Author: Stephen Vicinanza

Stephen started writing about technology after publishing sci-fi short stories. His first White-Paper, written in 2008, was well received and inspired him to continue writing about technology. Today he writes in the technology space full time, covering a multitude of topics. During the time he wrote part-time he edited hundreds of titles for large publishers, in science and technology. He lives in Staten Island, with his wife and children.
Posted on by Stephen Vicinanza - No Comments on Actcast Combines IFTTT-like Service with AI and Raspberry Pi 3 / Zero

Actcast Combines IFTTT-like Service with AI and Raspberry Pi 3 / Zero

Actcast IFTTT Artificial Intelligence

In a report on April 30, 2017, Idein had developed GPGPU accelerated object recognition for the Raspberry Pi platform. That development led to the beta release of the ActCast IoT platform, which was announced on July 29, 2019, and uses deep learning algorithms for object and subject recognition. The program is for use with IoT and AI. The idea is to increase performance and link the system to the web for even more solutions. What it Does The use of physical world information in IoT projects has many applications. Such as a doorbell that sees a person, can then recognize the person. Ultimately letting the user know over the web through a smartphone, the person should be let in. And then the system unlocks the door.  So Actcast is a  bit like IFTTT with artificial intelligence / computer vision capabilities. Edge Computing Bringing the source of data closer to the […]

Posted on by Stephen Vicinanza - 11 Comments on Alibaba Unveils XuanTie 910 16-core RISC-V Processor

Alibaba Unveils XuanTie 910 16-core RISC-V Processor

When Pingtou Ge (Brother Pingtou) Semiconductor Co. was founded by Alibaba in September 2018, the vision was to create groundbreaking chips for production. The company had once been Zhongtianwei, a chip company, which was acquired by Alibaba in April 2018 along with team Aha. On July 25, 2019, it was announced that Brother Pingtou had released the XuanTie 910 (Black Iron 910) 16-Core RISC-V Processor. The company has reported that the processor will be integrated into high-performance end to end 5G chips, AI, and autonomous driving applications. There are conflicting reports that the processor is also known as T-Head, although its name means Black Iron. There has been no firm release date or price as of yet. Open-source technologies are being adopted on a regular basis in China, and the XuanTie 910 is being offered to developers with encouragement to use Berkeley-based open-source ISA with very few intellectual property restrictions. […]

Posted on by Stephen Vicinanza - 2 Comments on LyRa is a Raspberry Pi CM3L based Handheld Game Console (Crowdfunding)

LyRa is a Raspberry Pi CM3L based Handheld Game Console (Crowdfunding)

The LyRa handheld game console is the first of its kind to carry a Raspberry Pi CM3L module inside. We reported on the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 Light in early 2017, and its significant features and abilities. The LyRa is being developed by Creoqode who started their campaign on Kickstarter in July 2019.  The campaign has already surpassed its funding goal, and it looks like the LyRa will become a reality. The LyRa comes in two versions 1. RTG – Ready-To-Go which is a completely assembled and ready to play handheld game console, computer and entertainment console. 2. DIY – Do-It-Yourself version comes in pieces that can be made into a fully functioning handheld game console in about 15 minutes. The unit features a Raspberry Pi CM3L module which is able to emulate literally hundreds of classic game consoles and games. The unit can attach through HDMI to a […]

Posted on by Stephen Vicinanza - No Comments on hIoTron Launches Smart Cold Chain Management PaaS & Hi-Gate Tracker

hIoTron Launches Smart Cold Chain Management PaaS & Hi-Gate Tracker

The hIoTron monitoring system is designed to be middleware for smart cold chain systems, which can be found in food transport, pharmaceutical transport and even some chemical transport systems. We previously covered any product from the company in April of 2018 with the hIoTron modular and enterprise development kit that helps with prototyping of IoT devices. Cold Chain Systems The company has now developed a commercial product designed for one of the most sensitive platforms in supply chain management: the cold chain. A cold chain system is a distribution process that requires constant monitoring of a product’s surrounding environment while in transit or storage before or after transit. The actions and equipment in low-temperature ranges would be maintained at a constant between 2 and 8 ℃ (36 to 46 ℉) to maintain the integrity of the product, food, drug, or chemical, from harvest/production through to consumption. These complex systems can […]

Posted on by Stephen Vicinanza - No Comments on UniSoC Successfully Tested their IVY510 5G Modem in Collaboration with Huawei

UniSoC Successfully Tested their IVY510 5G Modem in Collaboration with Huawei

UniSoC Communications has announced the completion of testing on its IVY510 5G modem. The testing was performed in partnership with Huawei and finished up in July 2019. The IVY brand platform offers compatibility with IoT products and services and is already being used as a cutting-edge option in some devices. The testing had been performed under the auspices of IMT 2020, the regulatory body in the worldwide telecom industry. In the tests, the IVY510 reached download speeds of 1.38 Gbps at CAICT’s MTNet Lab. The IVY510 was announced in February of this year at MWC. It is a multimode 2G/3G/4G/5G modem, that meets the 3GPP R15 standard, supports Sub-6GHz 5G spectrum and has a channel bandwidth of 100 MHz. Offering high performance, deeply integrated, low power 5G platform, supporting both SA (standalone) and NSA (non-standalone) network arrangements. The ability to move through different network formations allows the IVY510 to grow […]

Posted on by Stephen Vicinanza - No Comments on Icarus IoT Board Features nRF9160 GPS + NB-IoT SiP in Adafruit Feather Form Factor

Icarus IoT Board Features nRF9160 GPS + NB-IoT SiP in Adafruit Feather Form Factor

The new Icarus IoT board from Actinius, uses the Nordic nRF9160 SiP, a powerful yet low power system in a package designed for use with GPS and LTE-M & NB-IoT cellular data, also found in Ruuvi node which we covered a few months ago. The board’s purpose is for mobility and ease of project tracking anywhere, and can be found in application scenarios such as fleet management and security, cargo tracking, or asset monitoring, and many more. The board has power inputs for solar panel, USB or LiPo/Li-Ion Battery, which widens the boards mobile nature, and on-site, in-the-field capability. Since the form factor follows Adafruit Feather, the Icarus board benefits of additional component options for prototyping and DIY electronics projects. The nRF9160, by Nordic Semiconductor, is a SiP (System in a Package) that carries an extensive line of embedded software and hardware. As we had reported the nRF9160 SiP low-power […]

Posted on by Stephen Vicinanza - 6 Comments on Emtrion emSBC-Argon Features STM32MP1 Dual Cortex-A7 / M4 Processor

Emtrion emSBC-Argon Features STM32MP1 Dual Cortex-A7 / M4 Processor

The latest board to use the STM32MP1 dual Cortex-A7 and the Cortex-M4 processor is the Emtrion emSBC-Argon, which adds to SBC’s such as the PanGu Board. The emSBC-Argon, is a powerful yet reasonably priced SBC that is feature-rich and out-of-the-box ready. The low-power needs of the board enable it to run real-time processing. Protocols such as PROFINET, EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP are all available and ready to run real-time processes and communication applications. Key Features: STM32MP157AAC processor from STMicroelectronics Arm Dual Cortex-A7 @ 650MHz – 2470 DMIPS Arm Cortex-M4 @ 200MHz – 250 DMIPS Co-processor: ARM Neon, FPU, and 3D GPU Operating system: Linux or Android Virtualization capable (Jailhouse) Up to 512 MB DDR3L SDRAM 8GByte (up to 64 GB) eMMC Flash Up to 8 MB of QSPI-NOR-Flash 2x FD-CAN 2.0 Dimensions: 104.5 x 77.5 mm The emSBC-Argon is capable of virtualization using Jailhouse, for those real-time functions that require breaking down […]

Posted on by Stephen Vicinanza - 5 Comments on Docker Pi IoT Node(A) Adds LoRa, GPRS and GPS to Raspberry Pi Board

Docker Pi IoT Node(A) Adds LoRa, GPRS and GPS to Raspberry Pi Board

The Docker Pi IoT Node(A) is the latest addition to the Docker Pi series of modules meant to enhance IoT capability and expand on the Raspberry Pi family of SBCs. Although it is mountable on the Raspberry Pi SBC, the HAT form factor allows it to be used with other similar single board computers such as Rock64 board. The Docker Pi IoT Node(A) supports GPS/BDS (Beidou), GSM, and LoRa. The add-on board interfaces to the host over I2C, in order to control LoRa & GSM connectivity, as well as the GPS/BDS module through SC16IS752 chip. There are a number of code examples and instructions that can be found on the Wiki. The unit can also be controlled directly without programming, and all the GPIO pins are extended so the board can stack on other HAT compatible boards, in appropriate layers. Specifications GPRS section Low power consumption, standby sleep current <1mA […]