This new ESP32-C6-based IoT development board supports solar battery charging

FireBeetle 2 ESP32 C6 IoT Development Board with Wi Fi 6, Bluetooth 5, Solar Powered

DFRobot’s FireBeetle 2 ESP32-C6 is an IoT Development Board with 802.11ax (now called Wi-Fi 6), Bluetooth 5, Zigbee 3.0, Thread 1.3, and flexible power options including USB Type-C, 5V DC, and a CN3165 Lithium Ion battery charger for solar-powered systems. This isn’t the first solar-based board we’ve covered. We’ve also explored boards like Conexio Stratus, Wisblock Kit 2, and RAK8211-NB iTracker along with other solar-powered devices such as solar-powered laptops, solar-powered headphones, and even a solar-based power supply. FireBeetle 2 ESP32-C6 IoT Development Board Specifications: Processor – ESP32-C6 RISC-V single-core, 160 MHz Memory SRAM – 512KB ROM – 320KB Flash – 4MB RTC SRAM – 16KB USB – USB 2.0 CDC Wi-Fi Protocols – IEEE 802.11b/g/n, IEEE 802.11ax (20 MHz-only non-AP mode) Bandwidth – Supports 20 MHz and 40 MHz at 2.4 GHz Modes – Station, SoftAP, SoftAP+Station Frequency – 2.4GHz Frame Aggregation – TX/RX A-MPDU, TX/RX A-MSDU Bluetooth Protocol […]

8 Euros ESP32-H2-DevKit-LiPo is an open-source hardware Bluetooth 5 LE and 802.15.4 (Zigbee/Thread/Matter) board

ESP32-H2-DevKit-LiPo

Olimex ESP32-H2-DevKit-LiPo is an open-source hardware board based on ESP32-H2-MINI-1-N4 wireless module with Bluetooth 5 Low Energy (LE) and an 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee, Thread, and Matter connectivity, and that can be powered by a LiPo battery. The ESP32-H2 RISC-V microcontroller is coupled with 4MB flash in the wireless module, and the board comes with two rows of 15 pins for up to 19 GPIOs with alternate functions such as ADC, SPI, UART, I2C, etc… plus pUEXT and Qwiic/Stemma connectors for expansion modules. The board also features two USB-C ports, one for connected directly to the ESP32-H2 and the other for USB to UART programming/debugging. ESP32-H2-DevKit-LiPo specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-H2-MINI-1-N4 MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-H2 32-bit RISC-V microcontroller at up to 96 MHz with 320 KB SRAM, 128 KB ROM, 4 KB LP memory, Bluetooth 5.2 LE/Mesh and 802.15.4 (Zigbee/Thread/Matter) radios. Storage – 4MB flash storage PCB antenna Dimensions […]

Arduino and Silicon Labs collaborate to bring Matter to Arduino boards and IDE

Arduino Nano Matter Silicon Labs

Arduino and Silicon Labs have joined hands to both bring Matter-compatible SiLabs wireless microcontrollers to the Arduino IDE and then design an upcoming Arduino Nano based on SiLabs MGM240 Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller with Matter, Thread, Zigbee, and Bluetooth LE protocols. Available now: Arduino Core for Silicon Labs devices The first phase of the collaboration involves getting Arduino core for Silicon Labs development boards so that compatible devices can be programmed in the IDE. The good news is that it’s available now and works with four existing wireless boards: SparkFun Thing Plus Matter MGM240P based on MGM240PB32VNA Arm Cortex-M33 MCU with Matter, Thread, Zigbee 3.0, and Bluetooth 5.3 LE connectivity SiLabs xG27 Dev Kit based on EFR32BG27C140F768IM40 Arm Cortex-M33 MCU with Bluetooth LE 5.3, Bluetooth Mesh, Proprietary 2.4 GHz connectivity SiLabs xG24 Explorer Kit based on EFR32MG24B210F1536IM48 Arm Cortex-M33 MCU with Bluetooth 5.3 LE, Bluetooth Mesh, Matter, OpenThread, Zigbee, Proprietary 2.4 […]

2023 Year in review – Top 10 posts, statistics, and what to expect in 2024

CNX Software Happy New Year 2024

It’s the last day and last article of the year, so we will look at some highlights of 2023, some traffic statistics on the CNX Software website, and speculate what interesting developments may happen in 2024. Looking back at 2023 The semiconductor shortage that had happened since 2020 started to fade away in early 2023, and supplies for most electronics components and devices seem to be adequate at this time, so that was a bright spot this year, and hopefully, it will stay that way in 2024 despite geopolitical tensions. We did not have any super exciting new Arm application processors from Rockchip, Amlogic, or Allwinner announced this year, although the Amlogic S928X penta-core Cortex-A76/A55 CPU started to show up in some 8K TV boxes. The launch of the Raspberry Pi 5 SBC with a Broadcom BCM2712 quad-core Cortex-A76 processor was probably the main highlight for Arm on this side […]

Silicon Labs partners with Nabu Casa to support Home Assistant development

Silicon Labs Nabu Casa partnership

Silicon Labs has entered an official partnership with Nabu Casa, the company behind the popular Home Assistant home automation software, to support the development of Home Assistant open-source software and Silicon Labs-based hardware platforms. Most open-source embedded software projects start as a one-person (or a small team) effort as the vendor-provided firmware and related software may not have the features set needed by this user or group of users. So they hack existing hardware to build something that better fits their requirements often without input/help from the silicon vendor or product manufacturer. But sometimes the project becomes popular enough that large companies start to help it with support and funding. That’s apparently the case for Home Assistant project with Silicon Lans and Nabu Case entering an official partnership. The announcement does not provide details about the partnership but explains this should lead to better support and improvements for both Home […]

WeAct ESP32H2-N4 – A $6 Bluetooth 5.2 LE, Zigbee 3.0, and Thread development board

WeAct ESP32-H2 development board

WeAct ESP32H2-N4 is a low-cost ESP32-H2 development board with Bluetooth 5.2 LE, Zigbee 3.0, and Thread connectivity with a design very similar to the one of Espressif Systems’ ESP32-H2-DevKitM-1 development board, but sold for just $5.70 plus shipping. The ESP32-H2 wireless microcontroller is basically the little brother of the ESP32-C6 without WiFi and aims at low-power nodes in short-range IoT networks. We have previously seen it in Espressif hardware like the aforementioned ESP32-H2-DevKitM-1 and the ESP Thread Border Router board combining ESP32-H2 & ESP32-S3 wireless chips, but so far not in third-party boards, and WeAct ESP32H2-N4 changes that. WeAct ESP32H2-N4 specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-H2-MINI-1 MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-H2 32-bit RISC-V microcontroller at up to 96 MHz with 320 KB SRAM, 128 KB ROM, 4 KB LP memory, Bluetooth 5.2 LE/Mesh and 802.15.4 (Zigbee/Thread/Matter) radios. Storage – 4MB flash storage PCB antenna Dimensions – 13.2×16.6×2.4 mm USB – 2x […]

Linux-based DIN Rail smart controller works with Zigbee, Z-Wave, KNX, and Ajax Systems security solutions

YOCTOCONNECT Smart Home DIN Rail system

CONNECT Y1 Smart Controller in a DIN Rail gateway running Ubuntu Linux and acting as the main control of YoctoCONNECT’s Smart Home/Smart Building solution with YoctoBus (RS485) and Ethernet interfaces, support for expansion blocks, and third-party integration with Zigbee, Z-Wave, KNX, and Ajax Systems security and smart home solutions. The Y1 Smart Controller handles automation algorithms and RS485, Ethernet, and USB communication for automated control systems for lighting, power distribution equipment, ventilation systems, climate control, and other electrical loads in various sectors such as Industry 4.0, Smart Homes, and Smart Cities. CONNECT Y1 Smart Controller specifications: SoC – Quad-core processor @ 1.2 to 2.4 GHz System Memory – 512MB, 1GB, or 2GB DDR3 RAM Storage – 16GB or 32 GB eMMC flash Audio – 3.5mm audio output jack; AirPlay support Connectivity YoctoBUS (RS485) interface via 3-pole terminal block 10/100M Ethernet RJ45 port USB 2.0 interface for Z-Wave or Zigbee Ajax […]

ESP32 Arduino Core 3.0.0 adds support for ESP32-C6 and ESP32-H2

ESP32-C6 ESP32-H2 Arduino

Espressif Systems has now released an alpha version of ESP32 Arduino Core 3.0.0 enabling the new ESP32-C6 and ESP32-H2 targets to be programmed with the Arduino IDE, and including a number of new features made possible by the ESP-IDF 5.1 SDK. Announced in 2021, the ESP32-C6 WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5 LE, and 802.15.4 wireless MCU became available in modules and devkits at the beginning of this year, but so far they could only be programmed with the latest version (5.1) of the ESP-IDF framework, and so was the new ESP32-H2 Bluetooth 5.2 and 802.15.4 (Zigbee/Thread) MCU. But fans of Arduino programming can now rejoice as an alpha version of ESP32 Arduino Core 3.0.0 brings support for the new microcontroller, and a stable release is planned for December 2023. But as you can probably imagine ESP32 Arduino Core 3.0.0 will also bring lots of other changes since the ESP32 Arduino Core […]