5G compatible Arm Pico-ITX SBC is expandable through multi-function I/O board

IBASE IBR215 SBC plus IO expansion board

IBASE IBR215 is a 2.5-inch Pico-ITX SBC powered by NXP i.MX 8M Plus quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 AI processor that supports 5G cellular connectivity via an M.2 3052 socket, and can be extended with an I/O expansion board with support for WiFi/BT, 4G/LTE, LCD, camera, NFC & QR-code functions. Equipped with up to 4GB RAM and 128GB flash storage, the single board computer has a ruggedized and fanless design that makes it suitable for industrial automation, smart home and buildings, smart cities and factories, retail environment, machine learning, and other industrial IoT applications. IBASE IBR215 specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Plus quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 2.0 GHz with 512KB ECC cache, Arm Cortex-M7 @ up to 800 MHz, Vivante GC7000UL 3D GPU, Vivante GC520L 2D GPU, HiFi 4 DSP, 2.3 TOPS Neural Processing Unit (NPU) System Memory – 3GB DDR4 (optional 1/2/4GB) Storage 16GB eMMC flash (optional […]

NanoPi R2C is a cheaper dual GbE mini router with YT8521S Gigabit Ethernet PHY

NanoPi R2C

FriendlyELEC’s NanoPi R2C is an updated version of NanoPi R2S dual GbE mini router that replaces Realtek RTL8211E Gigabit Ethernet transceiver with a Motorcomm YT8521S chip. NanoPi R2C mini router still comes with a Rockchip RK3328 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor, 1GB DDR4 memory, and a Realtek RTL8153 USB 3.0 to Ethernet controller for the second Ethernet port. NanoPi R2C specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3328 quad-core Cortex-A53 @ 1.5 GHz with Arm Mali-450MP2 System Memory – 1GB DDR4 RAM Storage – MicroSD Slot, SPI flash footprint Connectivity 1x Gigabit Ethernet (WAN) up to 941 Mbps (measured) via MotorComm YT8521S Gigabit Ethernet transceiver 1x Gigabit Ethernet (LAN) up to 941 Mbps (measured) via Realtek RTL8153 USB 3.0 to Ethernet controller USB – 1x USB 2.0 Type-A host port, USB Type-C port Debugging – 3-pin 2.54mm pitch header for serial console Expansion – 10-pin GPIO header with GPIOs, I2C, UART, IR_Rx, 5V, 3.3V and GND […]

The first Arm SystemReady IR certified platforms – NXP i.MX 8M Mini EVK & Compulab IOT-GATE-IMX8 gateway

NXP EVK Arm SystemReady IR

A few months ago, we noted SolidRun HoneyComb LX2K became a certified Arm SystemReady ES platform. SystemReady is a certification program by Arm that ensures systems just work with generic operating systems like in the x86 world. When we looked at the details of the program in the article, we noted there were different categories including SystemReady ES for embedded servers and SystemReady IR for IoT Edge applications. The first SystemReady IR platform – NXP i.MX 8 Mini evaluation kit Arm has just announced the first SystemReady IR platform had just been certified. That device is the NXP i.MX 8M Mini EVK, and that means that anyone that uses the i.MX 8M family of devices with the associated Board Support Package (BSP) can build platforms that will pass the same certification process and boot compliant Linux distributions with minimal integration effort. We can see more details about the certifications on Arm developer’s website. NXP i.MX 8M Mini EVK achieved certification with NXP 2021 Q2 pre-release firmware, version LF […]

Linux-based telematics gateway offers four CAN Bus interfaces, cellular & WiFi connectivity, and more

Linux Telematics Gateway

iWave Systems already provided some Linux-based vehicle diagnostic systems such as their NXP i.MX 7 powered OBD-II dongle with 4G LTE and GPS. But their latest model, the iW-Rainbow-G41 telematics gateway, goes a step further with an NXP i.MX 8 processor controlling four CAN Bus interfaces, and offering both wired (RS232/RS485, automotive Ethernet) and wireless (cellular,  Wifi, Bluetooth) connectivity options. iW-Rainbow-G41 telematics gateway specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 8 “DXL” Arm processor (Not sure what DXL is exactly, and iWave has yet to reply to our request for more information, but NXP shortly mentions i.MX 8X/XL processors in a page about V2X applications) System Memory – 1GB LPDDR4 (Upgradable up to 2GB) Storage – 8GB eMMC flash (Upgradable up to 64GB) Communication Interfaces Cellular – 4G LTE Cat 4, LTE Cat M1/NB1, option to upgrade to 5G; E-Call support 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 with optional support for 802.11ax WiFi 6 […]

UP Connect Plus adds 5G support, 3 GbE ports to UP Core Plus, UP Xtreme SBCs

5G, triple Ethernet for UP Board

AAEON UP Connect Plus is a carrier board with three Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) ports, and an M.2 slot plus a micro SIM card socket adding support for 5G cellular connectivity to the company’s Appolo Lake-based UP Core Plus and Whiskey Lake-powered UP Xtreme single board computers. UP Connect Plus specifications: Connectivity 3 Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports in two configurations: 3x Intel Ethernet Controller I211-AT 3x Intel Ethernet Controller I210-IT with wide temperature and TSN (Time-sensitive Networking) 5G cellular – M.2 3042/3052 colay socket with micro-SIM card port to support 4G/5G modules USB – 1x USB 3.0 Type-A port for UP Core Plus only PCIe – 1x 2 channel PCIe switch SBC connectors – 2x 100-pin high-speed docking connectors Power Supply – 12V/5V from the main board Power Consumption – Approximately 36 to 40 Watts with UP Core Plus + UP Connect Plus Dimensions – 90 mm x 56 mm Temperature […]

Vecow ABP-3000 AI Edge gateway combines Hailo-8 AI accelerator with Intel Whiskey Lake processor

Vecow ABP-3000-AI Hailo-8 accelerator

We first discovered Hailo-8 AI accelerator with claims of up to 26 TOPS performance and 3TOPS/W efficiency in October 2020. Since then, we’ve seen several integrate an Hailo-8 M.2 module into their design including EdgeTuring Edge AI camera and Vecow VAC-1000 gateway with a 24-core Foxconn processor. Vecow has now integrated the Hailo-8 AI accelerator into another gateway, but instead of relying on an Arm processor, the Vecow ABP-3000 AI computing system features an 8th generation Intel Core Whiskey Lake processor. Vecow ABP-3000 specifications: SoC – Intel Core i7-8665UE or i3-8145UE quad-core Whiskey Lake processor with Intel UHD Graphics 620; 15W TDP System Memory – 2x DDR4 2400MHz SO-DIMM, up to 64GB Storage – 1x M.2 Key B Socket (PCIe x2/SATA) AI Accelerator – Hailo-8 AI Processor, up to 26 TOPS with TensorFlow, ONNX frameworks support System IO chip – IT8786E Video Output – 2x DisplayPort up to 4096 x […]

ThingPulse ESPGateway features not one, but two ESP32 wireless modules

ESPGateway

ThingPulse ESPGateway is a WiFi and Bluetooth gateway equipped with two ESP32 modules, two external antennas, and a footprint for an RN2483 LoRaWAN chip. The two ESP32-WROVER modules communicate over UART, and this design allows one ESP32 to transmit data over WiFi or Bluetooth, while the other remains in promiscuous mode, or transmits data using ESPNow low-power proprietary protocol for applications we’ll discuss below. ESPGateway hardware specifications: Wireless connectivity 2x ESP32-WROVER-IB modules with dual-core ESP32 processor, 4MB flash, and 8MB PSRAM Footprint for RN2483 LoRaWAN module connected to one of the ESP32 module 2x external antennas for longer range Expansion – Unpopulated headers to access to 18 GPIO pins, 3.3V, and GND to add sensors, displays, actuators… Debugging – USB-C port for serial console connected to one CP2104 USB to TTL chip plus switch to select ESP1/ESP2 module Misc – 4x WS2812B programmable LEDs, Reset button ThingPulse explains in more […]

UG65 LoRaWAN gateway supports Node-RED, up to 2,000 nodes

LoRaWAN Gateway Red-Node

Node-RED is a popular flow-based, visual programming development tool originally developed by IBM for wiring together hardware devices, APIs, and online services as part of the Internet of Things. But despite being designed for the IoT, I’ve seldom seen Node-RED support for LoRaWAN hardware, the only exception being the Axon platform, a tiny WiFi & LoRaWAN board. But there’s at least one more option with Milestone IoT’s UG65 LoRaWAN gateway, launched late last year, getting a firmware update that adds Node-RED support. UG65 LoRaWAN gateway specifications: SoC – NXP quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @  1.5 GHz System Memory – 512 MB DDR4 RAM Storage – 8 GB eMMC flash Connectivity LoRaWAN Semtech SX1302 based Fully Integrated Internal Antenna (Optional: 1 × 50 Ω N-Female External Antenna Connector) 8 channels Frequency Bands – CN470, IN865, EU868, RU864, US915, AU915, KR920, AS923 Sensitivity – -140dBm Sensitivity @292bps Output Power – 27dBm Max Protocol […]

EDATEC Raspberry Pi 5 fanless case