Programming Category - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

Category: Programming

Posted on by Sponsored Post - No Comments on The End of the “AI Toy” Era: YouWare Launches YouBase to Deliver Production-Ready Business Tools (Sponsored)

The End of the “AI Toy” Era: YouWare Launches YouBase to Deliver Production-Ready Business Tools (Sponsored)

YouWare AI Coding Tool

In the rapidly evolving landscape of digital transformation, a technical plateau has emerged. While many “AI-coding” tools offer the promise of rapid development, a predictable pattern has surfaced: they generate visually impressive landing pages in seconds, but falter when tasked with building a functional business. Projects requiring user authentication, data persistence, or secure transaction handling often hit a technical ceiling, resulting in digital “toys” rather than scalable business tools. The release of YouBase by YouWare marks a significant shift in this narrative. Since its debut in March 2025, YouWare has pioneered the concept of “vibe coding,” capturing 500,000 monthly active users and a $200 million valuation. With the introduction of YouBase, the platform transitions from a prototyping environment to a production-ready engine, offering a missing link for enterprises looking to leverage AI for full-stack development. The Competitive Edge of Vibe Coding The efficacy of YouBase is built upon YouWare’s core […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments on CIX releases P1 CPU TRM and developer guides for GPU, AI accelerator, OS and firmware/BIOS

CIX releases P1 CPU TRM and developer guides for GPU, AI accelerator, OS and firmware/BIOS

CIX P1 documentation

CIX has finally released the technical reference manual (TRM) for the P1 (CD8180/CD8160) Arm Cortex-A720/A520 SoC, along with developer guides for the GPU (Arm Immortalis G720 and NVIDIA/AMD discrete graphics cards), the AI accelerator, as well as OS (Android, Linux, and Windows) and firmware (BIOS) installation and development. A slow (but steady?) progress There was a lot of excitement when the Radxa Orion O6 mini-ITX motherboard was introduced in December 2024, as we were told the CIX P1 12-core Armv9 processor would offer performance similar to Apple M1 SoC and Qualcomm 8cx Gen3 platform, at an affordable price ($199 and up for the mini-ITX board), and software support would include a Debian image, full UEFI via an open-source EDKII implementation, as well as an SDK along with hardware and software documentation, community forum support, and regular firmware & OS updates. CIX was even called “a native open source ecosystem chip […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on FlashESP is an all-in-one web-based tool for ESP32/ESP8266 Arduino development and firmware flashing

FlashESP is an all-in-one web-based tool for ESP32/ESP8266 Arduino development and firmware flashing

FlashESP Web-based ESP32 programming tool

FlashESP is a web-based tool allowing the development of Arduino sketches and firmware flashing for ESP32 and ESP8266 hardware platforms. I initially thought it was similar to ESP Web Tools for flashing firmware from the web and used by projects like ESPHome, but it goes further than that, and it looks like an Arduino Cloud Editor for ESP32/ESP8266 instead, since users can select boards, write code, load libraries, and flash the resulting firmware from a compatible web browser without installing anything else on their computer. FlashESP key features: Cloud Compilation – Real-time compilation with live logs. Auto Configuration – Intelligent board and library detection. One-Click Flash – Web Serial integration. Connect your ESP via USB and flash directly from a compatible browser (WebSerial support needed) without any drivers or downloads. Public Explorer – Discover community projects. Flexible Visibility – Create private projects for your team, public for the world, or […]

Posted on by Sponsored Post - 2 Comments on Mongoose Wizard builds professional embedded device dashboards for microcontrollers like ESP32, STM32, NXP, RPi and others (Sponsored)

Mongoose Wizard builds professional embedded device dashboards for microcontrollers like ESP32, STM32, NXP, RPi and others (Sponsored)

Mongoose Wizard

Cesanta Software introduced Mongoose Wizard – a no-code visual tool that enables embedded developers to effortlessly build a professionally looking device dashboard (WebUI) and REST API without writing any frontend code, transforming the microcontroller (MCU) board into a browser-accessible web dashboard for control, monitoring, and updates. Whether for prototyping or building production devices, integrating a web dashboard into firmware gives end users intuitive and powerful control. Designed for use in Industrial, Automotive, Smart home, or any Internet of Things product (machinery, devices, appliances, etc.) that benefits from a browser-based interface. Mongoose Wizard utilises the Mongoose Library, an open source network library for C/C++. Mongoose Library provides event-driven non-blocking APIs for TCP, UDP, HTTP, WebSocket, MQTT, and other protocols. It is designed for connecting devices and bringing them online. On the market since 2004, used by a vast number of open-source and commercial products – it even runs on the International […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on pdsink – An open-source USB PD 3.2 sink stack for embedded devices

pdsink – An open-source USB PD 3.2 sink stack for embedded devices

open-source USB PD Sink implementation for embedded devices

pdsink is an open-source USB Power Delivery (PD) 3.2 sink implementation for embedded devices released under an MIT license. Vitaly Puzrin noticed that most available USB PD stacks come with at least one hard constraint: vendor lock-in, NDA, no public sources, coupling to a specific OS or framework, incomplete sink feature set (e.g., no EPR), or difficulty extending to new Type-C Port Controller (TCPC)/MCU combinations. So he created pdsink is an attempt to provide a small, platform-agnostic, readable sink-only stack that’s easy to adapt to different controllers. pdsink highlights: USB PD 3.2, SPR (Extended Power Range), and EPR (Extended Power Range for 28V and up) support on the sink side. Platform-agnostic C++ core that does not depend on a specific HAL or RTOS. Reference implementation using OnSemi FUSB302B + FreeRTOS (ESP32-C3). MIT license enabling the project to be used in commercial products without conditions. pdsink can be found on any […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on LWMalloc is a lightweight dynamic memory allocator for embedded systems

LWMalloc is a lightweight dynamic memory allocator for embedded systems

LWMalloc dynamic memory allocator for embedded systems

LWMalloc is an ultra-lightweight dynamic memory allocator designed for embedded systems that is said to outperform ptmalloc used in Glibc, achieving up to 53% faster execution time and 23% lower memory usage. Malloc can cause memory fragmentation on embedded systems, potentially leading to crashes after the firmware runs long enough. Garbage collection is one technique for lowering fragmentation, but it’s not always practical on resource-constrained devices, and some simply avoid using malloc in their firmware, preferring static memory allocation or memory pools to improve reliability. Custom dynamic memory allocators are another option, and that’s what LWMalloc provides. LWMalloc is described in a paper entitled “LWMalloc: A Lightweight Dynamic Memory Allocator for Resource-Constrained Environments” as follows: LWMalloc incorporates a lightweight data structure, a deferred coalescing (DC) policy, and dedicated small chunk pools to optimize memory allocation. The lightweight data structure minimizes metadata overhead, ensuring a compact and efficient implementation. The DC […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on Getting Started with Quectel EC200U 4G LTE Cat 1 IoT board using the QNavigator and the QuecOpen SDK

Getting Started with Quectel EC200U 4G LTE Cat 1 IoT board using the QNavigator and the QuecOpen SDK

Quectel EC200U development board QNavigator

CNXSoft: This is a guest post by Eicut showing how to get started with a Quectel EC200U 4G TLE Cat 1 IoT development board using QNavigator and the QuecOpen SDK. In IoT projects—and across embedded systems in general—we’ve seen a growing demand for higher data exchange rates, along with broader frequency band coverage. These advancements are critical for enhancing the reliability of a device’s communication link with the network. As a result, 4G modules with fallback capability to 2G and 4G networks have emerged as a leading solution in this space. But the key question remains: Which modules should we use to leverage this technology, and what features do they offer? Exploring the Quectel EC200U LTE Cat 1 Module for IoT In this section of the EC200U tutorial, we’ll take a closer look at one of the most popular and dependable options in the IoT space—Quectel’s EC200U module. If you’ve […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on XIAOML Kit with ESP32-S3, camera, microphone, and IMU complements a free Machine Learning Systems book

XIAOML Kit with ESP32-S3, camera, microphone, and IMU complements a free Machine Learning Systems book

XIAOML Kit Machine Learning Systems Book

The XIAOML Kit is one of the devkits that complements Harvard University Professor Vijay Janapa Reddi’s book “Introduction to Machine Learning Systems“, available for free as a 2050-page PDF file. Made by Seeed Studio, the XIAOML Kit is composed of the XIAO ESP32S3 Sense with an ESP32-S3 WiFI and Bluetooth SoC, a microSD card slot, a built-in OV3660 camera and microphone, and the “IMU Breakout board” featuring a 6-axis IMU and 0.42-inch OLED display. The kit enables students, educators, and developers to build vision, sound, and motion applications through tinyML lab sessions developed with Marcelo Rovai (UNIFEI). XIAOML Kit specifications: Main Board – XIAO ESP32S3 Sense SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3R8 dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller @ 240 MHz with 512KB SRAM, 8MB PSRAM, Wi-Fi 4 & Bluetooth 5.0 dual-mode (Classic + BLE) connectivity Storage – 8MB flash, microSD card slot Sensors – OV3660 camera, digital microphone USB – USB-C port […]