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

October 26, 2023October 26, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite – A 4.3 GHz 12-core Arm AI processor for next gen PCs and laptops

Qualcomm has now provided Arm chips for mobile PCs (aka laptops) for several years, but apart from a 20-hour battery life, the performance and price of Snapdragon laptops have often been disappointing. The Snapdragon X Elite aims to change that at least on the performance front. The new Qualcomm 12-core 64-bit Arm processor is clocked at up to 3.8 GHz boosting to up to 4.3 GHz, and is said to deliver up to twice the CPU performance against the competition (Intel/AMD/Apple) or provides the same level of performance at a third of the power consumption. The SoC will also be able to run on-device generative AI with over 13B parameters thanks to 75 TOPS of AI performance and support the latest wireless connectivity technologies such as 5G and WiFi 7 through external chips from the company. Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite specifications: CPU – 12-core 64-bit Armv8 Oryon processor clocked at […]

October 26, 2023October 25, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

The Portenta Hat Carrier board adds Raspberry Pi HAT support to the Portenta X8 SBC

The Arduino Portenta Hat Carrier board aims to interface the Linux-capable Portenta X8 board with the vast ecosystem of Raspberry Pi HAT (Hardware on Top) expansion boards. Introduced last year, the Arduino Portenta X8 is the first Arduino Pro hardware that can run Linux thanks to its NXP i.MX 8M Mini Arm Cortex-A53 quad-core processor. But it comes in a tiny 66.04 x 25.4 mm form factor which may be great for integration into products, but for prototyping or design of products such as IoT gateways, the company has now launched the Portenta Hat Carrier that enables the board to easily connect with the Raspberry Pi HATs available today. Portenta Hat Carrier specifications: Compatible with the Portenta X8 board and future Portenta with the same high-density connectors Storage – MicroSD card slot Camera I/F – MIPI CSI camera connector (CNXSoft: Arduino does not explicitly say whether it’s compatible with the […]

October 25, 2023June 11, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

AOOSTAR R1 – An Intel N100 2-bay NAS, mini PC, and 2.5GbE router

AOOSTAR R1 Intel N100 mini PC triples as a 2-bay NAS thanks to two bays for 3.5-inch SATA drives and as a router through two 2.5GbE network interfaces. It’s a lower-cost version of the Ryzen 5-powered AOOSTAR N1 Pro that was introduced last June. It ships with up to 16GB DDR4 RAM, an optional 512 GB NVMe SSD, offers WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, supports up to three displays via HDMI, DisplayPort and USB-C ports, and comes with five USB ports. AOOSTAR R1 (also called WTR R1) specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N100 quad-core Alder Lake-N processor @ up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel HD graphics @ 750 MHz; TDP: 6W System Memory – Optional 16GB DDR4-3200 via SO-DIMM socket Storage Optional 512GB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD 2-bay NAS compatible with 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch SATA drives MicroSD card slot Video Output 4Kp60 video output […]

October 25, 2023October 26, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

SONOFF SNZB-06P Zigbee human presence sensor is based on a 5.8GHz microwave radar

SONOFF SNZB-06B human presence detection sensor

ITEAD has launched a new Zigbee sensor with the SONOFF SNZB-06P designed to detect human presence using a 5.8GHz microwave radar whose main advantage over a traditional PIR motion sensor is the ability to detect stationary persons since this type of sensor can detect breathing. You’ll need a Zigbee Hub from SONOFF such as the NSPanel Pro or SONOFF iHost, or from other manufacturers, for instance, the Amazon Echo Plus 2nd generation, or simply use a Zigbee USB dongle such as the SONOFF ZBDongle-E connected to a host like a Raspberry Pi. Configuration and control is done through the usual eWelink app for Android or iOS. SONOFF SNZB-06P specifications: MCU – Silicon Labs EFR32MG22 wireless microcontroller Human presence sensor 5.8GHz microwave radar Sensitivity configurable from 2.5 meters to 4 meters Wireless – Zigbee 3.0 (router type) up to 30 meters Misc – Red LED, magnetic base, button Power Supply – […]

October 24, 2023October 24, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

CanMV-K230 AI development board features Kendryte K230 dual-core 64-bit RISC-V processor

CanMV-K230 is a credit card-sized development board for AI and computer vision applications based on the Kendryte K230 dual-core C908 64-bit RISC-V processor with built-in KPU (Knowledge Process Unit) and various interfaces such as MIPI CSI inputs and Ethernet. The first Kendryte RISC-V AI processor was launched in 2018 with the K210 which I tested with the Grove AI HAT and Maixduino board and found fun to experiment with, but noted that performance was limited. Since then the company introduced the K510 mid-range AI processor with a more powerful 3 TOPS AI accelerator, and the K230 entry-level successor to the K210 – which was planned for 2022 in a 2021 roadmap – has now just been launched and integrated into the CanMV-K230 development board. CanMV-K230 specifications: SoC – Kendryte K230 CPU 64-bit RISC-V processor @ 1.6GHz with RISC-V Vector Extension 1.0, FPU 64-bit RISC-V processor @ 800MHz with support for […]

October 24, 2023October 23, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

DSOM-020R PX30 development board review – Unboxing, Benchmarks, and Zigbee gateway

DSOM-020 PX30 Development Board review zigbee gateway

Dusun IoT DSOM-020R PX30 is a development board based on the company’s 1.3GHz Rockchip PX30K quad-core Cortex-A35 module of the same name designed for industrial applications that emphasize reliability and power efficiency. The board comes with various ports and expansion capabilities with support for monitors, microphones, and sensors through its carrier board in order to create prototypes and develop software before integrating the SOM DSOM-020 PX30 system-on-module into your own custom carrier board and product. As the company stipulates on the website, the development board is suitable for AIoT equipment, vehicle control, gaming platforms, smart displays, medical equipment, vending machines, and industrial computers. Let’s start the review with an unboxing of the DSOM-020R PX30 development board to find out more. DSOM-020R PX30 development board unboxing Dusun IoT sent us a basic kit of the DSOM-020R PX30 development board for review with a carrier board, the DSOM-020 PX30 system-on-module module, a […]

October 23, 2023October 23, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Review of Arylic H50 wireless stereo amplifier with TIDAL Music

We’ve recently completed the review of the Arylic BP50 Bluetooth preamplifier where we tested the audio quality while streaming audio from the TIDAL Music app. But RAKOIT also sent us the Arylic H50 wireless stereo amplifier for review, and we’ll report on our experience with that device today using the TIDAL Music app again. The H50 is an audio streaming player with a digital-to-analog (DAC) converter chip and a built-in power amplifier. It supports wireless networks such as WiFi and Bluetooth and plenty of wired connections namely analog RCA line In, analog RCA phono In, digital optical in, Subwoofer out, RJ45 LAN port, HDMI ARC, USB Type-A Host, and USB Type-C. To use the Arylic H50, simply connect the output signal cable to stereo speakers (passive speaker) with 50 watts of output power on each side, allowing you to stream music from various services through the 4STREAM app or Spotify, […]

October 21, 2023February 7, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 60 Comments

Sophgo SG2380 – A 2.5 GHz 16-core SiFive P670 RISC-V processor with a 20 TOPS AI accelerator

Sophgo SG2380 is an upcoming 2.5 GHz 16-core RISC-V processor based on SiFive Performance P670 cores and also equipped with a 20 TOPS AI accelerator using SiFive Intelligence X280 and Sophgo TPU that will find its way into a $120 desktop-class mini-ITX motherboard in H2 2024. The RISC-V processor also supports up to 64GB RAM, as well as UFS 3.2 and SATA 3.0 storage, comes with an Imagination GPU for 3D graphics and a VPU capable of 4Kp60 H.265, H.264, AV1, and VP9 video decoding, plenty of interfaces, and the system can manage locally deployed larger-scale LLMs like LLaMA-65B without the need for external NVIDIA or AMD accelerator cards. Sophgo SG2380 RISC-V SoC Sophgo SG2380 specifications: CPU 16-core SiFive P670 (RV64GCVH) 64-bit RISC-V processor @ up to 2.5GHz with RISC-V Vector v1.0, Vector Crypto Cluster configuration – 12x 2.5 GHz performance cores, 4x 1.6 GHz efficiency cores Full RISC-V RVA22 […]