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

April 10, 2025April 10, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

PiEEG kit – A Raspberry Pi 5-based bioscience lab in a suitcase (Crowdfunding)

Yesterday we wrote about using quantum sensors for brain-computer interfaces (BCI) and other biomedical applications. But that’s the future, and if you want to experiment with brain-computer interface technology and bioscience, the PiEEG kit has everything you need to get started, with all components fitting in a suitcase easy to carry around between your home and university or school. The bioscience home lab is based on the PIEEG Shield for Raspberry Pi introduced in 2023, and features a Raspberry Pi 5 8GB, a 9-inch display, a sensor board, EEG electrodes and cables for brainwave measurement, and electrodes for EMG (muscles), EKG (heart), and EOG (eye) signal recording. The PiEEG kit is comprised of the two main custom boards with the following specifications/features: PiEEG Shield on top of the Raspberry Pi 5 ADC – Texas Instruments ADS1299 Analog-to-Digital Converter for biopotential measurements Host interface – 40-pin GPIO header with SPI protocol […]

April 10, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Raspberry Pi CM4-powered CODESYS industrial controller supports EtherCAT, Modbus, up to 32 I/O modules

EDATEC ED-PLC2010 is an industrial controller powered by a Raspberry Pi CM4, supporting EtherCAT and Modbus interfaces, up to 32 I/O modules, and preloaded with CODESYS runtime for real-time core and visualization capabilities. DIN Rain-mountable Raspberry Pi CM4 industrial controllers are not exactly new, with products such as Modberry 500 CM4 and Edgebox-RPI4 announced shortly after the launch of the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 in 2020. More recently (2024), Seeed Studio introduced the reComputer R1113-10 IoT gateway, and Sfera Labs launched the Strato Pi Max. TECHBASE also upgraded the Modberry 500 with a more powerful CM5 module. EDATEC ED-PL2010 mostly differentiates itself by shipping with a licensed version of CODESYS runtime for industrial automation. It’s also possible with other vendors, but the license might need to be purchased separatly. EDATEC ED-PLC2010 specifications: SoM – Raspberry Pi CM4 SoC – Broadcom BCM2711 CPU – Quad-core Cortex-A72 SoC @ 1.5GHz GPU […]

April 10, 2025April 10, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Altech DO-1 Modbus monitor connects to up to 128 Modbus RTU/TCP devices

US-based Altech Corp has recently announced the DO-1 universal monitor for Modbus devices to enable companies to easily monitor, collect, and analyze their equipment and process data such as temperature, humidity, pressure, vibration, and energy usage without any subscription fees or licenses. The DO-1 is a vendor-agnostic solution that connects to up to 128 RTU-TCP Modbus devices, features 5GB of internal data storage expandable up to 128GB with a microSD card, dual Ethernet, and optional WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. The device also implements dual power input with a 12V/24V DC input via a terminal block, and 5V via micro USB as power backup. Altech DO-1 specifications: Storage 5GB for data storage (I assume from 8GB eMMC flash) MicroSD card slot up to 128GB Networking 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet RJ45 port (LAN1) Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port (LAN2) LAN1 and LAN2 can be configured in switch or 2-port mode Optional WiFi 802.11 b/g/n […]

April 9, 2025April 9, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

IOL HAT adds an IO-Link compatible master to Raspberry Pi for industrial IoT sensors and actuators

Pinetek Networks’ IOL HAT is a Raspberry Pi expansion board using the IO-Link (IEC 61131-9) protocol to interact with industrial sensors. It’s based on the Analog Devices MAX14819 IO-Link master transceiver and offers two SDCI (“Single-Drop Digital Communication”) connectors. While work on the IO-Link communication protocol started in 2006, and the IEC 61131-9 “Single-drop digital communication interface (SDCI) for small sensors and actuators” standard was adopted in 2013, it only recently came onto our radar with products like the STMicro EVLIOL4LSV1 IO-Link actuator board and Renesas CCE4511 IO-Link master and ZSSC3286 IO-Link sensor signal conditioner. The IOL HAT brings the IO-Link standard for industrial IoT communication to the Raspberry Pi. IOL HAT specifications: IO-Link chip – Analog Devices MAX14819 dual IO-Link master transceiver with integrated framers and L+ supply controllers 2x SDCI ports for IEC 61131-9 (IO-Link) sensors and actuators Host connection (one or the other) PT-1201 model – 40-pin […]

April 9, 2025April 10, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

Antenna hack more than doubles the range of cheap ESP32-C3 USB-C boards

There are plenty of small ESP32-C3 IoT boards with a USB-C connector on the market, and while they all look very similar, antenna designs differ, and less thought-out ones may severely impact the WiFi and Bluetooth range. Peter Neufeld decided to hack one of those cheap ESP32-C3 boards by adding a custom antenna, and this resulted in the board having more than twice the range and almost three times in some cases. Those tiny boards are cramped, so there’s very little space around the ceramic antenna typically used, leading to poor RF performance. To work around that issue, Peter added a 31mm long antenna made of silver-plated wire, making a loop of about 8mm in diameter outside of the board and soldered on the ceramic antenna’s solder joints, and the rest of the wire (about 15mm) points upwards. As you can see from the photo above, he didn’t remove the […]

April 9, 2025April 9, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Samsung 32″ EMDX color e-paper display runs Tizen 8.0, offers 2560×1440 resolution, up to 200 days of battery life

Samsung 32" EM32DX color E-paper Display

Samsung has unveiled a 32-inch color e-paper display with WQHD (2,560 x 1,440) resolution and a built-in 4,600mAh battery that can last up to 200 days on a charge if the display is updated once a day. The Samsung 32″ EMDX color e-paper display is mainly designed for digital signage applications in shops, restaurants, public transportation, and public spaces. Like other e-paper displays, it does not consume any power if the image is unchanged. I was initially surprised at the bright colors of the EMDX display from the photos shared by Samsung, but after a closer look, I’m not convinced those are photos of the actual display. Samsung 32″ EMDX color e-paper display specifications: 32-inch E-Ink Spectra 6 Color ePaper with 2,544 x 1,400 resolution, up to 54,600 colors with dithering, 178° H/V viewing angle Storage – 8 GB eMMC flash Wireless – WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 Ethernet – […]

April 8, 2025April 8, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

ADLINK COM-HPC-mMTL – A COM-HPC Mini Computer-on-Module with up to 16-core Intel Core Ultra 7 165H processor

COM-HPC-mMTL 16-core Intel Core Ultra COM-HPC Mini

ADLINK COM-HPC-mMTL is an industrial-grade COM-HPC Mini Computer-on-Module based on Intel Meteor Lake processors up to the 16-core Intel Core Ultra 7 165H featuring Intel Arc Graphics with eight Xe cores, Intel AI Boost NPU up to 8.2 TOPS, and 16x PCIE Gen4 lanes. The COM-HPC R1.2-compliant Mini size module also supports up to 64GB LPDDR5x memory soldered directly onto the board, an optional NVMe BGA SSD, and features two SATA interfaces, two 2.5 Gbps Ethernet, multiple DDI/USB4, and USB 3.0/2.0 through the standard 400-pin board-to-board connector of the 95x70mm CoM. ADLINK COM-HPC-mMTL specifications: Meteor Lake H/U SoC (one or the other) Intel Core Ultra 7 165H 16-core (6P+8E+2LPE) processor @ up to 5.0 / 3.8 / 2.5 GHz with 24MB cache, 8x Xe-cores Intel Arc graphics @ 2.35 GHz, Intel AI Boost NPU; TDP: 28W Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 16-core (6P+8E+2LPE) processor @ up to 4.8 / 3.8 […]

April 8, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Bosch magnetic-field quantum sensors leverage synthetic diamonds, lasers, and microwaves for ultra-precise measurements

Most people have heard about quantum computers, but quantum sensors? I’ve just come across those as Bosch is developing magnetic-field quantum sensors harnessing “the power of quantum physics to enable measurements with unmatched precision” while being much more compact than other quantum sensors using techniques like SQUIDs (superconducting quantum interference device), vapor cells, or optical traps. Bosch Quantum Sensing (that’s the full company name) further explains its magnetic-field quantum sensors surpass the capabilities of conventional sensors by offering a wider measurement range, higher sensitivity, and higher spatial resolution. They currently have an internal quantum sensor prototype/evaluation board that’s about the size of a smartphone, so they are still quite larger than traditional sensors. Bosch quantum magnetometer can measure tiny magnetic field variations with accuracy, including the Earth magnetic’s field, and even analyze the direction of and magnetude of magnetic fields giving the equivalent of a 3D-point magnetic representation. This notably […]