Debashis Das, Author at CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

May 13, 2024May 13, 2024 by Debashis Das - 13 Comments

ESP32-S3-Matrix board features 64 LEDs, GPIO pins, 9-axis “attitude” sensor for robotics and motion control applications

The Waveshare ESP32-S3-Matrix is a microcontroller development board designed for AIoT applications, featuring a larger 8×8 RGB LED matrix (64 LEDs) compared to the 5×5 RGB LED matrix (25 LEDs) on the ESP32-C3/ESP32 based “C3FH4 RGB” / “PICO D4 RGB” board. In addition to that the Waveshare board features two 10-headers for GPIOs, UART, and power signals, along with an integrated QMI8658C attitude sensor (9-axis IMU sensor), making it ideal for robotics and motion control projects. Recently we have seen Waveshare introduce affordable products that are perfect for embedded development like the $15 1.69-inch IPS touch LCD module, the $6.99 ESP32-C6-Pico Board, the $4.99 ESP32-S3-Tiny board and much more feel free to check those out if you are interested in those. Waveshare ESP32-S3-Matrix dev board specifications: MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3FH4R2 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 @ up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration Memory – 512KB RAM, […]

May 13, 2024May 13, 2024 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Lattice FeatherWing – An iCE40-powered add-on FPGA board for Adafruit Feather

Lattice FeatherWing An iCE40 Powered Add On Board for Adafruit Feather

Oak Development Technologies has recently announced Lattice FeatherWing – An iCE40-based development board designed to be controlled by Adafruit Feather. Previously we wrote about the IcyBlue Feather V2, a standalone development built around a Lattice Semi iCE5LP4K FPGA. But this FeatherWing board is designed to add functionality to your existing Adafruit Feather board. The Lattice FeatherWing expands your Adafruit Feather with a Lattice iCE5LP4K FPGA. It connects and gets programmed over SPI so you can use all the FPGA’s GPIO pins through the header blocks. There’s also a built-in RGB LED directly connected to the FPGA’s open-drain pins, for visual feedback. Previously, we have written about many Lattice Semi FPGA-based development boards, such as the tinyVision.ai Pico-Ice board, Silicon Witchery S1, and ULX3S Education Board. Feel free to check those out if you want a standalone FPGA board. FPGA – Lattice Semi iCE40 Family ICE5LP4K-SG48ITR Logic Cells – Approximately 3520 logic cells Memory – 80 Kbits […]

May 9, 2024May 9, 2024 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Recyclable PCB created by the University of Washington is made from Vitrimers

Ludwik Leibler a Polish-born French physicist and his team from the Laboratoire Matière Molle et Chimie at ESPCI ParisTech created a new class of plastics known as “vitrimers” and material researchers at the University of Washington (UW) have leveraged the new plastics to develop a recyclable PCB (printed circuit board) known as “Vitrimers PCB” (vPCB) that can be recycled many times over. The team tested their vPCB for strength and electrical properties and found that they are very similar to standard FR-4 PCB material. This means Vitrimers PCBs could offer a solution to reduce landfill waste and make it easier to recycle leftover copper, maximizing resource recovery. Key Features of Vitrimers-based Recyclable PCBs: Base material – Employs vitrimer epoxy, a type of polymer that can be repeatedly cured and uncured without damage. Environmentally sustainable – Designed to reduce e-waste and offer a more circular lifecycle for electronics. Performance – Electrical […]

May 7, 2024 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Arduino Pro Opta D1608E/D1608S expansions feature electromechanical or solid-state relays, 16 I/Os

Arduino has recently announced two new expansions to their Arduino Pro Opta PLC series – the Arduino Pro Opta Ext D1608E and Arduino Pro Opta Ext D1608S, the main difference between the two is that the D1608E features 8 electromechanical relays (EMRs) whereas the D1608S features solid-state relays (SSRs). Other than that both expansion modules have 16x programmable I/Os (0-24 V digital / 0-24 V analog) which doubles the number of I/Os we have seen on the Opta micro PLC. Both are compatible with the Arduino IDE and the PLC IDE and are easy to install on a DIN rail. These features make it suitable for control, monitoring, and predictive maintenance applications. Previously we have seen Arduino launch a PLC Starter Kit for those who want to get started with PLCs. Additionally, we have written about ESP32-powered PLCs, Raspberry Pi-powered PLCs, and more. Feel free to check those out if you […]

May 6, 2024May 5, 2024 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Nano-ITX motherboard is powered by Intel Atom x7000RE Series “Amston Lake” SoC

NANO 6064 ASL An Intel Atom x7000RE Series SoC based NANO ITX Board with Triple Display, 2.5GbE LAN, USB 3.2 Gen2, M.2, SATA III

Portwell NANO-6064-ASL is an Intel Atom “Amston Lake” x7000RE-powered Nano-ITX motherboard. The board looks very similar to the Portwell Nano-6062 and features an operating temperature of -40°C to 85°C. The motherboard can support a max of 16GB DDR4 memory and features triple display output, dual 2.5Gbps Ethernet, USB, M.2, SATA, GPIO, and more, and takes power from a 12V external power input. Previously, we’ve written about a range of Nano-ITX boards and SoMs with Amston Lake SoCs, including the ASRock SBC-262M-WT, conga-SA8 SMARC modules, ADLINK Atom x7000RE & x7000C COM Express and SMARC 2.1 modules and others. If you’re looking for similar options, feel free to check out those articles. Portwell NANO-6064-ASL Specifications SoC (one or the other) Amstom Lake Intel Atom x7211RE dual-core processor with 6MB cache, 16EU Intel UHD graphics; 6W TDP Intel Atom x7213RE dual-core processor with 6MB cache, 16EU Intel UHD graphics; 9W TDP Intel Atom x7433RE […]

May 3, 2024May 3, 2024 by Debashis Das - 7 Comments

AAEON RTC-1010RK – An RK3399 powered rugged Android 11 tablet with hot-swap battery and IP65 rating

AAEON RTC 1010RK Rockchip RK3399 Powred Rugged Mobile Tablet

AAEON’s RTC-1010RK is a 10.1-inch (1280 x 800) rugged tablet powered by a Rockchip RK3399 processor and can be equipped with up to 4GB LPDDR4 memory and 128GB eMMC flash. It offers robust connectivity with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and optional 4G LTE and Ethernet. It also supports GPS + GLONASS (Default), and BeiDou (Optional) for navigation. The RTC-1010RK is an IP65-rated tablet with protection against dust and water splashes. Additionally, it has programmable function keys, NFC/smart card readers, front (8MP) and rear (8MP) cameras, and the option to add a barcode scanner. The hot-swappable battery in the tablet ensures uninterrupted power, making it ideal for demanding field and industrial applications. It’s not the first rugged tablet from AAEON, as previously, we have written about the AAEON RTC-710AP 7-inch rugged tablet and the AAEON RTC-1010M Windows 10-based semi-rugged tablet. We also reviewed the Higole F7G Plus rugged tablet. Feel free to check […]

May 2, 2024May 2, 2024 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Waveshare UGV Rover – A 6-wheel AI robot built around Raspberry Pi 4/5 and ESP32

Waveshare Unmanned Ground Vehicle Rover(UGV) for Raspberry Pi 4 and Pi 5

The Waveshare UGV Rover is a 6-wheel robot platform based on Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 as well as an ESP32 module and built for remote exploration, object recognition, and autonomous navigation. Since the source code for the platform will be open-sourced it can also be used for educational purposes, programming, robotics, AI experimentation, and many other applications. This Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) rover features a 2mm thick aluminum body, six 80mm shock-absorbing tires, and a four-wheel drive system controlled by an ESP32 sub-controller. The sub-controller also handles sensors, LiDAR, cameras, and more. The brain or the main controller of the rover is a Raspberry Pi SBC – either a Pi 4B or Pi 5 – which notably handles computer vision and machine learning operations. Since the mounting holes are designed to fit a Raspberry Pi, it is safe to assume that it will fit other SBCs with the same […]

April 30, 2024April 29, 2024 by Debashis Das - No Comments

CAPUF Embedded CH32V003 RISC-V Dev Kit features USB-C, temperature/humidity monitoring, OLED & more

CAPUF Embedded CH32V003 Dev Kit is an all-in-one development board with a USB-C interface, onboard sensors (temperature/humidity), an OLED display, SPI NOR Flash, and ample I/O options. Additionally, it features a Qwicc connector, an RGB LED, and a 3-pin header to connect the WCH-link programmer providing further flexibility for your projects. After the initial release of this “10 cents” CH32V003 RISC-V microcontroller, we have seen $1.5 development boards and an open-source GGC toolchain, as well as Arduino support for the WCH RISC-V microcontrollers. Very recently, CNLohr even managed to transmit LoRa packets with this MCU. CAPUF Embedded CH32V003 Dev Kit Specifications: MCU – WCH CH32V003F4U6 32-bit RISC-V2A microcontroller up to 48 MHz with 2KB SRAM, 16KB flash (QFN20 package) USB – 1x USB-C Port for Power (5V) and Serial Interface with onboard USB to UART converter I/Os – 20 Pin MCU IOs with USART, I2C, SPI, ADC Program & Debugging – […]