mcu News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

July 21, 2026July 21, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

ART-Pi II development board features 600 MHz STM32H7R7 Cortex-M7 MCU with NeoChrom GPU

The 600 MHz STM32H7R/S Cortex-M7 microcontroller family with an optional NeoChrom 2.5D GPU and up to 640 KB SRAM and 64 KB flash was introduced in 2024. However, apart from ST’s own development boards such as the NUCLEO-H7S3L8 and STM32H7S78-DK, we hadn’t seen any boards based on it. The ART-Pi II development board changes that. It’s a compact board powered by an STM32H7R7L8H microcontroller paired with 32 MB HyperRAM and 64 MB HyperFlash, and featuring a microSD card slot, an RGB LCD connector, WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity, two USB-C ports (OTG and Debug), a 40-pin Raspberry Pi-compatible GPIO header, a 28-pin GPIO header, two Qwiic connectors, and an on-board debugger. ART-Pi II board specifications: MCU – STMicro STM32H7R7L8H CPU core – Arm Cortex-M7 @ up to 600 MHz GPU – NeoChrom 2.5D GPU Memory – 64 KB flash Storage – 620 KB SRAM Package – TFBGA225 Memory – […]

July 13, 2026July 13, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Ambient Scientific GPX10 Pro MCU delivers years of always-on AI on a coin-cell battery

Ambient Scientific GPX10 Pro Cortex M4 MCU always on embedded AI

Ambient Scientific GPX10 Pro is a processor/microcontroller for always-on embedded AI applications on power-constrained edge devices. With a consumption of under <100μW, it can deliver years of always-on AI on one coin-cell battery. The SoC features ten software-programmable MX8 AI cores leveraging the company’s DigAn technology, ultra-low power ADC, an 8-bit DVP camera interface, 2048 KB SRAM, support for numerous peripherals, and an Arm Cortex-M4F core for non-AI workloads. GPX10 Pro key features and specifications: MCU core – Arm Cortex-M4F core clocked at 100 KHz to 100 MHz Memory 2048 KB system SRAM 64KB retention SRAM in “Always On” block Storage – External SPI or QSPI flash 10x MX8 programmable AI Cores for ultra-low power deep learning applications Based on the DigAn AI engine, which can change behavior between being a master and a slave. Up to 2,560 MAC operations per clock cycle (256 MAC per cycle per core) Peak […]

July 11, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Lua-programmable ELM11-Feather board puts Gowin GW1NR FPGA into Feather form factor (Crowdfunding)

BrisbaneSilicon ELM11-Feather is a “microcontroller” board based on a Gowin GW1NR FPGA that is natively programmable in Lua, C, SystemVerilog, and VHDL. Compatible with the Adafruit Feather form factor, the board features GPIO headers, a built-in debugger, a USB-C port for power and programming, and a 2-pin header for a LiPo battery. The company calls it a microcontroller board because the FPGA runs a PicoRV32 MCU softcore at up to 75 MHz with 1MB RAM and 8MB flash, programmable with Lua, and the user can also customize hardware layers with RTL code using the remaining FPGA fabric. ELM11-Feather specifications: FPGA – Gowin GW1NR-LV9 FPGA from the GW1NR-9 family 8K LUTs 8,640 logical units (LUTs) 6,480 flip-flop 17,280 bits shadow SRAM (SSRAM) 486 Kbit block SRAM (BSRAM) 64 Mbit (8MB) PSRAM 608 Kbit user flash 2x PLL Up to 276x user I/O USB – 1x USB Type-C port for power and […]

June 25, 2026June 25, 2026 by Debashis Das - 5 Comments

OpenC6 BIOS project brings PC-like firmware to ESP32-C6 MCU with network boot and OTA update support

OpenC6 BIOS is an open-source project by Rompass that takes a different approach to MCU development. It adds a BIOS-like system to the ESP32-C6, so the system part and application code can run separately rather than being combined into a single firmware image. In traditional development, hardware setup, networking, and application code are combined into a single firmware image. But the OpenC6 BIOS operates differently: it runs as the base system on the ESP32-C6 and handles hardware initialization and system functions. Instead of flashing a full application each time, it can load small payload programs separately. These payloads can run from RAM or flash (XIP) and use system functions through a simple Application Binary Interface (ABI), without needing the full firmware. In some ways, it operates like AkiraOS, but with a BIOS-like interface. Key features of the OpenC6 BIOS architecture: Dynamic CPU scaling – Adjusts CPU frequency based on load […]

June 24, 2026June 26, 2026 by Debashis Das - 3 Comments

RP2350B bells&whistles development board features on-board RP2040 debugger, HDMI, and microSD card slot

While searching Tindie for a new project, I found a new Raspberry Pi RP2350B-based development board called “Bells&Whistles,” which is interesting because it also features an onboard RP2040-based debugger running Picoprobe firmware, removing the need for a separate debug probe. Other than that, it has an HDMI output, a MicroSD card slot for storage, an optional 8 MB of PSRAM, and since it uses the Raspberry Pi RP2350B variant, it supports up to 46 GPIO pins. The board also features two USB Type-C ports, one for the RP2350B and the other for the RP2040 debugger, and is especially useful for clutter-free rapid prototyping and development workflows. RP2350B bells&whistles board specifications: SoC – Raspberry Pi RP2350B CPU Dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 @ 150 MHz with Arm TrustZone Dual-core RISC-V Hazard3 @ 150 MHz Only two cores can be used at any given time Memory – 520 KB on-chip SRAM Package – QFN-80 Memory – […]

June 22, 2026June 21, 2026 by Debashis Das - 4 Comments

UTFS is a lightweight, zero-allocation file system for embedded devices

μTFS lightweight, zero allocation file system

CLI Systems has introduced UTFS (μTFS), a simple, lightweight embedded storage system designed for small MCUs. Unlike traditional file systems like FAT32 or EXT4, or even lighter options like LittleFS and SPIFFS used on boards like the ESP32, UTFS is much simpler. It does not use dynamic memory and avoids complex features like wear leveling, making it easier to use on low-resource devices. Designed for flat, byte-addressable memory like raw EEPROM, CPU flash pages, or external SPI/I²C flash, UTFS allows bare-metal firmware to store named data blobs (“files”) back-to-back. Each file is appended with a fixed 24-byte header containing metadata like identifiers, sizes, and application-defined signatures. UTFS specifications and features Footprint – Fixed 24-byte header per file; zero heap usage (no malloc) Format – TAR-inspired sequential layout; forward-compatible so files can be added later without breaking existing memory layouts Storage Agnostic – Requires porting only two functions to interface with […]

June 12, 2026June 12, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Fortior FU75xx dual-core motor control MCU family combines 32-bit RISC-V core with 2nd-gen Motor Engine (ME2) core

Fortior FU75xx RISC-V motor control microcontroller

Motor driver IC specialist Fortior Technology has recently introduced the FU75xx dual-core motor control MCU family, pairing a 32-bit RISC-V core and the company’s proprietary 2nd-generation Motor Engine (ME2) core. The RISC-V core is used for parameter configuration and routine processing, while the ME core integrates FOC and CORDIC modules that enable fast calculation of FOC (as quick as 5µs) or square-wave control for sensored/sensorless BLDC/PMSM motors. The chips have an impressive list of peripherals (see specs below) and target high-speed computing and real-time control for robotics and motion systems, such as industrial servo drives, robotic joints, smart home appliances, and new energy vehicle systems. FU75xx MCU specifications: Dual-core CPU RISC-V core @ 48 MHz ME2 motor engine core @ 48 MHz with FOC module and CORDIC module Memory – 12kB SRAM, 4kB PRAM for program execution Storage – 64kB Flash with ECC and CRC, self-program and code protection I/Os […]

June 2, 2026June 2, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Nordic adds AI-assisted development to the nRF Connect SDK and nRF Cloud

Nordic Semiconductor has added AI-assisted development to its wireless IoT microcontroller, with workflows covering the full life cycle from the first prototype to a deployed fleet. Many developers copy/paste information from LLMs trained on generic data. However, Nordic’s AI solution is specifically trained on the nRF Connect SDK documentation and nRF Cloud data and integrates with a developer’s favorite IDE. It also connects to Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, or any other LLM at a much lower token cost thanks to the specialized model. The company says it’s based on an implementation of the Model Context Protocol (MCP), where the Nordic MCP servers give AI assistants access to validated sources from Nordic, including SDK documentation, API references, device configurations, and the customer’s field data from nRF Cloud. Highlights of Nordic’s AI-assisted development Connected to nRF Connect SDK documentation and nRF Cloud data Integrates with AI assistants such as Claude Code, […]