25-key ESP32 Touch Matrix makes good use of ESP32’s touch sensor interface

ESP32 Touch Matrix

Besides the addition of Bluetooth, there are many differences between ESP8266 and ESP32 and one of the lesser-known interfaces may be ESP32’s touch sensor interface. India-based Electro Point’s ESP32 Touch Matrix makes good use of the touch sensor interface with 25 touch pads arranged in a 5×5 matrix creating a wireless keypad that could connect over WiFi or Bluetooth to a host. ESP32 Touch Matrix board specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-WROOM-32U with Espressif ESP32-D0WD dual-core Tensilica processor, 32Mbit SPI flash, 2.4 GHz WiFi, and Bluetooth LE connectivity 25 keys arranged in a 5×5 matrix Expansion – 4-pin I2C header for expansion, e.g. an OLED display Programming – Programming headers Misc – RGB status indicator, EN button Power Supply – 5V input via 2-pin header; built-in 3.3v regulator for ESP32 Dimensions – TBD When a capacitive load, such as a human hand) is in close proximity to the sense-pad, the sensor […]

Bluetooth 5.3 new features lower latency, interference, improve battery life, security

Bluetooth 5.3 Channel Classification Enhancement

Bluetooth 5.3 Core Specification was adopted on July 13, 2021, without fanfare, and the only related announcement that I could find is CEVA RivieraWaves Bluetooth IP getting support for Bluetooth 5.3. Bluetooth 5.3 brings four new features or enhancements and removes one extension from the core specification: Periodic Advertising Enhancement – The AdvDataInfo (ADI) field of the common extended advertising payload format may now be included in AUX_SYNC_IND protocol data units (PDUs) which are broadcast when a device is performing periodic advertising. The Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) controllers may now use the information in the ADI field to recognize packets that contain retransmitted copies of identical or semantically equivalent data, and discard those packets in order to prevent unnecessary processing on the nodes, and make sure the overall throughput is not affected due to retransmitted packets. Encryption Key Size Control Enhancement – In Bluetooth BR/EDR, encryption key sizes are negotiated […]

$2 MXCHIP EMC3080 WiFi and Bluetooth LE IoT module integrates Cortex-M33 MCU

MXCHIP EMC3080 Cortex-M33 WiFi & Bluetooth-IoT module

While nowadays most people from the maker community are working with ESP8266 or ESP32 modules or boards for IoT projects requiring Bluetooth LE and/or WiFi connectivity, we’ve also covered some low-cost alternatives such as Bouffalo Labs BL602 or Realtek RTL8710. MXCHIP EMC3080 module offers yet an alternative with 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth LE 4.2/5.0. Where it differentiates against other solutions is that it features a more secure Cortex-M33 core clocked at 100 MHz, as found in UNISOC V5663 and Ameba RTL8722DM wireless SoCs, but still getting a fairly low price tag of $2.35 on Seeed Studio, which drops to $2.10 per pieces for orders of 10 or more units. MXCHIP EMC3080 module specifications: MCU – MX1300CF Cortex-M33 processor at up to 100 MHz with 256KB SRAM, 2MB XIP flash, 384 or 512 bytes OTP memory Connectivity WiFi 802.11 b/g/n 1T1R WiFi @ 2.4GHz Single Frequency HT20 support […]

Pico 2G Expansion adds GSM/GPRS & GNSS to Raspberry Pi Pico (Crowdfunding)

Raspberry Pi Pico 2G Expansion Board

You may have heard about the 2G/3G sunset with the older cellular networks being phased out in many countries. But it’s not always straightforward, as telecom operators may have to obtain regulators’ permission for the shutdown notably because of the eCall emergency services integrated into cars in Europe. Eventually, eCall will be migrated toward IMS Voice and 2G M2M services to 4G LTE IoT and 5G LPWA, but in the meantime, 2G networks are still operating in parts of the world, and UK-based SB Components has just introduced the Pico 2G Expansion board for Raspberry Pi Pico based on the SIM868 module. Raspberry Pi Pico 2G Expansion specifications: Compatible with Raspberry Pi Pico board Display – 1.14-inch LCD Cellular & GNSS Connectivity SIM868 module with GPRS multi-slot class 12/10, mobile station class B GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GNSS – GPS/GLONASS/BDS Bluetooth 3.0 with audio support SIM card holder 2x SMA antenna […]

Qualcomm QCM2290/QCS2290 SoM and Devkit target Industrial IoT applications

Last June, Qualcomm introduced several industrial IoT solutions that we did not cover at the time with Qualcomm QCM2290/QCS2290 IoT chip for camera applications, industrial handhelds, retail and tracking, Qualcomm QCS8250 WiFI 6 & 5G SoC for connected healthcare, digital signage, retail, and video collaboration, Qualcomm QCS6490/QCM6490 WiFI 6E & 5G SoC for connected healthcare, logistics management, retail, transportation, and warehousing, and Qualcomm QCS4290/ QCM4290 designed for cameras, industrial handhelds, and security panels with 4G LTE and WiFi 6 connectivity. Shortly after Qualcomm’s announcement, Thundercomm introduced the TurboX C2290/CM2290 system-on-module respectively based on Qualcomm’s quad-core Cortex-A53 QCS2290 SoC and QCM2290 SoC adding 4G connectivity. The module also offers WiF & Bluetooth, as well as MIPI display & camera interfaces, and the TurboX CM2290/C2290 development kit is also available to get started. TurboX CM2290 and C2290 SoM Specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon QCM2290 or QCS2290 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor at up to […]

u-blox introduces WiFI 5/6 & Bluetooth 5 M.2 cards

ublox wifi-6 & bluetooth 5 m2 cards

u-blox is well known for its wireless modules be it WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, or cellular connectivity that are soldered unto CPU modules or boards. But the company has now introduced two M.2 cards with WiFi 5 or WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.x that work with NXP i.MX evaluation and development boards. M2-JODY-W2 M.2 card The M2-JODY-W2 card comes with the following features: Connectivity Wi-Fi 5 1×1 SISO IEEE 802.11ac data rates up to 433 Mbit/s (PHY, MCS9), beamforming Supports 802.11d/e/h (DFS)/i/k/r/u/v/w/ai Wi-Fi 20, 40, and 80 MHz channels Bluetooth BR/EDR and Bluetooth low energy v5.0 supporting 2 Mbit/s Access point mode for up to 8 stations 2x u.FL antenna connectors Host interfaces SDIO & UART host interfaces PCM interface for Bluetooth audio Security Hardware encryption engines: AES and TKIP WPA, WAPI, WPA2, WPA3, WPS, and Easy Connect Dimensions – M.2 Type 2230 Key E form factor Certifications – Chipset is […]

Posture correction smart sensor helps you sit or stand upright

Posture correction smart sensor

It’s easy to adopt a bad posture either while sitting in front of a computer or while walking and your mobile, and over time this may lead to unaesthetic and/or painful postural disorders. To solve this issue, a posture correction smart sensor may be used in place of a posture belt with what looks like a GPS tracker placed on the back of the patient, and which notifies bad postures by vibrating and to your smartphone depending on a user-configured angle range. Specifications listed for the posture-correction-smart-sensor: Sensor – Unnamed Bosch gravity sensor Connectivity  – Bluetooth 4.2 Misc Medical-grade gel patch to attach the device to the bag Vibration motor Battery – 200mAh; 30 minutes charge good for about 5 days when using it for about 8 hours per day Dimensions – 6 x 4 x 1.2 cm Weight – 16 grams. The device ships with a micro USB cable […]

Digi ConnectCore 8M Mini SOM and Mini Development Kit for Industrial IoT Applications

Digi ConnectCore 8M Mini SOM

Digi International has announced the Digi ConnectCore 8M Mini System-on-Module (SOM) which is an addition to its ConnectCore family modules. We saw the Android application development kit featuring earlier Digi Wireless modules based Freescale i.MX51 (ConnectCore Wi-i.MX51) and i.MX53 (ConnectCore Wi-i.MX53) in early 2012. The new Digi ConnectCore 8M Mini comes with a built-in Video Processing Unit specialising in vision use cases. The Digi ConnectCore 8M Mini SOM is an industrial i.MX 8M Mini quad-core system-on-module that comes with Arm Cortex-A53 cores, one Cortex-M4 core, and the Cortex-M0-based Digi Microcontroller Assist. This enables optimal power consumption while simultaneous maintenance of highly efficient performance. Main benefits of Digi Connect Core 8M Mini SOM Digi SMTplus form factor (40 x 45 mm) for flexibility and reliability while designing. Power management with both hardware and software support for low-power designs. Display and camera capabilities with graphics and video hardware acceleration make it suitable […]