Debashis Das, Author at CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

June 23, 2026June 23, 2026 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

Coin-cell powered Nordic nRF54L15 Tag prototyping platform supports Bluetooth Channel Sounding, Matter, Edge AI

Nordic Semiconductor has launched the nRF54L15 Tag, a tiny coin-cell-powered prototyping platform designed to accelerate the development of ultra-low-power wireless IoT devices, including asset trackers compatible with the Apple Find My and Google Find Hub ecosystems. Built around the company’s nRF54L15 wireless SoC, the 33 mm-diameter tag uses a 2.4 GHz radio and includes two on-board antennas to improve distance-measurement reliability with Bluetooth Channel Sounding. The platform also integrates a 6-axis IMU and an environmental sensor, which can be used in tracking, sensing, and basic edge processing applications. Nordic nRF54L15 Tag specifications: Wireless MCU – Nordic Semi nRF54L15 wireless SoC CPU Arm Cortex-M33 @ up to 128 MHz RISC-V coprocessor for “software-defined peripheral” Memory – 256 KB SRAM Storage – 1.5MB Non-volatile Memory (NVM) Wireless Bluetooth LE 6.0 (includes Channel Sounding) Thread, Zigbee (IEEE 802.15.4-2020) Matter Amazon Sidewalk Proprietary 2.4 GHz protocols with a new 4 Mbps mode NFC support Aliro (a […]

June 22, 2026June 21, 2026 by Debashis Das - 4 Comments

UTFS is a lightweight, zero-allocation file system for embedded devices

μTFS lightweight, zero allocation file system

CLI Systems has introduced UTFS (μTFS), a simple, lightweight embedded storage system designed for small MCUs. Unlike traditional file systems like FAT32 or EXT4, or even lighter options like LittleFS and SPIFFS used on boards like the ESP32, UTFS is much simpler. It does not use dynamic memory and avoids complex features like wear leveling, making it easier to use on low-resource devices. Designed for flat, byte-addressable memory like raw EEPROM, CPU flash pages, or external SPI/I²C flash, UTFS allows bare-metal firmware to store named data blobs (“files”) back-to-back. Each file is appended with a fixed 24-byte header containing metadata like identifiers, sizes, and application-defined signatures. UTFS specifications and features Footprint – Fixed 24-byte header per file; zero heap usage (no malloc) Format – TAR-inspired sequential layout; forward-compatible so files can be added later without breaking existing memory layouts Storage Agnostic – Requires porting only two functions to interface with […]

June 19, 2026June 19, 2026 by Debashis Das - 2 Comments

Rotary Mouse puts a rotary wheel into a standard desktop mouse (Crowdfunding)

While mouse sensors have improved a lot over time, the scroll wheel has mostly stayed the same. Normal scrolling requires you to keep flicking your finger up and down, which can get uncomfortable during long sessions like coding or video editing. To change this, Airra Labs has introduced the Rotary Mouse, which uses a rotary wheel in place of the scroll wheel to let you scroll with a simple circular motion. It comes in two variants: a standard and a vertical version. The standard variant features a larger circular, jog-wheel-like dial on top that lets you scroll by rotating your finger. The vertical variant also comes with the same wheel but is designed so you can scroll like a regular mouse by flicking your finger up and down, while still using the same circular motion. This provides a wider range of movement and can make scrolling faster and easier than with […]

June 17, 2026 by Debashis Das - 6 Comments

Amlogic A311Y3 octa-core Edge AI SoC features Cortex-A78/A55 cores, 8 TOPS NPU, LPDDR5 support

Amlogic has introduced the A311Y3 Edge AI SoC, which seems to be an upgrade over earlier designs such as the A311D and A311D2 used in boards like the Khadas VIM3 and Khadas VIM4. Although not listed on the official Amlogic website, documentation from vendors such as Shenzhen Tomato Technology indicates that the A311Y3 SoC is built around a 6nm process node and features a newer CPU architecture based on Arm Cortex-A78/A55 cores. The SoC integrates an NPU with up to 8 TOPS of compute performance and supports LPDDR5/LPDDR5X memory, which can be used in both processing and Edge AI, compared to earlier A311-series chips. Amlogic A311Y3 specifications CPU 2x Arm Cortex-A78 cores (64KB L1 I-cache, 64KB L1 D-cache, 256KB L2 cache) 6x Arm Cortex-A55 cores (32KB L1 I-cache, 32KB L1 D-cache, 128KB L2 cache) with a shared 2MB L3 cache Neon and Crypto extensions included Co-processors – RISC-V core for system control processing; Built-in […]

June 12, 2026June 12, 2026 by Debashis Das - 3 Comments

$7.99 Seeed Studio Wio-S3 WiFi, Bluetooth LE, and LoRa IoT module combines ESP32-S3 and SX1262 RF transceiver

Seeed Studio Wio-S3 is a compact (21.6 x 16.5 x 3.3 mm) wireless module that combines an ESP32-S3R8 dual-core WiFi 4 and Bluetooth LE MCU and a Semtech SX1262 LoRa transceiver. The module includes 16MB Flash and 8MB PSRAM, and supports LoRa (EU868/US915) with up to +20.9 dBm transmit power and -137 dBm sensitivity. It also supports Wi-Fi 4 and BLE 5.0, and comes with two IPEX connectors for external antennas. With interfaces such as UART, I2C, SPI, ADC, and USB, and support for -40°C to 85°C operation, it is designed for remote monitoring, industrial automation, smart agriculture, and IoT data logging. Seeed Studio Wio-S3 module specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP32-S3R8 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration Memory – 8MB PSRAM Wireless – 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE + Mesh connectivity Storage – 16MB external SPI flash […]

June 11, 2026 by Debashis Das - 10 Comments

piBrick PocketCM5 – An open-source handheld Linux computer kit for Raspberry Pi CM5

Designed by Indonesian maker Ahmad Amarullah (amarullz), the piBrick PocketCM5 is an open-source hardware handheld Linux computer kit built around the Raspberry Pi CM5; it’s basically a smartphone-sized Linux machine with a physical keyboard and touchscreen. It is for developers, makers, and system administrators, for tasks such as general experimentation, embedded development, and remote access. We have seen other handheld terminals and pocket computers based on Raspberry Pi SBCs and Compute Modules over the years, such as the PocketTerm35, DevTerm, Carbon’s CyberT, Pi Slate, and many others. However, the piBrick PocketCM5 is based on the latest Raspberry Pi CM5 and features a 3.92-inch AMOLED touchscreen display, a physical BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard, and various expansion options. piBrick PocketCM5 specifications: Compatibility – Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 (CM5 and CM5 Lite) Auxiliary MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 for keyboard/trackpad input, rotary encoders and buttons, USB HID (keyboard/mouse) emulation, and accelerometer data processing Storage […]

June 10, 2026 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

Synaptics Astra SRW1500 Cortex-M52 Edge AI MCU features Ethos-U55 NPU, Wi-Fi 6/7, Bluetooth 6.0, 802.15.4 connectivity

Synaptics has introduced the Astra SRW1500 Series of AI-native Edge AI MCUs designed for smart IoT edge devices. The family features an Arm Cortex-M52 core, an optional Arm Ethos-U55 Neural Processing Unit (NPU), and tri-band Wi-Fi 7 or Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 6.0 LE, and 802.15.4 connectivity, in a single package. It targets low-latency on-device AI workloads such as voice-trigger detection, sound-event classification, and AI-enhanced Wi-Fi sensing. The series currently comes in four variants offering different wireless and USB options. Since sensing, AI processing, and wireless connectivity are integrated into a single chip, this approach helps reduce system costs, simplify PCB design, and lower power consumption in devices such as smart home hubs, building automation systems, and home appliances. Synaptics SRW1500 Series specifications: CPU Arm Cortex-M52 application core up to 200 MHz with Arm Helium (MVE) vector extensions for DSP and ML Arm Cortex-R4 WiFi core with 960 KB SRAM and 1408 […]

June 8, 2026June 8, 2026 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Qualcomm Dragonwing Mobile Broadband Multimedia (MBM) MBM715 and MBM 415 SoCs combine 5G, Wi-Fi, multimedia, and Edge AI

Qualcomm Dragonwing MBM715 & MBM415 Mobile Broadband Multimedia SoC

Qualcomm has introduced the Dragonwing Mobile Broadband Multimedia (MBM) family, a new lineup of 4-nm SoCs that integrate 5G connectivity, Wi-Fi, multimedia processing, and on-device AI into a single platform for “interactive broadband” devices. The family currently features the top-tier Dragonwing MBM715 and the lower-cost Dragonwing MBM415, designed for smart displays, retail kiosks, service terminals, and other connected devices that require both high-speed connectivity and local processing. Unlike mobile broadband (MBB) or fixed wireless access (FWA) platforms, the MBM series combines connectivity, display, camera, and AI into one chip, so no separate processor is needed. Qualcomm Dragonwing MBM715 & MBM415 Specifications: The MBM415 has no dedicated on-device Generative AI engine, but Qualcomm officially brands the MBM415’s modem-side processing as “Qualcomm AI-Enhanced Signal Boost.” It is not for generative AI, but it is an AI feature listed in the specs. Also note that the MBM715 supports CBRS (3.5 GHz), which is […]