Back in July last year, SpacemiT unveiled the SpacemiT K3 SoC. After that, we saw some system information and early benchmarks come out around January this year. The company has just officially launched the K3 Pico-ITX SBC, which is now available through various distributors. Firefly has launched its own K3 hardware with the AIBOX-K3, a complete industrial-grade RISC-V edge computing box. The AIBOX-K3 Edge AI mini PC is built around the SpacemIT Key Stone K3 octa-core processor and features an integrated AI engine that delivers up to 60 TOPS of compute performance, making it suitable for local LLM inference and edge AI applications. Firefly AIBOX-K3 specifications: SoC – SpacemiT K3 CPU 8x 64-bit RISC-V X100 “big” cores clocked up to 2.4 GHz, RVA23 compliance; 130 KDMIPS performance (similar to RK3588) 8x RISC-V A100 AI Cores with support for up to 1024-bit RVV1.0 parallel computing, optimized for matrix operations. GPU – Imagination […]
Rockchip RK3326-S quad-core Cortex-A35 SBC targets smart audio devices
Boardcon EM3326S is a single board computer powered by a Rockchip RK3326-S quad-core Cortex-A35 processor paired with up to 4GB LPDDR4 memory and 128GB eMMC flash. With a 3.5mm audio jack and a speaker connector, Fast Ethernet, WiFi, and Bluetooth connectivity, the company says the board mainly targets smart audio applications. But it could certainly be used for a wider range of applications with RGB LCD and MIPI DSI display interfaces, MIPI CSI and DVP camera interfaces, an RS485 terminal block, a mini PCIe socket plus a SIM card slot for 4G LTE connectivity, and more. Boardcon EM3326S specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3326-S CPU – Quad-core Cortex-A35 @ 1.5GHz with 512KB L2 cache GPU – Arm Mali G31-2EE with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, DirectX 11 FL9_3, OpenCL 2.0, and Vulkan 1.0 VPU Video Decoder – MPEG-4, H.264, H.265/HEVC, VP8, VC-1 up to 1080p60 Video Encoder – H.264 video encoder […]
UGV Beast – An off-road tracked AI robot built for Raspberry Pi 4/5
Waveshare UGV Beast is an off-road robot with tracked wheels designed for Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 SBC handling AI vision and strategy planning, while an ESP32 sub-controller takes care of motion control and sensor data processing. If the design feels familiar, it’s because it’s a variant of the UGV Rover unmanned ground vehicle we covered in 2024, which replaces the six wheels of the original model with two continuous tracks, as found in military tanks, for better driving in difficult terrain. Waveshare UGV Beast specifications: Supported SBCs – Raspberry Pi 4B or Raspberry Pi 5 Multi-function driver board/sub-controller Main SoC – ESP32 wireless microcontroller with WiFi, Bluetooth, ESPNOW connectivity Motor drivers – 2x TB6612FNG chips Peripheral interfaces 4x motor control connectors 2x servo connectors Lidar USB (4-pin) and UART (USB-C) connectors 2x 4-pin I2C connectors Sensor – 9-axis attitude sensor (ICM20948) for image stabilization Misc – EN and user […]
Boardcon Tiny1126B is a smaller and lighter Rockchip RV1126B system-on-module, yet with more I/Os
Boardcon Tiny1126B shrinks the company’s MINI1126B-P Rockchip RV1126B system-on-module (SoM) from 38x30mm to 34x30mm, targeting even more compact AI vision systems such as smart cameras, smart door locks, inspection cameras, cleaning/logistics robots, DMS (Driver Monitoring Systems), BSD (Blind Spot Detection) solutions, and smart displays. Despite its smaller size, the Tiny1126B features two 0.4mm pitch 100-pin connectors, instead of two 0.5mm pitch 80-pin connectors for its predecessors, offering even more I/Os. It’s notably gaining a USB 3.0 DRD (Dual-Role Device) interface, an extra SDMMC interface, one additional SPI and I2C interfaces, Fast Ethernet, and more. The rest of the specifications, including memory capacity (up to 4GB LPDDR5) and storage (up to 256GB eMMC flash), remain the same. Boardcon Tiny1126B system-on-module Boardcon Tiny1126B specifications: SoC – Rockchip RV1126B CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 up to 1.6 GHz with 32KB L1 I-Cache and 32KB L1 D-Cache, unified 512KB L2 Cache GPU – 2D […]
Orange Pi Zero 3W – An Allwinner A733 SBC in Raspberry Pi Zero form factor
Orange Pi Zero 3W is Raspberry Pi Zero-sized SBC powered by an Allwinner A733 octa-core Arm Cortex-A76/A55 SoC paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, a microSD card slot, and footprints for eMMC flash or UFS storage. Other features include a 4K-capable mini HDMI port, two USB-C ports, one with DP 1.4 Alt mode, a MIPI DSI display connector, two MIPI CSI camera connectors, a WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4 module, and a 40-pin GPIO header. OrangePi Zero 3W specifications: SoC – Allwinner A733 CPU Dual-core Arm Cortex-A76 @ up to 2.00 GHz Hexa-core Arm Cortex-A55 @ up to 1.79 GHz Single-core RISC-V E902 real-time core up to 200 MHz GPU – Imagination Technologies BXM-4-64 MC1 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 3.2, Vulkan 1.3, OpenCL 3.0 VPU 8Kp24 H.265/VP9/AVS2 decoding 4Kp30 H.265/H.264 encoding AI accelerator – 3 TOPS NPU System Memory – 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 12GB, or […]
UmbrelOS – A Debian-based personal home cloud OS with a slick user interface
UmbrelOS is a Debian-based home cloud OS with a neat web-based interface that works on devices like Raspberry Pi SBCs, mini PCs, old computers, and more. Having been first released in 2020, the OS is not exactly new, but I only discovered it today after noticing it was one of the supported operating systems for the Pironman 5 Pro Max enclosure for the Raspberry Pi 5. It initially launched as a tool for running a Bitcoin full node on a Raspberry Pi easily, but eventually turned into a home cloud OS that competes against other open-source solutions such as OpenMediaVault or CasaOS/ZimaOS. UmbrelOS highlights: Intuitive web dashboard at umbrel.local or your device’s IP. Umbrel App Store — Over 300 apps, including Nextcloud or Immich for media and document storage, Jellyfin for media streaming, Home Assistant automation framework, Vaultwarden password manager, Bitcoin and Lightning nodes, AdGuard Home adblocker, and AI-related tools […]
Thin Raspberry Pi CM5 fanless mini PC offers HDMI video output, 2.5GbE + GbE, dual USB, M.2 Key-M socket
Waveshare “Gigabit / 2.5G Dual Ethernet Mini-Computer (B)” is a thin Raspberry Pi CM5 fanless mini PC with a 4K HDMI video output, 2.5GbE and Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 jacks, two USB ports, a microSD card slot, and USB-C power. Internally, it features an M.2 Key-M socket for a 2230/2242/2280 NVMe SSD or AI accelerator, two MIPI DSI/CSI connectors for cameras or displays, and a 40-pin GPIO header. The flat cables for the MIPI devices can be passed through an opening under the HDMI and USB 2.0 ports of the metal case, and the GPIO headers are also accessible externally through a small cover under the enclosure. Gigabit / 2.5G Dual Ethernet Mini-Computer (B) specifications: Main board – CM5-DUAL-ETH-BASE-B Supported SoMs – Raspberry Pi CM5 or CM5 Lite (and potentially other electrically compatible modules like the Banana Pi BPI-CM5 Pro, Radxa CM5, and Orange Pi CM5, but it’s not been tested […]
Rockchip RK3538 TV Box SoC and RK3572 mid-range HMI processor are coming soon
While we are eagerly waiting for the RK3668 and RK3688 high-end processors, Rockchip is planning to launch two mid-range SoCs with the RK3538 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor designed for TV boxes, and the RK3572 hexa-core Cortex-A73/A53 SoC for HMI (Human Machine Interface) applications. Rockchip RK3538 TV box SoC Rockchip RK3538 specifications: CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor with NEON, FPU, ARMv8 Crypto… Cache 32KB L1 instruction cache 32KB L1 data cache and 64KB L2 data cache 512KB unified system L3 cache GPU Arm Mali-G310 3D GPU with support for OpenCL 3.0, OpenGL ES1.1/2.0/3.2, Vulkan 1.2 2D Graphics Engine VPU Decoder H.265, H.264, AV1 (up to two simultaneous 1080p60 channels) VP8, VC1, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, MPEG-1 yp to 1920×1088 @ 60 FPS (1088 is not a typo) H.263 up to 720p60 (M)JPEG up to 8176×8176 @ 76 million pixels per second Encoder – N/A MCU core – RISC-V MCU in PMU domain with […]







