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November 9, 2025November 8, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 44 Comments

Giveaway Week 2025 – RAKwireless Blues.ONE LoRaWAN, LTE-M, and NB-IoT devkit

It turns out we don’t have two, but three companies offering free samples on CNX Software this year. The last one is a regular, and RAKwireless joins us for the fifth year running with a Blues.ONE LoRaWAN, LTE-M, and NB-IoT devkit that can be useful for industrial automation and asset-tracking applications. Regular readers may recall that it is the same prize as last year. While I usually prefer getting a new devkit, the company didn’t launch any this year (just some Meshtastic kits). The good news is that if you missed out last time around, you have a chance to give it another go. Here’s what the winner will get as a reminder: RAK4631 WisBlock Core Module based on Nordic Semi nRF52840 Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller @ 64 MHz with 1 MB Flash, 256 KB RAM, Bluetooth Low Energy 5.0 protocol stack Semtech SX1262 LoRa Transceiver with LoRaWAN 1.0.2 protocol stack […]

November 3, 2025November 3, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

This battery-powered NB-IoT/LTE-M industrial data logger is designed to run for years

IP67 Battery Powered NB IoT Cellular Data Logger

NORVI EC-M12-BC-C6-C-A (or EC-M12 for shorts) is a battery-powered cellular IoT industrial data logger offering NB-IoT and LTE-M connectivity, 2G fallback, two 4-20mA sensor inputs, an RS485 interface, and two 3.6V/19,000mAh non-rechargeable Lithium batteries for up to 5-7 years of operation. The IP67-rated data logger is built around a low-power STM32L072 Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller, and features a SIM7070 cellular IoT modem, a microSD card slot for data storage, and a single 8-pin M8 connector carrying analog input and RS485 signals. NORVI EC-M12-BC-C6-C-A specifications: Microcontroller – STMicro STM32L072 Arm Cortex-M0+ MCU clocked at up to 32 MHz with 20 KB of RAM, 192 KB flash with ECC, and 6 KB of data EEPROM with ECC Storage – MicroSD card slot up to 128GB Wireless Connectivity Multi-band 2G, Cat-M1, Cat-NB1 (NB-IoT) via SIMCom SIM7070 module Optional LoRaWAN support RP-SMA male antenna connector Sensor interface via 8-pin M8 female connector 2x analog Inputs […]

November 3, 2025November 5, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 269 Comments

Giveaway Week 2025 – M5Stack Tab5 ESP32-P4 IoT devkit

It’s that time of the year when we organize CNX Software Giveaway Week, a global contest where we give away review samples or get companies to send units to readers. For the 12th edition of the contest, we have seven items to give away this time around: five review samples I will send myself, and two prizes from companies offering a router board and an industrial development kit. As usual, the contest is open worldwide, and CNX Software Thailand has a separate contest with four additional items for people with an address in Thailand. The first prize will be the M5Stack Tab5 ESP32-P4 IoT development kit featuring a 5-inch touchscreen display, a 2MP front-facing camera, a speaker, a dual-microphone array, a microSD card slot, an ESP32-C6 for wireless connectivity, sensors, and more. I had some fun reviewing the M5Stack Tab5 devkit by building the default firmware with the ESP-IDF framework, […]

October 31, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

HUSKYLENS 2 – A 6 TOPS LLM and AI vision camera with self-learning capabilities

DFRobot HUSKYLENS 2 is an LLM and AI vision camera powered by a Kendryte K230 dual-core RISC-V SoC with a 6 TOPS AI accelerator and designed to be easy-to-use for makers, educators, competition teams, and AI enthusiasts. It provides an upgrade to the HUSKYLENS AI camera introduced in 2019 with the Kendryte K210 SoC. It features 1GB of LPDDR4, an 8GB eMMC flash, a microSD card slot, a 2MP camera sensor, a 4-pin Gravity expansion connector, and a USB-C port for power and programming. The company says the HUSKYLEN 2 comes preloaded with over 20 AI models, including object tracking, hand recognition, and instance segmentation, but users can also train and deploy their own AI models using features like the self-learning classifier. HUSLYLENSE 2 specifications: SoC – Kendryte K230 CPU 64-bit RISC-V processor @ 1.6GHz with RVV 1.0 support 64-bit RISC-V processor @ 800MHz AI accelerator – Up to 6 […]

October 31, 2025October 30, 2025 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

ESP32JTAG – An open-source wireless JTAG and logic analyzer (Crowdfunding)

EZ32 ESP32JTAG is an open-source, wireless JTAG and logic analyzer tool that can debug both MCUs and FPGAs. It features a 16-channel 250 MHz logic analyzer and integrated UART interface, designed to replace tools such as ST-Link or Saleae analyzers in a single compact, wireless solution. The device is built around an ESP32-S3 dual-core SoC and a small FPGA with 5k logic gates and 1 Mbit of internal RAM to handle high-speed signal processing. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 4, Bluetooth 5.0, and USB Type-C, and a small 1.83-inch LCD displays system information such as IP address and status. The ESP32JTAG is also equipped with four configurable 4-wire ports for JTAG, SWD, UART, and logic analyzer mode, and supports target voltage monitoring. EZ32 ESP32JTAG specifications: Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3 CPU – dual-core Tensilica LX7 @ up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration Memory – 512KB RAM, 8MB […]

October 27, 2025October 26, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

1GHz Renesas RA8D2 and RA8M2 Cortex-M85 MCUs feature up to 1MB MRAM, 2MB SRAM

Renesas RA8M2 and RA8D2 dual core Cortex M85, M33 MCU with MRAM storage

After introducing the 1 GHz RA8T2 MCU earlier this month, Renesas has recently expanded its RA8 lineup with the RA8D2 and RA8M2 groups of MCUs, where the RA8D2 is designed for graphics, HMI, and AI applications with support for display, camera, and audio interfaces, while the RA8M2 targets general-purpose, high-performance IoT and industrial control systems with networking and compute capabilities. Both MCU groups deliver a performance of up to 7,300 Coremarks, offer up to 1MB of MRAM and 2MB of SRAM, and support SiP options with up to 8MB flash. The RA8D2 adds HMI capabilities, including a 1280×800 graphics LCD controller, a 2D drawing engine, MIPI DSI and CSI-2 interfaces, and audio input support for voice and vision AI. Common features include dual Gigabit Ethernet with TSN, USB 2.0, CAN FD, I3C, and various analog peripherals. Integrated RSIP-E50D security, Helium acceleration for DSP/ML with various software support. Renesas RA8D2 and […]

October 26, 2025October 26, 2025 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

CrowPanel Advance 7-inch ESP32-P4 HMI display supports Zigbee, LoRa, and 2.4GHz radio modules

CrowPanel Advanced 7 inch ESP32 P4 HMI AI Display

The CrowPanel Advance 7.0-inch ESP32-P4 HMI AI display is an ESP32-P4 HMI terminal that is similar to the GUITION 7-inch touchscreen display. It also adds an ESP32-C6 module for WiFi 6, Bluetooth LE, and 802.15.4 connectivity, and is suitable for Smart Home, industrial automation, and AIoT applications. It features a 7-inch 1024×600 IPS capacitive touchscreen and optional AI vision and audio through a 2MP MIPI-CSI camera for face and object recognition, and a speaker header and a dual microphone array for interactive voice applications. The smart display also supports interchangeable wireless expansion for Zigbee/Thread, LoRa, and 2.4 GHz proprietary (nRF2401) connectivity. CrowPanel Advance 7.0-inch display specifications: Microcontroller – Espressif Systems ESP32-P4 CPU Dual-core RISC-V HP (High-performance) CPU @ up to 400 MHz with AI instructions extension and single-precision FPU, 768KB of on-chip SRAM Single-RISC-V LP (Low-power) MCU core @ up to 40 MHz with 8KB of zero-wait TCM RAM Memory – […]

October 23, 2025October 22, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

M5Stack Cardputer-Adv ESP32-S3 computer gains improved antenna, larger 1,750 mAh battery, ES8311 audio codec

In 2023, M5Stack introduced the Cardputer, a mini portable computer based on an ESP32-S3 module and equipped with a display and a keyboard. The Cardputer-Adv is an update based on the Stamp-S3A core module, with the same 1.14-inch LCD and 56-key keyboard, but featuring a range of upgrades. These include enhanced audio with an ES8311 audio codec, a high‑SNR MEMS microphone, an NS4150B amplifier, a 1W speaker, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack, an improved antenna design, a larger 1,750 mAh battery, and a built-in BMI270 6-axis IMU. M5Stack Cardputer-Adv specifications: (bold highlights show improvements/changes over the original Cardputer) Wireless MCU module – M5Stack M5Stamp S3A with SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3FN8 CPU Dual-core 32-bit Xtensa LX7 microcontroller with AI vector instructions up to 240MHz RISC-V ULP co-processor Memory – 512KB SRAM Storage – 8MB flash Wireless – 2.4GHz WiFi 4 (802.11b/g/n), Bluetooth 5.0 BLE + Mesh 2.4GHz 3D antenna USB […]