Back in summer 2018, we wrote about Lindenis V5 single board computer based on Allwinner V5 quad-core Cortex-A7 processor with two MIPI CSI connectors and designed for 4K cameras. Allwinner has now come up with a new 4K camera processor very similar to V5, since Allwinner V566 comes with two Cortex-A7 cores, and a single MIPI CSI interface, and Lindenis designed a new SBC based on the new processor using a SoM + baseboard design instead. Lindenis V536 specifications: SoM SoC – Allwinner V536 dual-core Cortex-A7 processor @ 1.2 GHz; 4K H.265/H.264 video encoding & decoding @ 30 fps; 28nm process System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – SPI NOR flash or SPI NAND flash, bootable MicroSD card Video Output – Micro HDMI 1.4 port Video Input – MIPI CSI connector Audio – Digital microphone Connectivity – 802.11b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi 5 & Bluetooth 4.2 via AP6255 Baseboard Interface – Castellated holes […]
Qualcomm Introduces Snapdragon 720G, 662, and 460 4G Mobile SoCs with NavIC GNSS
While 5G is ramping up, 4G LTE handsets will still be dominant in terms of market demand for a few more years. So Qualcomm has unveiled three new mobile SoC for mid-range smartphones with Snapdragon 720G, Snapdragon 622, and Snapdragon 460 that also happen to be one of the first processors to support Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC). Snapdragon 460 Key features: CPU – 8x Kryo 240 cores up to 2.3GHz GPU – Adreno 610 GPU DSP – Hexagon 683 with vector extensions, hardware-accelerated TensorFlow Lite ISP – Spectra 340 ISP supporting 25MP camera, or dual 16MP camera Connectivity Cellular – Snapdragon X11 LTE modem WiFi 6 ready Bluetooth 5.1 with advanced audio via the Qualcomm FastConnect 6100 platform GNSS – Dual-Frequency (L1 and L5) GNSS for GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou, NavIC Quick Charge 3.0 – 0 to 50% in 20 minutes Process – 11nm Snapdragon 460 is an update […]
ODYSSEY-STM32MP157C SBC Feature STMicro STM32MP157C Cortex-A7/M4 SoC
Seeed Studio has been working on a single board computer powered by STMicro STM32MP157C Arm Cortex-A7/M4 microprocessor, comprised of the Raspberry Pi inspired NPi-STM32MP157C baseboard, and SoM-STM32MP157C system-on-module. SoM-STM32MP157C SoM Module specifications: MPU (1) – STMicro STM32MP157C dual-core Arm Cortex-A7 processor @ 650 MHz, and Arm Cortex-M4F MCU System Memory (2) – 512MB DDR3 RAM Storage (4) – 4GB eMMC flash Host Connectors – 3x 70-pin board-to-board connectors with HDMI, USB, Gigabit Ethernet, audio GPIOs, etc… Misc – Power and USER LEDs PMU (3) – STPMIC1A power management IC Dimensions – 38mm x 38mm The module is said to targets consumer and industrial applications, white goods, medical equipment, and wearable devices. NPi-STM32MP157C baseboard Key features and specifications: SoM Support – Compatible with SOM-STM32MP157C described above Storage – MicroSD card slot Display I/F – 1x MIPI DSI interface Audio – 3.5mm audio jack, WM8960 audio codec Camera I/F – 1x […]
Piksey Atto is a Tiny Arduino Compatible Board with Castellated Holes (Crowdfunding)
Atto is a unit prefix in the metric system denoting a factor of 10−18, so it’s unsurprising that at least one company, namely Nionics, made a small Arduino compatible board called Atto. But somebody must have forgotten to do a web search, as BitsNBlobs Electronics created their own tiny Arduino compatible board, also named “(Piksey) Atto“, and based on the same Microchip ATmega32U4 8-bit AVR MCU. But there are some important differences as we’ll see below. Piksey Atto specifications: MCU – Microchip ATmega32U4 8-bit AVR microcontroller @ 16 MHz with 32KB flash, 2.5KB SRAM, 1KB EEPROM Expansion – 18x castellated through holes for 11 digital I/Os, 4x PWM, and 4x analog inputs, USART/SPI/I2C USB – Micro USB port for power and programming Power Supply – 5V via micro USB port Dimensions – 20.32 x 12.7mm Weight – 1.3 grams Piksey Atto is about twice the size and weight of Nionics […]
MarsCat is a Bionic Cat Powered by Raspberry Pi 3 (Crowdfunding)
Elephant Robotics MarsCat is a robotic cat that tries to mimic the behavior of actual cats through artificial intelligence. It can have a life of its own roaming the house, and you can also interact with it as it will play with toys/teasers through its camera, and you can send voice command to ask it to walk, run, look at you, be quiet. etc… but the trick is that it may not always obey like a real cat, and its personality will evolve depending on how you interact with it. Beside being a bionic pet, MarsCat can also be used to teach/learn robotics as the company will release an open-source SDK allowing you to change the Python code running on the Raspberry Pi 3 board powering the cat, and access API’s to control the camera, microphone, touch sensors, as well as the 16 servos connected to a Microchip ATMega2560 MCU […]
MNT Reform 2 Open Source DIY Arm Linux Modular Laptop Coming Soon (Crowdfunding)
We first covered MNT Reform in fall of 2017, when it was a prototype for a DIY and modular laptop powered by NXP i.MX 6QuadPlus processor, and with plans to eventually use i.MX 8 hexa-core processor. Last year they designed several beta units of Reform to get feedback for a dozen users, and have now fully redesigned the laptop based on an NXP i.MX 8M system-on-module with the crowdfunding campaign expected to go live in February on Crowd Supply. MNT Reform 2 specifications: SoM – Boundary Devices Nitrogen8M SOM with SoC – NXP i.MX 8MQuad quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.5 GHz, 1x Arm Cortex-M4F real-time core Vivante GC7000Lite 3D GPU System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 Storage – Probably none Networking – Atheros Ethernet MAC chip (AR8035) 200 pin SO-DIMM edge connector exposing USB 3.0, PCIe, MIPI DSI, etc… Dimensions – 67.6mm x 48.4mm Motherboard Storage – SD card slot, M.2 […]
ECS Unveils LIVA Q1L Mini PC with Dual Gigabit Ethernet, LIVA Q1D with HDMI & DisplayPort
ECS introduces one of the smallest Intel mini PCs with LIVA Q Apollo Lake mini PC in 2017, followed by LIVA Q2 Gemini Lake micro PC the following year both just 70x70x31~33mm in size. Ian reviewed LIVA Q2 Micro PC with Windows 10 and Ubuntu 18.10 last year, and he was impressed with the performance considering the form factor, with the mini PC being perfectly suitable for browsing the web, home or office use, or as a digital signage solution. ECS has now updated its original LIVA Q model with the same processor options, but with LIVA Q1L offering two Gigabit Ethernet ports and one HDMI output, while LIVA Q1D comes with two video outputs (HDMI and DisplayPort) and a single Ethernet port. ECS LIVA Q1L/Q1D specifications: SoC (one or the other) Intel Apollo Lake Pentium N4200 quad-core processor @ 1.1 / 2.5 GHz with 18EU Intel HD graphics; 6W […]
Realtek RTL8720DN Dual-Band WiFi & Bluetooth 5.0 IoT Modules Sell for $4 and Up
There are plenty of 2.4 GHz WiFi modules for IoT project based on processors ranging from Espressif Systems ESP8266 to TI CC3200, or Realtek RTL8710. Some others add Bluetooth 4.2/5.0 such as Espressif Systems ESP32, but it’s much harder to find solutions with dual-band WiFi especially if you have a tight budget for your project or product. But Realtek RTL8720DN – part of AmebaD family –Â offers just that with the Arm Cortex-M4/M0 wireless MCU supporting dual-band (2.4/5.0GHz) 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, and found in modules currently selling for as low as $3.90 or 24 RMB in single units. B&T BW16 RTL8720DN Module Specifications: Wireless SoC – Realtek RTL8720DN MCU with KM4 Arm Cortex-M4 core @ 200 MHz and KM0 Arm Cortex-M0 core @ 20 MHz Connectivity WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi 4 Frequency Range – 2.412-2.484GHz & 5.180-5.825GHz Data Rates 802.11a: 6,9,12,18,24,36,48,54Mbps 802.11b: 1,2,5.5,11Mbps 802.11g: 6,9,12,18,24,36,48,54Mbps 802.11n: […]