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

October 29, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

STMicro unveils VL53L5 multi-zone ToF ranging sensor

We’ve previously covered or even tested STMicro Time-of-Flight (ToF) ranging sensors with devices like VL53L0X with up to 2-meter range or VL53L1X extending the range to a maximum of 4 meters to measure the distance to one object aka region of interest (ROI). Those are used in various applications including the autofocus function in smartphones for example. The company has now introduced a new model with VL53L5 ToF laser-ranging sensor boasting increased camera Field-of-View coverage and 64-zone spatial resolution to enable new features such as touch-to-focus, multiple-target identification, flash dimming, or video tracking assistance. VL53L5 highlights: 940 nm invisible Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) and integrated analog driver 61° diagonal square system field of view (FoV) using diffractive optical elements (DOE) on both transmitter and receiver Receiving array of single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) Parallel multi-zone output – Either 4×4 (16 zones @ 60 fps) or 8×8 (64 zones @ […]

October 29, 2020October 29, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

NuMaker-IoT-M263A board is the Swiss army knife of IoT development

If you’d like an MCU board to experiment with various wireless (and wired) protocols used for Internet of Things applications, the Nuvoton NuMaker-IoT-M263A development board may be worth a look. Powered by a NuMicro M263KIAAE Arm Cortex-M23 CPU microcontroller, the board offers WiFi, Bluetooth, and LoRa connectivity, plus an mPCIe socket for 3G, 4G, or NB-IoT cellular connectivity. It also comes with various sensors, as well as CAN and RS485 transceivers for industrial control applications. NuMaker-IoT-M263A key features and specifications: MCU – Novoton NuMicro M263KIAAE Arm Cortex-M23 microcontroller @ 64 MHz with 96KB SRAM, 512 KB dual-bank flash for OTA upgrade, 4 KB LDROM; LQFP128 package Storage – MicroSD card connector On-board wireless modules ESP12-F (ESP8266) 802.11b/g/n module MDBT42Q-PAT Bluetooth 4.2/5.0 LE module APC1278 (for 408 / 433 / 470 MHz) LoRa module plus antenna Serial – CAN and RS485 transceiver USB – 1x Micro USB OTG connector (to M263 […]

October 29, 2020November 11, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

$54 Xiaomi Mijia Paipai wireless HDMI system connects your computer to your TV

A few years ago, we covered plenty of cheap Miracast adapters that plugged into your TV and used to mirror your Android or iOS smartphone display to a larger TV screen. It’s also possible to use Miracast on computers with WiFi, and since many TVs implement Miracast, extra hardware is often not needed. But in case your TV and computer are not compatible, Xiaomi Mijia Paipai wireless HDMI system [Update Nov 2020: actually called “Mi Wireless Casting Adapter” in English] solves this issue with a wireless HDMI receiver connected to your TV and a wireless HDMI transmitter connected to a USB port from your computer or laptop. Both the receiver and transmitter have similar dimensions (149.6 x 61 x 12.5 mm vs 152 x 60 x 11.9 mm) and weigh 38.5 grams in a form factor similar to Google Chromecast. The company says Windows 7 to 10 and Mac OS […]

October 28, 2020October 29, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 33 Comments

The quest for a blob-free WiFi & Bluetooth stack for BL602 WiSoC

I thought I was done writing about Bouffalo Lab BL602 WiFI & Bluetooth RISC-V SoC for a while after first covering the chip itself, and then an inexpensive BL602 development board this weekend. But the BL602 SDK has shown up in various Github repositories, including Bouffalo Lab’s own bl_iot_sdk repository, and as more people are looking into it, there’s now an effort to develop a fully open-source blob-free WiFi & Bluetooth stack for BL602, and other Bouffalo Lab WiFi and/or Bluetooth wireless chips. Last day we communicate with Bouffalolab, finally they release the SDK of BL602 (RV32 chip of wifi+bt), all code is open, except libblecontroller.a, libatcmd.a, libbl602_wifi.a (while they have all symbol inside)https://t.co/giHsQ4ezXxwe have a fork too https://t.co/FiaAIxLBc8 — Sipeed (@SipeedIO) October 27, 2020 First, Sipeed says the code is mostly open-source except for three libraries: ibblecontroller.a, libatcmd.a, libbl602_wifi.a, all of which are un-obfuscated, and easy to disassemble. Then […]

October 28, 2020October 28, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

F(x)tec Pro1 X smartphone runs LineageOS or Ubuntu, features a sliding keyboard (Crowdfunding)

Ubuntu Smartphone with physical keyboard

F(x)tec Pro1 Android smartphone was introduced last year with the main differentiating features being its sliding keyboard. The company also mentioned support for Android-based LineageOS as well as Sailfish OS, but those need(ed) to be installed by the user. FX Technology has now unveiled F(x)tec Pro1 X smartphone with similar specs, except for the blue case and the option of having additional memory and storage, as well as official support for LineageOS and Ubuntu Touch thanks to a collaboration with XDA. Another difference is the availability of Scandinavian and AZERTY keyboard layouts F(x)tec Pro1 X specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (MSM8998) octa-core Kryo 280 processor with 4x higher performance cores @ 2.45 GHz, 4x low-power cores @ 1.9 GHz, Adreno 540 GPU System Memory – 6GB or 8GB LPDDR4 Storage – 128GB or 256GB flash, MicroSD card up to 2TB Display – 5.99-inch 2160 x 1080 (FHD+) AMOLED display with […]

October 28, 2020October 29, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

ESP32-S2 board targets battery-powered applications with 30uA deep sleep power consumption

ESP32-S2-DevKit-LiPo vs ESP32-S2-WROVER-Devkit-LiPo

A few months ago, Olimex unveiled renders of ESP32-S2-Devkit-LiPo WiFi board that was supposed to consume as little as 2uA in sleep mode, follows ESP32-S2-Saola-1 board form factor and pinout, and adds an ultra-efficient circuitry to support LiPo batteries. The good news is that Olimex has now launched two versions of their ESP32-S2 board optimized for battery-powered applications with ESP32-S2-DevKit-Lipo and ESP32-S2-WROVER-DevKit-Lipo (with 2MB PSRAM) going for 5.56 Euros and 6.36 Euros respectively. ESP32-S2-DevKit-LiPo specifications: Wireless module: ESP32-S2-DevKit-LiPo – ESP32-S2-WROOM with Espressif ESP32-S2 single-core 32-bit LX7 microprocessor up to 240 MHz with 128 KB ROM, 320 KB SRAM, 16 KB SRAM in RTC, 4MB SPI flash ESP32-S2-WROVER-Devkit-LiPo – ESP32-S2-WROVER – same as above plus 2MB PSRAM Wireless connectivity – 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n WiFI 4 up to 150 Mbps Expansion – 2x 20-pin I/O headers with SPI, I2S, UART, I2C, touch sensors, PWM, etc… (pin-to-pin compatible with ESP32-S2-SAOLA-1) Debugging – […]

October 27, 2020October 27, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Oplà IoT Kit is Arduino’s first open programmable IoT platform

Arduino is well-known for its maker boards and shields that are sometimes sold as part of kits to experiment with electronics. Arduino Oplà IoT kit is a little different as it looks more like an actual consumer product once assembled. Powered by an Arduino MKR WiFi 1010 board, it is designed to make getting started with IoT easy for beginners, while still allowing more advanced users to customize and hack their smart home applications. Arduino Oplà IoT Kit is comprised of several hardware components: MKR IoT carrier with a 1.2-inch OLED color display, onboard environmental sensors (temperature, humidity, pressure, light, and proximity), IMU sensor, Grove connectors, two 24V relays, and five capacitive touch buttons. Arduino MKR WiFi 1010 board powered by Microchip SAMD21 Cortex-M0+ MCU and equipped with a 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 4.2 module based on ESP32 chip. Sensors – PIR motion sensor and moisture sensor A […]

October 27, 2020October 27, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Chuwi LarkBox Pro mini PC gets a faster Celeron J4125 processor, sells for $179

CHUWI Larkbox is a 2.4-inch mini PC that can fit in the palm of your kid’s hand and that launched last year on Indiegogo for as low as $149. It’s powered by an Intel Celeron J4115 Gemini Lake Refresh processor that currently in the process of being discontinued. So the company has now come up with an upgrade and launched the Chuwi Larkbox Pro with exactly the same specifications, except for the (slightly) faster Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core GLK Refresh processor with a 2.0 GHz base frequency and 2.7 GHz Turbo frequency, against 1.8 and 2.5 GHz respectively for J4115. Chuwi Larkbox Pro specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core Gemini Lake Refresh processor @ 2.0 / 2.7 GHz (Turbo) / 2.4 GHz (Turbo all cores) with Intel UHD Graphics 600 @ 250/750 MHz; 10W TDP System Memory – 6GB LPDDR4 Storage – 128GB eMMC 5.1 flash, M.2 2244 socket […]