Hardware Category - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

June 1, 2025June 1, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

ESP32-P4 development board features 3.4-inch or 4-inch round IPS touchscreen display

Waveshare ESP32-P4-WIFI6-Touch-LCD-3.4C and ESP32-P4-WIFI6-Touch-LCD-4C ESP32-P4-based development boards feature a 3.4-inch and a 4-inch round IPS display, respectively, a 10-point capacitive touchscreen, and a wide 170° viewing angle. They also integrate two microphones with echo cancellation for voice AI applications and offer Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 (LE) connectivity via an ESP32-C6 module. Designed for AIoT and HMI projects, the boards also include USB ports, a camera connector, a speaker connector, and a microSD card slot. Target applications include Smart Home control panels, voice-controlled interfaces, digital dashboards, indoor environmental monitoring, PC performance monitoring, and other secure IoT and edge computing applications. Waveshare ESP32-P4-WIFI6-Touch-LCD-3.4C/4C specifications Main module – ESP32-P4-Core Module Microcontroller – ESP32-P4NRW32 MCU Dual-core RISC-V microcontroller @ 400 MHz with AI instructions extension and single-precision FPU Single-RISC-V LP (Low-power) MCU core @ up to 40 MHz GPU – 2D Pixel Processing Accelerator (PPA) VPU – H.264 and JPEG codecs support Memory – […]

May 31, 2025May 31, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Wio Tracker L1 Pro is a battery-powered, ready-to-use Meshtastic LoRa node

Wio Tracker L1 Pro LoRa based off grid messaging device

The Wio Tracker L1 Pro is a battery-powered LoRa node pre-flashed with the Meshtastic firmware for low-power off-grid messaging and GPS coordinates sharing. It integrates a Semtech SX1262 LoRa module for wireless data transmission and uses a Nordic nRF52840 Bluetooth 5.0 SoC to process and display the data. The L1 Pro also features a 1.3-inch OLED display, a rechargeable battery, a USB Type-C port, and a solar panel connector housed in a durable 3D-printed enclosure. It is fully compatible with the Grove ecosystem and offers expansion via PTH headers and an SWD interface. Wio Tracker L1 Pro specifications: SoC – Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 CPU – 32-bit Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller @ 64 MHz Memory & storage – 1 MB Flash, 256 KB RAM Wireless – Bluetooth 5, Thread, ANT, Bluetooth Mesh, 802.15.4 (Zigbee), 2.4 GHz proprietary Display 1.3-inch OLED display with 64 x 28 resolution Active Area – 34.5mm x 23.0mm x 1.47mm […]

May 30, 2025May 30, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Battery-powered SQUiXL devkit pairs 4-inch touchscreen display with ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth SoC

Unexpected Maker’s SQUiXL is a battery-powered ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth IoT controller and development platform with a 4-inch touchscreen display with 480×480 resolution. Designed for makers, hardware engineers, embedded developers, and home automation enthusiasts, the SQUiXL integrates with 8MB PSRAM and a 16MB SPI flash for plenty of resources for the firmware. Other features include a microSD card, an amplifier with speaker connector, a haptic driver and motor, an RTC, and a STEMMA/Qt connector for expansion. SQUiXL specifications: WiSoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 @ up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration Memory – 512KB RAM Wireless – 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE + Mesh Memory – 8MB octal PSRAM Storage 16MB QSPI flash MicroSD card slot (multiplexed with audio amplified) Display – 4-inch 480×480 RGB display with capacitive touch (GT911) Audio MAX98357A I2S Audio Amplifier (multiplexed with microSD card […]

May 30, 2025May 30, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

DFRobot Edge101 ESP32 industrial IoT controller offers isolated RS485 and CAN Bus interfaces

DFRobot Edge101 is an industrial-grade IoT controller built around the ESP32 MCU, designed as a bridge between development boards and industrial IoT systems. Housed in a full metal enclosure, it comes with various protection features including surge, ESD, lightning, overvoltage, and reverse polarity protection, and supports continuous 24/7 operation in harsh environments. It integrates RS-485, CAN bus, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and RTC, and supports expansion via a PCIe slot for 4G LTE cellular communication, making it suitable for automation, environmental monitoring, and remote data acquisition in industrial or outdoor settings. The IoT controller also offers flexible mounting options such as DIN rail or ear mounting. DFRobot Edge101 specifications: Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX6 microcontroller @ up to 240 MHz Memory – 520 KB SRAM, 16 KB RTC SRAM Wireless – WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 4.2 Storage – 4MB SPI NOR flash, MicroSD card slot Connectivity […]

May 30, 2025May 30, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Atum A3 Nano development board combines Agilex 3 FPGA and USB-Blaster III programmer (Crowdfunding)

Terasic’s Atum A3 Nano is a compact FPGA development board built around Altera’s largest Agilex 3 FPGA (A3CZ135BB18AE7S). The FPGA features 135K logic elements, embedded memory blocks (6.89 Mbit M20K, 1.4 Mbit MLAB), and 368 multipliers, making it suitable for demanding applications such as robotics, automotive systems, smart city infrastructure, consumer electronics, and advanced image processing. Measuring just 85 x 70 mm, the Atum A3 Nano board includes 64 MB SDRAM, Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI output, a microSD card slot, and an onboard USB-Blaster III programmer accessible via a USB Type-C port. Expansion options include a 40-pin GPIO header and two PMOD headers, and the board also features user I/Os like LEDs, buttons, and switches. Additionally, it supports add-ons such as displays, cameras, wireless modules, and motor control kits. Atum A3 Nano specifications: FPGA – Altera Agilex 3 A3CZ135BB18AE7S 135,110 logic elements 6.89 Mbit M20K, 1.4 Mbit MLAB 368 18×19 multipliers 4 I/O […]

May 30, 2025May 30, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Ambiq Apollo330 Plus SoC Series Cortex-M55 MCU family offers optional Bluetooth 5.4 LE and 802.15.4 radios

Ambiq Apollo330 Plus SoC Series is a new family of ultra-low-power, sub-threshold Arm Cortex-M55 microcontrollers with optional Bluetooth 5.4 LE and 802.15.4 radios for IoT and Smart Home applications. The Ambiq Apollo330 Plus MCU itself appears to be a cost-down version of the Ambiq Apollo510 general-purpose Cortex-M55 MCU introduced last year, with the removal of display and graphics support, lower RAM and NVM capacities (2MB/2MB vs. 3.75MB/4MB), and fewer I/Os, but with a wider 1.71 to 3.63V voltage supply range. Two other SKUs add wireless: the Apollo330B Plus includes a Bluetooth 5.4 LE radio, and the Apollo330M Plus an extra 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee, Thread, and Matter as a multiprotocol SoC. Ambiq Apollo330 Plus specifications: CPU Core – 32-bit Arm Cortex-M55 @ 96 MHz / 250 MHz (turboSPOT) with Helium technology, Network coprocessor Memory- 2MB SRAM Storage 2MB NVM SDIO v3.0 and eMMC flash controllers Wireless Arm Cortex-M4F network processor […]

May 29, 2025May 29, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

xMEMS µCooling fan-on-a-chip adds solid-state active cooling to SSDs for laptops and data centers

xMEMS Labs µCooling fan-on-a-chip solution now supports solid-state drives (SSDs) used in NVMe M.2 SSDs used in laptop PCs and enterprise E3.S form factor SSDs used in AI data centers with a temperature reduction of as much as 30%. The solution is based on the same technology as the xMEMS XMC-2400 1 mm-thin micro cooling fan-on-a-chip introduced last year, and aims to replace passive heat spreaders and flow from system fans with a hyper-localized active cooling directly to the NAND flash and controller ICs from within the SSD itself, making it mostly invisible to the user and enabling thinner and more dense designs. If the illustration pictured above matches reality, the xMEMS µCooling fan-on-a-chip is not placed in the chips themselves, contrary to a similar solution like AirJet, but in a strategic location on the SSD’s PCB, so that it can blow air to cool the chips. The chip is […]

May 29, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

OBJEX Link S3LW ultra-low-power ESP32-S3 LoRaWAN board takes up to 100W DC input

OBJEX Link S3LW is a small development board based on the ultra-low-power ELPM-S3LW module with ESP32-S3 MCU and LoRaWAN connectivity and the ability to take 100W input via USB-C or a 2-pin terminal block for driving motors, controlling RGB LED strips, and other high-power projects. It’s compliant with the USB PD standard, features two 28-pin headers and a STEMMA I2C connector for expansion, as well as a built-in CP2102/CP2104 USB to serial bridge for debugging, and a few buttons. The company also offers an OBJEX ELPM-S3 module and OBJEX Link S3 board with the same features, minus LoRa/LoRaWAN support. OBJEX Link S3LW specifications: Wireless module ELPM-S3LW v1.2 Wireless SoC – 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 BLE + Mesh LoRa support LoRa […]