Review of Youyeetoo Rockchip RK3568 SBC with Lubuntu 20.04 and the RKNPU2 AI SDK

YY3568 SBC Lubuntu 20.04 review

We’ve already reviewed the Rockchip RK3568-power Youyeetoo YY3568 SBC with Android 11 – and listed the specifications and checked out the hardware kit –  in the first part of the review. We now had time to switch to Lubuntu 20.04, perform some basic tests, and also have a closer look at the RKNPU2 AI SDK for the built-in 0.8 TOPS AI accelerator found in the Rockchip RK3568 SoC. Installing Ubuntu or Debian on YY3568 SBC The company provides both Debian and Ubuntu images for the YY3568 SBC with different images depending on the boot device (SD card or eMMC flash) and video interface used (DSI, eDP, HDMI). Our YY3568 “Bundle 5” kit comes with an 11.6-inch eDP display so we’ll select the “Ubuntu 20” image with edp in the file name. The RKDevTool program is used to flash Linux images and it’s the same procedure as we used with Android […]

Star Labs Byte Mk II Processor N200 mini PC is offered with a choice of Linux distributions

Intel Processor N200 Linux mini PC

Star Labs Byte Mk II is another Intel Alder Lake-N mini PC with an Intel Processor N200 CPU whose main differentiating factor is to ship with Linux pre-installed from a choice between Ubuntu 22.04, Linux Mint, Manjaro, Zorin OS, and many others. The hardware features are quite standard with up to 16GB RAM, an NVMe SSD with up to 2TB capacity, HDMI and DisplayPort video outputs, an audio jack two Gigabit Ethernet ports, WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.1, and a few USB ports. Star Labs Byte Mk II specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N200 quad-core processor @ up to 1.0 GHz / 3.7 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 32EU Intel HD graphics @ 750 MHz; TDP: 6W (PL2 set to 25W) System Memory – 8GB or 16GB single-channel DDR4 3200MHz memory via one SO-DIMM socket Storage 480GB “over-provisioned” M.2 2280 PCIe SSD (option for 960GB or 1920GB) Detachable 2.5-inch HDD/SSD […]

ECS LIVA M300-W industrial mini PC is powered by Rockchip RK3399K SoC

ECS LIVA M300-W industrial mini PC

Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) is mostly known for its x86 motherboards and mini PCs, but earlier with year, ECS LIVA Q1A Arm mini PC was introduced with either Rockchip RK3288 or RK3399 SoC, and support for Linux and Android operating systems. But the Taiwanese company has now unveiled a new Arm-based industrial-grade mini PC with LIVA M300-W powered by Rockchip RK3399K processor that allows for either higher 2.0 GHz frequency at commercial temperature range, or the usual 1.8 GHz frequency in a wider (-20°C to +85°C) temperature range. ECS LIVA M300-W specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399K hexa-core processor with two Cortex-A72 up to 1.8GHz/2.0GHz, four Cortex-A53 up to 1.4GHz, Arm Mali-T860MP4 GPU System Memory – 2GB/4GB DDR3L Storage – 32GB or 64 GB eMMC flash, internal Micro SD slot Video Output 1x HDMI 2.0 port up to 4Kp60, CEC support 1x DisplayPort 1.2 port up to 4Kp60 Audio – 1x […]

This mini-computer is set to outperform NVIDIA Xavier by eight times

Fast Sense X Robotics AI Platform

When it comes to high-end AI-edge computer boards, we have seen Hackboard 2 with support for Windows 10 operating system and optional 4G or 5G cellular connectivity. Fast Sense Studios is a Russian-based startup designing powerful on-board computers to bring edge AI capabilities to mobile robotics. At Embedded World 2021, the company has unveiled the Fast Sense X Robotics AI Platform that integrates the power of six computers into a single module. The company claims the newly launched edge AI computer outperforms the NVIDIA Xavier with over 8x higher performance in mobile robots thanks to the advanced DNN inference hardware. Apart from the Intel UHD GPU, the computer also integrates up to 3 Coral Edge TPU devices and up to 2 Myriad X devices allowing it to give optimum results even when on heavy workloads. “We believe in the future where reliable physical agents become relevant for routine tasks that […]

MINIX NEO S2 USB-C SSD Hub Review in Ubuntu 18.04 with Khadas Edge

MINIX NEO S2 Khadas Edge

MINIX NEO S1 & S2 are USB-C hubs with the usual HDMI and USB outputs, but also a built-in 120 GB & 240 GB SSD respectively. The company has sent me a sample of each, and in order to test the platform, I decided to do on a Khadas board running Ubuntu 18.04 with LXDE desktop environment (aka Lubuntu). I’ll start by checking out the packages’ content, before going through my experience with the MINIX NEO S2 USB-C hub in Ubuntu 18.04 with LXDE desktop environment. MINIX NEO S1 & S2 Unboxing Both packages are basically identical except for the different color, and one shows 120GB SSD capacity, while the other has 240GB The back side has some more details about the USB-C hub. I’ll focus on the 240GB model since it’s just the same, but around $13 to $20 more expensive, and it offers double the capacity, as well […]

NanoPi M4 Raspberry Pi Inspired RK3399 Board Launched for $65 and Up

NanoPi M4 Heatsink

As expected, FriendlyELEC has now launched NanoPi M4 board, a lower cost version of NanoPC-T4 Rockchip RK3399 SBC, and mostly following Raspberry Pi form factor. How much you may ask? That would be $65 plus shipping for the 2GBRAM version, and $95 for the 4GB RAM version, which means it sells in the same ballpark as RockPro64 board. NanoPi M4 board specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399 big.LITTLE hexa-core processor with  2x Arm Cortex-A72 @ up to 2.0GHz, 4x Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.5GHz, a Mali-T864 GPU with support OpenGL ES1.1/2.0/3.0/3.1, OpenVG1.1, OpenCL, DX11, and AFBC, and a VPU with 4K VP9 and 4K 10-bit H265/H264 6decoding System Memory – Dual-channel 4GB LPDDR3-1866, or dual-channel 2GB DDR3-1866 Storage – eMMC module socket, micro SD card slot Video Output HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz with HDCP 1.4/2.2 support 4-Lane MIPI-DSI connector Audio – 3.5mm headphone jack, HDMI digital audio […]

FriendlyELEC NanoPC-T4 Board Kit Unboxing and Assembly

NanoPC T4 Case

FriendlyELEC introduced NanoPC-T4 RK3399 SBC (Single Board Computer) last May for $129. The board comes with a Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core processor, 4GB RAM, 16GB eMMC flash, dual-band WiFi module and an M.2 socket with NVME (PCIe) SSD support. The company has now sent me the device with accessories for review / evaluation. In this post, I’ll check out all items received, and show how to assemble all components. NanoPC-T4 Board Kit Unboxing Let’s getting started, and open the package… I received two identical kits with two NanoPC-T4 boards, acrylic enclosure with spacers, screws and nuts, 12V/2A power supply, heatsink, and an RC-100 IR remote control. In theory, I also expected two WiFi antennas per kit since that’s part fo the kit in their website, but I did not see any. The remote control is an optional item. [Update: Ooops. I found the antennas inside the package for NanoPC-T4 board.] I’ve […]

FriendlyElec Launches Smart6818 Samsung S5P6818 CPU Module

Smart4418 S5P4418 SoM Development Kit

Yesterday, we covered Core4418 low profile board based on Samsung S5P4418 quad core Cortex A9 processor, but that’s not the only product launched by FriendlyElec this week, as the company also introduced Smart6818, a Samsung S5P6818 CPU module following Smart4418 module design, and equipped with 1GB DDR3, and 8 to 32 GB eMMC flash. Smart6818 specifications: SoC – Samsung S5P6818 octa core Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.4GHz, Arm Mali-400MP GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 up to 800 MHz Storage – 8GB eMMC flash (16GB and 32GB optional) Connectivity – Realtek RTL8211E Gigabit Ethernet transceiver Audio – ES8316 Audio codec Board to Board Headers 2x 70-pin 2.0mm pitch headers with RGB LCD, LVDS, HDMI Tx, I2C, PWM, USB host, UART, SPI, GPIOs, SDIO, Gigabit Ethernet, Audio input/output, Camera I/F 1x 34-pin 2.0mm pitch unpopulated header with GPIOs, MIPI CSI, ADC, PWM Power Supply – 5V Power Management – […]