i-Pi SMARC 1200 (MediaTek Genio 1200) devkit tested with a Yocto Linux image

i-Pi SMARC 1200 Yocto Linux glmark2 benchmark

Last weekend I received ADLINK’s i-Pi SMARC 1200 development kit powered by MediaTek Genio 1200 Octa-core Cortex-A78/A55 AIoT processor, checked out the hardware and wanted to install the Yocto Linux image but stopped in my tracks because it looked like I had to install Ubuntu 18.04 first in a Virtual Machine or another computer. But finally, the documentation has been updated to clarify “Ubuntu 18.04 or greater” is required, and I had no problem flashing the image from a Ubuntu 22.04 laptop after installing dependencies and tools as follows:

That’s it for the tools. Eventually, the development kit will support three images: Yocto Linux, Android 13 (July 2023), and Ubuntu 20.04 (Q3 2023). So that means only the Yocto Linux image is available from the download page at this time, and that’s what I’ll be using today. We’ll need to connect the micro USB to USB cable between the […]

Lolin S3 Mini – Tiny $5 ESP32-S3 board follows Wemos D1 Mini form factor

LOLIN S3 Mini

LOLIN S3 Mini is a tiny ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth IoT development board that follows the Wemos D1 Mini form factor and supports its equally tiny stackable shields to add relays, displays, sensors, and so on. Wemos/LOLIN introduced their first ESP32-S3 board last year with the LOLIN S3 board with plenty of I/Os and an affordable $7 price tag.  But I prefer the company’s Mini form factor because of its size and the ability to select add-on boards to easily add a range of features to your projects. So I’m pleased to find out the company has now launched the LOLIN S3 Mini following the ESP32-C3 powered LOLIN C3 Mini board unveiled in March 2022. LOLIN S3 Mini specifications: WiSoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3FH4R2 CPU – dual-core Tensilica LX7 @ up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration Memory – 512KB RAM, 2MB PSRAM Storage – 4MB QSPI […]

Renesas RZ/T2L Arm Cortex-R52 microprocessor embeds EtherCAT controller

Renesas RZ/TL2 Cortex-R52 microprocessor

Renesas RZ/T2L is a cost-optimized single-core Arm Cortex-R52 microprocessor (MPU) with an EtherCAT controller based on the same architecture as the higher-end Renesas RZ/T2M dual-core Cortex-R52 processor introduced last year, but at about half the size. The new MPU enables high-speed and accurate real-time processing performance required for AC servo drives, inverters, industrial robots, collaborative robots, etc.. used in factory automation (FA), medical equipment, building automation (BA), and other sectors and applications where EtherCAT is being adopted. Renesas RZ/T2L key features and specifications: CPU – Arm Cortex-R52 clocked at up to 800MHz with 16KB L1 I/D cache, 512KB ATCM, 64KB BTCM Memory – 1MB RAM with ECC Trigonometric function accelerator Ethernet EtherCAT slave controller: 3x ports 1x Ethernet MAC Motor control 2-channel encoder interface with support for A-format, EnDat2.2, BiSS-C, HIPERFACE DSL, FA-CODER Functional safety (FuSa) software up to SIL3 Motor current loop < 1µs 3-phase complementary PWM output for […]

Feature-packed i.MX 8M Plus SBC offers dual GbE, PCIe, RS485, CAN Bus, 4G & 5G modems, and more

OKMX8MP-C i.MX 8M Plus SBC

We’ve already covered plenty of NXP i.MX 8M Plus systems-on-module and carrier boards, but here’s another solution with Forlinx OKMX8MP-C SBC single board computer based on FETMX8MP-C SoM with 4GB LPDDR4 and 16GB eMMC flash. The feature-packed board also offers dual Gigabit Ethernet, 4G and 5G cellular connectivity support via mPCIe and M.2 sockets, multiple display and camera interfaces, RS485 and CAN Bus connector, USB interfaces, various expansion headers, and more… Forlinx OKMX8MP-C specifications: Forlinx FETMX8MP-C System-on-Module SoC – NXP i.MX8M Plus with quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.6 GHz, Arm Cortex-M7 real-time core, Vivante 2D/3D GPUs, 1080p60 video decoder/encoder, 2.3 TOPS AI accelerator System Memory –  2GB, 4GB (default), 6GB, or 8GB LPDDR4 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash Ultra-thin board-to-board connector (4x 80-pin connector with 0.5mm pitch) Supply Voltage – 5V Temperature Range – -40°C to +85°C Dimensions – 62 x 36 mm (8-layer ENIG PCB) Storage – […]

DIY project creates Zigbee to Ethernet bridge with WT32-ETH01

DIY Ethernet Zigbee Coordinator

We previously wrote about Ebyte E180-ZG120B-TB an inexpensive ($9.90) Zigbee 3.0 evaluation board based on Silabs EFR32MG1B Arm Cortex-M4 wireless MCU and the equally cheap ($7.78) WT32-ETH01 ESP32 Ethernet board. What do they have in common? Absolutely nothing! But GitHub user tube0013 decided to connect both boards over UART to create a Zigbee to Ethernet DIY coordinator/bridge running open-source firmware. The hardware also includes a Micro USB adapter for power, several 10cm jumper wires, and he/she also designed a 3D printed case. EZSP-Firmware is used for the Ebyte Zigbee 3.0 board, and ESPHome open-source home automation firmware for the ESP32 board. You’ll also need serial to IP code and ESPHome config. Note that flashing firmware to the Ebyte requires a programmer, and the developer used a J-link EDU Mini together with Silicon Labs’ Simplicity Commander. As mentioned above, a 3D printed case has also been designed, so everything is neatly […]

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