SONOFF iHost Review – A future-proof Smart Home Hub for local control

SONOFF iHost review

ITEAD has sent us a Sonoff iHost Smart Home Hub for review, and this device seems to be what many SONOFF fans have been waiting for, especially in terms of local control. meaning it can work without an Internet connection. SONOFF is known for its durable devices and good interoperability, but they are still catching up with other companies in terms of local control. Finally, the iHost Smart Home Hub fills the gap. In addition to local control, it also comes with privacy features as data stay local. SONOFF plans to expand its ecosystem by including devices from other brands compliant with standards such as Zigbee 3.0. Furthermore, the iHost Smart Home Hub is more like a platform than just a product, as it has add-ons to add more capability over time. In the future, it can be expanded to support the new “Matter” standard, similar to Home Assistant. The […]

ESPi Ethernet & info display board comes with ESP32-S3 module or Raspberry Pi Pico W board (Crowdfunding)

ESPi board ESP32 S3 Ethernet Display Joystick

SB Components’ ESPi is a WiFi-enabled Ethernet board with a 1.14-inch information color display either coming with an ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth module or designed as a carrier board for the Raspberry Pi Pico W board. I have no idea who needs this, but the ESPi board looks cute and can be used as a 10/100Mbps Ethernet to WiFi (or BLE) gateway with a small TFT display, and there’s also a small joystick on the board to control a potential menu or user interface rendered in the display. ESPi board specifications: Module/Board (one or the other) ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 module with ESP32-S3 dual-core LX7 microprocessor @ up to 240 MHz with Vector extension for machine learning, up to 16MB flash, up to 8MB PSRAM, WiFi 4, and Bluetooth 5 with LE/Mesh Raspberry Pi Pico W board with Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ microcontroller @ 133 Mhz with 264KB RAM, 8MB SPI flash, […]

Queclink WR300FG – A 5G industrial router with GbE, Wi-Fi 6, GNSS, RS232 and RS485 interfaces

5G industrial router

Queclink Wireless Solutions WR300FG is a dual SIM 5G industrial router with five Gigabit Ethernet ports, WiFi 6, GNSS, RS232 and RS485 interfaces designed for factory automation, smart energy infrastructure, and Internet of Vehicles (IoV). TheWR300FG is based on a Qualcomm IPQ8072 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 networking processor running OpenWrt, supports both 5G SA/NSA modes, backward-compatibility with 4G/3G, and its dual SIM features enabled automatic switchover for interrupted 5G connectivity.   WR300FG specifications: SoC – Qualcomm IPQ8072 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 @ 2.2 GHz part of Qualcomm Networking Pro 1200 Platform System Memory – TBD Storage – 1GB flash (described as “hard disk” in the press release!)  Connectivity Cellular 5G SA, 5G NSA, 4G LTE, 3G UMTS Operating bands 5G NR – n1/n2/n3/n5/n7/n8/n12/n20/n28/n38/n40/n41/n48/n66/n71/n77/n78/n79LTE-FDD: B1/B3/B5/B7/B8/B18/B19/B20/B26/B28/B32 LTE-TDD: B34/B38/39/B40/B41/B42/B43 WCDMA: B1/B2/B4/B5/B6/B8/B19 2G GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz Data rates 5G SA: DL 2.1Gbps; UL 900Mbps 5G NSA: DL 2.5Gbps; UL 650Mbps LTE-FDD: Max 150Mbps (DL)/Max 50Mbps (UL) […]

M5Stack CM4Stack – A tiny Raspberry Pi CM4 Linux computer with an integrated 2-inch display

CM4Stack mini PC Raspberry Pi CM4

M5Stack CM4Stack is a tiny Arm Linux mini PC based on Raspberry Pi CM4 that measures 59 x 44 x 46mm and integrates a 2-inch touchscreen display for information and control, as well as the usual ports you’d expect from a mini PC such as HDMI, USB 3.2 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, and so on. We’ve previously written about M5Stack Core and Atom controllers based on ESP32 microcontrollers, an optional 2.0-inch display, and a few GPIOs. The company has now decided to provide a similar solution with a jump in performance and interfaces with the CM4Stack development kit. CM4Stack specifications: SoM – Raspberry Pi CM4 (CM4104032) with SoC – Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 processor @ 1.5 GHz System Memory – 4GB RAM Storage – 32GB eMMC flash Wireless module with 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 Integrated display – 2.0-inch LCD with ST7789V2 controller, touchscreen function Video Output – HDMI […]

Videostrong HC1 Home Care Hub for the elderly serves as Smart Speaker, Smart Home gateway, video phone

Videostrong HC1 Home Care Hub

Videostrong HC1 Home Care Hub is a Smart Home/IoT gateway designed for the elderly that also serves as a smart speaker with 10-meter far-field voice recognition, a video phone with a video built-in camera and speaker, and a 4K Android TV box. The system is based on an Amlogic S905Y4 quad-core Cortex-A35 processor coupled with up to 4GB RAM and 64GB RAM, supports Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and LoRa, WiFi, and Bluetooth connectivity, and offers both HDMI 2.1 video output, and HDMI 2.0 video input. HC1 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905Y4 quad-core Arm Cortex-A35 @ 2.0GHz with Arm Mali-G31 MP2 GPU with OpenGL ES 3.2 support System Memory – 2GB or 4GB RAM Storage – 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB eMMC flash Video Output – HDMI 2.1 port up to 4Kp60 Input Built-in 1920×1080 camera with 90° wide angle, manual cover, adjustable angle HDMI 2.0 port up to 4Kp60 Audio […]

Renesas RZ/G2L CPU module targets HMI and IoT gateway applications

RENESAS RZ/G2L development board

MYIR MYC-YG2LX is Renesas RZ/G2L CPU module with up to 4GB DDR4, 32GB eMMC flash, and various I/Os such as gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0, camera and display interfaces accessible through 222 castellated holes, and designed for advanced HMI, IoT edge gateways, and other embedded devices with video capabilities. As a reminder, the Renesas RZ/G2L microprocessor comes with up to two Arm Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 1.2 GHz, one 200 MHz Cortex-M33 real-time core, a Mali-G31 GPU for 3D graphics interfaces, and a VPU capable of H.264 encoding/decoding. The company also offers the MYD-YG2LX development board based on the 45x43mm MYC-YG2LX CPU module with easy access to its interfaces. MYIR MYC-YG2LX Renesas RZ/G2L CPU module MYC-YG2LX module specifications: SoC – Renesas RZ/G2L (R9A07G044L23GBG) dual-core Cortex-A55 processor with Cortex-M33 core @ 200 Mhz, Arm Mali-G31 GPU, H.264 hardware video decoding/encoding System Memory – 1 or 2GB DDR4 (option for up to 4GB) […]

Getting Started with GL-S200 Thread Border Router kit

Getting Started GL-S200 Thread Border Router

Last week we checked out the hardware for the GL.iNet GL-S200 Thread Border Router kit with three nRF52840 Thread Dev Boards, and I’ve now had time to work with the kit, so I’ll report my getting started experience in the second part of the review. GL-S200 Initial Set Up I connected the WAN port to my Ethernet Switch itself connected to my modem router and the LAN port to my laptop, so I could access the web interface using the default IP address (192.168.8.1). The GL-S200 uses the same Admin Panel as other GL.iNet routers such as the Beryl AX router we reviewed at the beginning of the year. You’ll be greeted by a wizard to let you select the language and set a new password for the Admin Panel, and once you’re done you’ll have access to the familiar GL.iNet Admin Panel 4.x.x. After completing the wizard, the system […]

OSD62x SiP combines TI AM62x processor with LPDDR4, EEPROM, PMIC, and passives into a single package

OSD62x system-in-package

Octavo Systems OSD62x is a system-in-package (SiP) combining the Texas Instruments AM62x processor with LPDDR4 RAM, EEPROM, power management, oscillators, and passive components, plus optional features such as an RTC and an 8-channel ADC. At least that’s true for the OSD62x Max Integration SiP (22×22 mm BGA), but Octavo Systems also have a smaller 14x9mm package called the OSD62x Size Optimized with “just’ the AM62x processor, LPDDR4 memory, and passive components. OSD62x “Max Integration” specifications: SoC – Texas Instruments AM62x (AM623/AM625) CPU – Up to 4x Arm Cortex-A53 @ 1.4GHz MCU – Arm Cortex-M4F GPU – 3D graphics up to 2048×1080 @ 60 fps (AM625 only) Storage I/F – 1x eMMC, 2x SDIO, 1x GPMC Display I/F – 24-bit RGB MIPI DPI and OLDI/LVDS Camera I/F – 1x MIPI CSI-2 with DPHY 1.2 Networking – 2x 10/100/1000M Gigabit Ethernet with TSN support USB – 2x USB 2.0 interfaces PRU-ICSS Other […]