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

April 17, 2025April 17, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

LaserPecker LP5 Review – Part 2: A 20W diode & fiber laser engraver tested with LDS software, rotary extension, safety enclosure

LaserPecker LP5 review Rotary Extension Safety Enclosure Featured Image

We have already checked the specifications, done an unboxing, and shown how to assemble the LaserPecker LP5 2-in-1 fiber & diode laser engraver along with its safety enclosure and rotary extension in the first part of the review. In the second part of the review, we will report our experience using the LaserPecker LP5 laser engraver with various materials such as plywood, stainless steel, rubber, and aluminum, as well as a ceramic cup and an insulated tumbler using either the LDS software on Windows or the LDS mobile apps on an iPad. Using the LaserPecker LP5 laser engraver with LDS software LaserPecker Design Space (LDS) is a laser engraving and cutting software designed specifically for the LaserPecker laser engravers. It’s meant to allow users to easily create projects with personalized engraving, complex patterns, and precise cutting of various materials. It can run on Windows and macOS with Intel or Apple […]

April 16, 2025April 16, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

Radxa Dragon Q6A – A Qualcomm QCS6490 Edge AI SBC with GbE, WiFi 6, three camera connectors

Radxa Dragon Q6A is an upcoming credit card-sized SBC powered by a Qualcomm QCS6490 octa-core SoC with a 12 TOPS AI accelerator, up to 16GB LPDDR5 memory, and the usual ports found on Raspberry Pi-like single board computers such as gigabit Ethernet, four USB ports, HDMI video output, and a 40-pin GPIO header. The board will also feature an M.2 Key-M socket for SSD storage, a WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4 wireless module, a MIPI DSI display interface, three MIPI CSI connectors, a connector for an eMMC or UFS flash module, a microphone input connector, and an RTC battery connector. Radxa Dragon Q6A specifications: SoC – Qualcomm QCS6490 CPU – Octa-core Kryo 670 with 1x Gold Plus core (Cortex-A78) @ 2.7 GHz, 3x Gold cores (Cortex-A78) @ 2.4 GHz, 4x Silver cores (Cortex-A55) @ up to 1.9 GHz GPU – Adreno 643L GPU @ 812 MHz with support for Open GL […]

April 16, 2025April 16, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Axelera Metis Compute Board pairs Rockchip RK3588 SoC with 214 TOPS Metis AI accelerator

Axelera Metis Computer Board is a Rockchip RK3588 mini-ITX motherboard equipped with a Metis AIPU (AI Processing Unit) capable of delivering up to 214 TOPS, 16GB LPDDR4 memory for the CPU, and 4GB LPDDR4x RAM for the AI accelerator. I first came across the Axelera Metis AIPU in M.2 and PCIe card in 2023, and I was rather impressed with the advertised 214 TOPS of AI performance promised in this form factor and relatively affordable $149 price tag considering the price-to-performance ratio. At the time, it was still hard to source the chip and module due to limited quantities, and in 2024, it became easier to evaluate the solution with the Axelera Metis PCIe Arm AI evaluation kit based on a Fireﬂy ITX-3588J mini-ITX motherboard equipped with a 214 TOPS Metis AIPU PCIe card. The new Metis Compute Board is similar, but in a more compact form factor since the […]

April 15, 2025April 15, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

SONOFF SNZB-02LD and SNZB-02WD IP65-rated Zigbee LCD Smart thermometers work with liquids or outdoors

SONOFF SNZB-02LD IP65 Zigbee LCD Thermometer

ITEAD has introduced two new SONOFF devices: the IP65-rated SNZB-02LD and SNZB-02WD Zigbee 3.0 LCD Smart thermometers designed to work in liquids or enclosed spaces such as bathtubs or refrigerators, or outdoors in gardens or other humid environments, respectively. Both devices look similar and can measure temperature with +/- 0.5°C accuracy, but the SONOFF SNZB-02LD model ships with a 1.5m long probe to measure the temperature of liquids in a pool, a bathtub, or fermentation vessel (for beer or wine making), as well as in refrigerators. On the other end, the SNZB-02WD features a built-in temperature and humidity sensor. SONOFF SNZB-02WD/LD specifications: MCU – Telink TLSR8656F512ET32 (part of the TSL8656 family – See PDF datasheet ) Zigbee/RF4CE SoC with 32-bit RISC MCU, 64kB SRAM, 512kB internal Flash Display – 2.2-inch LCD Wireless – Zibgee 3.0 (802.15.4 radio on TSL8656) Temperature and Humidity sensor SNZB-02WD (internal) Temperature Range – -20°C to […]

April 15, 2025April 15, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Cervoz M.2 SFP Ethernet expansion modules support long cables (up to several kilometers) for robotics

Cervoz M.2 MEC-LAN-2001-SFP and MEC-LAN-2002-SFP are M.2 SFP Ethernet expansion modules delivering gigabit Ethernet speed over long distances for robotics using an Intel i210-IS controller compliant with IEEE 802.3x and 802.3z standards. Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP/SFP+) cages are usually associated with high-speed Ethernet connections of over 10 Gbps, but another advantage of SFP cages over RJ45 jacks is that they allow for data transmission over several kilometers, while RJ45 Ethernet is typically limited to about 100 meters. The Cervoz M.2 SFP Ethernet expansion modules would allow laying out long cables in logistics centers, smart factories, transportation hubs, and energy management facilities where Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) operate across long distances. Cervoz M.2 MEC-LAN-2001-SFP and MEC-LAN-2002-SFP specifications: Ethernet 1x or 2x Gigabit Ethernet connectors via Intel i210-IS controller(s) Support Wake-on-LAN and Hot-Swap function 1x or 2x SFP cages via MEC daughter board Host interface – M.2 B+M Key edge connector with […]

April 15, 2025April 15, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Xero MCU is a compact USB-C board based on STM32F411 microcontroller (Crowdfunding)

Xero MCU is a small STMicro STM32F411 Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller board with a USB-C port, twenty through and castellated holes for GPIOs, a Debug connector, Reset and Boot buttons, and a few LEDs. The 100 MHz MCU embeds 512KB flash and 128KB SRAM, and the board is said to be designed for hobbyists, students, and professionals. For reference, the Xero MCU board features the same STM32F411CEU6 microcontroller found in the Black Bill board. However, it’s quite shorter at about half the size, and features castellated edges, making it suitable for soldering on a baseboard. Xero MCU specifications: Microcontroller – STMicro STM32F411CEU6 Arm Cortex-M4F MCU @ 100MHz with 512KB Flash, 128KB SRAM USB – 1x USB Type-C port for power and programming Expansion – 2x 20-pin through and castelled holes with up to 17x GPIO, I2C, 2x SPI, 2x UART, 4x ADC, 5V, 3.3V, and GND Debugging – 4-pin debug connector […]

April 14, 2025April 14, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

W6300-EVB-Pico2 board combines RP2350 MCU with WIZnet W6300 QSPI Ethernet controller for 80+ Mbps data rate

W6300-EVB-PICO2 board with Raspberry Pi RP23500 and W6300 QSPI Ethernet controller

WIZnet W6300-EVB-Pico2 is a development board that combines a Raspberry Pi RP2350 MCU with the company’s new W6300 QSPI Ethernet controller capable of 80+ Mbps data rates. WIZNet has made several 10/100Mbps Ethernet controllers over the years that connect to microcontrollers via SPI, but the speed is often limited to 15 to 70 Mbps due to a low SPI clock frequency and small buffers. The WIZNet W6300 Ethernet controller can deliver higher speed thanks to a 150MHz system clock, a QSPI interface with four data lines, 64KB SRAM, and 4KB TX/RX buffer for each of the 8 sockets. W6300 QSPI Ethernet controller W6300 features and specifications: Host Interface – High-speed QSPI (MODE 0/3), system bus with 2 address signals & 8-bit data Internal 32KB SRAM for Tx/ Rx buffers (64KB in total) 8x independent sockets with 64KB Memory 10BaseT / 10BaseTe / 100BaseTX Ethernet PHY Integrated Auto negotiation (Full and […]

April 14, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Allwinner T536 quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 & RISC-V industrial SoC supports ECC RAM, up to 3 TOP AI accelerator

Forlinx OK536-C Allwinner T536 development board

Allwinner T536 SoC features four Cortex-A55 cores, a 600 MHz RISC-V core, and a low-power RISC-V for power management, as well as support for ECC memory and an optional NPU with up to 3 TOPS of AI performance. The processor is designed to work in the industrial temperature range (-40 to +85°C) and offers plenty of I/Os, including two Gigabit Ethernet, a USB 3.1 DRD and PCIe Gen2 conbo, MIPI DSI, RGB, and LVDS display interfaces, paralle CSI and MIPI CSI camera interfaces, CAN FD, SPI, I2C, UART, several ADC, and more. The SoC is designed for interactive terminals, smart manufacturing, and other Edge AI industrial equipment. Allwinner T536 specifications: CPU cores Quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 @ up to 1.6GHz Single-core E907 RISC-V core @ up to 600 MHz Single-core E902 RISC-V MCU for low-power management GPU – G2D hardware accelerator with rotate, mixer, and scaler functions ISP Max resolution – […]