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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on Rockchip RK3566/RK3568 SoM’s feature board-to-board connectors or castellated holes

Rockchip RK3566/RK3568 SoM’s feature board-to-board connectors or castellated holes

RK3566 & RK3568 SoM with board-to-board connectors

Rongpin Electronics has designed RK3566 and RK3568 systems-on-modules (SoM) with either board-to-board connectors or castellated holes for direct soldering to the carrier board, which adds competition to the Firefly Core-3568J AI Core Rockchip RK3568 system-on-module offered in a SO-DIMM form factor with an edge connector. The Rongpin Pro-RK3566 and Pro-RK3568 core boards are equipped with four high-speed Hirose connectors, while the RP-RK3568 Core board exposes I/Os through castellated holes around the four sides of the CPU module. Rongpin Pro-RK356x system-on-module & devkit Specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3566/RK3568 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ 2.0 GHz with Arm Mali-G52 2EE GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.0, Vulkan 1.1, 0.8 TOPS NPU for AI acceleration, 4Kp60 H.265/H.264/VP9 video decoding, and 1080p100 H.265/H.264 video encoding System Memory – 2GB DDR4 (option for 4GB) Storage – 8GB eMMC 5.1 flash (option for 16GB to 128GB) 4x Hirose board-to-board connectors with Storage 1x SATA […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on BrainChip AKD1000 SNN AI SoC gets Raspberry Pi and x86 development kits

BrainChip AKD1000 SNN AI SoC gets Raspberry Pi and x86 development kits

Brainchip Akida Raspberry Pi & Mini PC devkits

BrainChip has introduced two development kits for its Akida AKD1000 neuromorphic processor based on Raspberry Pi and an Intel (x86) mini PC in order to enable partners, large enterprises, and OEMs to begin testing and validation of the Akida chip. BrainChip Akida neural relies on spiking neural networks (SNN) which enable high-performance, real-time inference at ultra-low power, notably much lower power than traditional AI chips relying on CNN (convolutional neural network) technology. Akida Development Kit based on Raspberry Pi CM4 Specifications: SoM – Raspberry Pi CM4 or CM4 Lite with SoC: Broadcom BCM2711C0 quad-core ARM Cortex-A72 (ARMv8-A) 64-bit @ 1.5GHz plus Broadcom VideoCore VI GPU RAM – 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB LPDDR4 SDRAM Storage – MicroSD card for CM4 Lite, or 2GB to 32GB eMMC for CM4 Networking – Optional 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz 802.11b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, Gigabit Ethernet PHY Carrier board –  Official Raspberry Pi […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 61 Comments on Khadas VIM4 – An Amlogic A311D2 SBC with 8GB RAM, Wi-Fi 6, HDMI input & output

Khadas VIM4 – An Amlogic A311D2 SBC with 8GB RAM, Wi-Fi 6, HDMI input & output

Khadas VIM4

We’ve just written about the Amlogic A311D2 processor with some pretty interesting features, and Khadas VIM4 will be one of the first single board computers equipped with the latest octa-core processor, succeeding the company’s earlier Khadas VIM3 board powered by an Amlogic A311D hexa-core processor. Khadas VIM4 makes good use of the extra memory allowance with faster 8GB LPDDR4 RAM, and also offers 32GB eMMC flash, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 6, 4Kp60 HDMI input and output, independent USB 3.0, and PCIe (via M.2 socket) interfaces, and more. Khadas VIM4 specifications with bold highlights showing the differences with the VIM3 Pro model: SoC – Amlogic A311D2 octa-core processor with 4x Arm Cortex-A73 cores @ up to 2.2 GHz and 4x Cortex A53 cores @ up to 2.0 GHz, Arm Mali-G52 MP(8EE) GPU, NPU shown as TBD possibly due to license requirements System Memory- 8GB LPDDR4X @ 2112 MHz Storage – 32GB eMMC […]

Posted on by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 15 Comments on Beelink SER3 Review – A good AMD Ryzen 7 mini PC… after tweaks

Beelink SER3 Review – A good AMD Ryzen 7 mini PC… after tweaks

Beelink SER3 Review

Beelink has just launched a new mini PC called the SER3. It is another ‘new’ mini PC using an older CPU, in this case, an AMD mobile processor. However, the performance is surprisingly good once a few tweaks are made to the stock configuration. Beelink kindly sent one for review and I’ve looked at performance running both Windows and Ubuntu together with using an eGPU. Hardware Overview The SER3 physically consists of a 126 x 113 x 40mm (4.96 x 4.45 x 1.57 inches) square metal case. As an actively cooled mini PC, it uses AMD’s older 12 nm Zen+ Ryzen 7 3750H Picasso processor which is a quad-core 8-thread 2.3 GHz mobile processor boosting to 4.0 GHz with Radeon RX Vega 10 Graphics. The front panel has an illuminated power button, dual USB 3.0 ports, a Type-C USB 3.0 port with Alternate Mode, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments on QNAP TBS-464 ultra-thin NAS supports 4 M.2 NVMe SSDs, 2.5GbE networking

QNAP TBS-464 ultra-thin NAS supports 4 M.2 NVMe SSDs, 2.5GbE networking

QNAP TBS-464 ultra-thin NAS

Most NAS are large boxes that take several 3.5-inch SATA drives, but QNAP TBS-464 NASbook is a different beast with an ultra-thin design enabled by four M.2 PCIe slots for NVMe SSDs, plus two 2.5 GbE ports to match the higher data transfer speed allowed by the SSDs. The NAS is equipped with a recent Intel Celeron N5105/N5095 Jasper Lake quad-core processor coupled with 8GB DDR4 memory, and also offers USB 3.0 ports, as well as two HDMI 2.0 video outputs and an IR receiver that would make it suitable as a NAS & HTPC combo, for example, running Plex. QNAP TBS-464 NASbook specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N5105/N5095 quad-core processor @ 2.0 / GHz with Intel UHD graphics; TDP: 10 or 15W TDP System Memory – 8 GB DDR4 soldered on board Storage 4GB flash for OS with dual boot OS protection 4 x M.2 2280 NVMe Gen3 x2 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on RK3399-based programmable wheeled robot works across multiple floors

RK3399-based programmable wheeled robot works across multiple floors

Hermes Robot Platform

SLAMTEC Hermes robot platform is a programmable wheeled robot that can take payloads of up to 60 kg across multiple floors thanks to an optional elevator controller, which makes it suitable for hotels, hospitals, airports, warehouses, transportation hubs, surveillance robot, and more. Powered by a Rockchip RK3399 mainboard, the Hermes robot platform supports autonomous path-finding, robot collaboration, cross-floor delivery, smart obstacle avoidance,  safety features, and autonomous Recharging. It can be controlled with a REST API, programmed with C++ SDK, or a program called RoboStudio available for Windows and Android. Hermes wheeled robot platform specifications: Mainboard – Rockchip RK3399 SBC Video Output – HDMI Audio – 3.5mm audio (mic+headphone) jack, dual-channel 5W/8Ω amplifier header Network connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port, dual-band WiFi, 4G cellular with SIM card slot USB – USB 3.0 Type-C port Motion 6.5-inch in-Wheel motor Up to 1.2m/s (4.3 km/h) by default, but can be customized to […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on Raspberry Pi CM4 handheld console looks like a Nintendo Switch Lite

Raspberry Pi CM4 handheld console looks like a Nintendo Switch Lite

Nintendo Switch Lite Raspberry Pi CM4

StonedEge and Dmcke5 have come up with an incredibly well-designed Raspberry Pi CM4 handheld console that looks like a Nintendo Switch Lite “clone”, and that can run Dreamcast and PSP emulators at full speed using RetroPie. The RetroLite CM4 The design includes a 5-inch display, speakers, all buttons, joysticks, and D-PAD controlled via a custom Arduino board, a micro HDMI port to connect an external display, and a 4000 mAh LiPo battery charged over the USB Type-C port, and it seems to work, albeit we are told there’s still some more work to do. RetroLite CM4 specifications include: Linux capable SoM – Raspberry Pi CM4 Lite module with custom copper heatsink and fan Storage – MicroSD card slot All-on-one PCB with Arduino for inputs, TI bq24292i for battery management controlled via a PIC16F15234 MCU, and backlight boost converter circuitry Display – ~5-inch LCD IPS screen Audio – Stereo speakers User […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on Raspberry Pi 4, Rockchip RK3399 SBC’s get Arm SystemReady IR certification

Raspberry Pi 4, Rockchip RK3399 SBC’s get Arm SystemReady IR certification

RockPro64 RK3399 Arm SystemReady IR certification

The first hardware platforms getting Arm SystemReady IR certification for IoT Edge applications were announced a few months ago with namely NXP i.MX 8 Mini evaluation kit and Compulab IOT-GATE-IMX8 gateway being able to run off-the-shelf operating system images such as Fedora IoT, OpenSuSE Leap 15.3, and Debian 11 thanks to UEFI firmware. But following PinePhone Pro Linux smartphone announcement, and Pine64 October update, we also learned that Rockchip RK3399 based RockPro64 was also Arm SystemReady IR certified, and check Arm’s website directly revealed it was joined by Lenovo Leez P710 “Gateway” SBC, as well as Raspberry Pi 4 and Pi 400 platforms. Let’s check the details and see what off-the-shelf images each board has been tested with. Pine64 RockPro64 RK3399 SBC achieved SystemReady IR v1.0 Level 1 certification meaning it complies with some waivers and workarounds found in the errata document. The board has been successfully tested with Fedora […]