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February 26, 2026 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

Arduino Matter Discovery Bundle educational kit combines Arduino Nano Matter with three Modulino modules

Arduino has just announced the Arduino Matter Discovery Bundle (AKX00081), an all-in-one development kit designed to help users learn, prototype, and build Matter-over-Thread smart home devices quickly. The kit is based on the Arduino Nano Matter development board and works with the Matter ecosystem, including compatible platforms such as Apple HomeKit, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Home Assistant. The bundle also includes a Nano Connector Carrier with Grove and Qwiic interfaces, a microSD slot, and various IO options. The kit features three Qwiic-based Modulino nodes, namely a Latch Relay, a Distance module for presence detection, and a Thermo module for temperature and humidity sensing. Arduino Matter Discovery Bundle specifications: Main board – Arduino Nano Matter MCU – SiLabs MGM240SD22VNA MCU core – 32-bit Arm Cortex-M33 with DSP (digital signal processing) instruction and FPU (floating-point unit) @ 78 MHz Storage/Memory – 1536 KB flash program memory, 256 KB RAM data memory […]

February 20, 2026February 20, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

MediaTek Genio 360/360P hexa/octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 AIoT SoC features 8 TOPS NPU for cost-sensitive embedded applications

MediaTek Genio 360 and Genio 360P are respectively hexa-core and octa-core Arm Cortex-A76/A55 AIoT processors featuring a MediaTek NPU delivering up to 8 TOPS of AI performance, and designed for cost-sensitive embedded applications. The chips support up to 8GB of memory and eMMC 5.1, SPI NOR, and SD 3.0 storage interfaces. They feature two 4-lane MIPI DSI and one 4-lane DP/eDP interfaces for single or dual display setups, two 4-lane MIPI CSI camera interfaces, audio inputs/outputs, Gigabit Ethernet with TSN, optional WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.3 via MT6631N, USB 3.1 and USB 2.0 interfaces, PCIe Gen2 x1, and low-speed interfaces. MediaTek Genio 360/360P specifications: CPU MediaTek Genio 360 (MT8366) – Hexa-core processor 1x Arm Cortex-A76 core clocked at up to 1.9 GHz (industrial) / 2.0GHz (commercial) 5x Arm Cortex-A55 cores clocked at up to 1.7 GHz (industrial) / 2.0GHz (commercial) MediaTek Genio 360P (MT8367) – Octa-core processor 2x Arm Cortex-A76 […]

February 17, 2026February 16, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

DShanPi-A1 AI Education Rockchip RK3576 SBC features HDMI input and output ports, dual GbE

DshanPi-A1 AI Education is a single board computer (SBC) powered by a Rockchip RK3576 octa-core Cortex-A72/A53 SoC, and paired with up to 8GB RAM and 64GB eMMC flash, which I first discovered in the Linux 6.19 changelog. The board features HDMI 2.1 video output, a mini HDMI video input port, a MIPI DSI display interface, two MIPI CSI connectors for up to four cameras, dual GbE, an M.2 Key-E socket for WiFi and Bluetooth, a few USB ports, and a 40-pin GPIO header compatible with some Raspberry Pi HAT boards. DShanPi-A1 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3576 CPU – Octa-core CPU with 4x Cortex-A72 cores at 2.2 GHz, 4x Cortex-A53 cores at 2.0 GHz (1.6GHz for Industrial and Automotive) GPU – Arm Mali-G52 MC3 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1, 2.0, and 3.2, OpenCL 2.0, and Vulkan 1.2 NPU – 6 TOPS (INT8) AI accelerator with support for INT4, INT8, […]

January 27, 2026January 27, 2026 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

Meterbit Pixlpal – An open-source ESP32-S3 smart display with 128×64 RGB LED matrix, Hi-Fi audio output (Crowdfunding)

Designed by Meterbit Cybernetics in Nigeria, the Pixlpal is an open-source, ESP32-S3-based 11.25-inch 128×64 RGB LED matrix display designed as a customizable ticker for news, crypto, and smart home notifications, while also offering Hi-Fi audio playback. The device also includes a multi-function rotary encoder for local control, a digital MEMS microphone, and a 3.5 mm headphone output driven by a TI PCM5102A DAC for Hi-Fi audio playback. Pixlpal also provides a USB Type-C OTG port for power and programming, and a USB Type-A adapter port for firmware updates and peripherals. The device targets Smart Home dashboards, desktop information displays, and educational or maker-focused IoT applications. Pixlpal specifications: Wireless Module – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 SoC – ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 up to 240 MHz with vector extension for AI/ML workloads Memory – 512KB SRAM Storage – TBD Wireless – WiFi 4 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 5.0 LE PCB antenna Display – […]

January 26, 2026 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

ACEBOTT QD023 ESP32-based gesture control glove tracks finger movements with potentiometers

ACEBOTT QD023 ESP32 Motion Sensing Glove

ACEBOTT QD023 is an ESP32-based wearable gesture control glove that tracks finger movements with potentiometers instead of more traditional flex sensors. The glove transmits data via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to control various robotics kits, such as bipedal walkers, mecanum-wheeled cars, and robotic arms. The glove integrates five potentiometers for finger bending detection, and a 6-axis MPU6050 IMU for wrist rotation, tilt, and hand posture detection in real time. Other Hardware features include a USB Type-C port for programming and debugging, four AAA batteries for power, buttons, LEDs, and more. Tutorials and assembly guides make it suitable for K-12 education, classrooms, and hobbyist robotics projects. ACEBOTT QD023 specifications: Wireless Module – ESP32-WROOM-32D (soldered on the backside of the PCB) SoC – ESP32 dual-core wireless microcontroller CPU – Dual-core Xtensa 32-bit microprocessor @ 240MHz Memory – 520KB internal SRAM Wireless – Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, and Bluetooth (4.2 and BLE) PCB antenna USB – […]

January 13, 2026January 13, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

StackChan is a cute, community-build, open-source AI desktop robot (Crowdfunding)

StackChan is an open-source AI desktop robot based on the M5Stack CoreS3 ESP32-S3 IoT controller that works as an AI Voice Assistant and can notably be used for Smart Home & IoT control. It features a 2-inch touchscreen display, a VGA camera, a dual microphone array and a 1W speaker for voice interaction, a few sensors, an infrared receiver, an infrared transmitter/blaster, two servos for horizontal and vertical movement, and a few buttons and LEDs. StackChan specifications: Core module – M5Stack CoreS3 IoT controller Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3FN16R8 CPU – Dual-core 32-bit Xtensa LX7 microcontroller with AI vector instructions up to 240MHz, RISC-V ULP co-processor Memory – 512KB SRAM, 8MB PSRAM Storage – 16MB flash, Wirleess – 2.4GHz WiFi 4 (802.11b/g/n), Bluetooth 5.0 BLE + Mesh Antenna – Internal 3D antenna Storage – MicroSD card slot Display – 2-inch IPS display with 320×240 resolution, 65,536 colors via ILI9342C […]

December 31, 2025 by Kumpee Teeravech - No Comments

DFRobot HUSKYLENS 2 AI camera review – From built-in AI samples to training a custom model to detect elephants

Hello, today I am going to review the HUSKYLENS 2, released in October 2025. It is the next generation of HUSKYLENS, an AI vision sensor equipped with a Kendryte K230 dual-core RISC-V SoC with a 6 TOPS AI accelerator and a 2.4-inch IPS touchscreen. The device runs machine vision algorithms fully on-device, providing fast and low-latency performance, and includes more than 15 built-in AI models. HUSKYLENS 2 also supports deploying custom-trained models, including integration with Large Language Models (LLMs) via a Model Context Protocol (MCP) service. In addition, it is compatible with various microcontrollers, such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi, through UART or I2C communication interfaces. HUSKYLENS 2 unboxing The manufacturer sent the HUSKYLENS 2 module and the Microscope Lens separately. Both parcels were shipped from Chengdu, China, and arrived at my office in Chanthaburi, Thailand, in about one week. The parcels were packed in standard cardboard boxes and arrived […]

December 30, 2025 by Debashis Das - 2 Comments

Elecrow AI starter kit turns NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano into a learning platform with 11.6-inch display, 30 electronics modules

Elecrow AI Starter Kit for the NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano turns the NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano into a learning and educational kit for students, educators, and hardware enthusiasts looking for a rapid and powerful prototyping platform. The kit integrates an 11.6-inch IPS touchscreen, an 8MP servo-controlled gimbal camera, a voice interaction module, and 30 common electronics modules embedded in the kit. The company also provides 39 Python tutorials for sensor control, computer vision, and basic AI workflows. In addition to the display, camera, and audio features, the kit also includes expansion through I2C, UART, and GPIO. Jetson Orin Nano AI Starter Kit specifications: Main Board – NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano (Not included in the kit) Display – 11.6-inch IPS touchscreen display with 1366 × 768 resolution Onboard modules Input modules Multimedia – 8MP IMX219-based camera with dual-servo gimbal (PTZ-style control) Sensors Temperature & humidity sensor Ultrasonic distance sensor PIR motion […]