alexa News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

December 27, 2022January 5, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

SONOFF ZBMINI Extreme tiny Zigbee smart switch does not require a neutral wire

SONOFF ZBMINI Extreme (aka ZBMINI-L2) is an ultra-compact Zigbee smart switch that can control home appliances and lights without a neutral wire and can fit into almost any mounting box. The tiny wireless switch can fit into the smallest EU-type/86-type/120-type mounting box, and works with gateways supporting the Zigbee 3.0 protocol such as ZBBridge Pro, NSPanel Pro, SmartThings Hub, Amazon Alexa Echo speaker, and so on. It also supports external switches, voice control,eWelink app control, and other features. SONOFF ZBMINI Extreme (ZBMINI-L2) specifications: MCU – Silicon Labs EFR32MG22 Arm Cortex-M33 @ 76.8 MHz Zigbee microcontroller with up to 512 kB flash, up to 32 kB RAM Connectivity – Zigbee 3.0 Input – 100-240V ~ 56/60Hz 6A Max Output – 100-240V ~ 56/60Hz 6A Max Dimensions – 39.5 x 32 x 18.4mm Casing material – PC V0 As mentioned in the introduction, the SONOFF ZBMINI-L2 does not need a neutral wire […]

June 17, 2022September 5, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

SONOFF POW Elite ESP32 WiFi power meter switch handles up to 20A load

SONOFF POW Elite is an ESP32-powered smart power meter switch that can handle up to 20A max load to monitor the power consumption of all appliances in a whole room. The data can be visualized in real-time on the built-in LCD or via the eWelink app, up to six-month of hourly power consumption history can be saved, and the system can also be integrated with third-party solutions such as a Home Assistant, IFTTT, and Alexa Energy dashboard. SONOFF POW Elite specifications: WiSoC – Espressif Systems ESP32 dual-core Xtenxa processor @ up to 240 MHz with 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity Wireless – 2.4GHz 802.11 b/g/n WiFi 4 (Bluetooth does not seem to be used) Power Input/Output POWR316D model – 100-240V~ 50/60Hz 16A Max POWR320D model – 100-240V~50/60Hz 20A Max Dimensions – 98 x 54 x 31mm (DIN Rail mountable) Casing Material – PC V0 (Tested with UL94v-0 […]

January 25, 2022January 26, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 24 Comments

SONOFF ZBMINI-L Zigbee 3.0 Smart Switch works without neutral wire

When using a wireless switch like SONOFF T2 a connection to the neutral wire is needed to power the device, but this is not always feasible/practical as many lights as cabled without a neutral wire. SONOFF ZBMINI-L Zigbee 3.0 smart switch solves this issue as it does not require a neutral wire. Simply connect the two wires for the light and you are good to go. ITEAD says its solution does not require an extra anti-flicker module and relies on an “advanced electricity extraction technique”. SONOFF ZBMINI-L specifications: Connectivity – Zigbee 3.0 via TI CC2652P, up to 50 meter range (line of sight) Input – 100-240V 50/60Hz up to 6A Output – 100-240V 50/60Hz up to 6A Max. Load Resistive – 1380W Max @ 230V, 720W Max @ 120V LED – 300W Max @ 230V, 150W Max @ 120V Dimensions – 54 x 45 x 24mm (supports 35mm DIN Rail […]

January 25, 2022January 24, 2022 by Sponsored Post - 4 Comments

PB-03 – A Bluetooth LE 5.2 module for the Smart Home, wearables, IoT, etc… (Sponsored)

What changes does Bluetooth LE 5.2 (BLE 5.2) bring? Maybe PB-03 module can tell you. PB-03 is a BLE module developed by Shenzhen Ai-Thinker Technology based on PHY+ PHY6252 32-bit microcontroller (see PDF datasheet) that offers high integration and low power consumption down to 0.3uA in OFF mode, and is well suited to various applications such as IoT, mobile devices, wearable electronic devices, and smart homes. PB-03 module’s highlights Ai-Thinker PB-03 provides an upgrade to earlier PB-01/02 modules with the following highlights: MCU – PHY6252 microcontroller with 256KB flash, 64KB SRAM Supports BLE 5.2 and Bluetooth Mesh Equipped with an on-board PCB antenna Up to 2 Mbps data rate I/Os – UART, PWM, ADC, I2C, SPI, PDM, DMA, and up to 19 IOs. Security – AES-128 encryption hardware Power consumption (PHY6252) 0.3uA @ OFF Mode (IO wake up only) 1uA @ Sleep Mode with 32KHz RTC 3.5uA @ Sleep Mode […]

September 26, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Raspberry Pi smart audio devkit features AISonic IA8201 DSP, microphone array

Knowles AISonic IA8201 Raspberry Pi development kit is designed to bring voice, audio edge processing, and machine learning (ML) listening capabilities to various systems, and can be used to evaluate the company’s AISonic IA8201 DSP that was introduced about two years ago. The kit is comprised of three boards with an adapter board with three buttons connecting to the Raspberry Pi, as well as the AISonic IA8210 DSP board itself connected via a flat cable to a microphone array. Knowles AISonic Raspberry Pi development kit Knowles did not provide the full details for the development but says it enables wake-on-voice processing for low latency voice UI, noise reduction, context awareness, and accelerated machine learning inferencing for edge processing of sensor inputs. Some of the use cases include Low Power Voice Wake to listen for specific OEM keywords to wake the host processor, Proximity Detection when combined with an ultrasonic capable […]

August 2, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

STEVAL-VOICE-UI Amazon qualified Alexa Smart Home evaluation kit is based on STM32H7 MCU

We’ve already covered plenty of Amazon-qualified development kits working with Alexa Voice Services. But here’s another one with STEVAL-VOICE-UI evaluation kit making it to the list of Smart Home Dev Kits, which Amazon describes as “reference designs for creating smart home products such as light switches, thermostats, or Wi-Fi routers”. STEVAL-VOICE-UI voice user interface (VUI) evaluation kit features an STMicro STM32H7 Arm Cortex-M7 microcontroller with 2 MB embedded flash, 1 MB embedded SRAM, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, and a microphone array with three MEMS microphones, as well as a loudspeaker, and some buttons and LEDs. STEVAL-VOICE-UI key features specifications: Microcontroller – STMicro STM32H753VIT6E Cortex-M7 MCU @ up to 550 MHz with 2 MB flash, 1 MB SRAM Connectivity – 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi subsystem (Murata 1DX module) coupled to 2MB NOR flash (ISSI IS25LP016D) Audio 3x MP23DB01HP MEMS microphones with 36 and 30 mm spacing FDA903D class D digital input automotive audio […]

July 30, 2021January 3, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Amazon Alexa certified ESP AFE leverages ESP32-S3 AI & DSP instructions

While most Amazon Alexa certified products are hardware designs, Amazon website also includes a Software Audio Front End (AFE) Dev Kits section that lists software algorithms that optimize audio detection in noisy environments, and the latest addition is Espressif’s Audio Front-End algorithms, or ESP AFE for shorts, that have recently been qualified for Amazon Alexa devices. It’s not the first Alexa certified solution from Espressif Systems, as both companies have worked together in the past with audio products like the ESP32-PICO-V3-ZERO Alexa Connect Kit Module or ESP32-Vaquita-DSPG board The algorithms were created by Espressif’s AI Lab team who used the AI and DSP instructions inside ESP32-S3 processor to optimize the code. The algorithms only utilized 12 to 20% of the CPU, as well as 220 KB of internal and 240 KB of external memory, leaving extra resources for other applications running in the wireless SoC. The ESP AFE is said […]

March 7, 2021March 6, 2021 by Saumitra Jagdale - No Comments

QuickLogic’s Hearable Reference Design enables Alexa Voice-Initiated Devices

Working with QuickLogic's Smart Hearable Reference Design

Last year we saw QuickFeather board featuring EOS S3 Cortex-M4F MCU with embedded FPGA, which was a crowdfunding project. This year the company has launched its smart hearable reference design based on a similar processor by QuickLogic. The device is dedicated to “Voice-Initiated, Hands-Free, Alexa Built-In Devices with Close-Talk Support.” QuickLogic’s smart hearable reference design is based on the company’s Open Reconfigurable Computing (QORC) which supports a complete open-source set of development options for the MCU and FPGA devices. It is also built on the EOS S3 Voice Processor and the QuickFeather open source development kit. This can enhance the user experience with a longer battery life of the device. The EOS S3 Arm Cortex- M4 processor features Low Power Sound Detection (LPSD) technology along with DSP Concepts’ TalkTo noise suppression and beamforming technology for the directional transmission of signals. It also comes with Alexa Wake Word engine technology, an […]