automation News - Page 35 of 56 - CNX Software

July 27, 2018July 27, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Lenovo Launches the First Smart Display with Google Assistant for $200 and Up

Android Things based smart displays were announced at CES 2018 with companies like Lenovo, LG, JBL, and Sony promising products later this year. In May, Google announced Google Assistant was now supporting smart displays, and released Android Things 1.0, the first production-ready version of the operating system. With all main software components released a few months ago, the first smart displays with Google Assistant support have now started selling for $199.99 and up courtesy of Lenovo. The smart display is available with either a 8″ or 10″ display. Lenovo Smart Display specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Home Hub Platform based on Snapdragon 624 octa-core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.8 GHz System Memory – Up to 2GB RAM Storage – Up to 4GB eMMC flash Display (one or the other) 8″ IPS display with 1280 x 800 resolution, 86° Wide Angle 10″ IPS display with 1920×1200 resolution, 86° Wide Angle Audio 8″ […]

July 20, 2018July 20, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Build an ESP8266 IR Remote Control with LOLIN IR Controller Shield for D1 Mini Board

Infrared remote control are still widely with TVs, set-top boxes, air conditioners, and all other sort of appliances with the end result of having many remote control around the house. If you want to cut on the number of remote controls, there are several solutions: Get a smartphone with a Built-in IR transmitter like Xiaomi Mi A1. Add an IR transmitter to your smartphones’s headphone jack using ZazaRemote or USB type C port with ROCK USB type C IR transmitter. Get a WiFi IR blaster in order to control devices remotely, or maybe buy several try control any IR devices from anywhere DIY your own solution for more flexibility, for example using ANAVI Infrared pHAT and a Raspberry Pi board. The smartphone solutions (1 & 2) works as long as you are in the room, but the WiFI IR blaster allows you to control devices even if you are not […]

July 2, 2018July 2, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Microchip Unveils SAM L10 & SAM L11 Arm Cortex-M23 MCU Families with Arm TrustZone for Armv8-M

Microchip has recently announced new SAM L10 and SAM L11 Arm Cortex-M23 MCU families, with the SAM L11 family featuring Arm TrustZone for Armv8-M that provides hardware isolation between certified libraries, IP and application code. SAM L10 & SAM L11 MCU Families Key features: Arm Cortex M23 Core @ 32 MHz Up to 64 KB Flash and 16 KB SRAM picoPower Technology less than 25 μA/MHz in active mode less than 100 nA in sleep mode Fast wakeup time: 1.5 μS Flexible power saving features Enhanced Peripheral Touch Controller (PTC) with improved water tolerance, noise immunity and responsiveness Security (for SAM L11 only) Chip-level tamper resistance Arm TrustZone technology Secure boot Secure bootloader Crypto accelerators Secure key storage Op amp ADC and DAC Package – VQFN32, TQFP32, WLCSP32, VQFN24, SSOP24 Microchip SAM L10 MCU achieved a ULPMark score of 405, or over 200 percent better performance compared to the nearest […]

June 19, 2018June 19, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

$10 H801 WiFi RGB LED Controller Supports Sonoff-Tasmota Open Source Firmware

This week-end, I played with ANAVI Light Controller, an open source hardware solution based on ESP8266 used control 12V RGB LED strips. The board has the advantage of being open source with KiCad schematics, Arduino firmware, and HTML5 server program available, so easy to get started and modify the features as you see fit, and it also supports external I2C sensors via three headers. That’s a low volume project made in Eastern Europe and as a result the board costs $25, so I was shortly made aware there were cheaper solution, and if you are ready to mess around a little bit, H801 WiFi controller appears to be one of the most interesting solution as it sells for under $10 shipped on Aliexpress or eBay, and is officially supported by Sonoff-Tasmota open source firmware. H801 specifications: Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi (2.4GHz) with about 10 meter range Output – 5x […]

June 15, 2018July 3, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

ModBerry M500 Industrial Computer Upgraded to Raspberry Pi 3 B+ with PoE Support

TECHBASE has been making modular industrial computers based on hobbyist boards for several years with products like ModBerry M300 IoT Gateway. ModBerry M500 is another of their model, powered by a Raspberry Pi 3 board and launched in 2016. The company has now upgraded the industrial gateway to Raspberry Pi 3 B+ board, and added PoE support in the process. ModBerry M500 specifications: SoC – Broadcom BCM2837B0 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.4 GHz with VideoCore IV GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB micro SD card Video & Audio Output – HDMI 1.4 and 3.5mm jack for CVBS (composite + stereo audio) Connectivity Gigabit Ethernet (max 300 Mbps) Dual band 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2 LE Optional Zigbee, LTE/3G, GPS, WiFi, and Bluetooth cards USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports Expansion I/Os 2x RS-232/RS-485 4x digital inputs, 4x digital outputs up to 30V DC 1-wire […]

May 24, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

ESP8266 based ANAVI Light Controller can be Programmed with Home Assistant or the Arduino IDE (Crowdfunding)

ANAVI Technology previously launched a Light pHAT allowing for RGB Light strip connection to Raspberry Pi boards, and during my review of ANAVI Light pHAT with Raspberry Pi 2, it did the job, but if that’s all you want to do, the Raspberry Pi board is clearly oversized & overpowered for the job. So Leon ANAVI got back to the drawing board and designed a similar open source hardware board – called ANAVI Light Controller – with an built-in ESP8266 module that removes the need for a fully fledged Linux board. ANAVI Light Controller specifications: Wireless Module – ESP8266MOD module based on ESP8266 Tensilica L106 32-bit processor Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n Expansion Terminal block for 12 V RGB LED strip 3x I2C headers for sensors Debugging – UART header Misc – Button Power Supply – 12 V via power barrel jack Dimensions – 75 mm x 40 mm Certification […]

May 21, 2018May 21, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

Sonoff S26 WiFi Smart Plug Works in All/Most Countries, Sells for under $10

One recurring issue with smart plugs / sockets is that they are often designed with a specific prong type, so if you want to use them in our country you may have to add an adapter, which may not be ideal, since the socket may fall off or have bad contact. Sonoff S26 WiFi smart plug solves that issue as ITEAD Studio made it available in six different versions for China, Australia, United Kingdom, Europe type F, Europe type E, and the United States. Sonoff S26 specifications: Standard – US/ UK/ CN/AU/ EU(type F/E) Power supply – 90V~250V AC @ 50/60Hz Max. Current – 10A Max power – 2200W Connectivity – 802.11.b/g/n 2.4G WiFi with WEP/TKIP/AES encyprtion, WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK security Dimensions – 104 x 55 x 73 mm (Fire Retardant ABS enclosure) Weight – 130 grams Temperature Range – 0ºC-40ºC Humidity- 5%-90%RH, Non-condensing Certification – CE Just like other Sonoff devices, […]

May 10, 2018May 10, 2018 by Karl Johnson - 1 Comment

Two Interesting Projects on Github: Zigbee to MQTT bridge & “Deep Painterly Harmonization”

Hey Karl here. I thought I would try and showcase some GitHub projects that I run into that seem interesting or fun. This week I will start out with 2 projects. Zigbee to MQTT bridge The first one today is a Zigbee to MQTT bridge. Previously we did a couple articles with 433MHz bridges for home automation, a diy RF bridge and one by Sonoff. This bridge is similar but with Zigbee. Unfortunately 433MHz typically have one way communications, and when a message is sent there is no response and the system has to assume the message is received. Zigbee is a 2 way protocol and an acknowledgement can be sent back. The code is moving fast right now and blowing up my GitHub notices. It is a little bit of a mystery on how this works right now with the parts list, but seems to be working for some […]