Ebyte E104-BT11 Bluetooth Mesh module features Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 MCU

Ebyte E104-BT11 Bluetooth Mesh modules

Ebyte E104-BT11 is a Bluetooth Mesh module offered in four variants with support for gateways (G) and node (N) versions, as well as PCB or IPEX antenna versions. Interestingly it is based on Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 Cortex-M33 microcontroller also found in ITEAD Zigbee 3.0 USB dongle, so it’s not impossible that it could be repurposed for Zigbee or Thread with firmware from Silabs. Ebyte E104-BT11 module specifications: Wireless MCU – Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller @ up to 80 MHz with DSP and FPU, up to 1024 kB flash, up to 96 kB RAM, 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.15.4 for Bluetooth LE, Zigbee, or Thread Wireless connectivity Bluetooth Mesh/BLE support with default firmware, up to 10,922 devices supported Max Tx power – 20 dBm Rx sensitivity- -88 to -97 dBm (-97 dBm typ.) Max data rate – 1Mbps Antenna – PCB antenna up to 200-meter range, or IPX antenna up […]

InfiniTime 1.0 firmware released for PineTime smartwatch

InfiniTime 1.0 firmware for PineTime

The PineTime smartwatch was unveiled and first launched in 2019, as a low-cost, open-source wearables development kit/platform for developers wanting to work on firmware development for the Nordic nRF52 powered device. Progress was made on various solutions such as ATCwatch Arduino firmware, and as time passed, the PineTime slowly became more like an “enthusiast-grade” end-user product. This is basically what it has become with the first stable release of InfiniTime firmware, which was selected as the default firmware in September 2020. The main features of InfiniTime 1.0 firmware include: Two clock faces – digital and analog Apps – Stopwatch, music control, navigation, heart rate, as well as Paddle and 2048 games User settings  – Display timeout, time format, wake up conditions OTA upgrades via an open-source bootloader based on MCUBoot Heart rate monitoring and step counting Between 3 and 5 days of battery life depending on usage Firmware based on […]

Renesas RE01B Bluetooth 5.0 LE MCU harvests energy for battery maintenance-free IoT devices

EB-RE01B Bluetooth-5.0-Energy Harvesting Board

Nobody likes to change or recharge batteries in their IoT nodes, so any new development related to energy harvesting or batteryless devices is welcomed. Renesas RE01B is a new Bluetooth 5.0 Low Energy (BLE) Arm Cortex-M0+ MCU that consumes at little as 35 µA/MHz during operation and 600 nA during standby making it suitable for battery maintenance-free IoT devices, or even batteryless IoT devices thanks to its energy harvesting controller. Renesas RE01B microcontroller’s features and specifications: CPU – Arm Cortex-M0+ core up to 64MHz GPU – 2D graphics accelerator Memory – 256KB SRAM Storage – 1.5MB flash Connectivity – 2.4 GHz radio with Bluetooth 5.0 Low Energy; up to 400m range (Long Range) and 2 Mbps data rate I/Os 8x PWM outputs 7x 14-bit A/D converters (ADC, Analog inputs) SCI (UART), I2C, SPI Timers 1x 32-bit Timer, 3x 16-bit Timer, 2x 8-bit Timer 2x Watchdog Timer, 1-second event timer, stopwatch […]

Arduino WiFi & Bluetooth watch adds GPS, MicroSD slot, loses audio amplifier

Arduino Watch GPS

LilyGO introduced the ESP32 powered T-Watch-2020 smartwatch last year with a slim form factor, a 1.54-inch LCD capacitive touch screen, WiFi & Bluetooth connectivity, and support for Arduino. In February, we noted TTGO T-Watch-2020 V3 with a built-in microphone to enable voice control, but the company has just listed TTGO T-Watch-2020 V2 adding GPS and a MicroSD card slot on its Aliexpress store for around $33. TTGO T-Watch-2020 V2 specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP32 dual-core wireless processor with 520KB SRAM System Memory – 8MB PSRAM Storage – 16MB QSPI flash, MicroSD card slot Display – 1.54-inch LCD capacitive touch screen Audio – Max98357 Class-D amplifier, buzzer/speaker Connectivity 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 4.x/5.1 via ESP32 Quectel L76L module for GNSS (GPS, Beidou,GLONASS, QZSS) Sensors – BMA423 three-axis accelerometer with built-in step counting algorithm, activity recognition/tracking, advanced gesture recognition. Expansion – 13-pin 0.3mm pitch FPC expansion socket (shared with MicroSD card […]

Eduponics Mini is an ESP32-powered Smart Agriculture kit (crowdfunding)

Eduponics Mini ESP32 Smart Agriculture Board

One sector of the economy that should benefit the most from the Internet of Things is the agricultural sector, as environmental sensors are needed to optimize yields and also decrease costs with lower electricity and water usage. STEMinds Eduponics Mini Smart Agriculture kit is designed for this purpose. At the heart of the kit is an ESP32 board equipped with light, temperature, humidity, and barometric sensors, as well as interfaces to connect an external pump, a soil moisture sensor, a water quality sensor, and more environmental sensors. Eduponics Mini board specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-WROVER-B module with ESP32 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth SoC, 4MB QSPI flash, 8MB SPRAM, PCB antenna Built-in sensors BH1750 I2C light sensor BME280 I2C temperature, humidity, and barometric sensor Expansion 2-pin connector for 12V pump with built-in relay module 3-pin connector for soil moisture sensor or any other analog or digital device 4-pin connector for water quantity […]

Infineon AIROC CYW5557x WiFI 6/6E targets IoT and streaming devices

Infineon CYW55573 WiFi 6E Block Diagram

WiFi 6E is a new wireless standard that operates in the 6 GHz frequency band. We’ve already seen it used in consumer products such as premium smartphones and routers, as well as some embedded SBCs that take Qualcomm WiFI 6E cards. But now Infineon, who purchased Cypress Semiconductors last year, has unveiled the AIROC CYW5557x family of WiFI 6/6E chipsets designed for the IoT, enterprise and industrial applications for the 1×1 models, and for multimedia, consumer and automotive applications with 2×2 MIMO. Infineon AIROC CYW5557x has three SKUs that share most of the same specifications: Devices CYW55573 with Wi-Fi 6E, 2×2 MIMO CYW55572: with Wi-Fi 6, 2×2 MIMO CYW55571 with Wi-Fi 6E, 1×1 (80MHz) Wireless features WiFI Arm Cortex-R4 core Wi-Fi 6/6E, Tri-band (2.4/5/6 GHz) OFDMA, MU-MIMO, TWT, DCM 2×2 MIMO or 1×1 SISO 20/40/80 MHz channels, 1024-QAM, up to 1.2 Gbps PHY data rate STA and Soft AP mode […]

SPARK UWB technology takes aims at Bluetooth with lower power consumption, higher bandwidth

SPARK UWB Bluetooth Alternative

Bluetooth is omnipresent in smartphones, headsets, smartwatches, and other devices thanks to its low-cost, low power consumption, and good interoperability between devices. But Montréal based SPARK Microsystems claims their SPARK UWB (Ultra-Wide Band) technology is vastly superior to Bluetooth with a data rate of up to 10 Mbps @ 1.5 nJ/bit, power consumption as low as 2 mW while transmitting and receiving at 1 Mbps, and going down to 6 μW at 1 kbps. In other words, that’s up to 40x better energy efficiency, 60x lower latency, and 10x more data throughput as compared to BLE (Bluetooth LE) and without interfering in the 2.4 GHz band. Other highlights include lower wireless latency (50 µs for 1 kb), and time-of-flight (ToF) positioning at 30 cm accuracy for a line-of-sight range of up to 100 meters. The company has launched the SPARK SR1000 family with two models: the SR1010 operating in the […]

TTGO T-Watch-2020 V3 ESP32 watch adds microphone for voice control

Lilygo TTGO T-Watch-2020 is a thin, ESP32 smartwatch programmable with Arduino that was introduced last year. The WiFi and Bluetooth-connected watch is equipped with a 1.54-inch LCD capacitive touch screen, a Class-D amplifier, buzzer, accelerometer, RTC, and a battery. The watch is one of the top-selling devices on Lilygo’s Aliexpress store, and they must have had requirements for voice control, so the company has now launched TTGO T-Watch-2020 V3 based on the same design but adding a PDM microphone. As far as I can TTGO T-Watch-2020 V3 specifications are the same as last year’s model, except for the microphone: SoC – Espressif ESP32 dual-core wireless processor with 520KB SRAM System Memory – 8MB PSRAM Storage – 16MB QSPI flash Display – 1.54-inch LCD capacitive touch screen Audio – Max98357 Class-D amplifier, buzzer/speaker, PDM microphone Connectivity – 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 4.x/5.1 via ESP32 Sensors – BMA423 three-axis accelerometer with […]

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