Meet Samsung Smart Bike fitted with an Arduino, a Rear Camera, Lasers and More

Samsung Maestros Academy has introduced a Smart Bike prototype integrating various “smart” components within its aluminum frame, such as an Arduino board connected to a Wi-Fi + Bluetooth module, a battery, four laser projectors, and a digital camera controlled by a Samsung smartphone. The camera is fitted at the back just under the seat, and allows the riders to have a real-time rear view image on the phone. The four lasers are used to create a virtual bike lane in case a real one is missing, and remind other drivers to keep a safe distance to your bicycle. The bike can also detect ambient conditions using the smartphone sensors, and modify its behavior. For example, it can switch on or off the laser beams depending on the brightness sensor data from the smartphone. Each bike also tracks daily routes of the riders using GPS, and can let local authorities know where bicycle traffic is most intense, and […]

Beken Bluetooth Audio Chip Features Beyond Semi BA22-RT RISC Core

I would normally not mention a Bluetooth audio chip in this blog, but you may remember my posts about Beyond Semi BA21 and BA25 RISC cores. The Slovene company’s IP cores are not found in many silicons right now, but one Chinese fabless semiconductor company called Beken Corporation, has chosen BA22-RT core instead of an ARM core for their latest Bluetooth audio chip. Beken required a system capable of supporting real-time audio decoding plus a Bluetooth stack with the A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile), AVRCP (Audio/Video Remote Control Profile), and HFP (Hands free Profile) protocols, and it also had to provide both a low cost and low power consumption solution. During their evaluation of several 32-bit IP cores, Beken engineers noticed their program code would fit into a 128KB memory using BA22-RT (Real Time) core, instead of 170 KB for a competing solution simply referred to as “the most obvious supplier”, which is likely to be […]

Blend Micro Arduino Board Integrates Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy Connectivity for 25 Euros

RedBearLab’s Blend Micro is an Arduino compatible board with Bluetooth 4.0 Low Enery (aka Bluetooth Smart) connectivity, that’s part of Arduino-at-heart, a partner program initiated by the developers of Arduino boards. It has been made to help design low power Internet-Of-Things (IoT) projects quickly and easily. Blend Micro technical specifications: MCU – Atmel ATmega32u4 @ 8 MHz with 32KB flash (4KB used by bootloader), 2.5 KB SRAM, and 1KB EEPROM. Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy via Nordic nRF8001 chip USB – 1x micro USB port I/Os: Serial (Tx/Rx) I2C, SPI PWM U to 16 Digital I/Os Up to 6 Analog inputs Operating Voltage – 3.3V Input Voltage – 5V (USB), and 3.3-12V (VIN) Power Consumption – 2mA (average – using Interrupt mode) Dimensions – 43.6 x 18.4 x 4.3mm Weight – 4g The specs are very similar to BLEDuino, except it’s slightly smaller. Blend Micro can communicate with BLE […]

Review of M8 Android Kitkat TV Box Powered by Amlogic S802 SoC

A few days ago, I wrote an Unboxing and Specs post about the M8, an Android TV Box powered by Amlogic S802 quad core Cortex A9 processor. The review took a little as I was waiting for a new firmware. I’ve now upgraded this S802 Box, and been able to complete a review. As usual , I’ll start by giving my first impressions, have a look at the user interface and settings, test different king of video files, evaluate Wi-Fi performance, and try to cover most hardware features including Bluetooth, external storage, USB webcam, and so on. The overall user’s experience, is very similar to Tronsmart Vega S89, but there are some notable differences I’ll go through during the review. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions Shenzhen Tomato sent me a sample unit which they call TM8 (Tomato M8?), but I’ll just refer to the device as M8 in the […]

Review of Tronsmart Vega S89 Elite Amlogic S802 TV Box

Tronsmart Vega S89 is an Android TV Box based on Amlogic quad-core Cortex A9 processor. You can refer to Tronsmart Vega S89 specs for more technical details, and check out my Tronsmart Vega S89 Unboxing post for pictures of the device and the board. As a reminder, there are two models of the device: Tronsmart Vega S89 with 16GB flash and dual-band Wi-Fi (AP6330 module), and Tronsmart Vega S89 Elite with 8GB flash and 2.4 WiFi (AP6220 module). I’ve been sent the Elite version, but both versions should have similar performance. I’ll start by giving my first impressions, going through the user interface and settings, then I’ll switch to video and audio tests, Wi-Fi performance, and perform some other tests for Bluetooth, gaming, external storage, USB webcam, etc.. trying to cover most of the hardware features available on this device. First Boot, Settings, and First Impressions Vega S89 (Elite) comes […]

Fin is a Bluetooth Ring That Let You Control Your Devices with Your Fingers (Crowdfunding)

We’ve already seen smart rings with NFC rings that can be used for authentication and share small amount of data (e.g. business card data) with smartphones. Fin is a completely different type of smart ring that fits onto your thumb, and let you control Bluetooth enabled devices by tapping different phalanges on your fingers, and/or the palm of your hand. Here are some of Fin smart ring specifications: MCU – N/A Connectivity – Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, and 4.0 Sensors – No details, but Fin can track accurate movement of your thumb on the palm and detect each phalanx of your finger where you are touching. IP Rating – IP67 (Dust and Waterproof) Battery –  Li Po custom battery with micro-USB charging dock ; One charge will last for 1 week; more than one year durable. Misc – LED indicator The ring will work with Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Windows […]

STMicro To Launch $24 M24SR Discovery Kit for NFC Applications at Embedded World 2014

STMicro will unveil an a new development board called M24SR Discovery Kit absed on the company’s M24SR dynamic NFC tags to help designers easily add  NFC connectivity to different kind of electrical devices such as fitness bands, loudspeakers, washing machines, water meters, and more. There are two models for MS24SR Discovery kits: Standard and Premium editions. The Premium editions adds a headset and a Bluetooth module to pair it with a smartphone via NFC. Here are the key features of MS24SR-Discovery board: MCU – STM32F103RGT6 64LQFP 32-bit microcontroller, with 1Mbytes of Flash memory NFC – M24SR64-Y Dynamic NFC/RFID tag Antenna – 31 mm x 30 mm, 13.56 MHz double layer inductive antenna etched on the PCB (ANT14) Display – LCD Color Screen (320 x 200 pixels) Misc – Different color LEDs, Joystick for menu selection Debug – JTAG connector for microcontroller firmware upgrade and debug Power – +5V via USB microB […]

U-BRAIN MicroSmart is a Tiny “15-Axis” Sensor Module with Bluetooth or Zigbee Connectivity

Usuda Research Institute & Systems Corporation has just announced U-BRAIN MicroSmart, a tiny and lightweight 3D modules module with a “15-axis” sensor, 5 GPIOS, as well as optional Zigbee and Bluetooth connectivity allowing up to 100 meter range. The module targets wearable devices used for fitness and health applications. U-BRAIN MicroSmart (UBN-MS8) Specifications: Processor –  MCU + DSP Sensors – 6-axis position sensors, 3-axis posture sensor, 3-axis direction sensor, 1 temperature sensor, 1 audio sensor, and 1 light sensor. Connectivity – Optional? Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR or ZigBee with up to 100 meter range. GPIO – 5 GPIOS, TTL. Power Consumption – 10 mA max during use, 100 uA max in sleep mode Power – Via microUSB port Dimensions – 20 x 19 x 3.8 mm Weight – 2g to 5g depending on presence and selection of communication module The module will support Windows XP/Vista/7/9.0/8.1, Android 2.3 and greater, iOS, […]

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