FriendlyELEC SOM-RK3399V2 CPU Module Gets 4GB LPDDR4 RAM Upgrade

SOM-RK3399V2 vs SOM-RK3399

Last year, FriendlyELEC launched SOM-RK3399 system-on-module (SoM) powered by Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core processor combined with 2GB DDR3 memory, 16to 64GB flash, and a built-in WiFi 5 module. Contrary to most SoM’s on the market, SOM-RK3399 could work in standalone mode thanks to two USB-C ports, although it could also be integrated into a carrier board to create a complete development board with more ports and interfaces. The company has now introduced an update with SOM-RK3399V2 CPU module with 4GB LPDDR4 RAM, as well as a small change in the layout for the LED’s and buttons, but the rest of the features remain the same. The company also appears to have changed the way they handle cooling with SOM-RK3399V2 shipping with a heatsink, while SOM-RK3399 cooling was handled by a heatsink + cooling connected to the carrier board. SOM-RK3399V2 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399 big.LITTLE hexa-core processor with 2x Cortex-A72 cores […]

Electrolama to Launch 802.15.4/Zigbee USB Dongle and Raspberry Pi “HAT”

zig-a-zig-ah

Electrolama (@omerk and friends) has been working on two open-source hardware 802.15.4/Zigbee projects with “zig-a-zig-ah” (aka “zzh”) USB stick based on Texas Instruments CC2652R SimpleLink multi-standard wireless MCU and Zoe (Zigbee + Poe) development board based on Raspberry Pi HAT form factor and powered by TI CC2530 SimpleLink 2.4 GHz SoC alongside CC2592 range extender. Both boards are released under an Apache-based Solderpad Hardware License 2.0, and target users of the Zigbee2MQTT project.  The boards could soon also get native support in Home Assistant via the “zigpy-cc” library which adds support in ZHA (Zigbee Home Automation) integration component. Zig-a-zig-ah USB Stick Preliminary specifications: WiSoC – Texas Instruments CC2652R SimpleLink multi-standard wireless MCU with support for Thread, Zigbee, Bluetooth 5 Low Energy, IEEE 802.15.4g, 6LoWPAN, and proprietary systems. (Note: CC2652RB is also considered as it does not require an external crystal oscillator) Host Interface – USB via CH340 USB-UART bridge Misc […]

Thundercomm Announces Qualcomm based Modules for Smart Speakers, LTE IoT, Smart Retail, and 5G Applications

TurboX C865 Snapdragon 865 SoM

Based in California in the US, Thundercomm Technology Co., Ltd. (aka Thundercomm) is a provider of IoT products & technologies for OEM/ODMs, enterprises and developers. The company introduced several Qualcomm based “TurboX Systems-on-Module” for smart speakers, LPWAN IoT devices with NB-IoT and LTE Cat M1 connectivity, smart retail applications, and 5G powered devices. TurboX C404 and C405 SOMs for Smart Speakers and Soundbars Key features and specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon C404 / C405 with CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 @, 1.4 GHz GPU (C405 Only) – Qualcomm Adreno 306 GPU @ 600 MHz DSP -2x Hexagon QDSP6 v66 – Low Power Audio Subsystem & Audio Compute DSP System Memory & Storage – 1GB LPDDR3 + 8GB eMMC flash in eMCP package; SD card signals Connectivity 2×2 MIMO WiFI 5 802.11 a/b/g/ac + Bluetooth 5.0 + FM via WCN3999 Gigabit Ethernet (RGMII) Display Interfaces (C405 Only) 4-lane MIPI DSI port […]

TRITON-TX8M i.MX8M Mini / Nano Modules & Devkits Support Linux, Windows 10 IoT Core, and (Soon) QNX 7.0

Triton-TX8M Development Board

UK-based Direct Insight has recently unveiled TRITON-TX8M system-on-module (SoM) powered by NXP i.MX 8M Mini or Nano processor, coupled with up to 2048MB DDR3L and a 4GB eMMC flash. The tiny (68 x 26 mm) SODIMM module is pin-compatible with the company’s earlier TRITON-TX i.MX6 / i.MX8 module family, and currently support Linux and Windows 10 IoT Core, with a QNX 7.0 BSP in the works. TRITON-TX8M SoM specifications: SoC TRITON-TX8MM – NXP i.MX8M Mini Quad 4x Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.6 GHz with real-time Cortex-M4F core, Vivante GC NanoUltra 3D GPU + GC320 2D GPU, 1080p VPU TRITON-TX8MN – NXP i.MX8M Nano Dual 2x Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.4 GHz with real-time Cortex-M7 core, Vivante GC7000UL GPU with OpenGLES 3.0, OpenCL and Vulkan support System Memory – 512MB, 1GB, or 2GB RAM Storage – 4GB eMMC flash 200-pin SODIMM200 edge connector with Storage – 2x SD Card/SDIO Display – […]

ESP32-S2-Kaluga-1 “Multimedia” Development Board Comes with Touchscreen Display & Camera

ESP32-S2-Kaluga-1 Multimedia Development Board

ESP32-S2 secure WiFi processor based on Xtensa LX7 core was first unveiled in May 2019, before the datasheet was released, and the first development boards were showcased in September. The Coronavirus outbreak slowed down progress, but the company has now announced the start of mass production for ESP32-S2 SoC, ESP32-S2-WROVER & ESP32-S2-WROOM modules, and ESP32-S2-Saola-1 development board. So that means we should soon be able to buy any of those. Apart from improved security, ESP32-S2 chip also provides a USB OTG interface and interfaces for HMI (Human Machine Interface) solutions thanks to LCD & camera interfaces. So that’s probably why the company has developed ESP-S2 Kaluga-1 board with an LCD touchscreen display, touch panel, support for camera image acquisition, audio playback, and more. We do not have the full specifications at this stage, but here are some of the highlights of the board: LCD interfaces – SPI interface or 8-/16-/24-bit […]

Octavo Systems Announces Development Boards based on OSD32MP1 System-in-Package (SiP)

OSD32MP1-Red Development Board

Announced in February 2019, STM32MP1 Cortex-A7/M4 processor family recently got an update with 24 new SKU’s boosting the Cortex A7 core frequency to 800 MHz instead of just 650 MHz for the SoC’s announced last year. One of the first companies to take advantage of the new parts will be Octavo Sytems that unveiled OSD32MP1 system-in-package (SiP) last year combining STM32MP15x MPU, up to 1GB RAM, 4K EEPROM, STPMIC1 power management IC, two oscillators, and over 100 passive components into a single chip. The company also introduced two upcoming development kits for the STM32MP1 based SiP: OSD32MP1-BRK “Flexible Prototyping Platform” and the more featured OSD32MP1-RED evaluation & development board. Both boards are supported by OpenSTLinux which we covered in our previous articles about STM32MP1. OSD32MP1-BRK Breakout board for OSD32MP1 SiP The first board aims to provide easy access to the I/O of the STM32MP1 processor via breadboard compatible headers, and […]

e-Con Systems Launches MIPI CSI-2 Cameras for Google Coral Dev Board

3.4MP Camera Google Coral Development Board

Google Coral Development Board Camera Series e-Con Systems has announced a camera series that can be used with the Google Coral Development board. There are two models: e-CAM50 CUCRL is a 5.0 MP MIPI CSI-2 camera and e-CAM30 CUCRL is a 3.4 MP MIPI CSI-2 camera. Both Have Features In Common Both support a variety of resolutions and were developed for AI devices. The cameras are color and fixed focus and can be connected directly to the Coral Development Board through P1 and J15 camera connector.  Background on Google Coral Development Board The Google Coral Development board was reported on extensively since its release in 2019. Two articles for the Coral Development Board and its most recent addons are the Google Coral Development Board announcement and the Coral Development Board’s latest mPCIe and M.2 cards. Jetson Nano and Rock960 SBC’s Cameras e-Con Systems previously made cameras for other SBC’s including […]

Bluetera II is a motion-enabled IoT development board that supports protocol buffers (Crowdfunding)

Bluetera II

Tensor Iotera Group (TIG), an Israeli based technology company, has launched a powerful IoT development board featuring motion sensing called Bluetera II and supporting Google Protocol buffers. Bluetera II came from the idea that developing an IoT application shouldn’t be complicated. Hardware is hard, and scaling for manufacturing might also be more daunting than initially anticipated. So instead of going through those troubles, why don’t you go the route of something that works, and most importantly, is scalable, as TIG is advocating with their Bluetera IoT development platform. Bluetera II is the 2nd generation of this IoT platform. The Bluetera II board is equipped with a 9-axis motion sensor, Bluetooth 5 enabled Nordic nRF52840 SoC core, which features an Arm Cortex-M4 FPU, with 1MB of Flash, 256KB of RAM, and lastly, an SDK based on Google’s Protocol Buffer (protobuf) technology. The device can function as a BLE Central (Master) and […]