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February 1, 2026February 1, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Fusion HAT+ Review – Adding AI voice and servo/motor control to Raspberry Pi for robotics, Smart Home, or education

Fusion HAT+ review LLM servo control camera

SunFounder has sent me a review sample of the Fusion HAT+ Raspberry Pi expansion board designed for motor and servo control using audio interactions with its built-in microphone and speaker, as well as LLM models. It can be used as an AI-enabled robot controller, a smart home hub, a voice assistant, or an interactive learning platform. In this review, after an unboxing and going through the installation of the Fusion HAT+ on a Raspberry Pi 5 2GB, I’ll mainly focus on the voice interaction part using text-to-speech (TTS), speech-to-text (STT), and local and cloud-based LLMs and VLMs, and also quickly test servo control to wave a flag using voice commands. SunFounder Fusion HAT+ unboxing I received the sample in the retail package reading “SunFounder Fusion HAT+ for Raspberry Pi” and detailing the key features, namely rechargeable battery, 12x PWM, onboard speaker and microphone, 4x 12-bit ADC, safe shutdown, 4x DC […]

January 21, 2026January 21, 2026 by Debashis Das - No Comments

LilyGO T-Display S3 Pro LR1121 devkit adds Sub-GHz and 2.4GHz LoRa, audio support

LilyGO has recently released the T-Display S3 Pro LR1121, a new ESP32-S3 development kit with a Semtech LR1121 transceiver for universal LoRa connectivity across the sub-GHz and 2.4GHz bands. The board is an update to the earlier T-Display S3 Pro, which features a slimmer design and a 2.33-inch touchscreen display, but this new LR1121 variant adds sub-GHz and 2.4 GHz LoRa/(G)FSK support along with a voice communication kit that includes a MAX98357A I2S speaker amplifier, a PDM/I2S digital microphone, vibration motor, and a RTC. There are also programmable buttons, Qwiic connectors, and a 1/4-inch tripod mount, as well as a 2000 mAh Li-ion battery, USB-C for power, and ultra-low sleep current. These features make it suitable for applications such as LoRa walkie-talkies, Meshtastic nodes, voice-enabled IoT devices, portable dashboards, and experimental long-range wireless systems. T-Display S3 Pro LR1121 specifications: Wireless MCU – Espressif ESP32-S3R8 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller […]

January 16, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

XIAO ESP32-C5 – A tiny USB-C IoT board with dual-band WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, Zigbee, and Thread connectivity

Seeed Studio has just added a new member to its XIAO USB-C board family with the XIAO ESP32-C5 offering dual-band WiFi 6 (2.4 and 5.0 GHz), as well as Bluetooth 5.0 LE, Zigbee, and Thread connectivity for IoT projects and products. It still features a u.FL antenna connector, Reset and Boot buttons, two 7-pin GPIO headers, and 8 pads for JTAG or GPIOs on the back. Compared to the earlier XIAO ESP32C6, the new model is clocked higher (240 MHz vs 160 MHz), supports dual-band Wi-Fi, and offers more memory (384KB SRAM + 8 MB PSRAM vs 512KB SRAM) and storage (8MB vs 4MB flash), but exposes fewer analog pins (5 vs 7). XIAO ESP32-C5 specifications: Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-C5HR8 CPU Single-core 32-bit RISC-V processor @ up to 240 MHz Low-power RISC-V core @ 48 MHz acting as the main processor for power-sensitive applications Memory – 384 KB […]

January 12, 2026January 13, 2026 by Debashis Das - 10 Comments

LILYGO T-Beam 1W – An ESP32-S3 + SX1262 high-power LoRa dev board with 32 dBm output, GNSS support

The LILYGO T-Beam-1W is an ESP32-S3-based high-power LoRa development board featuring an SX1262 RF transceiver, an onboard 1W power amplifier (32 dBm), a L76K GNSS module, a 1.3-inch SH1106 OLED, a microSD slot, USB-C, Qwiic connectors, and an AXP2101 PMU. The board runs on a 7.4V battery and includes a cooling fan for high-power RF operation. We first wrote about the original LILYGO T-Beam (then branded as TTGO) in 2018, and since then, the company introduced various revisions of the T-Beam as it became popular. The T-Beam 1W is the most powerful version so far, with a built-in 1 Watt amplifier that allows the board to transmit data over longer distances without needing to buy separate, bulky amplifiers. LilyGO T-Beam-1W Specifications: Core module – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 SoC – ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core LX7 processor with up to 240MHz Memory – 512KB SRAM, 8MB PSRAM Storage – 384KB ROM Wireless – […]

January 8, 2026January 9, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

MUSE Book laptop review – Testing an octa-core RISC-V Linux laptop in 2026

SpacemiT sent me a sample of the MUSE Book RISC-V Linux laptop for review. It’s based on the SpacemiT K1/M1 octa-core 64-bit RISC-V SoC, ships with up to 16 GB of RAM, eMMC flash and/or NVMe SSD, and features a 14.1-inch IPS display with 1920×1080 resolution, WiFi 6 connectivity, a few USB ports, and more. I won’t go through all the hardware specifications since Leo already did that when he wrote about the MUSE Book Laptop in April 2024, along with a teardown, and additional details about the SpacemiT K1/M1 SoC. I’ll still do an unboxing and quickly check the hardware, but I’ll focus on the software part to show the progress with Bianbu OS 2.3 (Ubuntu 24.04-based) on RISC-V hardware, as I just did for the low-end StarFive JH7110S-based VisionFive 2 Lite SBC. It’s quite a long review, so if you are short on time, you can jump directly […]

January 6, 2026 by Debashis Das - 5 Comments

ESP32-S3 development board features 4.2-inch Reflective LCD (RLCD), dual microphone array, onboard speaker

Waveshare ESP32-S3-RLCD-4.2 is a 4.2-inch Reflective LCD (RLCD) development board built around ESP32-S3 wireless SoC for DIY projects, rapid prototyping, and smart display devices that need a paperlike experience with a higher refresh rate compared to e-paper displays. The ESP32-S3 provides 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 LE connectivity, and the board also includes a dual microphone array with ES7210 ADC and ES8311 audio codec, as well as an onboard speaker for AI voice interaction. Other features include an SHTC3 temperature and humidity sensor, a PCF85063 RTC, a microSD card slot for storage, along with multiple GPIO, UART, and I²C expansion headers. Power, programming, and battery charging are done through the USB Type-C port connected to an optional 18650 battery. Applications include electronic calendars, desktop displays, voice-based devices, environmental monitoring, and low-power indoor or outdoor display systems. ESP32-S3-RLCD-4.2 specifications Core module – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8 SoC – ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core […]

December 26, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Cerelog ESP-EEG – A low-cost ESP32-based EEG acquisition board for brain computer interface (BCI) experiments

Cerelog ESP EEG ESP32 EEG acquisition board

The Cerelog ESP-EEG is an 8-channel, low-cost brain computer interface (BCI) circuit board built around the ESP32 MCU and designed for EEG data acquisition. The board supports 8-channel, 24-bit EEG data collection and connects to a host system over USB-C for both power and data. The board has an active noise-removal bias pin which reduces mains interference, along with onboard status LEDs, including a dedicated indicator for active data capture. It works with third-party or DIY EEG headsets using adapter boards, and STL files are provided for 3D printed mounts. Cerelog also offers various software tools and sample code to enable real-time EEG visualization, BCI experiments, neurofeedback, and custom brain-controlled applications. Cerelog ESP-EEG specifications: Wireless Module – ESP32-WROOM-32 SoC – ESP32 CPU – Dual-core processor @ 160 MHz Memory – 520 KB SRAM Wireless WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2 Storage – 4 MB flash PCB antenna Analog Front-End (via TI’s […]

December 19, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

LILYGO T-Echo Plus off-grid LoRa communicator features a climbing hook for hiking, cycling, and remote communication

The LILYGO T-Echo Plus is another off-grid LoRa communicator, similar to Blackout Comms, ThinkNode M2, and Wio Tracker L1 Pro, but it features a metal attachment loop (designed like a climbing hook) for use in hiking, cycling, and off-grid environments. Built around a Nordic Semi nRF52840 MCU, it supports Bluetooth 5, Thread, Zigbee, and 802.15.4. It also adds an SX1262 LoRa transceiver, a 1.54-inch 200×200 SPI E-Paper display, and an L76K GNSS module. Other features include a 6-axis IMU (BHI260AP), a vibration motor, a buzzer, and a larger 2400mAh battery, along with a 1/4-inch mount and a “climbing finger loop” for gear attachment. Additional features include an optional BME280 sensor, Grove expansion, all in a rugged and compact enclosure with a long external antenna for extended LoRa range. LILYGO T-Echo Plus Specifications: SoC – Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 CPU – 32-bit Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller @ 64 MHz Memory/Storage – 2 MB Flash, […]