CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

March 28, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

conga-STDA4 SMARC 2.1 module features TI TDA4VM/DRA829J Jacinto 7 processor

conga-STDA4 SMARC Module TI Jacinto 7 TDA4VM DRA829J

congatec conga-STDA4 is a SMARC Computer-on-Module (CoM) based on Texas Instruments TDA4VM or DRA829J Jacinto 7 processor with two Cortex-A72 cores, six real-time Cortex-R5 cores for functional safety, accelerated vision and AI processing capabilities, and plenty of interfaces. The first Texas Instruments-powered CoM from the company is designed for industrial mobile machinery requiring near-field analytics, such as automated guided vehicles and autonomous mobile robots, construction and agricultural machinery, as well as any industrial or medical solutions requiring energy-efficient computer vision at the edge. conga-STDA4 specifications: SoC – Texas Instruments Jacinto 7 TDA4VM/DRA829J with Dual-core Arm Cortex-A72 up to 2.0 GHz 6x Arm Cortex-R5F cores @ 1.0 GHz up to 8 MB of on-chip L3 RAM 1x C7x DSP up to 80 GFLOPs 2x C66 DSPs up to 40 GFLOPs Up to 8 TOPS MMA AI accelerator PowerVR Rogue 8XE GE8430 3D GPU with support for OpenGL ES 3.1, OpenVX, OpenCL […]

March 28, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Convert your 3D printer into a metal cutting machine with an Electrical Discharge Machining kit (Crowdfunding)

Rack Robotics’ Powercore is an Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) kit that converts your existing 3D printer (or CNC router) into a machine capable of cutting high-precision and detailed metal parts. We’ve already seen 2-in-1 3D printers and laser engravers such as the Creality Ender 3 S1 Pro, but while this type of machine can usually cut plywood or engrave stainless steel, the laser is not powerful enough to cut through aluminum. The Powercore EDM kit changes that by enabling the cutting of aluminum parts up to 4mm thick, although aluminum sheets that are 1mm or thinner are recommended. But before we get into Powercore details, what is Electrical Discharge Machining exactly? Engineers Edge explains: Electrical Discharge Machining, EDM is one of the most accurate manufacturing processes available for creating complex or simple shapes and geometries within parts and assemblies. EDM works by eroding material in the path of electrical discharges […]

March 28, 2023March 28, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Servo and motor control with Raspberry Pi Pico, CircuitPython, and Wukong 2040 breakout board

Raspberry Pi Pico Wukong 2040 Motor Control CircuitPython

ELECFREAKS Wukong 2040 is a multifunctional breakout board designed for Raspberry Pi Pico. It is equipped with interfaces for four DC motors, up to twelve servos, a buzzer, A\B buttons, RGB “rainbow” lights, a Reset button, etc… The board can be powered by a single 18650 3.7V LiPo battery and integrates a power management IC that monitors the battery level and can also charge the battery via a USB charger. Battery life is typically 60 minutes per charge but can last over 120 minutes depending on the load. Wukong 2040 key features and specifications Description of the Wukong 2040 interfaces Specifications and dimensions of the Wukong 2040 Expansion Board for Raspberry Pi Pico The Wukong 2040 breakout board for the Raspberry Pi Pico can control up to four DC motors and up to 12 servo motors as shown in the diagram below. Pinout diagram of the Wukong 2040 board […]

March 27, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Tiny RASynBoard combines Renesas RA6M4 MCU with Syntiant NDP120 ML accelerator, WiFi & BLE module, and some sensors

Avnet RASynBoard is a tiny board that packs a lot of features in a 30x25mm form factor with a Renesas RA6M4 Cortex-M33 microcontroller, a Syntiant NDP120 Neural Decision Processor, a Renesas (Previously Dialog Semi) DA16600 Wi-Fi 4 & Bluetooth 5.1 combo module, and a 6-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU) and digital microphone from TDK. The RASynBoard is offered as part of an EVK with the Core Board described above plus an IO board with headers, a Pmod connector, a MikroE Shuttle Click header, a microSD card slot for storage, and a built-in debugger, plus two buttons and an RGB LED. RASynBoard specifications: Main microcontroller – Renesas RA6M4 Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller @ 200 MHz with 1 MB flash memory, 256 KB SRAM ML accelerator – Syntiant NDP120 Neural Engine based on Syntiant Core 2 Deep Neural Network, Arm Cortex M0 and HiFi 3 DSP Wireless module – Renesas DA16600 2.4 […]

March 27, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

Rockchip RK3588M automotive-grade AI SoC supports up to 16 camera inputs

Rockchip RK3588M is an automotive-grade variant of the Rockchip RK3588 octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 SoC that supports at least 6 Full HD displays and 16 camera inputs and can simultaneously run the car dashboard, in-vehicle infotainment, a digital rearview mirror, headrest monitors, ADAS system, and more. The frequency of the Cortex-A76 cores is limited to 2.1 GHz, and the Cortex-A55 cores to 1.7 GHz, against 2.4 and 1.8 GHz for RK3588, probably to operate in a larger temperature range required by the automotive market. I could not find any RK3588M datasheet yet, but we can find more details through the Firefly AIO-3588MQ automotive mainboard built around the RK3588M processor. Firefly AIO-3588MQ specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588M octa-core processor with CPU 4x Cortex-A76 cores @ up to 2.1 GHz, 4x Cortex-A55 cores @ up to 1.7 GHz Arm Mali-G610 MP4 GPU with OpenGL ES 3.2, OpenCL 2.2, Vulkan 1.1 support 6 TOPS AI […]

March 27, 2023March 26, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

CM4 Maker Board review – Part 1: specifications, unboxing, and first boot

Cytron CM4 Maker Board is a carrier board for the Raspberry Pi CM4 or CM4 Lite system-on-module with plenty of I/Os, support for one M.2 NVMe SSD, and RTC backup battery, a buzzer, and various LEDs for GPIO status that makes the board especially well suited for the education market and prototyping. The carrier board also comes with the usual Gigabit Ethernet and full-size HDMI port, four USB 2.0 ports, five Grove connectors, one Maker port, the omnipresent 40-pin Raspberry Pi GPIO header, and support power input from 7V-18V DC jack or 5V via a USB Type-C connector. CM4 Maker Board specifications Cytron CM4 Maker Board specifications: Supported SoM – Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 or Compute Module 4 Lite Storage microSD card slot M.2 PCIe 2.0 socket for NVMe 2232/2242 SSD Video Interfaces Full-size HDMI 2.0 port MIPI DSI display connector Camera – MIPI CSI connector connector Audio – […]

March 26, 2023March 26, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Arduino UNO R4 Renesas RA4M1 32-bit maker board offered with optional ESP32-S3 WiFI & BLE module

Arduino have launched an upgrade to their 8-bit Arduino UNO R3 board with the Arduino UNO R4 featuring a 48 MHz Renesas RA4M1 Arm Cortex-M4F 32-bit microcontroller, and an optional ESP32-S3 module for WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity. The new Arduino UNO R4 offered improved performance and greater resources since the MCU is clocked three times faster than the 8bit AVR MCU found in the UNO R3, the board gets sixteen times more RAM (32KB vs 2KB to 32kB) and eight times more flash memory (256KB vs 32kB). The USB Type-B device port has been upgraded to a more modern USB Type-C port and the UNO R4 can take up to 24V supply voltage. Arduino UNO R4 (preliminary) specifications: Microcontroller – Renesas RA4M1 Arm Cortex-M4F MCU @ 48 MHz with 32KB SRAM, 256KB flash. 8KB dataflash Wireless (Arduino UNO R4 WiFi only) – ESP32-S3-MINI-1 module based on ESP32-S3 dual-core […]

March 25, 2023March 25, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Getting Started with GL-S200 Thread Border Router kit

Getting Started GL-S200 Thread Border Router

Last week we checked out the hardware for the GL.iNet GL-S200 Thread Border Router kit with three nRF52840 Thread Dev Boards, and I’ve now had time to work with the kit, so I’ll report my getting started experience in the second part of the review. GL-S200 Initial Set Up I connected the WAN port to my Ethernet Switch itself connected to my modem router and the LAN port to my laptop, so I could access the web interface using the default IP address (192.168.8.1). The GL-S200 uses the same Admin Panel as other GL.iNet routers such as the Beryl AX router we reviewed at the beginning of the year. You’ll be greeted by a wizard to let you select the language and set a new password for the Admin Panel, and once you’re done you’ll have access to the familiar GL.iNet Admin Panel 4.x.x. After completing the wizard, the system […]