrids. Intel Core Y-Series “Amber Lake” Processors Let’s start with the 5W Core-Y family key features: 4MB Smart Cache Intel HD Graphics 615 Intel High Definition Audio with digital surround sound, support for multiple audio streams, jack re-tasking. Intel Smart Sound Technology – Dedicated audio Digital Signal Processor designed to process audio for media playback and voice for PC interactions like Cortana, Nuance Dragon, or Skype. USB 3.0 – Up to 5x USB 3.0 ports supporting up to 5 Gbps USB 2.0 – Up […]