Posted on - No Comments on Realtek RTD1296 U-boot & Linux Source Code Released, RTD1619 Cortex A55 SoC Shows up in Code

Realtek RTD1296 U-boot & Linux Source Code Released, RTD1619 Cortex A55 SoC Shows up in Code

RTD1296 Linux Source Code

Media centers based on Realtek RTD1295 or RTD1296 processors have been around for a few years. They usually run both Android and OpenWrt operating systems for respectively media functions (4K video playback, HDMI input recording…), and NAS functions like file sharing. media downloads, etc…. SinoVoIP also unveiled Banana Pi BPI-W2 board powered by RTD1296 last year, but so far I was not aware of any source code for the target. Synlogy actually released a Linux 4.4 tarball a while ago, but more recently SinoVoIP released Linux 4.9.119 and U-boot source code for RTD1296 in Github. You’ll find instructions to build from source, and flash the resulting U-boot and Kernel image from the Github page. There’s also some mainline Linux support for RTD1295, but maybe this release will help further speed up mainline support. Beside code for RTD129x (RTD1295/RTD1296), we’ll find references to RTD139x (RTD1395) a cost-down version of RTD1295, as well RTD16xx, more specifically RTD1619, an hexa-core Cortex A55 processor …

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Posted on - 19 Comments on Khadas is Working on more RK3399 / RK3399Pro Boards, Projector Development Kit, AR Kit

Khadas is Working on more RK3399 / RK3399Pro Boards, Projector Development Kit, AR Kit

Khadas Edge-V vs Khadas Edge

Shenzhen Wesion had already unveiled their Khadas Edge board that works both as a system-on-module and a standalone SBC thanks to an MXM3 connector on one side, and traditional HDMI and USB ports on the other. The Rockchip RK3399 board will be launched on Indiegogo a little later. But the company is working on a few more boards and development kits all based on Rockchip RK3399 or the upcoming RK3399Pro processor with neural processing unit (NPU) for AI workloads acceleration. First we have Khadas Edge-V, very similar to Khadas Edge but with a 40-pin IO header replacing the MXM3 connector, and following Khadas VIM form factor and ports, so for example we get an Ethernet port as well as an extra USB 3.0 port instead of USB 2.0 on Edge. As mentioned in Khadas Edge announcement, the company is also working on Khadas Captain carrier board with MXM3 socket. So we have three options for development, and while AFAIK the company …

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Posted on - 28 Comments on Lindenis V5 Allwinner V5 SBC is Designed for AI Video Processing, 4K Encoding

Lindenis V5 Allwinner V5 SBC is Designed for AI Video Processing, 4K Encoding

Allwinner V5 SBC

Allwinner V5 V100 is a new quad core Cortex A7 processor targeting 4K 30 fps (Linux)  cameras, and integrating AIE intelligent analytic acceleration engine handling motion detection, perimeter defense video diagnosis, and face detection. Usually, it’s pretty hard to get a development board based on a new processor, but Lindenis V5 single board computer based on the processor is already available in China, and comes with 1 to 2GB RAM, HDMI 1.4 and MIPI DSI video outputs, dual MIPI CSI video outputs, Gigabit Ethernet and more. Lindevis V5 SBC specifications: SoC – Allwinner V5 Quad core Arm Cortex-A7 processor @ up to 1,512 MHz with NEON, VFPv4 FPU 4K @ 30 fps H.265/H.264 encoder and decoder Dual ISP [email protected] + [email protected] AIE (AI Engine) Architecture – Built-in with intelligent analytics acceleration engine with support for motion detection, perimeter defense, video diagnosis, face detection, flow statistics. Supports binocular depth map. System Memory – 1 or 2GB RAM Storage – Micro SD …

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Posted on - 2 Comments on BladeRF 2.0 USB 3.0 Software Defined Radio Launched for $480 and Up

BladeRF 2.0 USB 3.0 Software Defined Radio Launched for $480 and Up

BladeRF 2.0 Micro

Around 5 years ago, several affordable FPGA based open source software defined radio boards launched including HackRF, BladeRF x40 / x115, and  USRP B200. The company behind BladeRF has now launched an update of their boards with Blade RF 2.0 coming in two versions namely bladeRF 2.0 micro xA4 and bladeRF 2.0 micro xA9 supporting the same 47MHz to 6GHz frequency range, and 61.44MHz sampling rate, but the latter comes with a more powerful 301KLE Cyclone V FPGA. BladeRF 2.0 hardware specifications: FPGA Micro xA4 – Intel / Altera Cyclone V FPGA with 49 kLE Micro xA9 – Intel / Altera Cyclone V FPGA with 301 kLE Analog Devices RF Transceiver 47 MHz to 6 GHz frequency range 2×2 MIMO, 61.44 MHz sampling rate 56 MHz filtered bandwidth (IBW) Automatic gain control (AGC) Real- time custom gain control tables controlled via SPI and discrete external input pins Automatic IQ and DC offset correction 128-tap digital FIR filtering USB 3.0 SuperSpeed …

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Posted on - No Comments on MCC 118 DAQ HAT Enables Up to 64-Channel Voltage Measurement on Raspberry Pi Boards

MCC 118 DAQ HAT Enables Up to 64-Channel Voltage Measurement on Raspberry Pi Boards

32-channel-DAQ-HAT-Raspberry-Pi

Measurement Computing Corp. (MCC) has recently introduced their MCC 118 DAQ HAT for Raspberry Pi which includes 8 analog inputs for voltage measurements between +/- 10V at a 100kS/s data rate. You can also perform data acquisition on up to 64 channels by stacking up to 8 MCC-118 DAQ HATs on top of a single Raspberry Pi board. The maximum throughput is limited to 320 kS/s. MCC 118 DAQ HAT key features & specifications: 8x 12-bit voltage inputs 100 kS/s max sample rate (320 kS/s aggregate for stacked boards) ±10 V input range Onboard sample buffers allow for high-speed acquisition External scan clock I/O External digital trigger input Screw terminal connections Up to eight MCC HATs are stackable on top of a Raspberry Pi board The data acquisition / data logger systems based on the add-on board would run Raspbian (Lite) on the Raspberry Pi board, as well as a DAQ HAT library developed by MCC, and whose source code, …

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Posted on - 14 Comments on RockPro64 RK3399 Board Linux Review with Ubuntu 18.04 + LXDE

RockPro64 RK3399 Board Linux Review with Ubuntu 18.04 + LXDE

RockPro64 Heatsink Ports

Let’s do one more RK3399 Linux review using Pine64 RockPro64 development board. After shortly checking out the hardware, I’ll test Ubuntu 18.04 “Bionic” LXDE on the board, test 3D graphics acceleration, video playback, USB storage and network performance among other things on the board. RockPro64 Board Unboxing The board came in a cardboard package, and the sticker made it clear I had received the 2GB LPDDR4 version. Even after FriendlyELEC NanoPi M4 announcement, Rockchip ROCKPro64 is still the cheapest RK3399 development board around, so it should come as no surprise that the board does not come with any accessories by default. Another way to keep the price low was not to include any built-in storage apart from SPI flash, so instead most people will either boot from micro SD card or an eMMC flash module both of which need to be purchase separately. Another cost-saving is the lack of built-in wireless module for WiFi and/or Bluetooth connectivity, which makes sense …

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Posted on - 1 Comment on UltraZed-EV Starter Kit Support Simultaneous 4K Encoding and Decoding with Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ EV MPSoC

UltraZed-EV Starter Kit Support Simultaneous 4K Encoding and Decoding with Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ EV MPSoC

UltraZed EV Starter Kit

Xilinx unveiled Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC‘s combining Arm Cortex A53/R5 cores with FPGA fabric back in 2015. and we started to see development boards and products based on the solution starting in 2017 with offerings such as AXIOM Board, TRENZ TE0808 SoM, or more recently 96Boards compliant Ultra96 development board. All last three boards have one thing in common: they all use an Zynq UltraScale+ GC MPSoC that adds a Mali-400MP2 GPU to CG MPSoC family. But there’s also a third EV family which standards for “Embedded Vision”, and adds support for 4K H.264 / H.265 hardware video codec capable of simultaneous encode and decode. The platform targets multimedia, automotive ADAS, surveillance, and other embedded vision applications. So far, I don’t think I had seen any boards based on Ultrascale+ EV MPSoC, but AVNet  – following up on their UltraZed-EG starter kit – has now launched an UltraZed-EV starter kit powered by UltraScale+ MPSoC XCZU7EV-1FBVB900E. The kit is comprised of a …

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Posted on - 6 Comments on Arduino Releases Command Line Interface (CLI) Alpha Preview

Arduino Releases Command Line Interface (CLI) Alpha Preview

arduino-cli

So far, AFAIK the only official ways to program Arduino boards were through the Arduino IDE program, or the cloud-based Arduino Create which works in your web browser and does not require any installation on your computer. While graphical interfaces are nice and user-friendly, many of us are more productive while working using the command line,  especially if commands can be scripted. So Arduino decided to work on a command line interface (CLI) for professional users, and have just announced a preview release. arduino-cli works in Windows, Linux, and Mac OS, and allows you install libraries, boards, and cores (e.g. esp32 Arduino core), compile the code, and upload the binary to the target board. If you want to get started quickly, you can download the binary “alpha” releases in the announcement board, but instead I opted to build the client myself as explained on Github. Everything below is done in Ubuntu 18.04. I don’t have a board handy right now, …

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