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April 21, 2023April 21, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Offline voice recognition module supports Arduino programming, custom voice commands

We’ve already covered inexpensive offline voice recognition modules based on US516P6 or TW-ASR ONE microcontrollers that allow people to add smarts to their projects without a network connection for improved privacy and lower latency. Those are great in theory, but at the time (April 2022) documentation was lacking or only in Chinese, and they were fairly hard to use based on some of the comments in my earlier posts. But today, I’ve noticed DFRobot is now selling the “Gravity: Offline Voice Recognition Sensor – I2C & UART” module with support for Arduino programming, and it looks fairly easy to customize as we’ll see further below. Gravity Voice Recognition DF2301QG module specifications: Voice recognition module – WS-2520-TR module with MCU – TBD 121 commonly used fixed voice commands, one-fixed wake word Support for 1 learned wake-word, 17 user-defined commands Audio Output – Built-in speaker and external speaker interface Input – Dual […]

September 16, 2022September 17, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Beetle RP2040 is a tiny Raspberry Pi RP2040 board with easily solderable pads

DFRobot Beetle RP2040 joins other miniature Raspberry Pi RP2040 developments boards such as Pimoroni Tiny 2040 & Adafruit QT Py RP2040, but with only eight GPIOs accessible through larger pads that are easier to solder. The tiny 27 x 20 mm board comes with a USB Type-C port, BOOT and reset buttons, and twelves pads with a through hole each comprised of eight GPIOs, plus VCC, 3.3V, and GNS pads. The Beetle RP2040 is designed to be embedded into small devices or projects, and the company selected I/Os that can be configured as I2C, UART, SPI, GPIOs, analog input, etc… Beetle RP2040 specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ microcontroller@ up to 133Mhz with 264kB of SRAM Storage – 2MB QSPI flash USB – USB 1.1 Type-C port for power, data, and programming I/Os 12x golden pads with through hole for 8x I/Os pins enabling up to 2x I2C, […]

March 27, 2021March 28, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

$30 Raspberry Pi CM4 IoT Router Carrier Board Mini offers Dual Gigabit Ethernet

We’ve recently written about Seeed Studio’s “Dual Gigabit Ethernet Carrier Board for Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4” that offers dual Gigabit Ethernet, and two USB 3.0 ports for software router applications, but it can also be used for IoT, Smart Home, and camera projects, as well as HTPC maker thanks to micro HDMI output and MIPI DSI/CSI connector. It is sold for an affordable $45, exceeding the Raspberry Pi CM4 module. But if all you want to do is get a dual Gigabit Ethernet WiFi router or IoT gateway, DFRobot has now introduced a more compact and cheaper carrier board for Raspberry Pi CM4: “Compute Module 4 IoT Router Carrier Board Mini“. CM4 IoT Router Board Mini specifications: Compatible Module – Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 / 4 Lite with Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 processor, up to 8GB RAM, up to 32GB flash, optional 802.11b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 […]

July 24, 2020July 24, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

12.5-inch 4K IPS Touchscreen Display Works with Raspberry Pi 4B and other 4K SBC’s

There are plenty of displays for the Raspberry Pi boards, but if you are looking for a high-resolution display with capacitive multi-touchscreen it may be challenging to find. DFRobot may have what you are looking for though with a 12.5″ 4K IPS touchscreen display. The company says it’s compatible with Raspberry Pi 4B SBC, but since it comes with a mini HDMI input port, it should really work with any 4K capable SBC’s or computers. Key features & specifications: 12.5-inch IPS Pro display with 4K UHD (3840×2160) resolution, 60 Hz refresh rate, HDR, 10-point touch 100% Color gamut, 400cd/㎡ brightness, 178° viewing angle Video Input – Mini HDMI input Audio – Built-in left and right loudspeaker, 3.5mm audio jack (output) USB – 2x USB Type-C ports both supporting touch/data and power Misc – Function menu button, power LED, power button Power Supply – Via USB-C port (USB-PD supported) Dimensions – […]

August 1, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

HuskyLens AI Camera & Display Board is Powered by Kendryte RISC-V Processor (Crowdfunding)

A couple of years ago, I reviewed JeVois-A33 computer vision camera powered by Allwinner A33 quad-core Cortex-A7 processor running Linux. The tiny camera would implement easy-to-use software for machine vision with features such as object detection, eye tracking, QR code and ArUco marker detection, and so on. The camera could handle the tasks at hand, but since it relied on purely software computer vision, there were lag for some of the demo applications including 500ms for single object detection, and up to 3 seconds for YOLO test with multiple object types using deep learning algorithms. That’s a bit slow for robotics project, and software solutions usually consume more than hardware accelerated ones. Since then, we’ve started to see low-cost SoC and hardware with dedicated hardware AI accelerators, and one of those is Kendryte K210 dual-core RISC-V processor with a built-in KPU Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) hardware accelerator and APU audio […]

October 3, 2018October 3, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

BLE Micro is a Tiny, Coin-Cell Powered Bluetooth 4.0 Development Board

DFRobot Bluno is a Bluetooth 4.0 LE development board following Arduino UNO form factor, and powered by TI CC2540 chipset. The board sells for $24.90 on their online store, and the company provides firmware and mobile app source code, but if you ever wanted a similar solution in a much smaller form factor, and powered by a coin cell battery, the company has now launched BLE Micro board. BLE Micro board specifications: Bluetooth Chip – Texas Instruments CC2540 8051 MCU with USB, Bluetooth 4.0 LE connectivity Wireless Connectivity Frequency: 2.4GHz Transfer rate: ≤1Mbps Modulation: GFSK, Bluetooth low power, V4.0 Sensitivity: -93dB Transmission distance – 30m in free space USB – 1x micro USB port Expansion – 21 through holes with reset, power signals, UART, and GPIOs. Input Voltage: +3.3 DC Power Consumption – Working: 10.6mA average, ready mode:8.7mA Temperature Range – -10 ℃ ~ +65 ℃ Dimensions – 49mm x […]

July 4, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

DFRobot 7″ HDMI Display with Touchscreen Sells for $69

There are plenty of HDMI displays, but if you want a smaller size it become more complicated although some 7″ HDMI displays are available. However, if you want to add touchscreen support, then the choice becomes even more scarce, especially if you want a neatly packaged solution. That’s why DFRobot’s 7″ HDMI display with a 5-point touchscreen may be interesting, and as a bonus it also features mounting holes for Arduino & Raspberry Pi boards. Specifications: Display – 7″ display with 1024×600 resolution @ 43 Hz (60Hz is possible, but not recommended as it will not be full screen) Interfaces – HDMI input for video, micro USB port for touchscreen Voltage & current – 5V @ 160 mA with HDMI connection (1.2A max) Dimensions – 183 x 100mm; mounting hole size: 3.1 x 6mm Weight – 328g Despite the 1.2A maximum current, the company claims an external power supply is […]

July 4, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

BOSON Kits Feature LEGO Compatible Building Blocks for STEM Education

Last year, DFRobot successfully introduced BOSON Kit “Powerful Building Blocks For LEGO STEM”via Kickstarter, and I’ve just noticed the company is now selling two BOSON Kits on their website: BOSON Science Kit for $149 BOSON Inventor Kit for $249 The kits are plug and pay and do not require coding, nor soldering. The modules come with built-in magnets, or they can be attached with screws, Velcro or to LEGO parts. BOSON modules are based on Intel Curie BLE modules, but those are being phased out, so you may want to inquire DFRobot if long term availability / appropriate stock is a concern. BOSON Science Kit As its name gives away, the kit is a set of exploration tool for aspiring young scientist with the following items: 8 scientific sensors for physics, chemistry and biology: Light sensor Humidity sensor Soil moisture sensor Temperature sensor Waterproof temperature sensor pH sensor (That’s the […]