kicad News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

December 29, 2025December 29, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Open-source hardware USB to GPIB adapter connects legacy GPIB/IEEE-488 instruments to modern hosts

XyphroLabs’s UsbGpib is an open-source hardware, inexpensive, and portable USB to GPIB adapter aiming to provide “access to legacy GPIB/IEEE-488 instruments using contemporary hardware and software, with a focus on accessibility, openness, and ease of integration into current workflows”. Initially developed by Hewlett-Packard in the late 1960s/early 1970s, GPIB (General Purpose Interface Bus), also known as IEEE-488 or initially HP-IB (Hewlett-Packard Interface Bus), is a short-range digital communications bus standard designed for connecting and controlling programmable electronic test and measurement instruments such as oscilloscopes, multimeters, and power supplies to computers or controllers. The UsbGpib project helps connect GBIP-compliant equipment to modern host computers with a USB port. UsbGpib key hardware features and specifications: Microcontroller – Microchip ATMega32U4 8-bit AVR microcontroller for 5V I/O compatibility USB – USB Type-C port with full USBTMC (USB Test and Measurement Class) support 24-pin GPIB interface – Fully IEEE-488.1 and IEEE-488.2 enabled, including service request […]

December 12, 2025December 12, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Diptyx E-Reader – An open-source, ESP32-powered, dual-screen e-book reader (Crowdfunding)

There are plenty of e-book readers on the market, but the Diptyx E-Reader feels more like a proper book since it features two e-paper displays that can be folded or opened thanks to a custom-made plastic enclosure. While it’s powered by an ESP32-S3 wireless module with a PCB antenna, both WiFi and Bluetooth are disabled in the firmware, and instead, users can load EPUB files through the reader’s USB Type-C port. The combination of an automatic standby mode (using deep sleep) and e-ink displays enables the dual-screen device to run for weeks on a single charge. Two buttons are used to access the next or previous page, and a third one powers the device up in a few seconds. Diptyx E-Reader specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3-N16R8 CPU – ESP32-S3 dual-core LX7 microprocessor @ up to 240 MHz with Vector extension Memory – 8MB PSRAM Storage – […]

December 8, 2025December 22, 2025 by Sponsored Post - No Comments

YumiAI: An AI-Native End-to-End Hardware Innovation Platform For Embedded Engineers (Sponsored)

Anyone who has designed a custom ESP32 board or an RK3588 carrier knows the real bottleneck isn’t creativity — it’s the grunt work. Finding components that are actually in stock, checking pin compatibility, verifying footprints, building symbols, and dealing with yet another “NRND” surprise. It slows down even simple projects. A Multi-Agent System Built for Hardware Workflows YumiAI is an AI-Native Generative Hardware Innovation Platform. YumiAI has five specialized agent clusters: Market Insight agent clusters: General AI gives summaries. YumiAI focuses on “Engineering Feasibility.” It asks: Will we hit patent issues? Is the cost competitive? It outputs a technical research report for hardware decisions. Function Definition agent clusters: interprets requirements (“STM32WL LoRaWAN node, USB-C power”) and structures them into a proper engineering spec. Component Selection agent clusters: pulls real-time availability and pricing from DigiKey, Mouser, and LCSC. Circuit Topology agent clusters: Our Agent has industrial algorithms and simulation built in. It performs “Physical […]

November 24, 2025November 24, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Taradov’s open-source hardware pocket USB sniffer works with Wireshark

Alex Taradov has designed a low-cost, open-source hardware USB sniffer compatible with the popular Wireshark packet capture utility, and also controllable from the command line, capturing data in the standard PcapNG format in either case. Wireshark has had built-in USB capture capability for many years, and I used it myself to reverse-engineer the software for a USB video capture card around 2007, but it’s not perfect since it does not capture low-level packets. For that, you need extra hardware, and last year we covered the tinysniffer USB sniffer based on a WiFi-connected Linux SBC. It does the job, but it’s sold for $199, and you don’t need an application processor to handle USB 2.0 speeds. Alex’s design is optimized for cost and built around three main components: Cypress CY7C68013A 8051 MCU, Lattice MachXO2 LCMXO2 FPGA, and Microchip USB3343 USB PHY. Taradov’s USB sniffer specifications: Microcontroller – Cypress CY7C68013A enhanced 8051 […]

September 26, 2025September 29, 2025 by Sponsored Post - No Comments

A Catalyst for Open Source: NextPCB Launches KiCad Projects Platform to Fuel the Future of KiCad (Sponsored)

NextPCB, a global leader in PCB manufacturing and assembly solutions, proudly announces the launch of kicadprojects.com, a dynamic open-source community dedicated to supporting open-source hardware and enriching KiCad, the renowned open-source EDA tool for schematic capture and PCB layout. This initiative unites engineers, students, and innovators worldwide to share projects, collaborate, and support the KiCad community and core KiCad development. A Hub for Collaboration and Innovation Developed and maintained by NextPCB, a platinum KiCad sponsor, kicadprojects.com is more than a platform—it’s a thriving hub where the global KiCad community can: Share & Showcase Projects – Upload and explore innovative PCB designs, schematics, and tutorials. Streamline Collaboration – Download project files, generate automated BOMs, and visualize designs straight from your browser with NextPCB’s KiCad EDA viewer. Open Source, Open Impact In a bold commitment to open-source stewardship, NextPCB will donate $10 (USD) towards the KiCad Project for every approved project uploaded […]

August 21, 2025August 28, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Icepi Zero – A Lattice ECP5 FPGA board in Raspberry Pi Zero form factor (Crowdfunding)

Icepi Zero Lattice LFE5U FPGA board Raspberry Pi Zero form factor

The Icepi Zero is a compact Lattice ECP5 FPGA open-source hardware development board following the Raspberry Pi Zero form factor, and equipped with a microSD card slot, three USB-C ports, a GPDI mini connector for video output, and a 40-pin GPIO header. I was confused at first, since Debashis wrote about the Pico2-ice board a few days ago, but it’s a different design with an RP2350B MCU and a Lattice ICE40U5K FPGA with 5.3K LUTs. Made by Icy Electronics, the Icepi Zero is a pure FPGA board with 24K LUTs, 32MB SRAM, and 16MB QSPI flash that can be used for retro gaming/computer and general FPGA gateware experimentation. Icepi Zero specifications: FPGA – Lattice Semi ECP5U 24k LUTs 112 KiB of RAM 28x 18 x 18 Multipliers Memory – 256 Mbit (32 MB) of 166 MHz SDRAM Storage 128 Mbit (16 MB) of QSPI Flash microSD card slot Video Output […]

August 6, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

FPGA-based Modos Paper Dev Kit supports a wide range of E-Ink displays, up to 75 Hz refresh rate (Crowdfunding)

Modos Paper Grayscale or Color E-Ink displays

Modos Paper Dev Kit helps users create an open-hardware E-Ink monitor with a fast 75 Hz refresh rate and low latency thanks to a Xilinx Spartan-6 FPGA driver board, and compatibility with a wide and of E-Ink displays between 4-inch and 42-inch in size. The resulting grayscale or color E-ink monitor can be connected through HDMI or USB and works on Linux, macOS, and Windows. Modos Paper driver board specifications: FPGA – AMD/Xilinx Spartan-6 LX16 FPGA running Caster gateware Memory – DDR3-800 framebuffer memory MCU – STMicro STM32H750 Arm Cortex-M7 microcontroller for USB communication, firmware upgrades, and standalone applications. Processing rate up to 133 MP/s when error-diffusion dithering is enabled, and 200 MP/s when disabled Supported Displays – 4-inch to 42-inch E-Ink displays without integrated TCON; See long list on GitHub Video Input USB Type-C DisplayPort Alt-Mode with on-board PTN3460 decoder microHDMI connector for DVI video input with on-board ADV7611 […]

August 1, 2025August 1, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

microSD-express Pi Adapter is an ultra-small microSD Express adapter for the Raspberry Pi 5

Tiny microSD Express adapter for Raspberry Pi 5

We’ve just written about Will Whang’s RPI5-SDexpress-Hat board, which adds a microSD Express slot to the Raspberry Pi 5, but it’s not that small, and it’s using the 40-pin GPIO for power, so it’s not convenient if you want to install another Raspberry Pi HAT+. Vassily Petrov’s “microSD-express Pi Adapter” is a much smaller microSD Express adapter on a flexible PCB that plugs directly into the PCIe FFC connector and nothing else, driving power from the PCIe connector only. There’s not much on the PCB itself besides a microSD Express card slot and a Microchip MIC2230 800mA/800mA step-down DC/DC regulator. We’re told speeds of up to 800 MB/s are achievable, limited by the PCIe Gen3 x1 interface on the Pi 5 itself. For reference, the RPI5-SDexpress-Hat was tested at about 600 MB/s for sequential reads and under 200MB/s for sequential writes using a 256GB Samsung microSD Express card. A worry […]