gps

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on FOSDEM 2015 Schedule – January 31 – February 1 2015

FOSDEM 2015 Schedule – January 31 – February 1 2015

FOSDEM (Free and Open Source Software Developers’ European Meeting) takes place every year during the first week-end of February. This year the developer-oriented event expects to bring over 5000 geeks to share ideas and collaborate on open source projects. Contrary to most other events, it’s free to attend, and you don’t even need to register, just show up. FOSDEM 2015 will take place on January 31- February 1 in Brussels. There will be 551 sessions divided into 5 keynotes, 40 lightning talks, 6 certification exams, and with the bulk being developer rooms and main tracks,  divided into 7 main tracks this year: Languages, Performance, Time, Typesetting, Hardware, Security and Miscellaneous. I’m not going to attend, but it’s still interested to see what will be talked about, and I’ve concocted my own little virtual program out of the main tracks and developers’ rooms. There’s a few minutes overlap between some talks […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on Infocus CS1 A83 (C2107) Android Tablet Review

Infocus CS1 A83 (C2107) Android Tablet Review

I’ve already shown some pictures, listed specs and reported Antutu benchmark results for Infocus CS1 A83 Android tablet powered by Allwinner A83T octa core processor. I’ve been using this tablet as my main mobile device for about a week, and for about 3 to 5 hours a day, and I’m now ready to write a full review reporting my experience with this Full HD tablet. General Impressions I mainly use a tablet to browse the web, check emails, play some casual games like Candy Crush Saga, watch some YouTube videos, and Skype calls, and I could not really fault the tablet for any of these applications. Having said that, my reference device is only ThL W200 smartphone powered by Mediatek MT6589T processor with a 5″ display @ 1280×720, and for all the tasks listed Infocus tablet is much better because it’s more responsive, the 1920×1200 is crisp, and the cameras […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on PopMetal Rockchip RK3288 Development Board Features Multiple Display Interfaces (HDMI, VGA ,eDP, LVDS, MIPI), GPS and NFC Connectivity

PopMetal Rockchip RK3288 Development Board Features Multiple Display Interfaces (HDMI, VGA ,eDP, LVDS, MIPI), GPS and NFC Connectivity

Up to now, we’ve had mainly two development boards based on Rockchip RK3288 Cortex A17 processor: Firefly-RK3288 is a low cost development board powered by Rockchip RK3288 processor selling for as low as $140 shipped, and Radxa Rock 2, a more professional and expansive solution with dual Ethernet, 3G modem and so on. A third RK3288 board has now surfaced which offers a middle ground between Firefly and Radxa boards. PopMetal development board comes with 2GB RAM, 8GB eMMC, 5 video outputs / display interfaces namely HDMI, VGA, embedded DisplayPort (eDP), LVDS, and MIPI DSI, as well as the usual Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity, complemented with GPS and NFC. PopMetal technical specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3288 quad core ARM Cortex-A17 processor @ 1.8Ghz with ARM Mali-T764 GPU with support for OpenGL ES1.1/2.0/3.0, OpenVG 1.1, OpenCL 1.1, DirectX 11 System memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8 GB eMMC, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments on Getting Started with LinkIt ONE Development Kit for Wearables & IoT

Getting Started with LinkIt ONE Development Kit for Wearables & IoT

After going through WRTnode Quick Start Guide, it’s now time to play with LinkIt ONE, the IoT development board from Mediatek designed by Seeed Studio. LinkIt ONE is the first Hardware Development Kit (HDK) for Mediatek LinkIt, so there may be a LinkIt TWO, and/or other hardware platforms in the future. LinkIt ONE specifications Let’s quickly go through the specifications first: Processor – Mediatek MT2502A (Aster) ARM7 EJ-STM processor @ 260 MHz System Memory – 4 MB Storage – 16MB Flash for firmware + micro SD slot shared with SIM slot for up to 32GB additional storage Connectivity: Wi-Fi – 802.11 b/g/n (MT5931) with external antenna Bluetooth – BR/EDR/BLE(Dual Mode) GPS – Mediatek MT3332 with external antenna GSM/GPRS – 850/900/1800/1900 MHz band, Class 12 GPS with external antenna Audio – 3.5mm headphone jack (including mic support) – Support for MP3, AAC, and AMR codecs. Serial – Software Serial (Serial), and […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Navdy is an Android Head Up Display for your Car Controlled by Voice and Gestures

Navdy is an Android Head Up Display for your Car Controlled by Voice and Gestures

Following up on yesterday’s Android rear view mirrors (ARVM), where I and others mentioned safety of such devices in comments, it has been brought to my attention that there’s a possibly safer alternative with Navdy, a 5.1″ Head-Up Display (HUD) running Android 4.4, that’s placed right in front of your eyes on the top of the dashboard, and coming with both common and different features compared to ARVM. Navdy’s preliminary specifications: Processor – Unnamed dual core processor System Memory – N/A Storage – N/A Display – 5.1″ wide transparent Head-Up Display (HUD) with high quality projector Camera – IR camera for touchless gesture control Connectivity – WiFi (802.11 b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0/LE Sensors – Accelerometer, e-compass, ambient light sensor Audio – Via Bluetooth or 3.5mm minijack mini-USB port, Internal speaker and microphone with noise canceling DSP Data / Power interface – OBD-II power and data connection to car computer, with optional […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments on Android Rear View Mirrors Feature Dual Cameras for DVR Function, GPS, Bluetooth, and More

Android Rear View Mirrors Feature Dual Cameras for DVR Function, GPS, Bluetooth, and More

I first heard about Android rear view mirrors back in 2012 with a solution designed by Huawei running Android 2.3. But this morning, DealExtreme listed three Android rear view mirrors, with model names like EL-H100, EL-H200, and EL-H800 selling between $120 to $216 depending on the features. The mirrors feature 4.3″ to 5″ displays, and all come with dual camera support, run Android 4.0, and seem powered by AllWinner A10 or A13 ARM Cortex A8 processor, with the most expensive (EL-H800) also supporting Bluetooth and GPS. One model also support IR night vision (EL-H100). Features and specifications for EL-H800 model are listed as follows: SoC – AllWinner A13 ARM Cortex A8 @ 1.2GHz with Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 512MB DDR3 Storage – 8GB flash and micro SD slot up to 32GB Display – 5″ TFT Touch Screen, 800×480 resolution Connectivity – Wi-Fi and Bluetooth earphone support, FM radio Video […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Meet Samsung Smart Bike fitted with an Arduino, a Rear Camera, Lasers and More

Meet Samsung Smart Bike fitted with an Arduino, a Rear Camera, Lasers and More

Samsung Maestros Academy has introduced a Smart Bike prototype integrating various “smart” components within its aluminum frame, such as an Arduino board connected to a Wi-Fi + Bluetooth module, a battery, four laser projectors, and a digital camera controlled by a Samsung smartphone. The camera is fitted at the back just under the seat, and allows the riders to have a real-time rear view image on the phone. The four lasers are used to create a virtual bike lane in case a real one is missing, and remind other drivers to keep a safe distance to your bicycle. The bike can also detect ambient conditions using the smartphone sensors, and modify its behavior. For example, it can switch on or off the laser beams depending on the brightness sensor data from the smartphone. Each bike also tracks daily routes of the riders using GPS, and can let local authorities know where bicycle traffic is most intense, and […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on $15 and Up NavSpark is a tiny GPS / GNSS Arduino Software Compatible Board (Crowdfunding)

$15 and Up NavSpark is a tiny GPS / GNSS Arduino Software Compatible Board (Crowdfunding)

[Update: I’ve been told the project is actually launched by SkyTraq. But later, after Indiegogo perks are shipped, they expect to have our customer NAVIN handle later orders and manufacturing, the non-engineering development side of things. Updated post accordingly] Navin, a Taiwanese start-up specialized in location products, SkyTraq, a fabless semiconductor company, which develops GPS chipset for consumer navigation and tracking applications, has recently launched an Indiegogo campaign for NavSpark, their low cost GPS / GNSS board with a 32-bit LEON3 SPARC V8 MCU that can be programmed with the Arduino IDE. Two other models are available:  NavSpark-BD for GPS/Beidou, and NavSpark-GL for GPS/GLONASS. NavSpark NavSpark specifications: GSP Receiver – SkyTraq Venus 822 LEON3 Sparc-V8 MCU @ 100MHz with IEEE-754 Compliant FPU, 1024KB Flash Memory, 212KB RAM. GPS – quad-GNSS engine capable of handling 34 GPS / GLONASS/ Beidou / Galileo signals in parallel I/Os – 1x full duplex asynchronous […]