M5Stack has just launched its unique and latest core device with a touchscreen e-Ink display. M5Paper ESP32 IoT Development Kit is a fully programmable microcontroller-based platform that can be an ideal choice for your IoT applications. This low-power device could suit such purposes as an industrial controller or smart weather display. The M5Paper comes with the ESP32-D0WD, the same chip that has powered M5Stack Core2. The e-Ink display supports 16-level grayscale, which provides a great reading experience. The display is a GT911 capacitive touch screen that supports multipoint touch and a variety of gesture controls. M5Paper ESP32 IoT Development Kit Specifications SoC – Espressif ESP32-D0WDQ6-V3 dual-core clocked at 240MHz with 520KB SRAM, Wi-Fi, dual-mode Bluetooth connectivity. Memory/storage – 16 MB of flash memory along with 8 MB of PSRAM. Antenna – 2.4GHz 3D antenna. Display – GT911 capacitive touch screen with 960×540 resolution (IT8951 driver) along with 4.7″ e-Ink display, […]
CodeBug Connect IoT development board is designed for young makers (Crowdfunding)
In 2015, a UK-based team launched a mini IoT development board called CodeBug. The same team has now come up with the CodeBug Connect IoT Development Board. CodeBug Connect is a new wearable micro-computer that brings IoT to everyone and aimed at educators and young makers. Upgrade to the original CodeBug This comes as an upgrade to the original CodeBug. The new development board retains its original cuteness and petite proportions but adds full color to the grid of 5×5 LEDs. The original buttons have been upgraded to mini joysticks, making them more suitable for games. The touch-sensitive, croc-clip connectors ‘legs’ that serve as I/O pins remain, as does the 0.1” header socket. “This year has shown our reliance on connected technology — with CodeBug Connect we wanted to make this technology accessible so everyone can build their own IoT devices and no one is left behind. The technology in […]
ASRock Mars 4000U could be the world’s thinnest AMD Ryzen 4000 mini PC
We’ve already written about AMD Ryzen 7 4800 mini PC‘s such as ASROCK 4×4 BOX-4800, but if you’d like something slimmer with the processor, nothing beats the company’s Mars 4000U series mini PCs with a 26mm height. Despite its slim body, the mini PC packs up a lot of processing power and features, with up to an AMD Ryzen 7 4800 processor, up to 64GB RAM, support for a 2.5-inch SATA drive and M.2 NVMe/SATA SSD, as well as HDMI and VGA video outputs and more. ASRock Mars 4000U mini PC specifications: SoC Mars 4300U model – AMD Ryzen 3 4300U quad-core processor up to 3.7GHz with 6MB cache, 5-core Radeon graphics; 15W TDP Mars 4500U model – AMD Ryzen 5 4500U hexa-core processor up to 4.0GHz with 11MB cache, 6-core Radeon graphics; 15W TDP Mars 4800U model – AMD Ryzen 7 4800U octa-core/16-thread processor up to 4.2GHz with 12MB […]
MorphESP 240 ESP32-S2 board integrates a 1.3-inch color display (Crowdfunding)
We’ve already seen ESP32 platforms with a color display such as M5Stack, but MorphESP 240 is kind of cute with a 1.3-inch color display, features the more recent ESP32-S2 WiFi processor, and supports battery power & charging. MorphESP 240 specifications: Wireless Module – ESP32-S2-WROOM with Espressif Systems ESP32-S2 single-core 32-bit Xtensa LX7 microprocessor up to 240 MHz with 128 KB ROM, 320 KB SRAM, 16 KB SRAM in RTC, 4MB SPI flash, 802.11 b/g/n 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi connectivity Display – Onboard 1.3-inch ST7789 display with 240 x 240 resolution, connected over SPI USB – 1x Micro USB port for power/charging and programming Expansion – 16-pin and 24-pin headers with GPIO, I2C, UART, SPI, USB, and power signals Misc – WS2812B RGB LED connected to IO16, Reset button, boot mode switch, battery on/off switch Power Supply 5 V to 3.3 V regulator to feed additional modules JST connector for a battery […]
Hantro H1 hardware accelerated video encoding support in mainline Linux
With the increasing need for video encoding, there are some breakthrough developments in hardware-accelerated video encoding for Linux. Bootlin has been working on the implementation of Hantro H1 hardware accelerated video encoding to support H.264 encoding on Linux which follows the company’s work on the previously-released open-source VPU driver for Allwinner processors. Hantro H1 Hardware Hantro H1 is a common hardware H.264 encoder, it can also do VP8 and JPEG. It is found in a few ARM SoCs including a lot of Rockchip (RK3288, RK3328, RK3399, PX30, RK1808) and NXP (i.MX 8M Mini). Depending on the version, it can support up to 1080p at 30 or 60 fps. Here we can see different blocks used for encoding. Hantro H1 is a stateless hardware implementation which means it has no microcontroller or firmware running. As can be seen in the diagram, it has a pre-processor that can do things like cropping, […]
$89 Lite3DP resin 3D printer fits in the palm of your hand (Crowdfunding)
I thought Selpic A-star 3D printer we recently covered was already small, but if you’re looking for an ultra-portable printer, it will be hard to beat the Arduino-based, open-source hardware Lite3DP resin 3D printer that can fit in the palm of your hand, and weighs just around 350 grams. That also means a pretty small build volume of just 45.1 x 33.8 x 70 mm, so it’s really for small objects, and for instance, a typical Raspberry Pi case could not be printed. But let’s have a look. Lite3DP printer’s key features and specifications: Electronics – All-in-one PCB with Arduino Pro Mini, a driver for the stepper motor, a module for a microSD card, and a screen with dual-functionality. Technology – MSLA // LCD-SLA Resolution – XY: 0.14 mm; Z: 0.05 and 0.1 mm Build volume (W x L x H) – 45.1 x 33.8 x 70 mm Tray volume […]
Reolink RLC-810A review – A 4K security camera with people & vehicle detection
Last week I received Reolink RLC-810A 4K smart security camera with support for people and vehicle detection. I listed the specifications and check out the content of the package of the first security camera I’ve received with artificial intelligence. That should be great to avoid all unnecessary alerts from motion detection I get from my “dumb” IP cameras. In this review, I’ll write a small guide showing how to use the camera with the Reolink app, the web interface, and check out RTSP and ONVIF support. I’ll also see if people and vehicle detection lives up to my expectations. Reolink RLC-810A Camera installation and setup As noted in the first part of the review, the camera does not come with a power adapter and does not support WiFi. So I had to find a 12V power adapter and used a 15-meter Ethernet cable to connect it to my router. Before […]
SolidRun launches i.MX 8M Plus SOM and devkit for AI/ML applications
SolidRun already offers NXP based solutions with AI accelerators through products such as SolidRun i.MX 8M Mini SoM with Gyrfalcon Lightspeeur 2803S AI accelerator, or Janux GS31 Edge AI server with NXP LX2160A networking SoC, various i.MX 8M SoCs and up to 128 Gyrfalcon accelerators. All those solutions are based on one or more external Gyrfalcon AI chips, but earlier this year, NXP introduced i.MX 8M Plus SoC with a built-in 2.3 TOPS neural processing unit (NPU), and now SolidRun has just unveiled the SolidRun i.MX 8M Plus SoM with the processor together with development kits based on HummingBoard carrier boards. Specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Plus Dual or Quad with dual or quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @1.6 GHz (industrial) / 1.8 GHz (commercial), with Arm Cortex-M7 up to 800MHz, Vivante GC7000UL 3G GPU (Vulkan, OpenGL ES 3.1, OpenCL 1.2), 2.3 TOPS NPU, 1080p60 H.264/H.265 video encoder, 1080p60 video […]