Renesas RA8M1 is the world’s first Arm Cortex-M85 microcontroller

Renesas RA8M1 Arm Cortex-M85 microcontroller

Renesas RA8M1 is an up to 480 MHz Arm Cortex-M85 microcontroller with Arm Helium technology to improve DSP and machine learning performance on Cortex-M microcontrollers, and delivering up to 6.39 CoreMark/MHz performance using EEMBC’s CoreMark, or over 3,000 CoreMark at 480 MHz. The Arm Cortex-M85 core was first unveiled in April 2022 as a faster Cortex-M7 alternative and new Arm Helium technology that delivers machine learning performance similar to Cortex-M55 application processor. We had some teases about the upcoming Renesas Cortex-M85 in the last year, but the world’s first Cortex-M85 microcontroller is finally here. Renesas RA8M1 key features and specifications: MCU core – Arm Cortex-M85 clocked at 240 to 480 MHz with Helium MVE (M-Profile Vector Extension) with 32KB I/D Caches and 12KB Data Flash Memory & Storage 1MB SRAM with TCM 1MB to 2MB Flash memory External memory interfaces (CS/SDRAM) Camera – 16-bit Capture Engine Unit (CEU) interface Communication […]

Tiny low-power Hyperlux LP camera sensors can extend battery life by up to 40%

Hyperlux LP camera sensors

onsemi has introduced the Hyperlux LP image sensor family for battery-powered industrial and commercial cameras with resolutions from 5MP to 20MP and a low power consumption that can extend battery life by up to 40% based on the company’s internal testing. Three models of the 1.4 µm pixel sensors will initially be offered: the 5MP AR0544, the 8MP AR0830, and the 20MP AR2020. Those camera sensors should eventually be found in a wide range of products such as smart doorbells, security cameras, AR/VR/XR headsets, devices leveraging machine vision, and video conferencing.   The AR2020 is a 1/1.8inch Back-Side Illuminated (BSI) Stacked CMOS digital image sensor with a 5120 x 3840 active pixel array with a rolling shutter readout and capable of capturing images in either linear or enhanced Dynamic Range (eDR) modes. Its smaller siblings support the same features, but the AR0830 is a 1/2.9-inch image sensor with a 3840 […]

ESP32-S3-BOX-3 devkit comes with 2.4-inch display, dual microphone, PCIe expansion connector

ESP32-S3-BOX-3

Espressif Systems has launched an update to their ESP32-S3-Box development kit for online and offline voice assistants with the ESP32-S3-BOX-3 devkit that still features a 2.4-inch capacitive touchscreen display with 320×240 resolution, two microphones, a built-in speaker, and a USB-C port, but replaces the PMOD connector by a PCIe connector for various expansion modules. The open-source ESP32-S3 development kit is powered by the ESP32-S3 SoC with AI extensions and can be used to implement all sorts of solutions using the company’s ESP-SR, ESP RainMaker, and Matter solutions such as an offline voice assistant, a chatbot powered by ChatGPT, a handheld gaming console, a tiny robot, a Matter-compatible Smart Home hub, and more. ESP32-S3-BOX-3 specifications: WiSoC – ESP32-S3 dual-core Tensilica LX7 up to 240 MHz with Wi-Fi 4 & Bluetooth 5, AI instructions, 512KB SRAM Memory and Storage – 16MB octal PSRAM and 16MB QSPI flash Display – 2.4-inch capacitive touchscreen […]

Silicon Labs SG23 and SG28 SoCs are optimized for Amazon Sidewalk

SG23 SG28 SoC Amazon SideWalk

Silicon Labs has launched two new Cortex-M33 SoCs optimized for Amazon Sidewalk with the EFR32SG23 (SG23) Sub-GHz wireless SoC and the EFR32SG28 (SG28) dual-band wireless SoC with Sub-GHz and Bluetooth LE. Both low-power SoCs are designed for “Internet of Things” applications in smart homes, security, lighting, building automation, and metering and come with a Matrix Vector Processor to enable AI/ML implementation for Smart End Nodes. Silicon Labs SG28 (EFR32SG28) specifications: MCU core – Arm Cortex-M33 @ 78 MHz with DSP instructions and FPU On-chip memory – Up to 256 kB RAM data memory On-chip storage – Up to 1024 kB flash program memory AI accelerator – Matrix Vector Processor for AI/ML acceleration Wireless Sub-GHz radio TX power up to +20 dBm Rx sensitivity – -98.6 dBm sensitivity @ 50 kbps 915 MHz 2GFSK 2.4 GHz BLE radio – TX power up to +10 dBm Protocol – Amazon Sidewalk Energy consumption […]

Turing RK1 RK3588 system-on-module for cluster boards is now available (for pre-order)

Turing RK1 RK3588 SoM

Turing Pi has been making mini-ITX cluster boards for Raspberry Pi CM4 and NVIDIA Jetson modules for over four years, but last year, the company teased their own Turing RK1 system-on-module based on a powerful Rockchip RK3588 Arm processor with 6 TOPS NPU while launching the Turing Pi 2 cluster board on Kickstarter and raising over 2 million dollars in the process. The Turing RK1 is now available for pre-order with the 8GB RAM going for $130, the 16GB model for $170, and you’d have to spend $260 if you need 32GB RAM. Most people will probably want to add $10 to purchase the RK1 heatsink with a built-in fan as well. Pre-orders are expected to start shipping on October 27. Turing RK1 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588 CPU – Octa-core processor with 4x Arm Cortex-A76 @ 2.4 GHz, 4x Arm Cortex-A55 @ 1.8 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G610 MP4 […]

STMicro STHS34PF80 IR sensor for motion and presence detection aims to replace PIR sensors

STMicro STHS34PF80 IR sensor

STMicro STHS34PF80 is a new IR sensor designed for IoT and Smart Home devices requiring motion and/or presence detection that offers an alternative to traditional passive infrared (PIR) sensors and is mostly useful for building automation. The latest IR sensor from STMicro contains thermal transistors (MOSFETs) that can not only detect motion but also stationary objects, something that’s not feasible with conventional PIR detectors that require motion for object detection. The company further adds that PIR sensors need a Fresnel lens to sense moving objects, but the STHS34PF80 detector does not require a lens and as a result, enables much smaller designs. STHS34PF80 key features and specifications: Range up to 4 meters without lens for objects measuring 70 x 25 cm² Integrated silicon IR filter IR sensitivity – 2000 LSB/°C RMS noise – 25 LSBrms Operating wavelength – 5 µm to 20 µm Local temperature sensor accuracy – ±0.3 °C […]

VOIPAC iMX8M Industrial Development Kit Review – Part 1: Specs, Unboxing, and first boot

VOIPAC IMX8M Industrial Development Kit Review

VOIPAC iMX8M Industrial Development Kit comes with an NXP i.MX 8M module with up to 4GB LPDDR4 and 32GB eMMC flash, and an optional wireless module, as well as a features-rich carrier board. The company sent us the “iMX8M Industrial Pro” version for review with 2GB RAM, 16GB eMMC flash, and a WiFi and Bluetooth module. In the first part of the review, we’ll go through the specifications, do an unboxing, and give the board a quick try, before looking more into the software in the second part. VOIPAC iMX8M Industrial Development Kit specifications System-on-module iMX8M Industrial Max SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Quad @ 1.5 GHz System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4-3733 DRAM (1.866GHz) Storage – 32GB eMMC flash, 1 Mbit EEPROM Networking – Gigabit Ethernet PHY, wireless module with WiFi & Bluetooth PCIe (on module) Display – 2x LVDS Analog Audio iMX8M Industrial Pro SoC – NXP i.MX 8M […]

VL53L7CX Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensor offers camera-like 90° field of view

VL53L7CX wide FoV ToF sensor

STMicroelectronics VL53L7CX is the latest FlightSense multi-zone Time-of-Flight (ToF) distance sensor from the company with the main highlight between its camera-like 90° diagonal field of view, derived from a 60° x 60° field of view… This is a significant improvement over the 61° diagonal field of view of the previous generation ToF sensors such as the VL53L8 or VL53L5CP,  and the wider field-of-view is said to bring “lifelike situational awareness” to applications like home automation, computers, house appliances, robots, and industrial equipment with full-privacy since ToF sensors do not capture photos or videos like traditional cameras. STMicro VL53L7CX key features and specifications: 940 nm invisible light vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) and integrated analog driver 60° x 60° square field of view (FoV) (90° diagonal) using diffractive optical elements (DOE) on both transmitter and receiver enabling square FoV Receiving array of single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) Multizone ranging output […]