CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

August 14, 2026August 14, 2026 by Debashis Das - 5 Comments

EITWatch open-source ESP32-S3 smartwatch implements planar EIT hand gesture recognition

Researchers from Northwestern University have introduced EITWatch, an open-source ESP32-S3-based EIT (Electrical Impedance Tomography) gesture-sensing system that fits within a standard smartwatch footprint. It relies on a Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-S3 board and eight electrodes arranged on the back of the case to detect hand gestures via impedance changes caused by muscle and tendon movement beneath the skin. Unlike other wrist-EIT systems that use circumferential electrode bands, EITWatch places all eight electrodes on the back of the smartwatch case. The sensing area consists of a 31 mm electrode ring that fits within a standard 40 mm watch case, while a 20 mm PCB extension carries the discrete analog front end (AFE). EITWatch hardware specifications: Wireless board – XIAO ESP32-S3 SoC – Espressif ESP32-S3R8 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration Memory – 512KB SRAM, 8MB PSRAM Wireless – Wi-Fi 4 and […]

August 14, 2026August 14, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Giada DK320 digital signage player and Edge AI embedded PC supports up to the Intel Core 5 315 Wildcat Lake processor

Giada DK320 is an ultra-compact Wildcat Lake mini PC powered by up to an Intel Core 5 315 hexa-core processor and designed for digital signage, edge computing, and embedded applications requiring real-time analytics, intelligent monitoring, and automated decision-making. The system supports up to 48GB DDR5 RAM and M.2 2240/2280 NVMe storage, and offers dual 4K-capable HDMI video output, 2.5GbE networking, an optional WiFi 5/6/7 and Bluetooth module, an RS232 COM port, and four USB 3.2 ports. Giada DK320 specifications: Wildcat Lake SoC (one or the other) Intel Core 3 304 5-core CPU – 1x P-cores @ 1.5/4.3 GHz (Turbo) + 4x LPE-cores @ 1.4/3.3 GHz (Turbo) GPU – 1-core Intel Xe3 Graphics @ 2.3 GHz (9 TOPS) NPU – 15 TOPS Intel Core 5 315 6-core CPU – 2x P-cores @ 1.5/4.4 GHz (Turbo) + 4x LPE-cores @ 1.4/3.3 GHz (Turbo) GPU – 2-core Intel Xe3 Graphics @ 2.3 GHz […]

Gemma Translator multilingual interpreter runs locally on Raspberry Pi 5 with the LiteRT runtime

Gemma Translator is an open-source project for the Raspberry Pi 5 that acts as a multilingual interpreter running locally without access to the cloud using Google Gemma 4 and LiteRT runtime. It’s a project built by three Google engineers with the help of Google Antigravity. It includes code to run an on-device, fully offline voice translator/interpreter using Gemma 4 E2B (2.3B effective / ~5.1B total parameters with per-layer embeddings) and the LiteRT runtime. The hardware is comprised of a few components: A Raspberry Pi 5 with 8GB of RAM Display – HDMI monitor or touchscreen display such as a 480×320 kiosk display Audio Microphone or USB audio capture interface Speaker or headphone output device Keyboard – The project demonstrated below appears to use a custom PCB (AX-4LABS-NEW) with a rotary encoder and four mechanical keys (of which only two are used) Optional 3D printed parts for the enclosure Software highlights: […]

August 13, 2026August 14, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

AAEON PICO-ADN2 – A low-profile Alder Lake-N Pico-ITX SBC for space-constrained applications

AAEON PICO-ADN2 is a low-profile Alder Lake-N Pico-ITX SBC powered by an Intel N97 or Core i3-N305 SoC and designed for space-constrained transportation, digital signage, industrial automation, and smart kiosk applications. Its features are very similar to the PICO-ADN4 Pico-ITX SBC introduced in 2023, with up to 16 GB LPDDR5, HDMI, LVDS, and eDP display interfaces, dual Gigabit Ethernet, an M.2 E-Key socket for wireless, multiple USB interfaces, RS232/RS485 interfaces, and more. The main difference is that most standard (and thick) ports have been replaced by low-profile connectors, except somehow the HDMI connector. AAEON PICO-ADN2 specifications Alder Lake-N SoC (one or the other) Intel Processor N97 quad-core processor up to 3.6 GHz with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel UHD Graphics; TDP: 12W Intel Core i3-N305 octa-core processor up to 3.8 GHz with 6MB cache, 32EU Intel UHD Graphics; TDP: 15W Other Intel Atom x7000E Series, Processor N-series, and Intel Core i3 […]

August 13, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

Qualcomm Snapdragon C Arm SoC outperforms an Intel N250 CPU by up to 67 percent in “unplugged” benchmarks

Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon C entry-level Arm SoC for $300+ Windows laptops at Computex 2026 with a ridiculously small amount of details last May, so we had to rely on the specs of the upcoming Acer Aspire Go 15 (AG15-Q31P) laptop. Qualcomm has now released a document entitled “Snapdragon C Platform Overview” with more technical details and “unplugged” benchmarks – meaning running on batteries – comparing a Snapdragon C laptop to one based on Intel Processor N250 Twin Lake SoC. The presentation Snapdragon C specifications: CPU – Up to an octa-core Kryo processor at up to 3.0 GHz (single-core) or 2.0 GHz (quad-core) with 2 MB total cache; note: no data for eight cores GPU – Qualcomm Adreno GPU at up to 900 MHz AI accelerator – Built-in Qualcomm Hexagon NPU (still unspecified performance) System Memory – Up to 16GB LPDDR5/5x or LPDDR4 Storage – PCIe 3.0 NVMe, UFS 2.2/3.1 […]

August 13, 2026August 13, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

WCH CH32V407/467 RISC-V MCU integrates Fast Ethernet MAC + PHY, 480 Mbps USB 2.0 PHY, up to 8 MB on-chip PSRAM

WCH CH32V407 and CH32V467 are new 200 MHz RISC-V microcontrollers with a built-in 10/100 Mbps Ethernet MAC + PHY, a USB 2.0 high-speed (480 Mbps) host PHY, up to 8 MB on-chip PSRAM, and a range of peripherals for industrial IoT & edge AI applications. Both are based on the company’s Qingke V3V core with RVV vector extensions, delivering 4.11 CoreMark/MHz, a score higher than a typical Arm Cortex-M4 core. The main difference between the CH32V407 and CH32V467 is that the latter comes with 4 MB or 8 MB PSRAM, making it more suitable for display/HMI applications. WCH CH32V407/467 specifications: MCU Core – QingKe V3V 32-bit RISC-V (IMACV-X, X = custom) core @ up to 200 MHz RVV-vector instruction set and parallel computing Memory and storage 200KB SRAM 4MB or 8MB PSRAM memory (CH32V467 only) 512KB Flash SDIO Interface (MMC, SD/SDIO Cards, and CE-ATA) Optional Flexible Static Memory Controller (FSMC) […]

August 12, 2026August 12, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Apollo Automation launches $40 official ESPHome Starter Kit with ESP32-C6 board, four FPC modules

Apollo Automation’s ESPHome Starter Kit is the first official ESPHome starter kit designed and engineered by Apollo Automation in partnership with the Open Home Foundation. It features the ESPHome C6 board with the ESP32-C6-MINI-1 wireless module and two FPC expansion connectors for four modules part of the kit for PIR motion, temperature, and humidity sensing, as well as a button, a buzzer, and ten RGB LEDs. ESPHome Starter Kit highlights and specifications: Main board – ESPHome C6 Board Wireless Module – ESP32-C6-MINI-1 with 2.4GHz Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth LE, and Thread/Zigbee connectivity Expansion – 2x 14-pin FPC connectors Misc Reset and Boot buttons RGB LED Power Supply 5V via USB-C port Optional rechargeable LiPo battery Dimensions – TBD Modules MH-SR602 PIR motion module with 0 to 3.5 m range AHT20F temperature and humidity module with ±0.3 °C and ±2% RH accuracy 10x RGB LEDs and a piezo buzzer via ESPHome Casita […]

August 12, 2026 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Forlinx AM62L32 Local EVM – A low-power industrial SBC powered by TI’s AM62L32 Cortex-A53/M4F SoC

Forlinx Embedded AM62L32 Local EVM is a low-power industrial SBC built around the Texas Instruments AM62L32 Arm Cortex-A53/M4 hybrid SoC. It is designed for industrial control, IoT gateways, edge computing, embedded HMI, smart security, and other applications. What’s interesting about this board is that it uses a 4-layer integrated PCB design instead of a separate SoM and carrier board configuration that we found on other development platforms like the Calixto Systems AM62L STAMP SOM and iWave Systems AM62Lx SBC. Forlinx AM62L32 Local EVM specifications: SoC – Texas Instruments Sitara AM62L32 dual-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.25GHz Memory – 512MB LPDDR4 (Industrial-grade original Winbond W66CP6RBHAGJ) Storage 8GB eMMC flash OSPI Flash (Winbond W25Q128JWSIQ) MicroSD card slot supporting the SD 3.0 protocol Unpopulated OSPI Octal Serial Peripheral footprint GPMC (General-Purpose Memory Controller) Display 4-lane MIPI-DSI up to 1080p60 18-bit RGB (RGB666) LCD interface (multiplexed with GPIO/SPI/I2C) PWM routed for LCD backlight adjustment […]