Audio Category - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

January 6, 2026 by Debashis Das - 5 Comments

ESP32-S3 development board features 4.2-inch Reflective LCD (RLCD), dual microphone array, onboard speaker

Waveshare ESP32-S3-RLCD-4.2 is a 4.2-inch Reflective LCD (RLCD) development board built around ESP32-S3 wireless SoC for DIY projects, rapid prototyping, and smart display devices that need a paperlike experience with a higher refresh rate compared to e-paper displays. The ESP32-S3 provides 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 LE connectivity, and the board also includes a dual microphone array with ES7210 ADC and ES8311 audio codec, as well as an onboard speaker for AI voice interaction. Other features include an SHTC3 temperature and humidity sensor, a PCF85063 RTC, a microSD card slot for storage, along with multiple GPIO, UART, and I²C expansion headers. Power, programming, and battery charging are done through the USB Type-C port connected to an optional 18650 battery. Applications include electronic calendars, desktop displays, voice-based devices, environmental monitoring, and low-power indoor or outdoor display systems. ESP32-S3-RLCD-4.2 specifications Core module – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8 SoC – ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core […]

December 29, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Rockchip RK628D based HDMI-to-MIPI-CSI board converts HDMI video into camera feed for embedded systems

The Firefly HDMI-to-MIPI-CSI converter board converts an HDMI video and audio source into a MIPI-CSI camera stream for supported Rockchip SoCs, which is the complete opposite of the Olimex MIPI-HDMI adapter that converts MIPI DSI display signals to HDMI output. Built around the Rockchip RK628D video bridge chip, the board supports HDMI 1.4/2.0 input with 8-bit and 10-bit video, RGB888 and YUV420 color formats, and resolutions up to 4K @ 60fps. On the output side, it provides a MIPI-CSI interface compliant with MIPI D-PHY v1.2, with video output in YUV422 color format, supporting resolutions up to 4K @ 30fps. Audio output is available through a 3.5 mm headphone jack and onboard pin headers, making the board suitable for HDMI capture, smart display, micro-projector, and embedded video conversion applications. Firefly HDMI-to-MIPI-CSI board Specifications: Main Chip – Rockchip RK628D HDMI-to-MIPI CSI-2 converter Input HDMI 1.4 / HDMI 2.0 compliant 8-bit and 10-bit […]

December 18, 2025December 18, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

NASP NeuroVoice VAD chip enables always-on voice activity detection at microwatt-level power consumption

NeuroVoice VAD Voice Activity Detection chip

POLYN Technology’s Neuromorphic Analog Signal Processor (NASP) NeuroVoice VAD is an always-on, ultra-low-power chip that detects voice in any noisy background, at microwatt-level power consumption and microsecond-scale latency. Everything happens on the chip, so no Internet is needed. Potential applications include smart remote controls, earbuds, wearables, voice access, IoT, Industry 4.0, robotics, Smart Home/Factory, mobility, and more. NASP NeuroVoice VAD chip (NV-VAD 100) specifications: Features Voice detection at ultra-low power consumption Voice passthrough – Passes voice and mutes background sounds Background signal bypass – Wake Word Detection (WWD) command to activate transparent voice bypass Speech/command intelligibility in noisy spaces – Increases voice command intelligibility for WWD/KWS (Keyword Spotting) functionality in noisy environments for Smart Home, Smart Factory, Wearables, etc. Audio Interfaces – PDM/I2S Voice delay detection – 25 ms Host interfaces – SPI/I2C used for initial configuration and status readout, VAD pin Debugging – Boundary Scan and Debug unit access […]

December 17, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Fusion HAT+ Raspberry Pi expansion board targets motor and servo control with AI and LLMs

SunFounder Fusion HAT+ for Raspberry Pi 5/4/3B+ and Zero single board computers is a motor control and GPIO expansion board designed to work with LLMs such as ChatGPT or Gemini using the board’s built-in speaker and microphone for voice interaction. It features four DC motor drivers, twelve PWM servo channels, four ADC inputs, I2C, SPI, and UART interface for sensors, and ships with two 18650 rechargeable batteries with smart power management & safe shutdown. It can be used in smart cars, humanoid robots, robotic arms, multi-legged spiders, and smart home systems. Fusion HAT+ specifications: MCU – Gigadevices GD32E203C8T6 Arm Cortex-M23 microcontroller @ 72MHz with 64KB flash, 8KB SRAM. Motor control – 4x motor ports Audio 2030 audio chamber speaker connected to an I2S audio port MEMS microphone Expansion 4-channel digital pins 4-pin I2C interface compatible with Qwiic/STEMMA Qt 7-pin SPI interface 4-pin UART interface 12-channel PWM pins for servos 4-channel […]

December 15, 2025December 16, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

The ESP Private Agents platform aims to ease the development of ESP32-based AI voice assistants with on-device processing

Espressif has just introduced the ESP Private Agents platform to help developers build local, private, and customizable AI assistants for ESP32 devices running on-device, although they can also support hybrid AI workloads with a mix of on-device and cloud processing. The ESP Private Agents platform offers a unified framework that allows developers to build applications combining speed, vision, automation, and agent-based interactions, for example, a multi-lingual, on-device voice agent (aka smart speaker) or task-oriented agents that automate workflows. The solution is built on AWS cloud services using AWS Fargate as a primary application platform and Amazon Bedrock Foundation Models as backend LLM systems. It not only works with ESP32-power devices with speaker and microphone, but also with mobile apps and web clients. Espressif released a Web-based demo, which you can use as a text-based chatbot or as a voice assistant leveraging the speaker and microphone on your computer. The company […]

November 5, 2025November 5, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Bluetooth 6.2 gets more responsive, improves security, USB communication, and testing capabilities

Bluetooth 6.2 specification has just been released with a range of new features to enhance responsiveness with shorter connection intervals, strengthen security against amplitude-based RF attacks, and improve communication with a new “Bulk Serialization Mode” that’s especially useful for USB Bluetooth LE audio applications. The new Bluetooth Core 6.2 specification also introduces various BLE Test Mode enhancements. If you feel like Bluetooth specifications are released more often than in the past, that’s normal because the Bluetooth SIG switched to a bi-annual release schedule. For instance, the Bluetooth 6.1 specification was just published last May, or about 6 months ago… Bluetooth 6.2 highlights: Bluetooth Shorter Connection Intervals (SCI) reduce the minimum Bluetooth LE connection interval from 7.5 ms to just 375 µs for faster responsiveness. The change will especially impact high-performance HID devices, real-time human-machine interfaces (HMIs), and latency-sensitive sensors. AR/VR and gaming applications will particularly benefit from the lower latency. […]

November 3, 2025November 5, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 269 Comments

Giveaway Week 2025 – M5Stack Tab5 ESP32-P4 IoT devkit

It’s that time of the year when we organize CNX Software Giveaway Week, a global contest where we give away review samples or get companies to send units to readers. For the 12th edition of the contest, we have seven items to give away this time around: five review samples I will send myself, and two prizes from companies offering a router board and an industrial development kit. As usual, the contest is open worldwide, and CNX Software Thailand has a separate contest with four additional items for people with an address in Thailand. The first prize will be the M5Stack Tab5 ESP32-P4 IoT development kit featuring a 5-inch touchscreen display, a 2MP front-facing camera, a speaker, a dual-microphone array, a microSD card slot, an ESP32-C6 for wireless connectivity, sensors, and more. I had some fun reviewing the M5Stack Tab5 devkit by building the default firmware with the ESP-IDF framework, […]

October 27, 2025October 25, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Review of Nextion 4.3-inch Edge Series HMI touch display

Review 4.3-inch NEXTION HMI Edge touch display

Today, we’ll review the Nextion 4.3-inch Edge Series HMI touch display. The company has recently launched the new Edge Series HMI touch displays for IoT applications that require better user interaction. It also supports video and audio playback, and everything can be configured relatively easily by the user using Nextion Editor software, version 1.68.1 or higher. The Edge Series HMI touch displays offer a wide range of screen sizes and formats to choose from, including a 2.1-inch round model (NX4848E021-011C) and a 2.8-inch round model (NX4848E028-011C), both with 480×480 resolution, as well as a 4.3-inch rectangular model (NX4880E043-011C) with 800×480 resolution. We received the NEXTION NX4880E043-011C Edge Series HMI touch display for review, along with accessories, namely an IO board and a speaker, so we can get hands-on and dive deep into the review. It’s versatile for all sorts of applications, from AIoT devices and vehicle control systems to medical […]