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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments on Macchina M2 is an Open Source Hardware OBD-II Development Platform for Your Car (Crowdfunding)

Macchina M2 is an Open Source Hardware OBD-II Development Platform for Your Car (Crowdfunding)

ODB-II Bluetooth adapter and head-up displays to monitor and diagnose your car have been around for a while. I actually got two models to use with a Toyota Avanza and Torque Lite app, but never managed to make it work with my phone. Macchina M2 board is doing much of the same thing and more, as it is open source hardware, and supports more communications protocols including GPS, WiFi, 3G/LTE,  BLE, and Ethernet using XBEE boards. Macchina M2 specifications: MCU – Atmel SAM3X8E ARM Cortex M3 processor @ 84 MHz (also used on Arduino DUE) with 96 KB SRAM, 512KB flash Storage – micro SD card socket, 32KB EEPROM via I2C USB – 1x micro USB port (USB device or host mode) Wireless XBee Socket – For Bluetooth LE, WiFi, GSM, 3G, LTE, I/Os 6x automotive level I/O pins to control 12V devices (Examples: relays, fans, lights, etc) OR act […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Dride is a Voice Controlled Dashcam Driving Assistant Powered by a Raspberry Pi Board (Crowdfunding)

Dride is a Voice Controlled Dashcam Driving Assistant Powered by a Raspberry Pi Board (Crowdfunding)

Next Thing introduced Dashbot Car Dashboard Assistant based on CHIP Pro module late last year, and it will get some competition with Dride, a driving assistant powered by Raspberry Pi, that can also be voice controlled like Dashbot, but includes a Pi camera to record videos, and alert the users of dangers using computer vision, for example when they drive too close to the car in front. The system leverages Raspberry Pi board and Pi Camera, and adds an outer shell, Dride’s Raspberry Pi HAT, and a car charger & cable. Some of the key features listed for the Dride include: Cloud support – Upload and store driving videos to your Dride profile ADAS – Safety alerts in case of lane deviation or frontal collision Voice – Voice commands for navigation & messaging Connectivity – Bluetooth, WiFi, and GPS The developers also provide “Dride – Passenger Seat Driver” app for […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on Crowd-designed ZTE Hawkeye “Project CSX” Smartphone with Eye-Tracking, Adhesive Back Launched on KickStarter

Crowd-designed ZTE Hawkeye “Project CSX” Smartphone with Eye-Tracking, Adhesive Back Launched on KickStarter

ZTE launched Project CSX last year in order to let anybody submit product ideas and/or vote for the best choices, and after several months, the winning entry was a phone with an adhesive backcover and eye-tracking function to control the phone without hands. The company has now named the phone ZTE Hawkeye launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to raise funds for the development and manufacturing of the smartphone. Hawkeye smartphone specifications [Updated on Jan 18 with the released the specs]: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 Octa-core processor @ 2.0GHz System Memory – 3GB RAM Storage – 32GB flash memory + micro SD slot up to 256GB Display – 5.5″ FHD (1920 x 1080) Audio – HiFi audio Connectivity – WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, dual SIM card slot Camera – Rear: Dual Lens 13MP + 12MP with optical zoom; front: 8MP USB – 1x USB type C port Sensors – Fingerprint […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments on JeVois-A33 is a Small Quad Core Linux Camera Designed for Computer Vision Applications (Crowdfunding)

JeVois-A33 is a Small Quad Core Linux Camera Designed for Computer Vision Applications (Crowdfunding)

JeVois Neuromorphic Embedded Vision Toolkit – developed at iLab at the University of Southern California – is an open source software framework to capture and process images through a machine vision algorithm, primarily designed to run on embedded camera hardware, but also supporting Linux board such as the Raspberry Pi. A compact Allwinner A33 has now been design to run the software and use on robotics and other projects requiring a lightweight and/or battery powered camera with computer vision capabilities. JeVois-A33 camera: SoC – Allwinner A33  quad core ARM Cortex A7 processor @ 1.35GHz with  VFPv4 and NEON, and a dual core Mali-400 GPU supporting OpenGL-ES 2.0. System Memory – 256MB DDR3 SDRAM Storage – micro SD slot for firmware and data 1.3MP camera capable of video capture at SXGA (1280 x 1024) up to 15 fps (frames/second) VGA (640 x 480) up to 30 fps CIF (352 x 288) […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 35 Comments on Firefly-RK3399 Rockchip RK3399 Development Board Launched on Kickstarter for $139 and Up

Firefly-RK3399 Rockchip RK3399 Development Board Launched on Kickstarter for $139 and Up

Firefly-RK3399 is the first, and for now the only one, development board equipped with the latest Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core Cortex A72 & A53 processor. It’s just not available yet, but the board has now been launched on Kickstarter where it is offered for $139 to $199 depending on options. Firefly-RK3399 board specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core big.LITTLE processor with dual core ARM Cortex A72 up to 2.0 GHz and quad core Cortex A53 processor with ARM Mali-T860 MP4 GPU with OpenGL 1.1 to 3.1 support, OpenVG1.1, OpenCL and DX 11 support System Memory Standard – 2 GB DDR3 Plus devkit – 4 GB DDR3 Storage Standard – 16 GB eMMC flash, micro SD card, M.2 socket Plus devkit – 32 GB eMMC flash, micro SD card, M.2 socket Video Output & Display Interfaces 1x HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60 Hz 1x DisplayPort (DP) 1.2 interface up to […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Sevenhugs Smart Remote is a Universal Direction Aware WiFi, Bluetooth and IR Remote Control (Crowdfunding)

Sevenhugs Smart Remote is a Universal Direction Aware WiFi, Bluetooth and IR Remote Control (Crowdfunding)

You may have all sort of remote control devices around your home from the traditional IR remote control for your TV, air conditioner, audio system etc.., as well remote control apps for WiFi or Bluetooth objects such as smart light bulbs or water pumps running on your smartphone. Sevenhugs Smart Remote promises to replace them all, and all you have to do is to point the remote control to your devices, or setup virtual actions to your door or window to order a Uber drive or check the weather. Sevenhugs Smart Remote specifications: MCU – ARM Cortex-M4 @ 200 MHz System Memory – 32 MB RAM LCD – 3.43″ touch screen IPS display; Dragontrail damage ans scratch resistant cover glass, anti-fingerprint & anti-glare Wireless Connectivity – IR transceiver, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1 LE connectivity USB – USB C port for charging Sensors – Indoor positioning sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on iv-Robotics Brings SMT Resistors, Capacitors, LEDs to Breadboards (Crowdfunding)

iv-Robotics Brings SMT Resistors, Capacitors, LEDs to Breadboards (Crowdfunding)

Most people will prototype electronics projects using a breadboard and typical axial resistors and “legged” capacitors & LEDs. This works reasonably well but can be messy, and you need to learn resistor codes to choose the right value. To reduce the number of legs and make it easier for beginner, iv-Robotics has decided to create small boards with SMT resistors, capacitors and LEDs instead with markings to solve those small issues. The company calls those iResistor, iCapacitor and iLed components, and offers them in boxes of 50 pieces with various values. Experienced users might also like the fact this it’s easier to store compare to traditional components, but I feel this is really a good idea for education, and kids getting started with electronics. The project is now on Kickstarter, where you can get 50 pieces for $10, 4 boxes of 50 pieces for $35, 8 boxes with iResistors and […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on Marvin is a Plug and Play, Arduino Compatible, LoRa USB IoT Development Board (Crowdfunding)

Marvin is a Plug and Play, Arduino Compatible, LoRa USB IoT Development Board (Crowdfunding)

LoRa appears to be one of the most popular LPWAN standards so far, with hobbyist development boards such as LoPy or LoRaONE, and we’ll soon have at least one more choice thanks to Marvin, a LoRa development board with a full size USB port. Marvin board specifications: MCU – Atmel/Microchip ATmega32u AVR MCU (same as Arduino Leonardo board) Connectivity – LoRa via Microchip RN2483; Supports both 868 MHz and 433 MHz frequency bands, on-board antenna USB – 1x USB, 1x micro USB port for power and programming Debugging – USB, and ISP header Expansion – 5x Grove connectors Power Supply – 5V via USB port Dimensions – N/A, but similar to USB flash drive The board can be programmed with the Arduino IDE, and they mention IBM Bluemix platform, and Node-RED, but overall details about documentation and software are scarce right now. One of the advantage of this form factor is […]