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May 8, 2026May 7, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Arbor ARES-2100 Wildcat Lake fanless box PC targets industrial automation, machine vision, and Edge AI applications

Arbor ARES-2100 fanless box PC is another industrial platform based on the new Intel Core Series 3 “Wildcat Lake” processor family, which specifically targets industrial automation, machine vision, and lightweight Edge AI applications. The fanless computer supports up to 64GB DDR5 SO-DIMM memory, UFS 3.1 and/or M.2 NVMe/SATA storage, and offers up to three video outputs, up to three 2.5GbE ports, optional WiFi, Bluetooth, and 4G LTE via M.2 expansion slots, an RS232/RS485 RJ45 connector, and two optional CAN Bus interfaces through a terminal block. As an industrial machine, it’s designed to operate in the -20 to +60°C temperature range, takes 9 to 36V DC input, and received MIL-STD-810H certification for shock and vibration. Arbor ARES-2100 specifications: SoC – Intel Core Series 3 Wildcat Lake processors with five or six cores, Intel Xe3 Graphics, and up to 40 TOPS of combined AI performance. TDP: 15W System Memory – Up to […]

May 5, 2026May 5, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Congatec conga-TC300 COM Express module features up to Intel Core 7 350 Wildcat Lake processor

Intel Wildcat Lake COM Express Compact module

congatec conga-TC300 is an entry-level edge AI COM Express Type-6 Compact module powered by 15W Intel Core Series 3 “Wildcat Lake” SoCs up to the Core 7 350 hexa-core processor. The module supports up to 64GB DDR5 SO-DIMM memory and features optional on-board UFS 3.1 storage, an Intel i226 2.5GbE controller, and two standard 220-pin board-to-board connectors exposing I/Os such as SATA, DDI and LVDS or eDP display interfaces, USB4, USB 3.2, USB 2.0, PCIe Gen4/Gen3, and more. congatec conga-TC300 specifications: Wildcat Lake SoC (one or the other) Intel Core 3 305 6-core CPU – 2x P-cores @ 1.5/4.3 GHz (Turbo) + 4x LPE-cores @ 1.4/3.3 GHz (Turbo) GPU – 1-core Intel Xe3 Graphics @ 2.3 GHz (9 TOPS) NPU – N/A Intel Core 5 320 6-core CPU – 2x P-cores @ 1.5/4.6 GHz (Turbo) + 4x LPE-cores @ 1.4/3.4 GHz (Turbo) GPU – 2-core Intel Xe3 Graphics @ 2.5 […]

April 24, 2026 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Axiomtek PICO570 – An Intel Core Ultra Meteor Lake Pico-ITX SBC with DDR5-5600 SO-DIMM memory, HDMI 2.1 up to 4Kp120

Axiomtek PICO570 Pico ITX SBC with Intel Core Ultra Processors

Axiomtek has recently introduced the PICO570, a high-performance Pico-ITX SBC built around Intel Core Ultra (Series 1) Meteor Lake-U processors. Measuring just 100 x 72 mm, this ultra-compact board with its 11 TOPS NPU is designed for edge AI applications. The PICO570 board is very similar to the AAEON PICO-MTU4 Pico-ITX SBC, but it features a physical 262-pin DDR5 SO-DIMM slot that allows users to upgrade or replace the RAM instead of solder-on LPDDR5 memory, and features an HDMI 2.1 supporting up to 4K resolution at 120Hz. The SBC also features an RS-232/422/485 serial interface, two USB 3.0 ports, and a dedicated SMBus connector for system management. With an operating temperature range of -20°C to +60°C, a watchdog timer, hardware monitoring, and a 12V DC input, it can be used for AI inference nodes, automation controllers, medical systems, and intelligent infrastructure. Axiomtek PICO570 specifications: Meteor Lake-U SoC (one of the other) […]

April 24, 2026April 24, 2026 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

Argon Industria HMI 5C – An industrial aluminum enclosure for the 5-inch Raspberry Pi Touch Display 2

The Argon Industria HMI 5C is an industrial-grade aluminum enclosure designed to house a Raspberry Pi 5 and the 5-inch variant of the Pi Touch Display 2, turning it into a compact Human Machine Interface (HMI) system for control panels, automation interfaces, and embedded display applications. The enclosure supports VESA and panel mounting with a soft foam gasket design, with access to USB, Ethernet, HDMI, and GPIO ports via an internal IO board that reroutes connections (including converting micro-HDMI to full-size HDMI), and includes cable punch-outs for clean installation. The design allows HAT expansion (when the cooling column is removed), PCIe-based M.2 NVMe storage expansion, and compatibility with various other modules. Argon Industria HMI 5C Specifications: Compatibility – Raspberry Pi 5 Supported Display – Official Raspberry Pi Touch Display 2 (5-inch, 720 x 1280 resolution) Port access Display – HDMI (re-routed, full-size via internal PCB) Networking – Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 jack USB – 4x […]

April 23, 2026April 23, 2026 by Debashis Das - 2 Comments

Microchip PIC16F132 and PIC18-Q35 low-power 8-bit MCUs feature CPLD-like Configurable Logic Blocks (CLB)

PIC16F13276 and PIC18 Q35 families of Configurable Logic Block MCUs

Microchip Technology has introduced the PIC16F132 and PIC18-Q35 8-bit families of MCUs, as an upgrade over the PIC16F13145, which combine traditional embedded control with integrated Configurable Logic Blocks (CLB), to bring CPLD-like programmable logic directly onto the microcontroller die. The main difference between the two families is in logic density, where the PIC16F132x includes 32 Basic Logic Elements (BLEs), and the PIC18-Q35 offers 128 BLEs. Alongside the CLB, these MCUs also integrate security and voltage management features. Programming and Debugging Interface Disable (PDID) provides anti-tamper protection against unauthorized firmware access, and Multi-Voltage I/O (MVIO) allows direct communication across different voltage domains without external level shifters. The company also mentions that by executing logic functions on dedicated hardware rather than in software, the CLB architecture reduces CPU load and power consumption while ensuring deterministic behavior. This makes the devices well-suited for timing-critical applications such as motor control, industrial automation, consumer electronics, […]

March 31, 2026 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Rockchip RK3506J-based Forlinx FCU1501 fanless industrial IoT gateway offers dual Ethernet, plenty of I/Os and serial interfaces

Forlinx Technology has recently introduced the FCU1501, a rugged, fanless industrial embedded computer and IoT gateway built around the Rockchip RK3506J processor with a tri-core Cortex-A7 and a single Cortex-M0 core. The system is designed for high-reliability data acquisition and protocol conversion in harsh environments. The gateway comes in two variants (basic and extended), which have similar dimensions but differ mainly in interface density. Both models feature up to 512MB DDR3 RAM, 8GB eMMC flash, dual Fast Ethernet, dual-band Wi-Fi & Bluetooth 5.0, and 4G LTE Cat 1 support. Applications include automation, rail transit, and smart manufacturing. The system supports a wide industrial temperature range (-40°C to +85°C) and meets Level 3 EMC standards. Forlinx FCU1501 Specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3506J CPU 3x Arm Cortex-A7 cores up to 1.5 GHz Arm Cortex-M0 real-time core GPU – 2D GPU only No VPU, no NPU System Memory – 256MB or 512MB DDR3 Storage 256MB NAND […]

March 19, 2026March 19, 2026 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

Industrial RS-485/Modbus Raspberry Pi HAT works with OpenPLC, supports 7V-32V DC input

Industrial RS485 Modbus HAT for Raspberry Pi

We have previously written about various industrial Raspberry Pi systems and gateways that come with RS-485 built in, but we had yet to cover a dedicated RS-485 Raspberry Pi HAT. To fill this gap, EngineElectronicAccessories, a developer based in Sweden, has introduced the “Industrial RS485 / Modbus HAT” designed for industrial automation, monitoring, and the OpenPLC open-source PLC suite. The board features an onboard RS-485 transceiver with TVS diode protection and supports long-distance communication over the RS-485 standard. It uses the Pi’s hardware UART interface and includes Tx/Rx LEDs for diagnostics. The board also accepts 7V to 32V DC input, so you can power both the HAT and the Raspberry Pi directly from a standard 24V rail, eliminating the need for a separate USB power supply in a control cabinet. Industrial RS-485/ Modbus HAT specifications: Compatibility – All Raspberry Pi boards with 40-pin GPIO header (Pi 3, Pi 4, Pi […]

March 19, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Grinn GenioSoM-360 MediaTek Genio 360P LGA system-on-module enables Edge AI in space-constrained applications

Grinn GenioSoM-360 is the first system-on-module (SoM) based on MediaTek Genio 360P octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 SoC with a 7.4 TOPS AI accelerator. It comes in a compact (30x30mm) LGA package targeting edge AI applications in space-constrained applications. The SoM features up to 8GB LPDDR4x RAM, up to 64GB eMMC flash, a PMIC, and exposes all I/Os through 303 pads, notably MIPI DSI, LVDS, eDP/DP display interfaces, MIPI CSI camera interfaces, Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.2/2.0 interfaces, PCIe Gen2, CAN FD, and more Grinn GenioSoM-360 specifications: SoC – MediaTek Genio 360P (MT8367); note the photo above shows the MT8366, the hexa-core Genio 360 variant Octa-core CPU 2x Arm Cortex-A76 cores clocked at up to 1.9 GHz (industrial) / 2.0GHz (commercial) 6x Arm Cortex-A55 cores clocked at up to 1.7 GHz (industrial) / 2.0GHz (commercial) GPU – Arm Mali-G57 MC2 at up to 700MHz with support for OpenGL ES 3.2, Vulkan 1.1, OpenCL 2.0 […]