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

January 14, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Renesas R-Car M2 Porter is a Linux Development Board for Your Car

So far, I always assumed development boards specifically designed for automotive applications would only be available to companies in the car or truck business, but as I wrote about FOSDEM 2016 schedule yesterday, I found out that one of the talk with cover FOSS software stacks that are available for automotive, and usable on hobbyist boards such as Raspberry Pi 2 and Minnowboard Max, but also on Renesas R-Car M2 Porter board specifically designed for automotive infotainment applications. Renesas Port board specifications: SoC – Renesas R-Car M2 dual core ARM Cortex-A15 processor @ 1.5GHz with PowerVR SGX544MP2 GPU, Renesas 2D graphics processor, and Multimedia Engine SH4A @ 780 MHz System Memory – Dual channel 2GB DDR3 Storage – On-board 4 MB SPI, and 64 MB SPI, 1x SATA rev 3.1 connector, 1x SD card slot, and 1x micro SD card slot Video Output / Display I/F – HDMI and LVDS […]

January 14, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

CYCLONE F100 Tegra K1 Fanless Embedded Computer Supports up to 8GB RAM, SATA, and Various Networking Options

Calao Systems has added a new member to the their rugged embedded computers family with Cyclone F100 powered by Nvidia Tegra K1 quad core Cortex A15 processor with up to 8GB RAM, optional industrial grade SATA Nandrive, and mSATA, dual Gigabit Ethernet, and mPCIe connectivity options for IoT and M2M with LoRA, WiFi, RF radios, etc… Target applications include surveillance, identification, transport, robotic, graphic enhanced digital signage, and medical equipment. Cyclone F100 specifications: SoC – Nvidia Tegra K1 quad-core ARM Cortex A15 processor @ 2.3 GHz with 192-core Kepler GPU supporting OpenGL 4.4, OpenGL ES 3.1 and CUDA/GPGPU System Memory – 2 GB DDR3L (Options for 4 and 8GB on request) Storage – 8 GB eMMC, 8 MB SPI flash and micro SD card slot. Optional: Industrial grade SATA Nandrive, mSATA socket Video Output – HDMI, options: LVDS and DisplayPort Audio I/O – HDMI, optical S/PDIF out, Mic In / […]

January 14, 2016May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Allwinner A10 Android TV Stick Sells for $9.99 Shipped (Promo)

Android TV sticks started to become popular in 2012 thanks to Rikomagic MK802 that was based on Allwinner A10 Cortex A8 processor. Now these devices would be considered slow and outdated, but they may still be useful for some simple applications, and I’ve just seen GeekBuying is selling A22 TV Stick, that’s basically the same as MK802 for $9.99 with free shipping, likely to get rid of stock. A22 specifications: SoC – Allwinner A10 Cortex A8 processor @ 1.0 GHz with ARM Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 512 MB RAM Storage – 4GB flash + micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI female Connectivity – WiFi 802.11b/g/n (Ralink8188) USB – 1x mini USB 2.0 OTG port, 1x USB 2.0 Host port Power Supply – 5V/2A Dimensions – 8.8 x 3.5 x 1.2cm It’s still running Android 4.0, but since it’s based on Allwinner A10 you could easily hack it to […]

January 13, 2016January 13, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Bluboo Xwatch Android Wear Smart Watch is Now Pre-selling for $99

Bluboo Xwatch is a smartwatch based on Mediatek MT2601 SoC that runs Android Wear. So far, we only knew the factory price would be around $80, but the watch has now showed up on several website such as GearBest and GeekBuying and is pre-selling for as low as $99.99 according to Bluboo, which would likely make it the cheapest Android Wear watch on the market today. The specifications have not changed much since the first announcement, but there are lots of differing specs across the sites: SoC – Mediatek MT2601 dual core ARM Cortex A7 @ 1.2GHz with ARM Mali-400 MP GPU System Memory – 512MB RAM Storage – 4GB flash Display – 1.3″ round muti-touch display with 360×360 resolution Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0, GPS Sensors – Gyroscope, barometer, heart rate monitor, altimeter, compass Battery – 400 to 480mAh polymer battery (80 hours standby time) Dimensions – 5.4 x 4.5 x […]

January 13, 2016January 13, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

BeagleBone Blue Board is Designed for Robots and UAVs

Beagleboard.org organization already tried to go Blue with BeagleBone BlueSteel-Basic that was supposed to a the single board computer to be used by OEM to integrate into their design instead of BeagleBone Black development board. For some unknown reasons this never happened, but they’ve now reused the color to introduce BeagleBone Blue board designed for robotics and UAVs. BeagleBone Blue specifications: SoC – Texas Instruments Sitara AM3358 Cortex A8 @ 1 GHz + PowerVR SGX530 GPU System Memory – 512 MB DDR3 Storage – 4 GB 8-bit on-board flash storage Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 LE USB – USB 2.0 client and host Motor Control – 8x 6V servo out, 4x DC motor out, 4x quad enc in Sensors – 9 axis IMU, barometer “Easy connect Interfaces” – GPS, DSM2 radio, UARTs, SPI, I2C, analog, buttons, LEDs Power / Battery – 2-cell LiPo support with balancing, 6-16V charger input […]

January 13, 2016June 18, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

FOSDEM 2016 Schedule – Open Source Hardware and Software Event in Europe

FOSDEM (Free and Open Source Software Developers’ European Meeting) is a 2-day event that usually takes place on the first week-end of February in Brussels, but this year it will be on January 30-31. The event brings thousands of developers, hackers, and other person interested in open source technology who present their projects and share ideas. FOSDEM 2016 schedule is now available, and There will be 557 speakers, 612 events, and 50 tracks this year including 7 main tracks: Distros, Enterprise, Hardware, Communications, Miscellaneous, Office, Systems Administration, and Virtualization. So I’ve had a look at some of the talks, especially out of “Embedded, Mobile and Automotive” and “IoT” devrooms, and prepared my own virtual schedule although I won’t be able to attend. Saturday 10:30 – 10:55 – MIPS, the other side of the embedded by Alexjan Carraturo For many years MIPS processors have been involved in the embedded market, particularly […]

January 13, 2016October 2, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Intel RealSense Devkit and Lenovo Smartphone to Feature Project Tango 3D Mapping Technology

Project Tango is a project launched in 2014 by Google ATAP that aims at creating 3D map of your environment using 3D motion tracking with depth sensing for tracking your movements in 3D, precise and quick measurements, augmented reality and more. The first Project Tango development kit was a tablet based on Nvidia TegraK1, but Google recently announced that Lenovo planned to launch the first consumer smartphone with the technology. Beside the announcement that there are going to make a phone, the company did not provide many other details so far, but it should feature a screen smaller than 6.5″ and cost less than $500. The main reason Google posted about this before CES 2016 was probably to reach out to developers who can submit the app idea to be features on the first Tango phone by February 16, 2015 with the following materials: Project schedule including milestones for development […]

January 12, 2016March 10, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 24 Comments

Rockchip RK3229 and RK3399 32-bit and 64-bit Processors Support 4K 10-bit H.265 and HDMI 2.0

Rockchip RK3288 was the first SoC from the company that was supposed to support HDMI 2.0 and 4K 10-bit HEVC, but the HDMI implementation was not perfect since it did not support YUV420 colorspace available on cheaper 4K television like mine (LG 42UB820T), and so I’m limited to 4K @ 30 Hz on RK3288, Rorkchip RK3368 fixed that, but the low cost processor does not support 10-bit HEVC. Rockchip is about to launch two new processor that should bring both features to the low end and high end of the market with RK3229 quad core Cortex A7 processor, and RK3399 hexa core Cortex A72/A53 processor. Rockchip RK3229 specifications: CPU- Quad Core ARM Cortex A7 @ 1.5 GHz GPU – ARM Mali-400MP2 Memory I/F – DDR3-1866/LPDDR3-1333 Video Output – HDMI 2.0 with HDCP 1.4/2.2 + CVBS Video Codec – 4K2K 10-bit H.265 @ 60 fps (Up to 200 Mbps), 4K 10-bit […]