CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

July 14, 2025July 14, 2025 by Debashis Das - 2 Comments

Industrial IoT board based on NuMicro M467 Ethernet MCU follows Arduino UNO R4 form factor

Nuvoton NuMaker UNO M4 Cortex M4 industrial dev board

The NuMaker-UNO-M4 is an industrial-grade IoT development board powered by a Nuvoton NuMicro M467 series Arm Cortex-M4F Ethernet MCU and following the Arduino UNO R4 form factor. The board also comes with Ethernet, RS485, CAN FD, and a microSD card slot for data logging. Power options include 5V via USB Type-C, 5–5.5V through a DC jack, and external 3.3V/5V through headers. It also features Arduino-compatible headers, push buttons, status LEDs, and a dedicated high-speed USB for power and programming. Nuvoton NuMaker-UNO-M4 Specifications SoC –Nuvoton NuMicro M467SJHAN CPU – Arm Cortex-M4 @ up to 192 MHz, with FPU and DSP Memory – Up to 512 KB SRAM with 64 KB parity check Storage Up to 1024 KB Flash with dual-bank, FOTA, and XOM support 8 KB LDROM, 3 KB OTP ROM Storage – MicroSD card slot Connectivity – 4-pin 10/100 Mbps Ethernet connector via RealTek RTL8201FI PHY USB – USB Type-C port […]

July 14, 2025July 14, 2025 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

Waveshare SATA HAT+ adds two SATA 3.0 ports to Raspberry Pi 5

Waveshare PCIe TO 2-CH SATA HAT+ is a dual-channel PCIe FFC to SATA 3.0 HAT+ board for the Raspberry Pi 5, which offers a low-cost alternative to the Radxa Penta SATA HAT with support for up to five SATA drives. The HAT+ is compliant with the SATA Gen3 and PCIe Gen2 standards and features onboard dual LED indicators for monitoring drive activity. Additionally, it includes an EEPROM for storing HAT+ ID and product information. It can be used for simpler DIY NAS setups or Pi-based media servers. Waveshare PCIe TO 2-CH SATA HAT+ specification: Compatibility – Designed for Raspberry Pi 5 Storage – Onboard EEPROM for HAT+ ID and product info SATA Ports – 2x SATA 3.0 (6Gbps) channels via JMB582 PCIe Gen3 x1 to 2x SATA controller Host Interface – PCIe Gen3 x1 via 16-pin PCIe FFC connector Misc 40-pin header with exposed RPi GPIOs (not used directly by the HAT, […]

LattePanda Carrier Board Design Challenge

July 14, 2025July 14, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Maduino Zero Wi-Fi HaLow – An 802.11ah board programmable with the Arduino IDE

Makerfabs Maduino Zero Wi-Fi HaLow is an Arduino Zero-compatible Wi-Fi HaLow (802.11ah) development board designed for low-power, long-range wireless communication in smart agriculture, industrial automation, and remote monitoring applications. The board is built around the Microchip ATSAMD21G18 Cortex-M0+ MCU to manage I/O, system control, and interface with the TXW83xx-based WiFi HaLow module. It operates in the 730–950 MHz sub-GHz band, features a microSD card slot for storage, and two GPIO headers. The board gets power through a USB Type-C port or a 3.7V LiPo battery (chargeable via USB) and includes an external antenna for long-range connectivity. Maduino Zero Wi-Fi HaLow specifications: MCU – Microchip ATSAMD21G18A Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller @ 48 MHz with 256KB flash memory, 32KB RAM Storage – MicroSD card socket Wi-Fi HaLow TXW83xx series based on IEEE 802.11ah Frequency Range – 730 MHz to 950 MHz bands Channel bandwidth – 1/2/4/8MHz Data Range – 150 Kbps to 32.5 […]

July 14, 2025July 13, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Renesas RA2T1 low-power Cortex-M23 MCUs target BLDC/PMSM motor applications

Renesas RA2T1 microcontroller (MCU) group

Renesas has recently launched the RA2T1 group of low-power motor control MCUs, built around a 64 MHz Arm Cortex-M23, for low-cost single-motor applications like power tools, fans, and home appliances. Designed for Brushless DC Electric Motors (BLDC) and Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSM), the RA2T1 supports both trapezoidal and FOC control techniques, thanks to its integrated 3-channel Sample and Hold (S&H) circuits that enable accurate 3-phase current detection. It also includes PWM shutdown features and various analog and digital peripherals in compact packages as small as 4×4 mm QFN. Previously, Renesas introduced the RA8T1, also a motor control MCU based on the Cortex-M85 core with Helium instructions and DSP extensions. Ideal for AI-enhanced motor control in industrial and robotics applications. Around the same time, Infineon launched the PSOC Control C3x series, with real-time motor control and security features along with fast ADCs, high-resolution PWM, and PSA Level 2 compliance. Renesas […]

July 13, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Review of GL.iNet Comet (GL-RM1) KVM-over-IP solution and ATX power control board

GL-RM1 Comet KVM review ATX power control board

GL.iNet sent me a Comet (GL-RM1) remote KVM box for review, along with a GL-ATXPC ATX Power Control Board. I’ll start this review with an unboxing and a teardown, then I’ll use the GL.iNet Comet with a Raspberry Pi 4 SBC to control it from a web browser in the LAN and the GLKVM app from the Internet. Finally, I’ll connect the GL-ATXPC and GL-RM1 to an Orion O6 mini-ITX motherboard to test ATX power control. GL.iNet Comet (GL-RM1) unboxing I received a parcel with two retail boxes: one for the GL-ATXPC ATX power control board and the other for the GL-RM1 Comet Remote KVM. The GL-RM1 ships with an HDMI cable, an Ethernet cable, a USB-A to USB-C cable for keyboard/mouse emulation, and a USB-C to USB-C cable for power, as well as a card with a QR code to connect with GL.iNet, and a getting started guide in […]

July 12, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

TermDriver 2 is a USB-to-serial adapter with a built-in color display (Crowdfunding)

TermDriver 2 USB-to-serial debug board display

USB-to-serial debug boards are commonly used for board bring-up, checking for issues when a board does not boot, or accessing the serial console in systems without networking or video output. You’d just connect GND, Tx, and Rx wires to the target board, and a USB cable to the host, before running a terminal program like Putty, Minicom, or Bootterm with the correct parameters, and you should be good to go. That’s the theory, but sometimes Tx and Rx may be inverted, the baudrate is not advertised, and so on. So Excamera Labs decided to make the TermDriver 2, an improved USB-to-serial with a small built-in display to more easily debug those issues. It can also be used in standalone mode, showing the serial console output on the tiny screen without having to connect it to a host. TermDriver 2 specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ MCU @ […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025

July 11, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

M5Stack Stamp-S3A WiFi and BLE IoT module benefits from optimized antenna design, lower power consumption

M5Stack Stamp-S3A, also known as M5StampS3A, is an update to the M5Stamp S3 ESP32-S3 module introduced in 2023 with an optimized antenna design, lower power consumption, a larger user button, and a different logic for the RGB LED control. Other features remain the same with 8MB Flash, RGB LED, input button, and 23 GPIOs all in a tiny 26 x 18mm form factor. Two versions are available: the Stamp-S3A without pre-soldered headers and the Stamp-S3A PIN1.27 with headers soldered on the board and an orange heat-resistant cover. M5Stamp-S3A specifications: WiSoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3FN8 CPU Dual-core 32-bit Xtensa LX7 microcontroller with AI vector instructions up to 240MHz RISC-V ULP co-processor Memory – 512KB SRAM Storage – 8MB flash Wireless – 2.4GHz WiFi 4 (802.11b/g/n), Bluetooth 5.0 LE + Mesh Connectivity 2.4 GHz WiFi 4, 20 MHz and 40 MHz bandwidth, IEEE 802.11 b/g/n protocol, up to 150 Mbps Bluetooth 5, […]

July 11, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Hugging Face’s Reachy Mini is an open-source AI robot for your computer or Raspberry Pi 5

Better known for its artificial intelligence software solutions, Hugging Face has now introduced the Reachy Mini open-source desktop robot, designed to deploy AI applications that interface with the physical world. The robot comes with a camera, microphones, and a speaker, and can move its 6 DoF (degrees of freedom) head, rotate its body, or wave its antennas. Two versions are available: The Reachy Mini Lite designed for computers running Mac, Linux, and soon Windows, and the Reachy Mini autonomous robot, powered by a Raspberry Pi 5, adding wireless connectivity, a few more microphones, an accelerometer, and battery support. Both models share most of the same specifications: The Reachy Mini is programmable in Python for now, but JavaScript and Scratch will soon be supported too. We’re also told that over 15 robot behaviors will be provided at launch on the Hugging Face hub, so users will be able to get started […]