Debashis Das, Author at CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

February 17, 2026February 17, 2026 by Debashis Das - No Comments

PiBot CNC Pendant V4.0 – A handheld Bluetooth and RJ12 controller for FluidNC-based CNC machines

The PiBot CNC Pendant V4.0 is a handheld Bluetooth/RJ12-based controller designed for CNC machines running FluidNC and GRBL-HAL firmware. Developed by PiBot, with firmware support from ESP3D creator Luc, the pendant provides an interface for manually controlling and monitoring CNC routers, laser engravers, and other GRBL/FluidNC-based systems via RJ12 wired or Bluetooth connection. The device features a capacitive touchscreen, an industrial-grade encoder, a potentiometer knob, a band switch, three independent switches, and a built-in speaker, all housed in an enclosure with a dual-PCB design that allows IO expansion. The pendant operates at 115200 baud over Bluetooth or up to 1,000,000 baud in wired mode, and is powered by a flat-top 18650 battery with onboard charging and power level indication. PiBot CNC Pendant V4.0 specifications: Main Controller – ESP32 (No version specification is mentioned) Storage – MicroSD card (one-click upgrade via microSD card coming soon) Display – Capacitive touch screen; Most […]

February 16, 2026February 16, 2026 by Debashis Das - 15 Comments

xSDR – A tiny M.2 2230 SDR module with Artix-7 FPGA and LMS7002M RFIC (Crowdfunding)

xSDR single sided M.2 software defined radio with 2× RX TX channels up to 3.8 GHz

Wavelet Lab’s xSDR is a tiny, single-sided M.2 2230 software-defined radio (SDR) module designed for integration into laptops, embedded systems, and edge computing devices. A successor to the company’s previous uSDR, the “x” in xSDR stands for “extended,” adding 2×2 MIMO support and a wider frequency range to the same tiny footprint. The module is built around the Lime Microsystems LMS7002M RFIC and an AMD Artix-7 XC7A50T FPGA as found in the LimeNET Micro 2.0 Developer Edition board. This combination allows for a tuning range of 30 MHz to 3.8 GHz and a sample rate of up to 122.88 MSPS, making this SDR suitable for cellular research (LTE/5G), spectrum analysis, satellite tracking, and high-speed data links (with two modules). Wavelet Lab’s xSDR specifications: RFIC – Lime Microsystems LMS7002M programmable RF (FPRF) transceiver IC FPGA – AMD Embedded XC7A50T (Artix-7) with 52,160 logic cells RF capabilities Channels – 2×2 MIMO (2x […]

February 16, 2026February 16, 2026 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

LR2021 LoRa Plus board combines Semtech LR2021 and Nordic nRF54L15 for high-speed FLRC and LoRa connectivity

Last year, Semtech released the LR2021 LoRa Plus transceiver chip, designed to address the low data-rate issue associated with LoRa, but surprisingly, they didn’t release a development board for the chip. Now, almost a year later, Seeed Studio and Semtech have partnered to introduce the LR2021 LoRa Plus development kit targeting long-range high-speed LoRa and FLRC applications up to 2.6 Mbps. Not only does the board support LoRa Gen 4 technology, providing Sub-GHz, 2.4 GHz ISM, and S/L-band operation, but a XIAO nRF54L15 board also adds dual-core processing (Arm Cortex-M33 + RISC-V) and supports other short-range protocols, including NFC, Bluetooth LE 6.0, Matter, Thread, and 2.4 GHz proprietary protocols. The development board also features a 0.96-inch 128×64 OLED, three Grove connectors for expansion, a USB Type-C for power, SWD debugging, and two Sub-GHz and 2.4 GHz SMA connectors. It is compatible with Arduino Uno, STM32 Nucleo, and Nordic DK boards. […]

February 13, 2026February 13, 2026 by Debashis Das - 4 Comments

STMicroelectronics Stellar P3E quad-core Arm Cortex-R52+ automotive MCU features Neural-ART AI accelerator

Stellar P3E AI automotive MCU Block Diagram

STMicroelectronics has introduced the Stellar P3E, the first automotive MCU with an embedded Neural-ART AI accelerator, designed to simplify X-in-1 Electronic Control Units (ECUs) by consolidating powertrain functions like the inverter, on-board charger (OBC), and DC-DC converter into a single module. The MCU enables smart sensing, predictive maintenance, and virtual sensor applications without the cost and complexity of a separate SoC. The microcontroller features four 500 MHz Arm Cortex-R52+ cores with 19.5 MB of xMemory, which is based on phase-change memory (PCM), offering roughly twice the density of embedded flash. The chip integrates multiple ADC channels for precise sensing, high-resolution PWM down to 102 ps for fine motor control, and 10 timer modules for deterministic real-time operation. Connectivity options include Gigabit Ethernet and CAN-XL, for high-speed, low-latency in-vehicle communication. Stellar P3E (SR6P3EC4/SR6P3EC6) specifications: MCU – SR6P3EC4 / SR6P3EC6 CPU Cores – 4x Arm Cortex‑R52+ cores at up to 500 MHz; […]

February 12, 2026 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

SlimeVR Butterfly Trackers – nRF52833-based, ultra-slim, full-body VR trackers offer up to 48h battery life (Crowdfunding)

Designed by SlimeVR in Rotterdam, Netherlands, the SlimeVR Butterfly Trackers are open-hardware, IMU-based, ultra-slim, full-body VR trackers designed for virtual reality gaming, motion capture, VTubing, and more. The trackers provide full-body positional tracking without base stations, cameras, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth. Each tracker uses an IMU to measure absolute rotation and transmits data over a custom 2.4 GHz ESB protocol via a dedicated dongle supporting up to 10 trackers, eliminating occlusion issues and router setup. Based on Nordic Semi’s nRF52833 wireless MCU, the split “butterfly” design places the PCB and 90 mAh battery side-by-side to achieve a thickness of under 7 mm and a weight below 10 grams, while a flexible interconnect improves comfort when worn under clothing. The system offers a 100–200 Hz refresh rate, <15 ms latency, over 48 hours of battery life with USB-C charging and OTA firmware updates. SlimeVR Butterfly Trackers specifications: Wireless MCU – Nordic nRF52833 CPU […]

February 11, 2026February 12, 2026 by Debashis Das - 3 Comments

Open Stack standalone 4G LTE IoT board runs RTOS on Quectel EC200U LTE module (Crowdfunding)

Open Stack — Standalone 4G LTE IoT & Connectivity Module

Open Stack is a standalone 4G LTE IoT connectivity board designed to run RTOS-based C applications directly on the Quectel EC200U series LTE module, meaning you don’t need an external MCU like Arduino, ESP32, or Raspberry Pi. By removing the MCU, the board reduces power consumption, bill-of-materials (BOM) cost, and physical footprint. The board supports multi-band LTE with GSM fallback, GNSS, and Bluetooth 4.2, as well as IPv4/IPv6 client and server modes. It also includes a USB Type-C port, a Nano SIM card slot, LTE/GNSS/BLE antenna connectors, an OLED information display, status LEDs, control buttons, and a 40-pin Raspberry Pi HAT-compatible GPIO header. Networking support includes TCP/UDP, SSL/TLS, HTTP/HTTPS, MQTT, LwM2M, CoAP, FTP/FTPS, and PPP, making it suitable for asset tracking, industrial monitoring, BLE-to-LTE gateways, remote infrastructure, and always-connected IoT deployments without additional controller hardware. Open Stack specifications: Cellular Module – Quectel EC200U-CN series (EC200UCNAA-N05-SGNSA) module Cellular Connectivity: LTE FDD […]

February 11, 2026 by Debashis Das - No Comments

ESP32 Marauder 5G – Apex 5 module for Flipper Zero combines ESP32-C5, two Sub-GHz radios, nRF24, and GPS

Designed by HoneyHoneyTrading, the ESP32 Marauder 5G – Apex 5 Module is an ESP32-C5-based hacking and penetration testing tool for the Flipper Zero, with dual-band WiFi 6 (2.4GHz and 5GHz), two Sub-GHz radios (868MHz and 433MHz), an NRF24 radio, and a built-in GPS. This new Flipper Zero module can be considered an upgrade from the ESP32 Marauder – Double Barrel 5G, as it does not rely on a dual-chip configuration for 5 GHz operation, leveraging the ESP32-C5 dual-band capabilities instead. A microSD card slot handles storage, and the device can also save data directly to the Flipper Zero’s microSD card. It also features five antennas, including WiFi, Sub-GHz, nRF24, and GPS, along with dedicated LED indicators for the Sub-GHz radios and nRF24 activity. There is also a hardware button to toggle 433 MHz and 868 MHz Sub-GHz operation, a USB-C port, and a side button for power management and firmware […]

February 11, 2026 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

VU GPSDR – A low-cost GPS-disciplined SDR expansion board for the Vivid Unit RK3399 touchscreen SBC

UUGear’s VU GPSDR is a low-cost GPS-disciplined SDR expansion board designed specifically for the Vivid Unit, a palm-sized Rockchip RK3399-based touchscreen SBC we covered back in 2024. The VU GPSDR is built around the RTL2832U ADC and Rafael Micro R860 tuner, but what makes it different from SDRs like the PhaseLatch Mini and DeepRad SDR is the integration of a u-blox NEO-M8N GPS module. This module provides a GPS-disciplined 24 MHz clock reference to the Si5351 local oscillator, which ensures high frequency stability and timing accuracy that is typically only found in much more expensive SDR hardware. VU GPSDR specifications: Supported Platform – UUGear Vivid Unit via Vivid Unit Extender Gen 1/2 (See details below) MCU – STM8S003F for board-level controls RF Tuner – Rafael Micro R860 ADC – Realtek RTL2832U Frequency Range – 500 kHz to 1.766 GHz Bandwidth – Up to 3.2 MHz (2.4 MHz recommended for stability) HF […]