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

October 6, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Kinoma HD is $25 TV Stick Devkit Based on Marvell ARMADA 1500 Mini Plus Processor

Marvell has just revealed that ChromeCast 2.0 & Audio featured their ARMADA 1500 Mini Plus (88DE3006) processor with two ARM Cortex A7 cores, coupled with 512 MB RAM, and Avastar 88W8887 wireless solution with WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC and FM radio. But a comment on Anandtech lead me to a development kit based on 88DE3006 I missed while I was away: Kinoma HD. Preliminary hardware specifications: SoC – Marvell ARMADA 1500 Mini Plus (88DE3006) dual core Cortex A7 @ 1.2 GHz with 3D GPU supporting OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0, Qdeo video engine System Memory – 256 MB RAM Storage – TBD Video Output – HDMI output of 1080p/720p Connectivity – Wi-Fi g/n/ac Power Supply – 5V via micro USB port Apart for the lower memory capacity (256MB vs 512MB), Kinoma HD hardware looks pretty similar to ChromeCast 2.0. But the main difference is in the software, as while ChromeCast […]

October 6, 2015October 7, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments

Roseapple Pi Board Powered by Actions Semi S500 Comes with 2GB RAM

[Update: I’ve finally received an answer: Lemon Pi and RoseapplePi makers are different companies, but they just happen to both use the same Actions Semi S500 reference design, and RoseapplePi is manufactured in Taiwan. The picture above is V1.0 board, but V1.1 will have some modifications] Lemon Pi development board was launched this May via a Indiegogo campaign. The board, based Actions Semi S500 quad core Cortex A9 processor, got fully funded by over 200 backers, but at the time of launch, some people questioned the used of the word “Lemon” in a product name, as it has several pejorative meanings, including “something that is useless or crappy”. I was contacted about a new Roseapple Pi board yesterday, and upon checking out the details, it looks exactly like the Lemon Pi, except it got upgraded to 2GB RAM, just like in Indiegogo… The board name on the PCB also reads […]

October 5, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

AMS AS7000 Biosensor is Designed for Strapless Optical Heart Rate Monitors

Heart rate monitors (HRM) with chest straps are now being replaced by more comfortable strapless HRM, such as UWatch UX. These products are enabled by photoelectric sensors that sample light modulated by blood vessels, which expand and contract as blood pulses through them. One of such solutions is the recently introduced AMS AS7000 including a Cortex M0 core, and a DSP implementing algorithm to process raw photoplethysmography (PPG) readings from the sensors to convert them into digital HRM and HRV (Heart Rate Variability) values. Highlights of AS7000 Biosensor: MCU – ARM Cortex M0 with 4KB RAM, 32 KB EEPROM I/Os – 9 GPIOs, UART, SPI, I2C Analog electrical and optical Frontends Hardware sequencer Synchronous detector Integrated LEd driver with current control Optical filters Supply Voltage – 2.6 – 3.6V Temperature Range –30 to 70°C Package – 18 pins AS7000 can deliver greater accuracy when it is paired with an external […]

October 5, 2015October 5, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Zidoo X6 Pro Unboxing and Teardown

There are so many Rockchip RK3368 TV boxes on the market that it’s difficult for products to stand out. But Zidoo X6 Pro might be one of these products bringing a little more, as beside frequent firmware updates, Zidoo’s RK3368 TV box may be the first to officially run Kodi 15.x, while most others manufacturers have decided to stick with Kodi 14.2 in their latest firmware, and the company also released Kodi source code modifications for 7.1 audio pass-through, 3D MVC support, and hardware video decoding in compliance with Kodi’s GPL license. As usual, I’ll start by taking some pictures of the device and board, before writing a full review in the next few days. Zidoo X6 Pro Unboxing I got the following package via DHL, which somehow decided to take my picture as I received the parcel… The package includes some of the key features of the device include […]

October 5, 2015October 5, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

ATT7039AU Micro-controller Features an Energy Meter Unit for Power Meters

About two years ago, I purchased Northwest T8 power meter, and it worked fine for about three months, but one day the top plastic broke as as unplugged it, rubber bands prolonged its life for a few more weeks, but eventually the display stopped working, and keep it in my drawer for long while, until today, when I decided to have a closer look at how it was done. The PCB is called CZ-7039-B2, and the top includes the display, 4 user buttons, as well as JTAG through holes (P2) and 2.54mm header (P1) with TDO, TMS, GND and 3.3V signals, as well as a pin called P1600, but I still haven’t found out what it might be for. I’ve also taken the board out completely, to find out everything is basically handled by a single 48-pin chip called ATT7039AU. After a Google search, I quickly found out the chip […]

October 4, 2015October 4, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Orbbec Persee Android & Ubuntu Mini PC Comes with a 3D Camera and SDK (Crowdfunding)

Orbbec is a startup working on 3D cameras which can be used for gesture recognition, 3D scanning, research purpose, and more. The company has now embedded their Astra 3D sensor into an ARM based mini PC running Android and/or Ubuntu which they call Orbbec Persee. Persee hardware specifications: SoC – Quad core Cortex A17 processor up to 1.8GHz with a Mali-T7xx GPU @ 600 MHz (They did not name it, but it must be Rockchip RK3288) System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash, 1x micro SD card slot up to 64GB Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0 Audio Input – 2x microphones Camera – Built-in Astra Pro 3D camera RGB image size – 1280×720 @ 30 fps (UVC support) Depth image size – 640×480 @ 30 fps (16-bit) Range – 0.4 to 8 meters Depth accuracy – 0.5 centimeters at 2 meters Field of view – […]

October 3, 2015October 31, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 37 Comments

Review of Voyo V2 Intel Atom Z3735F mini PC with Battery and SSD

Voyo V2 is another Intel Atom Z3735F mini PC pre-installed with Windows 10 Home, but it has some interesting features such as a 64GB SSD connected via a USB to SATA bridge on top of the regular 32GB eMMC, and a 5,000 mAh battery acting as a UPS. Since I have already received several of such platforms including MeLE PCG01, Wintel W8, and MeLE PCG03 and that there are usually few differences in regular benchmarks, I’ll focus on what varies between platforms: Windows activation status, storage and network performance, as well as power consumption. System Info and Windows Activation One of the shortcoming of this mini PC is that it only comes with a full sized USB port, and a micro USB port. So if you plan to use it as a PC with USB keyboard and mouse, you’ll need to use a USB hub, or at least a USB […]

October 3, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Axiomtek PICO842 Fanless Bay Trail Pico-ITX Motherboard Includes a SO-DIMM Socket and SATA Ports

Axiomtek PICO842 is a fanless Pico-ITX motherboard that features Intel Celeron J1900 quad core processor or Celeron N2807 dual core processor with up to 8GB DDR3L, and aimed at IoT & medical applications, automation, and embedded systems with wide temperature range requirements. Axiomtek PICO842 specifications: SoC Intel Celeron J1900 quad core processor up to 2.42 GHz OR Intel Celeron N2807 dual core processor up to 2.16 GHz System Memory – 1x DDR3L-1066/1333 SO-DIMM up to 8GB for J1900, and 4GB for N2807 Storage – 1x SATA-300, 1x mSATA Video Output – 1x 18/24-bit single/dual channel LVDS, and 1x HDMI or 1x VGA Audio – HD Codec audio (Realtek ALC662); MIC-in/Line-out Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet (Intel i211AT) USB – 4x USB 2.0 host port Serial – 2x COM ports supporting RS-232, RS-422, and RS-485. Expansion – mini PCI Express (shared with mSATA support) Power Supply – 12V DC power jack. Battery […]