Did you know Foxconn makes processors now? Well, they do, or at least can pretend they do to as we’ll see below. Foxconn FXN3102 24-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor is found in Vecow VAC-1000, a compact Edge AI computing system, that also features either an Hailo-8 AI accelerator or Gyrfalcon Lightspeeur 2801S NPU. The Ubuntu 18.04 server system also comes with up to 16GB DDR4-2133 memory, optional NX Witness VMS (Video Management System) supported, and targets intelligent surveillance applications such as public surveillance or traffic monitoring, as well as smart retail, factory automation, and any other AIoT/Industry 4.0 applications. Vecow VAC-1000 specifications: SoC – Foxconn FXN3102 24-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.0 GHz System Memory – 8GB or 16GB DDR4 2133MHz ECC SO-DIMM Storage 64GB eMMC flash, 512MB SPI Flash, up to 512KB EEPROM 1x SATA III port up to 6 Gbps 1x M.2 2280 Key M socket for […]
Inkplate 6PLUS ESP32 ePaper display gets higher resolution, a touchscreen, a frontlight (Crowdfunding)
Inkplate 6PLUS is an updated version of Inkplate 6 ESP32 powered 6-inch ePaper display that was introduced in 2019, wand comes with a higher 1024 x 758 resolution, and the addition of a touchscreen and a frontlight. Just like the original product, Inkplate 6PLUS makes use of recycled e-paper displays without thousands of screens currently in stock. Refresh performance per pixel is faster and similar to Inkplate 10, which leads to a complete screen refresh being about as fast as on the original Inkplate 6 despite the higher resolution. Inkplate 6PLUS specifications: Wireless module – ESP32 WROVER module with dual-core ESP32 processor with Wi-Fi 4 & Bluetooth 4.0 (BLE) connectivity, 8MB PSRAM, 4MB flash External storage – MicroSD card socket Display – 6-inch, 1024 x 758 e-paper display with support for grayscale, partial updates, and quick refresh cycles 1.27 second refresh time in black & white mode 1.52 second refresh […]
AMD Ryzen 5000U mini PCs coming soon from ASRock and GIGABYTE
Last year, AMD introduced the Ryzen 4000-U Series mobile processors for laptops but we soon got news of mini PCs based on the processor with devices such as MINISFORUM DeskMini HM50 or ASRock Mars 4000U. So it should not be surprising that we got some updates at Computex 2021 with companies announcing AMD Ryzen 5000U powered mini PCs with the likes of new GIGABYTE BRIX models and ASRock Mars 5000U which are expected to become available in the second half of the year. GIGABYTE BRIX Ryzen 5000U mini PCs Preliminary specifications: SoC -Up to a 15-watt Ryzen 5000U “Cezanne” processor with 8x Zen 3 CPU cores, 16 threads, and Radeon Vega graphics. System Memory – Up to 64GB of DDR4-3200 via two SODIMM slots Storage – M.2 2280 slot for PCIe 3.0 x4 (NVMe) or SATA SSD. The high-profile model will also include an internal 2.5-inch drive bay. Video Outputs […]
Ortur Laser Master 2 Pro laser engraver – First impressions
Hey Karl here. Today I am here to share my initial experiences with the Ortur Laser Master 2 Pro laser engraver. That is a mouth full so I will refer to it as the LM2Pro for the remainder. The LM2Pro is the successor to the Ortur Laser Master 2. I have only had 1 experience with a diode laser and that was quite a long time ago and a lot has changed in the desktop laser department. I have used the LM2Pro for almost 2 weeks and I am blown away by what I have been able to achieve in such little time. I don’t know if it is better software or the machine itself. Probably a mixture of both. There are 3 different models with different power lasers. The 20W version was sent for review. It is dishonest to call this a 20w laser. I am not sure which […]
MeLE Quieter2 Review – Windows 10, Ubuntu 20.04, and eGPU
MeLE has recently released a passive mini PC called the Quieter2. What is particularly interesting is that whilst it only has a low-powered Intel Celeron CPU it also supports an M.2 2280 NVMe SSD drive which theoretically makes using an eGPU possible. MeLE provided a 99% discount coupon so that I could purchase one for review and the results from various testing are detailed below. Hardware Overview The Quieter2 physically consists of a 131 x 81 x 18.3mm (5.16 x 3.19 x 0.72 inches) rectangular plastic case with a metal base plate. The top half of the case is finely grooved to mimic the fins of a heat spreader but is made of plastic rather than metal to allow reception to the WiFi antennas as one is directly connected to it. As a passively cooled mini PC, it uses Intel’s 14 nm J4125 Gemini Lake Refresh processor which is a […]
Intel 5G Solution 5000 5G M.2 module developed with MediaTek, Fibocom
Qualcomm very recently unveiled Snapdragon X65 and X62 5G M.2 card reference designs to help OEM’s develop their own 5G modules for integration into PC’s and CPE’s. But as one should have expected, more options are coming, and Intel have now announced their own “5G Solution 5000” 5G M.2 card for laptops at Computex 2021 in collaboration with MediaTek and Fibocom. Fibocom FM350-GL (Intel 5G Solution 5000) specifications: Modem technologies – 5G NR, 4G LTE, 3D WCDMA Frequency bands – Sub 6GHz for global coverage Data throughput 5G NR – Up to 4.7 Gbps downlink; up to 1.25 Gbps uplink 4G LTE – Up to 1.6 Gbps Cat 19downlink; up to 150 Mbps uplink Built-in eSIM Host interface – PCIe Gen 3 Dimensions – 30 x 52 x2.3 mm (M.2 card) Temperature Range – -10 to +55°C The 5G module targets platforms built upon Intel Tiger Lake and Alder Lake […]
Mercury+ XU6 Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ module is optimized for I/O-intensive applications
Enclustra, a company headquartered in Switzerland specializing in FPGA solutions, has recently announced the launch of the Mercury+ XU6 system-on-module based on Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC. The module is optimized for I/O-intensive applications with up to 294 user I/Os, up to eight 6/12.5 Gbps multi-gigabit transceivers, and available with six different variants of Xilinx MPSoC. The company also offers Mercury+ ST1 and PE1 baseboards for evaluation and early software development. Mercury+ XU6 SoM Key features and specifications: SoC – Xilinx Zynq Ultrascale+ MPSoC (ZU2CG, ZU2EG, ZU3EG, ZU4CG, ZU4EV, or ZU5EV) with: CPU ARM dual-/quad-core Cortex-A53 processor up to 1333 MHz ARM dual-core Cortex-R5 up to 533 MHz GPU – Mali-400MP2 GPU (only for EG/EV variants) Video Codecs – H.264 / H.265 Video Codec (only for EV variants) FPGA fabric – Up to 256,000 system logic cells System Memory – Up to 8 GB DDR4 ECC SDRAM (PS side) Storage – […]
MyCobot robotic arm is offered with Raspberry Pi 4 or M5Stack ESP32 modules
Elephant Robotics’ MyCobot robotic arm was introduced last year with M5Stack Atom & Basic ESP32 modules with 6-degrees of freedom, a 250 grams max payload, available now for $599. The company has launched a new $699 version – MyCobot-Pi – with most of the same features, except for an upgrade to Raspberry Pi 4B which offers more performance and flexibility. Both versions of MyCobot arm robotic arm support accessories such as a gripper and a suction pump attachable through a LEGO connector, but while the original version – MyCobot-M5 – relies on Arduino programming, the new MyCobot-Pi runs Debian/Ubuntu and ROS operating systems with image recognition algorithms that can work with a variety of cameras. Since we’ve missed last year’s announcement, we’ll cover both models in this article. MyCobot Robotic Arm Despite the mechanical parts being the same, the specifications for MyCobot-M5 and MyCobot-Pi differ quite a lot: Controller MyCobot-M5 […]