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February 21, 2025April 20, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Renesas RA4L1 ultra-low-power MCU family offers 168 µA/MHz operation, dual-bank flash, capacitive touch

Renesas has recently introduced the RA4L1 ultra-low-power Arm Cortex-M33 MCU family along with two evaluation/development boards. This new lineup consists of 14 ultra-low-power devices based on an 80 MHz Arm Cortex-M33 processor with TrustZone support and designed for metering, IoT sensing, smart locks, digital cameras, and human-machine interface (HMI) applications. The RA4L1 MCU family offers high power efficiency at 168 µA/MHz while active and a standby current of 1.70 µA while retaining SRAM. Additionally, they support segment LCD, capacitive touch, USB-FS, CAN FD, low-power UART, multiple serial interfaces (SPI, QSPI, I2C, I3C, SSI), ADC, DAC, real-time clock, and security features like the RSIP security engine with TRNG, AES, ECC, and Hash. Renesas RA4L1 microcontroller Renesas RA4L1 specifications MCU core Arm Cortex-M33 core (Armv8-M) Up to 80 MHz operating frequency Arm Memory Protection Unit (MPU) 8 secure regions (MPU_S) 8 non-secure regions (MPU_NS) CoreSight ETM-M33 Dual SysTick timers (secure & non-secure) […]

February 20, 2025February 19, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Kontron 3.5″-SBC-AML/ADN 3.5-inch Amston Lake/Alder Lake-N single board computer offers three DisplayPort video outputs

Kontron 3.5"-SBC-AML/ADN single board computer

Kontron 3.5″-SBC-AML/ADN is a 3.5-inch single board computer powered by either Intel Amston Lake (Industrial grade) or Alder Lake-N (commercial grade) processor and designed for applications such as automation, healthcare, smart city, and smart retail. It builds upon the smaller Kontron 2.5”-SBC-AML/ADN Pico-ITX SBC with many of the same features, but replaces eMMC flash storage with an M.2 SATA/NVMe socket and a SATA connector, features DDR5 SO-DIMM memory instead of soldered-on LPDDR5, and the larger PCB size allows it to gain an extra DisplayPort connector, a USB 2.0 Type-A port, additional serial ports, and a board-to-board (B2B) connector for expansion. It also supports a wider 9 to 36V DC range. Kontron 3.5″-SBC-AML/ADN specifications: SoC Standard Intel Atom x7211RE dual-core processor up to 3.2GHz with 6MB cache, 16EU Intel UHD graphics; TDP: 6W Intel Atom x7433RE quad-core processor up to 3.4GHz with 6MB cache, 32EU Intel UHD graphics; TDP: 9W Intel […]

February 17, 2025February 18, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Waveshare ESP32 robotic arm kit with 5+1 DoF supports ROS2, LeRobot, and Jetson Orin NX integration

RoArm M3 Pro and RoArm M3 S High Torque Serial Bus Servo Robotic Arm Kit

Waveshare has recently released the RoArm-M3-Pro and RoArm-M3-S, a 5+1 DOF high-torque ESP32 robotic arm kit. The main difference between the two is that the RoArm-M3-Pro features all-metal ST3235 bus servos for durability and longevity, on the other hand, the RoArm-M3-S uses standard servo motors which are less durable for long-term use. These robotic arms feature a lightweight structure, a 360° omnidirectional base, and five flexible joints, which together create a 1m workspace with a 200 grams @ 0.5m payload. A 2-DOF wrist joint enables multi-dimensional clamping and precise force control. It integrates an ESP32 MCU, supporting multiple wireless control modes via a web app, it also supports inverse kinematics for accurate positioning, curve velocity control for smooth motion, and adaptive force control. The design is open source and with ROS2 compatibility, it allows secondary development via JSON commands and ESP-NOW for multi-device communication. Compatible with the LeRobot AI framework, […]

February 12, 2025February 13, 2025 by Tomisin Olujinmi - 1 Comment

Stackable HAT brings high-resolution 24-bit ADC to Raspberry Pi (Crowdfunding)

24 bit ADC 8 layer Stackable HAT on Raspberry Pi

Sequent Microsystems’ “Eight 24-bit ADC 8-layer Stackable HAT” is a Raspberry Pi expansion board designed for home automation projects. It is compatible with all Raspberry Pi models with a 40-pin GPIO header and features a stackable design that provides scalability for more complex setups. It includes eight independent 24-bit ADC channels, providing ultra-high resolution for measuring small analog signals accurately. It also features programmable gain amplifiers on each input channel for amplifying weak signals and optimizing the ADC’s input range. It is stackable up to eight layers, allowing for up to 64 differential analog inputs. It provides 4A continuous and 5A peak power to the Raspberry Pi via the GPIO header. It sends data via the I2C lines, leaving all other pins free for use. Also, it supports isolated RS485 communication for long-distance connectivity. The 8-layer Stackable HAT for Raspberry Pi is suitable for precision data acquisition applications, including industrial […]

February 6, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

IBASE IB839 3.5-inch SBC features Intel Atom x7211RE, Atom x7433RE, or Processor N97 CPU

IBASE Technology IB839 is a 3.5-inch single board computer (SBC) powered by Intel Atom x7211RE or x7433RE Amston Lake processors for industrial temperature range or Processor N97 Alder Lake-N processor for commercial temperature range, and designed for edge computing, IoT, and automation systems. The IB839 supports up to 16GB DDR5-4800 SO-DIMM memory, offers three display interfaces via two DisplayPort (DP++) and eDP or LVDS, dual 2.5GbE, SATA III storage, four COM ports, up to six USB interfaces, and can be expanded through M.2 sockets (M-key, E-key, and B-key) for SSDs, WiFi, and WWAN modules. IBASE IB8939 specifications: SoC (one or the other) Intel Atom x7211RE dual-core Amstom Lake processor @ 2.0 to 3.4 GHz with 6MB cache, 16EU Intel UHD graphics; TDP: 9W Intel Atom x7433RE quad-core Amston Lake processor @ up to 3.4 GHz with 6MB cache, 32EU Intel UHD Graphics; TDP: 9W Intel Processor N97 quad-core Alder Lake-N […]

January 29, 2025March 29, 2025 by Tomisin Olujinmi - No Comments

Tobor open-source, modular robotic arm features two ESP32 modules (Crowdfunding)

Tobor robotics platform with pen plotter toolhead

Tobor (robot spelled in reverse) is a modular and open-source robotic arm platform powered by the ESP32-WROVER-I and ESP32-WROOM-32 (FluidNC CNC Controller core) modules. It is described as a “fully-featured robotic system that can fit on your desktop and is capable of helping you automate your workflow.” Tobor is billed as a customizable assistant for complex tasks such as assembly line help, CNC design, and rapid prototyping. The Tobor ecosystem includes several open-source components, including robotic arms, motion platforms, sensors, and actuators, that can be combined to create a unique system for “almost any desktop automation.” The Tobor Robot Arm supports multiple toolhead options such as the pen plotter toolhead, z-stage toolhead with 4th axis and suction cup, and the pick and place expansion pack. We have seen other open-source robotic platforms such as the SO-ARM100 AI robotic arm kit, CYOBot v2, and MIKRIK V2 Robot Car. Tobor Robot Arm […]

January 24, 2025January 24, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Intel N50 fanless open-frame panel PCs features 7” and 10” PCAP touch display, HDMI 2.0a, RS-485/232

BCM OFT10W ADLN Open Frame touch LCD computer

BCM Advanced Research has recently introduced two new fanless open-frame panel PCs powered by an Intel Processor N50 CPU – the OFT07W-ADLN (7-inch) and OFT10W-ADLN (10-inch) – which are low-cost all-in-one embedded computers designed for tablet-like usability. Both modules feature 8GB LPDDR5 memory, 64GB eMMC storage, and an M.2 E-key slot for Wi-Fi/Bluetooth connectivity. These panel PCs come with PCAP touchscreens (800×1280 for 7-inch and 1200×1920 for 10-inch) with various connectivity options including USB, HDMI 2.0a, RS-232/485, and Gigabit Ethernet. With 12-24V DC input supply, fanless operation, and a durable steel frame, these compact open-frame panel PCs are meant for space-constrained applications like HMIs, self-service kiosks, gaming consoles, medical terminals, smart vending machines, digital signage, and more. BCM OFT07W-ADLN and OFT10W-ADLN specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N50 dual-core processor up to 3.4 GHz with 6MB cache, 16EU Intel UHD Graphics; TDP: 6W System Memory – Up to 8GB LPDDR5 onboard Storage – […]

January 21, 2025January 21, 2025 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

AAEON BOXER-8654AI-KIT – NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX-based Edge AI kit features four gigabit Ethernet ports with PoE support

The AAEON BOXER-8654AI-KIT Edge AI kit is a compact development kit built around the NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX modules with four gigabit Ethernet ports (with optional PoE) and an Out-of-Band (OOB) management header, and designed for applications like smart cities, IoT ecosystems, edge AI, and others. The multi-functional carrier board also offers six USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, HDMI video output, two MIPI CSI, two DB-9 ports for RS-232/422/485 and CAN Bus, and a 40-pin NVIDIA Jetson-compatible GPIO header for I2C, SPI, and UART interfaces. Expansion options include M.2 E and B-key slots for Wi-Fi and 5G modules (with onboard SIM), an M.2 M-Key slot for NVMe SSDs, and a SATA connector. AAEON BOXER-8654AI-KIT specifications SoM – NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX module CPU 8GB Version – 6-core Arm Cortex-A78AE v8.2 64-bit CPU, 1.5MB L2 cache + 4MB L3 cache 16GB Version – 8-core Arm Cortex-A78AE v8.2 64-bit CPU, 2MB L2 […]