automation News - Page 7 of 56 - CNX Software

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 […]

August 30, 2023August 31, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

LuckFox Pico Rockchip RV1103 Cortex-A7/RISC-V camera board comes with an optional Ethernet port

LuckFox Pico is a small Linux camera board based on the Rockchip RV1103 Cortex-A7 and RISC-V AI camera SoC and offered with an Ethernet port in a longer version of the PCB called LuckFox Pico Plus. Both models come with 64MB RAM (apparently embedded in RV1103), a microSD card slot for storage, a MIPI CSI camera connector, a USB Type-C port for power, and a few through holes for expansion through GPIO, I2C, UART, and so on. LuckFox Pico and Pico Plus specifications: SoC – Rockchip RV1103 with Arm Cortex-A7 processor @ 1.2GHz, RISC-V core, 64MB DDR2, 0.8 TOPS NPU, 4M @ 30 fps USP Storage MicroSD card slot LuckFox Plus only – 1Gbit (128MB) SPI flash (W25N01GV) Camera – 2-lane MIPI CSI connector Networking (LuckFox Pico Plus only) – 10/100M Ethernet RJ45 port USB – USB 2.0 Host/Device Type-C port Expansion – 2x 20-pin headers with up to 24x […]

August 21, 2023August 21, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

EPIC-ADN9 SBC features up to four 2.5GbE interfaces, two SATA ports

AAEON EPIC-ADN9 SBC is powered by an Intel Processor N50/N97, Core i3-N305, or Atom x7425E Alder Lake N-series processor and equipped with up to four 2.5GbE networking ports and two SATA III ports for storage. The board also comes with a SO-DIMM slot taking up to 16GB DDR4 memory, mSATA storage, three display interfaces including HDMI and DisplayPort, and two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, and offers expansion capabilities via M.2 and mPCIe sockets as well as headers. AAEON EPIC-ADN9 specifications: Alder Lake-N SoC (one or the other) Intel Core i3-N305 octa-core processor @ 1.8 / 3.8 GHz (Turbo) with 6 MB cache, 32 EU Intel UHD Graphics up to 1.25 GHz; TDP: 15W Intel Atom x7425E quad-core processor @ 1.5 / 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6 MB cache, 24 EU Intel UHD Graphics up to 1.00 GHz; TDP: 12W Intel Processor N97 quad-core processor @ 2.0 / 3.6 GHz […]

August 16, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

SONOFF MINIR4M – A Matter-compatible WiFi Smart Switch

SONOFF MINI Extreme (MINIR4M) is the first Matter-certified home automation device from the company and appears to be based on the same hardware design as the SONOFF MINI Extreme (MINIR4) ESP32 WiFi smart switch that we reviewed last March and is still working fine in my bedroom. Support for the Matter protocol means better interoperability with other brands of Matter-certified products, so you should be able to use the MINIR4M wireless switch with a Samsung Matter-certified Smart Home gateway instead, as well as Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and other apps besides the eWelink mobile app. The main visual difference I see between the MINIR4 and MINIR4M is the color with Orange referring to WiFi support and Green to Matter support. SONOFF MINI Extreme (MINIR4M) specifications: MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32 dual-core wireless microcontroller Connectivity 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 Bluetooth LE used for pairing Matter certification Input – 100-240V […]

August 6, 2023August 5, 2023 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - 13 Comments

SONOFF SNZB-01P/SNZB-02P Review – Zigbee wireless switch and temperature & humidity sensor tested with Home Assistant

SONOFF SNZB-01P & SNZB-02P Zigbee Review Home Assistant

SONOFF launched their 1st gen Zigbee product about a few years ago, and SONOFF have finally started to upgrade their Zigbee devices, and we received two Zigbee 3.0 devices from SONOFF for review, namely the SNZB-01P wireless switch and the SNZB-02P temperature and humidity Sensor. In a nutshell, their appearance looks more modern, with a round shape compared to the rectangular design of the previous models. Importantly, they are sturdier than before, and the battery capacity has increased almost 2x. As we anticipated, they can be used with other Zigbee Hubs from different brands as well. The main application used with both devices is still, of course, eWeLink, which many people are familiar with (a Zigbee Bridge Hub/Bridge is required). However, this review will focus more on the popular app called Home Assistant, which is widely used globally. SNZB-01P wireless switch After trying it out for a while and comparing […]

August 4, 2023August 4, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Home Assistant-compatible 5-24V LED strip controller ships with Sound Reactive WLED firmware

SMLIGHT A1-SLWF-03 is a Home Assistant-compatible addressable RGB LED strip controller based on an ESP32 WiFi and Bluetooth microcontroller that supports 5V to 24V LED strips. The unit is equipped with a built-in digital microphone used by the Sound Reactive WLED firmware to make the RGB LED strip follow the rhythm and tempo of the music, an IR receiver, and a sensor button. SMLIGHT A1-SLWF-03 specifications: SoC – ESP32 dual-core microcontroller with WiFi 4, Bluetooth 4.2/5.x, and 16Mbit flash 4-pole terminal block for RGB LED strips Supported strips – WS2812B, WS2811, WS2813, WS2815, APA102, LPD8806, WS2801, SK9822. Voltage Range – 5-24V DC Up to 2,000 LEDs are supported at 35 fps with two outputs or 3,000 LEDs at 25 fps with two outputs (about 33 to 50-meter LED strips with 60x LEDs per meter) Multiple A1-SPWF-03 controllers can be synced together for controlling even more LED strips. USB – 1x […]

June 29, 2023June 30, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

NEWRACOM NRC7394 WiFi HaLow SoC delivers higher power efficiency and cost-effectiveness

NEWRACOM has just introduced the NRC7394 Wi-Fi HaLow Arm Cortex-M3 SoC with higher power efficiency and lower cost than the previous generation NRC7292 Cortex-M3/M0 HaLow SoC and available in a 6x6mm package. I first wrote about the 802.11ah standard in 2014. Also known as the WiFi HaLow (consumers name), it operates in the 900 MHz band, offers a longer range and lower power consumption for items like IP cameras, and the first products came to market in 2021. I was expecting a flood of new WiFi HaLow devices in 2022 in my year 2021 round-up and it was not exactly a prescient prediction as it never happened. But maybe the new NRC7394 SoC will help make WiFi HaLow devices more popular by lowering the costs and further improving battery life. NEWRACOM NRC7394 key features: CPU – Arm Cortex-M3 core @ 32 MHz for IEEE 802.11ah WLAN and application Connectivity Full […]

June 21, 2023June 22, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Zvidar Z-GW-V01 Smart Gateway runs Home Assistant on Allwinner A133 processor

Allwinner A133 SBC Home Assistant Gateway

Shenzhen Zvidar Technologies’ Z-GW-V01, also known as the Zvidar Smart Gateway is a single board computer powered by an Allwinner A133 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor and running Ubuntu with the Home Assistant open-source automation framework. The SBC provides Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 5, and Bluetooth connectivity by default, but also supports plenty of optional wireless modules with Z-Wave, Zigbee, Thread/Matter, LoRa, or 4G LTE connectivity that are either soldered to the board connected by a mini PCIe socket. The board also includes a few USB ports, and it’s apparently possible to connect a 7-inch display and/or audio interfaces if needed. Zvidar Smart Gateway (Z-GW-V01) specifications: SoC – Allwinner A133 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.6GHz with Imagination PowerVR GE8300 GPU with support for OpenGL ES3.2, Vulkan 1.1, OpenCL 1.2 System Memory – 1GB RAM (option for 512MB, 2GB, or 4GB) Storage – 8GB eMMC flash (option for 4GB, 16GB, or 32GB), […]