Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft), Author at CNX Software

May 7, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Microwave oven runs Linux on Rockchip RK3308 for voice control

Linux is everywhere, even on Mars, but if there’s one home appliance I did not expect to find the open-source operating system, it would have been the microwave oven. But Farberware thinks differently and launched the FM11VABK microwave oven running Linux on a Rockchip RK3308 quad-core Cortex-A35 processor to handle Sensory’s TrulyHandsfree voice stack enable voice-assistant features on the Linux microwave oven. I don’t think I need to go through the full specs of the 1,100 Watts microwave oven and I’ll focus on the voice assistant instead. People who worry about connecting everything to the Internet will be glad to know Farberware FM11VABK does not require an Internet connection or a mobile app for control. Everything is processed locally through TrulyHandsfree technology without sacrificing privacy, and with faster response times. Sensory offers its “Custom Domain-Specific Voice Assistant” service to any manufacturers of home appliances, vehicle infotainment systems, set-top boxes, home automation, industrial and enterprise applications, as well as developers of […]

May 7, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

PINE64 indoor LoRa gateway to combine Pine A64-LTS SBC with RAK2287 LoRaWAN concentrator module

RAKwireless has offered Raspberry Pi-based indoor LoRaWAN gateways for development/evaluation purposes for several years, including the more recent RAK7246 LoRaWAN developer gateway equipped with Raspberry Pi Zero W SBC. But there’s will soon be another option, also not directly from RAKwireless, as Pine64 indoor LoRa gateway will feature RAK2287 LoRaWAN concentrator module connected to Pine A64-LTS single board computer via a custom-designed adapter board. Pine64 indoor LoRa gateway preliminary specifications: SoC – Allwinner A64 quad-core Arm Cortex A53 processor @ 1.0 GHz with Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – Up to 2GB LPDDR3 Storage – 128Mb SPI boot Flash, MicroSD card slot, optional eMMC flash module Video Output – HDMI 1.4 up to 4K resolution @ 30 Hz Connectivity Gigabit Ethernet Optional WiFi & Bluetooth module LoRaWAN via RAK2287 mini PCIe concentrator module based on Semtech SX1302 with support for RU864, IN865, EU868, AU915, US915, KR920, AS923; external antenna GNSS via RAK2287 fitted with via U-blox ZOE-M8Q SiP with support for […]

May 6, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Pico Wireless is an ESP32 add-on board for Raspberry Pi Pico

I understand hardware is cheap now, but the madness has to stop! Pimoroni Pico Wireless is an upcoming add-on board for Raspberry Pi Pico adding a MicroSD card and ESP32 WiFi & Bluetooth module. While it’s a nice idea to add wireless connectivity to Raspberry Pi Pico, ESP32 is a dual-core Xtensa LX6 processor clocked at 160 to 240 MHz with WiFi, Bluetooth, and plenty of I/Os that should be able to handle most tasks better than Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ processor clocked at 48 MHz by default, although we’ve also seen it overclocked up to 252 MHz. As shown above, Pico Wireless is just a separate board connected to Raspberry Pi Pico over SPI through one of those “GPIO expander” boards, specifically Pico Omnibus. The prototype above features an ESP32-WROOM-32E module with 4 MB SPI flash, a PCB antenna for WiFI 4 and Bluetooth 4.2/5.x LE connectivity, as well as a MicroSD card slot. There’s also a user […]

May 6, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Z-Pi 7 Z-Wave gateway devkit works with Raspberry Pi and Orange Pi Zero boards

WiFi & Bluetooth are the most popular wireless protocols for home automation, alternatives like Zigbee and Z-wave have also been widely adopted, at least in some countries. And if you are interested in the latter, Aeotec has just introduced the Z-Pi 7 gateway development kit that lets you add Z-Wave connectivity to Raspberry Pi boards or Orange Pi Zero SBC with an expansion board connected over UART through the GPIO header. Aeotec Z-Pi 7 Z-Wave expansion board (ZWA025) specifications: Z-Wave connectivity Silicon Labs EFR32ZG14 Arm Cortex-M4 SoC @ 39 MHz with Series 700 and Gen7 technology Frequencies ZWA025-A: US Frequency 908.42 Mhz ZWA025-B: AU Frequency 921.42 Mhz ZWA025-C: EU frequency 868.42 Mhz TX Power – US: +9.3 dBm; EU: +4.8 dBm RX sensitivity – -97.5 dBm Range Indoor – US: 70+ meters; EU: up to 60 meters Outdoor – Up to 200 meters SmartStart native integration and S2 security. Z-Wave Plus Certified SBC compatibility (tested) – Raspberry Pi 3 and greater, Orange […]

May 5, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

ClusBerry-2M Industrial IoT controller takes two Raspberry Pi Compute Modules 4

Earlier this year, Techbase introduced the ClusBerry 9500-CM4 cluster system for industrial IoT that can take up to eight Raspberry Pi Compute Modules 4 housed in a DIN rail enclosure. But for smaller projects and IoT prototyping, the company has now designed ClusBerry-2M, a smaller cluster device including two independent ModBerry I/O mainboards and two Compute Module 4’s that’s equivalent to two ModBerry 500-CM4, but with support for software cluster management tools such as Docker and K3s Lightweight Kubernetes. The company did not share the full ClusBerry-2M specifications, but we can derive most of the features from the photos, previous products features, and the announcement: SoM – 2x Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 with Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 processor @ 1.5 GHz, 1 to 8GB RAM, up to 32GB eMMC flash. Storage – 2x M.2 slots for NVMe SSDs Video Output – 2x HDMI 2.0 ports Connectivity 4x Gigabit Ethernet ports Optional Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 b/g/n/ac) & Bluetooth 5.0 module […]

May 5, 2021May 5, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

SigmaStar SSC33x Camera SoCs are pin-to-pin compatible with Hisilicon Hi3516/Hi3518 processors

We’ve been writing a fair amount of posts about SigmaStar SSD201/SSD202D processors for smart displays in recent times. But the company also has various camera SoC’s with SSC333, SSC335, SSC336, SSC337, SS338, and SSC339 parts. Those processors feature one or two Cortex-A7 core, embedded RAM, as well as an optional AI accelerator called DLA (Deep Learning Accelerator). The chips manufactured using a 28nm or 22nm process, with the latter being used for parts with the AI accelerator. Most of the Sigmastar SCC33x processors also happen to be pin-to-pin compatible with HiSilicon Hi3516 or Hi3518 SoC that are found in a wide range of IP cameras. Let’s take SSC336D/SSC336Q processor as an example since it comes with the AI accelerator and we have a datasheet courtesy of linux-chenxing.com. SigmaStar SSC336D/SSC336Q camera SoC key features & specifications: CPU – Dual-core Arm Cortex-A7 processor @ 1 GHz with Neon and FPU Embedded Memory – Embedded 1Gbit (128MB) or 2Gb (256MB) 16-bit DDR3 memory […]

May 5, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Imago “VisionAI” Smart AI Camera supports Tensorflow Lite & AutoML Vision Edge

Imago Technologies GmbH “VisionAI” is a programmable Smart AI camera that combines a quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.8 GHz together with Google Edge TPU, and designed for embedded image processing applications in the fields of AI, Deep Learning, and Machine Learning. The smart camera supports TensorFlow Lite and AutoML Vision Edge frameworks, and is suited for tasks such as pattern recognition, classification, anomaly or defect detection in inspection applications, code reading, and other machine vision applications. Imago VisionAI (VisionSensor PV3 AI) camera specifications: SoC – Unnamed quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.8 GHz (likely NXP i.MX 8M Mini) AI Accelerator – Google Edge TPU with up to 4 TOPS of AI processing power System Memory – 2 GB DDR4 RAM Storage – MicroSD card up to 32GB Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet M12 connector Camera 1/1.8” 5MP mono or color CMOS sensor with 2560 × 1936 pixels resolution, up to 65 fps frame rate, 2.8 μm pixel size, partial scan support […]

May 4, 2021May 4, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Ebyte E104-BT11 Bluetooth Mesh module features Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 MCU

Ebyte E104-BT11 is a Bluetooth Mesh module offered in four variants with support for gateways (G) and node (N) versions, as well as PCB or IPEX antenna versions. Interestingly it is based on Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 Cortex-M33 microcontroller also found in ITEAD Zigbee 3.0 USB dongle, so it’s not impossible that it could be repurposed for Zigbee or Thread with firmware from Silabs. Ebyte E104-BT11 module specifications: Wireless MCU – Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller @ up to 80 MHz with DSP and FPU, up to 1024 kB flash, up to 96 kB RAM, 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.15.4 for Bluetooth LE, Zigbee, or Thread Wireless connectivity Bluetooth Mesh/BLE support with default firmware, up to 10,922 devices supported Max Tx power – 20 dBm Rx sensitivity- -88 to -97 dBm (-97 dBm typ.) Max data rate – 1Mbps Antenna – PCB antenna up to 200-meter range, or IPX antenna up to 300-meter range 26 castellated holes with GPIOs, PWM, UART […]