Category: Operating Systems

Operating Systems used in Embedded Devices

Posted on by Stephen Vicinanza - 8 Comments on AndesCore 27-Series Linux RISC-V SoC Features a Vector Processing Unit

AndesCore 27-Series Linux RISC-V SoC Features a Vector Processing Unit

AndesCore 27-Series VPU Andes has developed a Linux capable RISC-V based SoC which runs on the first Vector Processing Unit (VPU) that is reported to be groundbreaking in its application ability, especially in the AI sector. The Andes 27 Series CPU has debuted in the RISC-V Summit in San Jose, to a great deal of talk in many quarters.   The AndesCore 27-Series RVV The company reports that the AndesCore 27 offers a user-configurable vector-processing unit that has a scalable data size, flexible microarchitecture implementations and subsystem memory decisions open to system-level optimization. The use of the RISC-V Vector (RVV) instruction extension allows the CPU cores to deliver higher performance and versatility. The TimeTable and Offerings Andes is saying delivery of its first Andes 27 RISC-V based  SoC will begin in Q1 2020.  Already the earliest licensees have seen the delivery of the betas.  Initial availability will center around a […]

Posted on by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 1 Comment on A Look at Ubuntu on MINIX NEO G41V-4 and J50C-4 Mini PCs

A Look at Ubuntu on MINIX NEO G41V-4 and J50C-4 Mini PCs

Mini PC Comparison

MINIX Technology Limited recently released two new Gemini Lake mini PCs running Windows 10 Pro namely the MINIX NEO J50C-4 actively-cooled mini PC with an Intel Pentium Silver J5005 processor and the MINIX NEO G41V-4 fanless mini PC powered by an Intel Celeron N4100 processor. Whilst each mini PC comes with 64GB of eMMC with pre-installed Windows 10 Pro together with 4GB of RAM they also support the addition of an optional 2280 M.2 drive and the MINIX NEO J50C-4 allows optional memory upgrades. Prior to testing their performance under Ubuntu, I established a comparison baseline by updating Windows to version 1903 and then running my standard set of benchmarking tools first with the default configuration of each mini PC and then repeated having installed the official MINIX 2280 M.2 240GB drives for each device together with adding an extra 4GB RAM to the MINIX NEO J50C-4. The results can […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on RISC-V based PolarFire SoC FPGA and Devkit Coming in Q3 2020

RISC-V based PolarFire SoC FPGA and Devkit Coming in Q3 2020

Microsemi unveiled PolarFire FPGA + RISC-V SoC about one year ago, but at the time, development was done on a $3,000 platform with SiFive U54 powered HiFive Unleashed board combined with an FPGA add-on board from Microsemi. I’ve now been informed that Microchip has announced its Linux-capable PolarFire FPGA+RISC-V SoC would start shipping in Q3 2020 at the RISC-V summit and that a development kit will be sold for a few hundred dollars. PolarFire SoC FPGA   PolarFire SoC FPGA key features and specifications: Mid-Range FPGA optimized for Low Power High-speed serial connectivity with built-in multi-gigabit/multi-protocol transceivers from 250 Mbps to 12.7 Gbps Up to 461k logic elements consisting of a 4-input Look-Up Table (LUT) with a fracture-able D-type flip-flop Up to 31.6 Mb of RAM Power optimized transceivers Up to 1420 18 × 18 multiply-accumulate blocks with hardened pre-adders Integrated dual PCIe for up to ×4 Gen 2 Endpoint […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments on Google ADT-3 is a Developer-Focused TV Box for Android TV on Android 10

Google ADT-3 is a Developer-Focused TV Box for Android TV on Android 10

Google ADT-3 Android TV 10 Developer-Kit

Back in 2014, Google killed Google TV and announced Android TV, and as a result, introduced ADT-1, the first developer kit specifically designed for Android TV.  Since then ADT-2 was introduced in 2018 in an HDMI stick form factor, and now the company has announced the launch of Android TV on Android 10 together with ADT-3 devkit targetting Android TV app development for Android 10. The “developer kit” just looks like a standard TV box, although It’s really tiny and comes with what looks like a voice remote control. Google did not provide the full specifications, but ADT-3 is equipped with a quad-core Cortex A53 processor coupled with 2GB DDR3 memory, and supports 4Kp60 HDR video playback and output via an HDMI 2.1 output port. That probably means the box is powered by an Amlogic S905X2 processor since few other TV box SoCs combine 4x A53 cores with HDMI 2.1. […]

Posted on by Stephen Vicinanza - 7 Comments on EEPD Launches AMD Ryzen Embedded NUC Boards & Mini PCs

EEPD Launches AMD Ryzen Embedded NUC Boards & Mini PCs

EEPD SBC Profive follows embedded NUC Standard Electronic Equipment Production and Distribution, also known as EEPD, has just released its latest Embedded SBCs based on the AMD Ryzen Embedded R1000 and V1000 platforms. Respectively they are the SBC Profive NUCR and NUCR both designed for industrial uses. The NUCv has 4 variants with 2 different V1000 series CPUs to choose from, while the NUCR has two R1000 variants. eNUC and Integrated Graphics All variations and types of SBCs and BoxPCs use the embedded NUC standard utilizing the AMD Ryzen embedded platform and series with Radeon Vega Graphics integrated into the system. SBC Profive NUCR specifications AMD Series R1000 Processors – R1606G / R1505G Integrated GPU – AMD Radeon Vega 3 Graphics Up to 32 GB dual-channel DDR4 memory 2x Gigabit Ethernet ports (Intel I210 with IEEE1588) 1x MicroSD card slot 3x M.2 Type B, Type E, Type M sockets M.2 SATA […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on SiFive Learn Inventor is a Wireless RISC-V Development Kit Inspired by BBC Micro:bit

SiFive Learn Inventor is a Wireless RISC-V Development Kit Inspired by BBC Micro:bit

SiFive Learn Inventor is a RISC-V educational board partially inspired by BBC Micro:bit board with the same crocodile clip-friendly edge connector, and an LED matrix. The board is also fully qualified to work with the Amazon FreeRTOS real-time operating system. Shaped in the form of a hand, the board features SiFive FE310 RISC-V processor found in the SiFive HiFive1 board, as well as ESP-WROOM-32 WiFi + Bluetooth module. SiFive Learn Inventor specifications: SoC – SiFive FE310-G003 32-bit RISC-V (RV32IMAFC) processor @ 150 MHz with 64KB of internal SRAM Storage – 512 KB flash “Display” – 6×8 “widescreen” array of RGB LEDs with 262,000 colors each; LEDs can expand off-board onto external arrays via the edge connector Wireless Connectivity – 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 (2.4GHz) and Bluetooth 4.2 LE via an ESP32 module (ESP-WROOM-32) USB – 1x Micro USB port for power and programming/debugging Expansion A/D Converters (four) accessed via on-board coprocessor […]

Posted on by Stephen Vicinanza - 12 Comments on FreeMesh WiFi 5 Mesh Network Router Runs OpenWrt

FreeMesh WiFi 5 Mesh Network Router Runs OpenWrt

FreeMesh W1326 LTE Router Mesh Network Access FreeMesh has launched an open-source mesh router, the WE1326 LTE FreeMesh Router (included are two nodes) that runs OpenWrt open-source operating system. Open Source and “Hackable” Mesh System FreeMesh enters the mesh market with source code posted on Gitlab, a user-hackable/customizable mesh in other words.  FreeMesh uses OpenWrt – the OpenWrt project is a Linux operating system aimed at embedded systems. The focus is on removing the need for a static firmware, where there is only one option for software for the hardware being purchased. The Offerings and Markets The company is targeting the residential market, where most mesh systems are almost double the $150.00 price tag of the FreeMesh. It is reported that there are other ZBT WE826-WD based mesh routers on the market, check out the LinuxGizmos.com article for more information. FreeMesh Specifications  FreeMesh Router CPU Dual Core 880MHz MediaTek MT7621AT ROM SPI […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Testing NVIDIA Jetson Nano Developer Kit with and without Fan

Testing NVIDIA Jetson Nano Developer Kit with and without Fan

Jetson Nano 52Pi-ICE Tower Cooling Fan

A few weeks ago I received NVIDIA Jetson Nano for review together with 52Pi ICE Tower cooling fan which Seeed Studio included in the package, and yesterday I wrote a getting started guide showing how to setup the board, and play with inference samples leveraging the board’s AI capabilities. I’ll now test the board with the stock heatsink in both 5W and 10W modes, and see if thermal throttling does occur, and then I’ll fit the tower cooling fan to find out if we can extract more performance that way and how much lower the CPU temperature is. Jetson Nano Stress Tests with Stock Heatsink Let’s install SBC-Bench testing utility,

check it’s properly installed,

and run it in 5W mode:

The temperature never went over 44.5°C, and no throttling occurred. tegrastats during 7-zip multi-core test:

Only two Cortex-A57 cores are used even under load, and power […]

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