automation News - Page 6 of 56 - CNX Software

October 5, 2023October 5, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

UP Squared i12 Edge is a compact, yet feature-rich, fanless Alder Lake-P mini PC

UP Squared i12 Edge is a compact fanless mini PC powered by 12th Generation Intel Alder Lake-P processors from the Celeron 7305E penta-core CPU up to an Intel Core i7-1270PE 12-core processor, but still a good range of ports and features. Based on the UP Squared i12 SBC introduced earlier this year, the UP Squared i12 edge mini PC comes with up to 16GB LPDDR5 RAM and features a 64GB or 128GB SSD soldered on board, plus an M.2 2280 NVMe socket and a SATA port for additional storage. The system also has two gigabit Ethernet ports, optional WiFi and Bluetooth, three 4K-capable display interfaces (HDMI, DisplayPort, USB-C), and three USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports. UP Squared i12 Edge specifications: 12th generation Alder Lake-P SoC: Intel Core i7-1270PE 12-core/16-thread processor @ up to 3.30GHz (E-cores) / 4.50GHz )P-cores) with 96EU Intel Xe graphics – PBP: 28W, up to 64W MTP […]

October 3, 2023October 3, 2023 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - 20 Comments

Review of the first Matter device by SONOFF – MINI Extreme Wi-Fi Smart Switch (MINIR4M)

We have just received the first Matter product from SONOFF for review, which is the Mini Extreme Switch (MINIR4M) model. Its external appearance closely resembles the Mini Extreme Switch Wifi (MINIR4) which we reviewed previously. They have different colors to distinguish between WiFi (Orange) and Matter (Green). In this review, we have experimented with various Smart Home platforms that support Matter, such as Home Assistant, Apple HomeKit, Google Home, and even their own eWeLink app. Let’s see how their operations and features differ to some extent. Quick intro for Matter. We have heard Matter/Thread together in the news. Matter is a control protocol, while Thread is a communication protocol. Both protocols can work together, or separately. Matter can operate on the top of various communication protocols, including WiFi, Ethernet, BLE, or Thread, with subtle differences such as energy efficiency, network, and resiliency. What’s crucial to note is that Matter acts […]

September 25, 2023September 28, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Bluetooth NLC (Networked Lighting Control) fully standardizes Bluetooth light bulbs

Bluetooth NLC (Networked Lighting Control) is a full-stack standard for wireless lighting control from the Bluetooth SIG that will enable multi-vendor interoperability, improve ease of deployment, and offer greater scalability. Bluetooth light bulbs have been around for many years, at first using Bluetooth LE (Radio Layer) and then adding Bluetooth Mesh (Network Layer) to the mix, but there were always some proprietary bits to the software stack, and Bluetooth NLC removes all those with a complete standard for lighting control that further adds Device Profiles specific to his use case. Bluetooth NLC still relies on Bluetooth Low Energy and Bluetooth Mesh, but adds the following NLC Device Profiles at the Device Layer defining the requirements for a range of devices/features: Ambient Light Sensor Basic Lightness Controller Basic Scene Selector Dimming Control Energy Monitor Occupancy Sensor You’ll find the specifications for each profile on the Bluetooth website. While the announcement was […]

September 24, 2023September 24, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

EDATEC ED-IPC2100 industrial computer offers 4x RS485/RS232 ports

EDATEC ED-IPC2100 industrial computer with RS485 and RS232 ports

EDATEC has launched four more Raspberry Pi CM4-powered industrial computers with the ED-IPC2100 Series that mostly differ from the earlier ED-IPC2010 model with an extra M.2 Key-B socket for an SSD, an extra Gigabit Ethernet port, and four COM ports with RS232 or RS485 interfaces depending on the exact model. The new ED-IPC2100 series industrial computer family ships with a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 with up to 8GB RAM, 32GB flash, optional WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0, and offer a full-size HDMI video output, two Gigabit Ethernet port, and a few USB ports. The ED-IPC2120 model looks to offer some extra features such as an HDMI Touch FPC connector, MIPI CSI camera and DSI display connectors, and audio interfaces. ED-IPC2100-series specifications: SoM – Raspberry Pi CM4 SoC – Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 processor @ 1.5GHz with VideoCore VI GPU System Memory – 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB LPDRR4-3200 RAM […]

September 20, 2023September 20, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

PICO-EHL4-SEMI fanless mini PC is made for PoS and kiosk applications

AAEON PICO-EHL4-SEMI is a fanless Elkhart Lake mini PC designed for digital signage, smart retail (PoS and Kiosk), and industrial automation, and available with either the 10W quad-core Intel Celeron J6412 or the dual-core 6.5W Intel Celeron N6210. The mini supports up to 16GB LPDDR4X memory, 32 to 128GB eMMC flash, optional mSATA storage, and comes with a 4K capable HDMI 2.0b video output port, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, and two optional COM ports providing RS232/RS422/RS485 connectivity. PICO-EHL4-SEMI specifications: Elkhart Lake SoC Intel Celeron J6412 quad-core processor @ 2.0GHz/3GHz; 10W TDP Intel Celeron N6210 dual-core processor @ 1.2GHz/3GHz; 6.5W TDP System Memory – Up to 16GB LPDDR4x 3200 MHz on-board memory Storage 32GB eMMC flash (optional 64GB/128GB) mSATA socket Video Output – 1x HDMI 2.0b ports up to 4Kx2K 60Hz Networking – 2x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port via Realtek RTL8111H-CG controller USB – 2x […]

September 20, 2023September 19, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

Home Assistant Green – A $99 Home Assistant gateway with a Rockchip RK3566 processor

The developers of the popular Home Assistant open-source automation framework have introduced the Home Assistant Green gateway based on a Rockchip RK3566 processor providing a lower-cost alternative to the Raspberry Pi CM4-based Home Assistant Yellow gateway. The Home Assistant Green was created to cater to the needs of people who did not need all of the advanced features enabled in the Home Assistant Yellow gateway and also because of the supply and pricing issues with the Raspberry Pi CM4. Just like its predecessor, the new gateway ships with Home Assistant OS and comes with everything that beginners may need to get started with Home Assistant in just one box. Home Assistant Green specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3566 CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor @ 1.8 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G52 2EE GPU NPU – 0.8 TOPS AI accelerator, VPU – 4Kp60 H.265/H.264/VP9 video decoding, 1080p100f H.265/H.264 video encoding System […]

September 18, 2023September 17, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Realtek RTL8852BE based WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 module targets Smart Home, industrial and healthcare applications

Realtek RTL8852BE WiFi 6 LGA & M2 modules

Telit Cinterion WE310K6-P is a dual-band Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 based on the Realtek RTL8852BE wireless controller and designed to be integrated into connected devices for Smart Home, medical, industrial, and smart city applications. The WE310K6-P wireless is available in either LGA or M.2 module form factors and can operate in the -40°C to +85°C temperature range which should make it suitable for a wide range of Linux devices. Telit Cinterion WE310K6-P specifications: Wireless chipset – Realtek RTL8852BE Wi-Fi WiFi 6 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax (2.4GHz, 5GHz) with 20MHz, 40MHz, or 80MHz bandwidth Dual-stream spatial multiplexing up to 1201 Mbps data rate Tx output – 19 dBm @ 2.4 GHz, 18 dBm @ 5 GHz Wi-Fi 802.11 e, h, k, i support Security features such as WPA3 and integrated crypto hardware Bluetooth Version 5.2 Dual mode with Bluetooth 2.1 Classic Bluetooth Low Energy up to 2 Mbps Bluetooth LE Audio (CIS) […]

September 11, 2023September 10, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

SMLIGHT SLZB-06M Zigbee 3.0 PoE adapter gets Silabs EFR32MG21 microcontroller

SMLIGHT SLZB-06M is a Zigbee 3.0 to Ethernet, PoE, USB, or WiFi adapter designed to work with multi-vendor software systems such as Zigbee2MQTT and Home Assistant ZHA. This will let you integrate any supported Zigbee devices into smart home automation systems like Home Assistant, OpenHub, or HomeSeer. The SLZB-06M is a variant of the SLZB-06 Zigbee PoE adapter introduced last year with the main difference being the Zigbee chip as the new model is equipped with Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 microcontroller instead of Texas Instruments СС2652Р. An ESP32 WiFi and BLE chip is still used to work with peripherals such as the LAN8720 Ethernet chip and a CP2102N USB/UART converter chip. SMLIGHT SLZB-06M specifications: Wireless SoCs Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller @ 80 MHz with 352KB flash, 1024KB ROM for protocols and library functions, 96KB SRAM, integrated power amplifier, Bluetooth 5.2 Low Energy and 802.15.4 radios (Zigbee and Thread) Espressif […]