Aegis Secure WiFi Smart Deadbolt Works with Android/iOS Phones (Crowdfunding)

Aegis Secure WiFi Smart Lock

We previously wrote about smart lock systems that allow you to open your door with the help of your smartphone. Products covered including Xiaomi Sherlock M1 that only works with specific doors/locks, and K1 smart lock box that stores your keys in a rugged box meaning it works with all door mechanisms, but it does not seem particularly secure to me. BOSMA Aegis Bluetooth & WiFi smart deadbolt looks to potentially a more secure solution as it should work with any door, and complements your main lock which you may want to use when you are not at home for longer periods of time. Aegis smart deadbolt specifications: Connectivity – Built-in Bluetooth; WiFi via a WiFi connector shipped with Aegis Voice Assitant Integration – Google Home and Amazon Alexa Optional BOSMA Sentry smart doorbell with Storage – Up to 128GB via MicroSD card slot; cloud storage Video – 1080p video […]

Particle Takes Pre-orders for its Cellular Tracking SoM, Evaluation Kit, and Tracker One Asset Tracker

Tracker Som Evaluation Kit

Earlier this year, Particle announced its Tracking System turnkey solution comprised of Tracker SoM LTE IoT module, Tracker One asset tracker with enclosure, as well as Particle Tracking Services software suite with geolocation services, fleet management, and an open device firmware application framework to integrate with off-the-shelf IoT sensors and enable OTA firmware updates. The hardware devices were expected for June/July 2020, and the company has now started to take pre-orders for Tracker SoM, its evaluation kit, and Tracker One for respectively $79.99, $99.99, and $127.99. Shipping is expected to start in August 2020. We already covered Tracker SoM in our initial article with the full specifications, but basically, it’s a Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 powered module with 8MB flash, ESP32 for WiFI (including support for indoor location),  U-blox Neo-M8U GNSS module, and a choice of Quectel BG96 LTE CAT M1 module for the US or Quectel EG91-X CAT 1 module […]

ZS1100A IoT Power Meter Supports Sigrok Open-Source Software (Crowdfunding)

ZS110A power meter

A few months ago, I tested Qoitech Otii Arc power meter & DAQ system designed for developers of IoT devices, and fount out it would be incredibly useful to developers of battery-operated devices since it shows voltage and current graphs synchronized with the serial output making it easy to see where software might be optimized. The system can also capture analog and digital signals from the DUT and emulate batteries with user-defined characteristics. But this weekend, I’ve come across a very similar solution with ZS1100A IoT power meter that also happens to be compatible with Sigrok open-source signal analysis software, and the corresponding Pulseview GUI. ZS1100A IoT power meter specifications: Measurements Output Voltage Range – 0 to 6 V programmable in 10 mV steps with +/- 5mV accuracy, Current Measurement Range – -0.5 A to 1.5 A (linear range) with < 0.1 μA resolution,  accuracy of 1% of measured value […]

Linux Powered Industrial IoT Gateway Offers WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, 4G LTE Connectivity

Linux Industrial IoT Gateway

Compulab IOT-GATE-IMX8 is a Debian Linux powered fanless Industrial IoT gateway powered by NXP i.MX 8M Mini processor and specially designed for industrial control and monitoring with optional support for WiFI 6 (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.1, 4G LTE, and GNSS connectivity. The gateway is equipped with up to 4GB RAM and 128GB eMMC flash, takes variable DC input from 8V to 36V, and operates in a wide temperature range of -40C to 80°C with the company providing a 5-year warranty and 15-year availability. Compulab IOT-GATE-IMX8 specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX8M Mini quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.8GHz with Arm Cortex-M4 real-time core, Vivante 3G and 2D GPU System Memory – 1GB – 4GB LPDDR4 Storage – 4GB – 64GB eMMC flash (soldered on-board), plus secondary storage with optional 16GB – 64GB eMMC flash module Networking & Wireless Connectivity Gigabit Ethernet port, RJ45 connector Fast Ethernet port, RJ45 connector Optional 802.11ax WiFi […]

Cucumber ESP32-S2 Development Board Comes with USB OTG Port, Optional Sensors

Cucumber ESP32-S2 USB OTG Development Board

Yesterday, I wrote about LilyGO TTGO ESP32-S2 WiFi IoT board, but one commenter mentioned it missed one of the key features of ESP32-S2 chip: a USB OTG port. While USB OTG  is accessible through the header pins, it’s not the most convenient to use. I also quickly mentioned Cucumber ESP32-S2 development board in that post, but I did not expand too much since I thought it should only ship within Thailand. But the board does include two USB Type-C ports, one for the usual USB UART connector, and the other for USB OTG, and I found out the board is available worldwide. The board is available in multiple variants with or without sensors and PSRAM, and with external IPEX antenna or PCB antenna using ESP32-S2-WROVER(-I) or ESP32-S2-WROOM(-I) module. Cucumber specifications: Wireless Module (one of the other): ESP32-S2-WROVER with ESP32-S2, 4MB flash, 2MB PSRAM, on-board PCB antenna ESP32-S2-WROVER-I with ESP32-S2, 4MB […]

TTGO ESP32-S2 WiFi IoT Board Comes with Optional MicroSD Card and Battery Support

TTGO ESP32-S2 ESP32-S

All ESP32-S2 boards I’ve seen so far were from Espressif Systems themselves including ESP32-S2-Saola-1 and ESP32-S2-Kaluga-1, but LilyGO TTGO ESP32-S2 is the first third-party board for sale so far. The tiny board is somewhat similar to ESP32-S2-Saola-1 board and comes in two versions with a similar form factor, but a completely different pinout and the presence of a MicroSD card socket and a battery connector on one of the boards. The simpler board is called “ESP32-S2 ESP32-S-WOOR” and comes with ESP32-S2-WROOM module, while the one with more features is named “TTGO ESP32-S2 ESP32-S ” and features its own circuitry built around ESP32-S2 WiSoC. Both TTGO ESP32-S2 boards share many of the same specifications: SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S2 single-core 32-bit Tensilica LX7 processor with 320 kB SRAM, 128 kB ROM, System Memory – 8MB PSRAM Storage – 4MB flash; XY-ESP32-S only: MicroSD card socket Connectivity 2.4GHz 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 connectivity […]

Dialog DA16200 WiFi SoC Promises a Year of Battery Life for Always-Connected IoT Devices

Dialog DA16200 WiFi One Year Battery Life

WiFi is omnipresent, and many IoT devices are relying on the wireless standard for connectivity, but as most of you will already know, WiFi suffers from high-power consumption and may not always be suitable for battery-operated devices. There are always battery optimization tricks to use WiFi on battery-powered devices, for example, a solar camera using PIR to only record and transmit video when needed,  or a board optimized to consume as little as possible in deep sleep waking up only when necessary. Those tricks are not applicable to all use cases, so Dialog Semiconductor has launched DA16200 Wi-Fi SoC delivering year plus battery life for always-connected Wi-Fi IoT devices. DA16200 key features and specifications: MCU Core – Arm Cortex M4F @ up to 160 MHz Memory – 512 KB SRAM Storage – 256 kB ROM, 8KB OTP ROM, external flash controller, eMMC, SD host Connectivity 2.4 GHz, 20 MHz channel […]

Ameba RTL8722DM Cortex-M33/M23 IoT Development Board Now Available for $23.90

Ameba RTL8722DM IoT Development Board

Earlier this year, we noticed some RealTek RTK8720DN dual-band WiFi and Bluetooth 5.0 IoT modules, and quickly mentioned Ameba RTL8722DM development board available for under $50. If you found the price of the board a bit expensive for what it had to offer, the good news is that Ameba RTL8722DM Cortex-M33/M23 IoT development board is now selling for $23.90 on Seeed Studio or Good Display. Ameba RTL8722DM specifications: MCU ARMv8M Real-M300 Cortex-M33 compatible MCU @ 200MHz ARMv8M Real-M200 Cortex-M23 compatible MCU @ 20MHz Memory – 4.5MB embedded SRAM in SoC Storage – 2MB external flash Connectivity Dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n 1×1 WiFi 4 (20/40MHz) Bluetooth 5 SIG Mesh networking Supports both central and peripheral modes Display – 8-bit LCD  up to 645×645 resolution @ 30FPS or 6-bit LCD up to 527×527 resolution @ 60 FPS Audio Codec – ADC, DAC, I2S Security – Hardware cryptographic engine, Arm Trust-Zone, Secure boot, Wi-Fi […]