$15 RobinCore WiFi IoT Module Runs OpenWrt, Supports 720p Video Encoding (Crowdfunding)

Do you remember VoCore? It was a low cost OpenWrt WiFi IoT module based on Mediatek RT5350 processor, that had a very successful crowdfunding campaign managed by a single developer, and the project is still going strong with VoCore2 being in the works. Another developer had the idea of doing something similar but based on HiSilicon Hi3518 ARM9 processor with more memory and support for 720p video encoding making it suitable for HD drone camera, compact video cameras, and so on. Meet RobinCore. RobinCore specifications: SoC – Hisilicon Hi3518E ARM926 processor @ 440MHz with H.264 encoder(720p@30fps) System Memory – 64MB DDR2 Storage – 16 MB NOR flash Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi via Mediatek MT7601U with on-board chip antenna Debugging – micro USB port Expansion – 2x 30-pin 2.0mm pitch through holes with access to 10/100M Ethernet, UART, I2C, SPI, SDIO, ADC, PWM, JTAG and GPIOs Power Support – 5V […]

Imagination Releases OpenWrt and LWM2M Stack Source Code for MIPS Creator Ci40 Development Board

MIPS Creator Ci40 is a development board made by Imagination technology that features the company’s Creator cXT200 “Pistachio” SoC with a dual core MIPS interAptiv processor @ 550MHz and Ensigma C4500 RPU for 802.11ac/ BT 4.1 LE connectivity. The boards are supposed to be shipped to Kickstarter backers in April, but in the meantime, the company has released the source code for OpenWrt distribution as well as LWM2M stack for the board. OpenWRT source code is available in OpenWrt repo in FlowM2M gitbub account. Building the code for MIPS Creator Ci40 is quite straightforward:

Select IMG MIPS Pistachio in make menuconfig, save the settings, and then run make to build OpenWrt for the board. This will also build the toolchain, so you don’t need to install any before hand. LWM2M stands for Lightweight Machine to Machine, and is a protocol from the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) for M2M / […]

BBC Micro:Bit Board is Now Getting into the Hands of British Students

After several delays, BBC is now giving free Micro:Bit Bluetooth LE enabled boards to UK students with the goal of getting them interested in coding and electronics in a way that’s even easier and cheaper than using a Raspberry Pi board. Micro:bit specifications: MCU – Nordic nRF51822 Bluetooth SoC based on Cortex M0 core @ 16MHz with 16KB RAM 2x user buttons, 1x reset button 25x red user LEDs  in a 5×5 matrix Connectivity – Bluetooth LE Sensors – Compass, magnetometer, accelerometer USB – 1x micro USB port for port and programming Expansion – 20-pin edge connector, 5x “rings” for 3V, GND, and 3 digital/analog I/Os Power – 5V via USB or battery port to connect two AAA batteries Dimensions – 4cm x 5cm There are four ways to “code” the board: Code Kingdoms JavaScript  graphical ‘drag and drop’ and text-based programming, Microsoft Block Editor graphical, drag and drop code […]

Sinlinx SIN-A33 Plus Allwinner A33 Development Board Features LCD, MIPI-DSI, and VGA Interfaces

Allwinner A33 has never been a popular processor for development boards and single board computers, despite its $5 price tag for a quad core processor (in 2014), as without HDMI support, it’s been mostly used in low cost Android tablets. But this morning, I’ve come across Sinlinx company on linux-sunxi mailing list, and one of their latest development board – Sinlinx SIN-A33 Plus – is based on their older Allwinner A33 and features LCD, VGA & camera interfaces, I/Os headers, Ethernet and WiFi/Bt connectivity, and various other ports. Sinlinx SIN-A33 Plus specifications: SoC – Allwinner A33 quad core Cortex-A7 @ 1.3 GHz with Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 4GB eMMC, SD card slot Video Output – LCD connector, MIPI DSI header, and VGA port Audio – 3.5mm audio jacks for microphone and headphone, speaker header Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, WiFi and Bluetooth USB – 3x USB […]

NanoPi M1 Allwinner H3 Development Board with HDMI, CVBS, Ethernet and 3 USB Ports Sells for $11 (Sort of)

FriendlyARM has been very busy since the beginning of the year, as they’ve already released NanoPi 2 Fire, NanoPC-T2, and NanoPi-M2 boards, all based on Samsung S5P4418 processor so far in 2016. But they’ve not stopped, as the company has now launched NanoPi M1 board powered by Allwinner H3 processor with a similar form factor as NanoPi-M2, similar features as Orange Pi One, except they added two extra USB ports, an AV port with composite video and stereo audio, an on-board microphone, and an IR receiver. NanoPi-M2 board specifications (highlights show improvements or differences over Orange Pi One): SoC – Allwinner H3 quad core Cortex A7 @ 1.2 GHz with an ARM Mali-400MP2 GPU up to 600 MHz System Memory – 512 MB DDR3 (1GB as option) Storage – micro SD card slot Video & Audio Output – HDMI and 3.5mm jack for CVBS (composite + stereo audio) Connectivity -10/100M […]

Astro Carrier & XBG201 Breakout Boards Are Designed for Nvidia Jetson TX1 Module

Nvidia unveiled Jetson TX1 system-on-module powered by their latest Tegra X1 processor, as well as a carrier board that fits into a mini-ITX case at the end of last year. However, if you need something more compact  and lightweight, Connect Tech designed Astro Carrier baseboard for Jetson TX1 module with about the same size, as well as a breakout board with connectors that can be customized as needed. Astro Carrier (ASG001) board specifications: SoM Connector – Samtec “SEARAY” high density board to board connector for Jetson TX1 module Breakout board connectors – 3x 60-pin high density connectors with HDMI, SATA,  2x Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000), 1x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0, 2x RS-232/RS-485, 2x camera (CSI4), 4x GPIO…… Storage – micro SD slot On-board connectivity – GbE magnetics + Intel 82574 GbE PHY + magnetics Video I/Os 8x u.FL video inputs GMSL (Gigabit Multimedia Serial Link) signaling via 2x MAX9286 deserializer […]

e-Con Systems Propus Nvidia Tegra K1 Development Board Features 3 MIPI-CSI Camera Interfaces

I mostly know e-Con Systems because of their camera modules, but the Indian company has also been manufacturing system-on-modules and development kits, and has just launched Propus development board based on their eSOMTK1 computer-on-module powered by Nvidia Tegra K1 quad core Cortex A15 processor, and including three camera interfaces with two 4-lane and one 1-line MIPI-CSI2 connectors. Propus specifications: Computer-on-module – eSOMTK1-F16G-R2G-WB-IM: SoC – Nvidia Tegra K1 4-plus-1 ARM Cortex-A15 processor @ up to 2.3 GHz with 192-core Kepler GPU. System Memory – 2GB 64-bit DDR3L SDRAM Storage – 16GB eMMC flash Connectivity – 802.11 a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.1 module with 2 u.Fl antenna connectors Sensors – 3D digital accelerometer and a 3D digital gyroscope (6 axis) Power Management IC (5V and 12V inputs) SoM connectors – 4x 100-pin board to board connectors Storage – SATA connect, micro SD slot Video Output – 1x HDMI 1.4 Audio – Audio Codec […]

Play High-end PC Games on ARM Linux Boards with Moonlight Embedded

Nvidia first showcased PC games streaming to Nvidia Project SHIELD Game Console at CES 2013, and since then Moonlight project has been created to provide an open source implementation compatible with Nvidia Gamestream, and supported on Linux, Mac OS and Windows PC, Android & iOS mobile devices, as well as Samsung VR kits. There’s also an implementation called Moonlight Embedded designed for ARM Linux platforms such as Raspberry Pi,ODROID, Cubox-i boards, and ODROID-C1 and ODROID-C2 boards even got support for H.265 streaming very recently allowing for better quality over H.265 at a given bit rate, and possibly 4K @ 60 Hz gaming on ODROID-C2 board. You’ll need a Windows gaming PC with an Nvidia GTX 600/700/900 series GPU, a wired connecting or a high-end 802.11 router or greater, and Nvidia Geforce Experience (GFE) installed on your PC. H.265 requires an Nvidia 900 series GPU such as Nvidia GTX960. Once this […]