CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

October 23, 2019October 23, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Nordic Semi nRF52833 WiSoC Supports Bluetooth 5.1 Direction Finding, Works up to 105ºC

Nordic Semiconductors had added a new member to their RF52 multi-protocol wireless SoCs with nRF52833 that supports Bluetooth 5.1 direction finding and can operate in a wider temperature range between -40ºC and +105°C. The company also introduced nRF52833 DK development kit for Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth mesh, Thread, Zigbee (802.15.4), and 2.4GHz proprietary applications, and some companies have already announced nRF52833 modules. Nordic Semi nRF52833 Bluetooth 5.1 SoC Key features and specifications: MCU Core – Arm Cortex-M4F @ 64 MHz Memory – 128 KB RAM Storage – 512 KB Flash Connectivity Bluetooth 5.1 @ 2 Mbps/1 Mbps/500 kbps/125 kbps 802.15.4 (Thread/Zigbee) @ 250 kbps 2.4 GHz proprietary @ 2 Mbps / 1 Mbps NFC-A tag TX power – Programmable from +8 dBm to -20 dBm in 4 dB steps Sensitivity Bluetooth 5: -103 dBm at 125 kbps; -98 dB at 500 kbps; -95 dBm at 1 Mbps; -92 dBm at 2 Mbps 802.15.4: -99 dBm at 250 kbps 2.4 GHz: …

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October 23, 2019October 22, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Khadas VIM3L SBC Review with Android 9 Firmware

Khadas VIM3L is the first and so far only Amlogic S905D3 SBC on the market, so I first ran some benchmarks and checked system info. But it is also designed to be an HTPC, I’ll continue the review with some 4K video and audio playback testing, some gaming, and I/O benchmarks. Khadas VIM3L Unboxing As you may remember (or not), VIM3L ships either as a bare board pre-loaded with Android 9 or as an HTPC kit with the board running CoreELEC. I’ve received the bare board which also comes with two WiFi antennas. It can do much more than a simple TV box however, since it also comes with an M.2 NVMe socket (extra adapter board required), and sockets with MIPI DSI + touchscreen, and MIPI CSI camera. It’s one of the few boards with a low profile Ethernet connector, so if you ever wanted to build a farm of the board it could lead to a more compact solution. …

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October 22, 2019October 22, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

VersaLogic Harrier Credit-Card Sized Computer is Powered by Intel Atom E3930/E3950 Processor

Back in 2016, we wrote about VersaLogic Osprey industrial and military-grade computer based on Intel Atom Bay Trail processor, and slightly larger than a credit card. The company is now back with an upgrade with many of the same features, and the exact form factor, but VersaLogic Harrier comes with a choice of more powerful dual-core and quad-core E39xx Apollo Lake processors. VersaLogic Harrier (VL-EPU-4011) board specifications: SoC – Intel Atom E3930 dual-core @ 1.3 GHz or E3950 quad-core @ 1.6 GHz Apollo Lake processor with Intel HD Graphics 505 System Memory – 2GB or 8GB ECC-DDR3L (soldered) Storage 8GB or 32GB eMMC flash MicroSD slot SATA 2.0 port with latching connector mSATA via mini-PCIe slot Display Single-channel 18/24-bit LVDS up to 1024×768 @ 60Hz 1x mini-DisplayPort++ with HDMI and audio support up to 4096×2160 Connectivity – 2x Gigabit Ethernet ports with latching connector, network boot option on one of the ports. USB – 1x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0 …

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October 22, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

SolidRun ClearFog GTR A385 NVR Platforms Feature Up to 8 Gigabit Ethernet PoE Ports

A Networking Video Recorder (NVR) is designed to record and playback videos from multiple IP cameras usually connected over Ethernet, and in many cases powered over Ethernet (PoE). The main purpose is for security applications allowing caretakers to monitor multiple cameras at the same time on a mosaic screen. There are plenty of turnkey NVR solutions on the market, but SoliRun, an embedded systems company known for its modules and single board computers, recently introduced the ClearFog GTR A385 family that supports up to eight PoE/PoE+ Gigabit Ethernet Ports. The ClearFog GTR A385 family currently includes two modules with GTR S4 supporting up to four cameras, and GTR L8 up to eight cameras. Specifications: SoC – Marvell ARMADA A385 dual-core Armv7 (Cortex A9 class) up to 1.3Ghz System Memory – Up to 2GB on-board DDR3L Storage – 8GB eMMC flash (default), 2x 7 pin SATA (optional replacement for 2 x mPCIe slots) Connectivity 1x 1GbE WAN supporting up to 802.3bt …

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October 22, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Imagination iEW220 Low Power Dual-band 802.11n WiFi IP Solution Targets IoT, Automation and Wearables

Imagination-low-power dual-band WiFi IP solution

Imagination Technologies is better known for their PowetVR GPUs and as the previous owner of MIPS technology, but they do have other products as well and the company just announced their second generation 802.11n WiFi IP designed for low power applications Ensigma iEW220 is an IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n 1X1 SISO Wi-Fi IP solution comprised of RF, baseband and MAC, and supporting both 2.4GHz and 5GHz spectrum. iEW220 specifications: RF Features Dual-band 2.4 and 5 GHz RF including PA Power efficient AGC Optimized PLL power consumption Customized PA to minimize Tx power consumption Power optimized DAC/ADC design Integrated transmit/receive switch for RF Single pin RF antenna interface IEEE 802.11 PHY Support (2.4/5 GHz) IEEE 802.11b DSSS/CCK (up to 11 Mbps) IEEE 802.11a/g OFDM (up to 54 Mbps) IEEE 802.11n OFDM MCS 0-7, (20/40 MHz channels, up to 72.2/150 Mbps) Station, soft AP and Wi-Fi direct with up to four associated devices Tx power up to 19 dBm and Rx sensitivity up to …

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October 22, 2019October 22, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

iLife MP8 Micro PC may be the World’s Smallest Windows 10 Mini PC

So far one of the smallest Intel mini PC was ECS Liva Q2 packing an Intel Celeron N4000/N4100 or Pentium N5000 Gemini Lake processor with up to 4GB RAM and up to 64GB eMMC flash into a 70 x 70 x 33.4 mm enclosure. iLife MP8 micro PC looks to be an even smaller, albeit taller mini PC powered by an Intel Celeron N4100 quad-core Gemini Lake processor with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. Preliminary specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N4100 quad-core Gemini Lake processor @ 1.10 GHz / 2.40 GHz (Burst Frequency) with Intel UHD graphics 600; 6W TDP System Memory – 4GB LPDDR3 Storage – 64GB eMMC flash. MicroSD card slot Video Output -HDMI output Audio – Headphone jack, digital audio via HDMI USB – 2x USB 3.0 ports, 1x USB Type-C power Misc – Power button Power Supply – Via USB-C port Dimensions – ~ 50 x 50 x 40 mm (estimated) The Windows 10 micro PC …

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October 21, 2019 by Ayo Ayibiowu - 3 Comments

STMicroelectronics Introduces Affordable LoRa Development Packs For All User Types

STMicroelectronics has recently announced the launch of a new set of LoRa Development packs, which are not only affordable, but they are aiming to a large pool of users from big organizations, small companies, hackers, engineers, students, and hobbyists. The ready-to-use development packs are aimed for applications bent on leveraging LoRa ’s long-range, low-power wireless IoT connectivity for tracking, positioning, metering, and many related applications. STMicroelectronics is releasing the P-NUCLEO-LRWAN2 pack and P-NUCLEO-LRWAN3 pack. Both packs provide a complete LoRaWAN development kit, and they include gateways, end-nodes, and ST tools, which are all based on the STM32 Nucleo evaluation boards. The LoRa gateway on both packs is based on the STM32 Nucleo-144 development board, NUCLEO-F746ZG. The STM32 Nucleo-144 development board with STM32F746ZG MCU supports Arduino, ST Zio, and Morpho connectivity. The Gateway header pins are exposed out to facilitate more development, and they support interfacing with LoRaWAN network-server providers LORIOT, Actility, myDevices Cayenne for LoRa and The Things Network. The Nodes in both packs are based on …

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October 21, 2019October 21, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

FOSDEM 2020 IoT Devroom Call for Proposals

FOSDEM (Free & Open-source Software Developers’ European Meeting) takes place every year in Brussels, Belgium on the first weekend of February. FOSDEM 2020 is scheduled for February 1-2, and now that developer rooms have already been announced, there are calls for proposals for each topic. Benjamin Henrion (aka Zoobab), a frequent reader and commenter of CNX Software, will be in charge of the IoT devroom and has now initiated a call for proposals for Internet of Things talks. The devroom will take place on Saturday or Sunday between around 10.30 and 18:00. Each talk will last 25 minutes with a 5-minute break between talks. The talks must be about fully open source projects that cover one of the topics below: Machine-to-machine (M2M) communication on small embedded devices Distributed applications in any field of interest for autonomous/self-controlled devices, (e.g. domotics, automotive, etc) Networking: TCP/IP, mesh networking, message queuing, cross-layer solutions Real-life problematics such as Out of grid communications Resiliance Security Cost …

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