CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

March 14, 2026 by Debashis Das - 2 Comments

Esparagus Audio Brick ESP32-based DIN-rail 65W Hi-Fi amplifier supports Home Assistant and Squeezelite (Crowdfunding)

Sonocotta (Andriy Malyshenko), the developer of Esparagus “Media Center”, HiFi-Amped, Louder Raspberry Pi, and Louder Raspberry Hat Plus, has returned to Crowd Supply with the Esparagus Audio Brick, a compact ESP32 or ESP32-S3-powered Hi-Fi Class-D amplifier with Home Assistant support. With support for Music Assistant, Snapcast, and Logitech Media Server (LMS), the module can be used to build whole-home audio setups, retrofit vintage speakers with modern streaming features, or power custom speaker configurations such as subwoofers or bi-amp systems. The board is built around an ESP32 or ESP32-S3 dual-core microcontroller with 16 MB flash and 8 MB PSRAM, and features Wi-Fi with optional W5500 SPI Ethernet for connectivity. Audio is processed via a Texas Instruments TAS5825M stereo I²S DAC with an integrated 65 W Class-D amplifier, and includes a DSP for a 15-band equalizer and hardware fault management. Other features include a USB Type-C port with a CH340 chip for […]

March 13, 2026March 13, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Rockchip RK3538 TV Box SoC and RK3572 mid-range HMI processor are coming soon

While we are eagerly waiting for the RK3668 and RK3688 high-end processors, Rockchip is planning to launch two mid-range SoCs with the RK3538 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor designed for TV boxes, and the RK3572 hexa-core Cortex-A73/A53 SoC for HMI (Human Machine Interface) applications. Rockchip RK3538 TV box SoC Rockchip RK3538 specifications: CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor with NEON, FPU, ARMv8 Crypto… Cache 32KB L1 instruction cache 32KB L1 data cache and 64KB L2 data cache 512KB unified system L3 cache GPU Arm Mali-G310 3D GPU with support for OpenCL 3.0, OpenGL ES1.1/2.0/3.2, Vulkan 1.2 2D Graphics Engine VPU Decoder H.265, H.264, AV1 (up to two simultaneous 1080p60 channels) VP8, VC1, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, MPEG-1 yp to 1920×1088 @ 60 FPS (1088 is not a typo) H.263 up to 720p60 (M)JPEG up to 8176×8176 @ 76 million pixels per second Encoder – N/A MCU core – RISC-V MCU in PMU domain with […]

Discovery Drive – An ESP32-S3-based azimuth/elevation rotator for satellite dishes and SDR antennas (Crowdfunding)

KrakenRF, the team behind the KrakenSDR, has designed the Discovery Drive ESP32-S3-based, low-cost, fully weatherproof, automatic azimuth/elevation (Az/El) antenna rotator for their Discovery Dish or other directional antennas, such as Yagis and Wi-Fi grids, weighing up to 5kg. Compared to DIY projects like SatNOGS (which require 3D printing and hardware sourcing), the Discovery Drive is designed as a plug-and-play solution. You can simply mount it to a mast, attach the dish, connect to 12V power and Wi-Fi, and use its web UI to start tracking polar-orbiting weather satellites (like METEOR-M2 or FENGYUN), CubeSats, or amateur radio satellites. KrakenRF Discovery Drive specifications: Controller – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3-based control board Connectivity – 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi 4 (via ESP32) with external antenna Motor and Rotation Torque – Up to 125 kg·cm (12.25 Nm); supports antenna payloads up to 5 kg Azimuth Range – -360° to +360° Elevation Range – 0° to […]

March 13, 2026March 13, 2026 by Debashis Das - No Comments

ST ST64UWB Cortex-M85 ultra-wideband SoC supports IEEE 802.15.4z and 802.15.4ab UWB standards, radar sensing

STMicroelectronics ST64UWB UWB solution for Automotive Consumer and Industrial Applications

STMicroelectronics ST64UWB Arm Cortex-M85 ultra-wideband (UWB) SoC family supports both the current IEEE 802.15.4z and the upcoming IEEE 802.15.4ab UWB standards for longer-range, more reliable positioning and secure proximity-based interactions. It mainly targets digital car keys, hands-free access, and smart-device detection. The family includes the ST64UWB-A100 (automotive entry), ST64UWB-A500 (automotive premium), and ST64UWB-C100 (industrial/smart home), all built on an 18 nm FD-SOI process that improves the RF link budget by ~3 dB, yielding roughly 50% additional range beyond what IEEE 802.15.4ab alone provides. The automotive-focused A-series offers ASIL-A(B) safety support, while the ST64UWB-C100 targets consumer and commercial applications. ST64UWB family specifications: MCU Core 32-bit Arm Cortex-M85 CPU with DP-FPU, MVE, and ETM Frequency Up to 100 MHz (ST64UWB-C100, ST64UWB-A100) Up to 256 MHz (ST64UWB-A500) Memory/Storage Integrated PCM Memory SRAM and Back-up SRAM Wireless Connectivity Ultra-wideband (UWB) Radio IEEE 802.15.4z-2020 and IEEE 802.15.4ab support UWB channels 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, […]

March 12, 2026 by Debashis Das - 7 Comments

MediaTek unveils 50 TOPS Genio Pro 5100 Cortex-X925/X4/A720 SoC, 7.2 TOPS Genio 420 Cortex-A78/A55 SoC for AIoT applications

MediaTek Genio Pro 5100 and Genio 420 IoT SoCs

After launching the Genio 360/360P hexa/octa-core SoCs last month, MediaTek has now expanded the lineup with the Genio Pro 5100 and Genio 420 AIoT SoCs at Embedded World 2026. The Genio Pro 5100 is a 3nm SoC with an “all big-core” architecture and a 50+ TOPS NPU for Edge AI applications. The Genio 420, on the other hand, is a cost-efficient 6nm platform designed for smart home, retail, and industrial IoT devices. MediaTek Genio Pro 5100 The Genio Pro 5100 integrates one Cortex-X925, three Cortex-X4, and four Cortex-A720 cores, as well as an Arm Immortalis-G925 GPU, and supports LPDDR5X memory up to 8533 Mbps. It can handle up to three 4K displays, up to 16 cameras via virtual channels, and 8K30 video encode/decode, and offers interfaces such as PCIe Gen4, USB 3.2 Gen2, USB 2.0, and dual 2.5GbE MAC. Genio Pro 5100 (MT8894) specifications: CPU – 8-core Arm v9.2 processor […]

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

Qualcomm X105 6G-ready 5G modem to deliver 14.8 Gbps download and 4.2 Gbps upload peak data speeds

Qualcomm X105 is the world’s first 3GPP Release 19-ready modem-RF system supporting 5G connectivity up to 14.8 Gbps download and 4.2 Gbps upload peak data speeds, and enabling 6G development and testing. Other Qualcomm X105 highlights include a 6nm RF transceiver with 30% lower power consumption and 15% smaller board footprint compared to the Qualcomm X85 5G modem, support for quad-band GNSS, an integrated NR-NTN for video, data and voice over satellite, and a fifth-generation AI processor leveraging agentic AI to detect, classify, and optimize data traffic for mobile gaming, video calling, and social media. Qualcomm X105 Modem-RF system specifications: Peak speeds Download – 14.8 Gbps (FR1 + FR2), 13.1 Gbps (FR1) Upload – 4.2 Gbps Downlink Carrier Aggregation: 6F+T CA (500MHz) with 1024 QAM TDD/FDD with 1024 QAM Turbo DSDA enhancements, including Multi-SIM CA support (up to 60% higher throughput) 3rd-gen 6Rx for smartphones and FWA CPEs (with 10% […]

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

COM HPC Mini-sized VersaLogic Raptor “Embedded Processing Unit” features 13th gen Intel Core i5-1345URE or Processor U300E SoC

VersaLogic Raptor (VL-EPU-5530) Embedded Processing Unit is powered by a 13th Gen Intel Core i5-1345URE or Processor U300E SoC and designed for high-performance computing applications in harsh environments with a -40 to +85°C temperature range and MIL-STD-202H shock and vibration qualification. The COM HPC Mini-sized (95 x 80 x 36mm) board supports up to 64 GB of soldered-down LPDDR5 memory, features vertical USB4, USB 3.0 Type-A, and mini DisplayPort connectors, two 2.5 Gbps Ethernet ports with TSN support, and three M.2 expansion sockets for NVMe SSDs, AI accelerators, or other expansion modules. Specifications: Raptor Lake SoC (one or the other) Intel Processor U300E 5-core/6-thread processor with 1x P-core @ 1.1 GHz / 4.3 GHz (Turbo) 4x E-cores up to 3.2 GHz (Turbo), 8MB Cache, 48EU Intel UHD Graphics up to 1.1 GHz; PBP: 15W Intel Core i5-1345URE 10-core/12-thread processor with 2x P-cores @ 1.4 GHz / 4.6 GHz (Turbo), 8x […]

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

Turris Omnia NG Wired dual 10GbE, quad 2.5GbE router drops Wi-Fi for cost savings

Not everybody needs Wi-Fi in their router. That’s why Turris has now introduced the Omnia NG Wired dual 10GbE, quad 2.5GbE router without built-in Wi-Fi 7 connectivity to reduce costs. The specifications are the same as those of the earlier Turris Omnia NG Wi-Fi 7 router introduced last November, and it still features two 10 Gbps Ethernet SFP+ cages and four 2.5GbE RJ45 ports, but Wi-Fi 7 (and 5G cellular) connectivity is optional. Turris Omnia NG Wired (RTROM04-NGW) specifications: SoC – Qualcomm IPQ9574 (Networking Pro 820 Platform) quad-core Arm Cortex-A73 processor @ 2.2GHz Memory – 2 GB RAM Storage 8 GB eMMC storage M.2 socket for NVMe SSD Display – 240 × 240 px IPS color display Networking 2x 10 Gbps Ethernet SFP+ cages (WAN/LAN) 4x 2.5GbE RJ45 ports Optional WiFi 7 via upgrade kit Optional 4G LTE/5G cellular connectivity via mini PCIe slot and 2x SIM slots USB – […]