motor control

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Fusion HAT+ Review – Adding AI voice and servo/motor control to Raspberry Pi for robotics, Smart Home, or education

Fusion HAT+ Review – Adding AI voice and servo/motor control to Raspberry Pi for robotics, Smart Home, or education

Fusion HAT+ review LLM servo control camera

SunFounder has sent me a review sample of the Fusion HAT+ Raspberry Pi expansion board designed for motor and servo control using audio interactions with its built-in microphone and speaker, as well as LLM models. It can be used as an AI-enabled robot controller, a smart home hub, a voice assistant, or an interactive learning platform. In this review, after an unboxing and going through the installation of the Fusion HAT+ on a Raspberry Pi 5 2GB, I’ll mainly focus on the voice interaction part using text-to-speech (TTS), speech-to-text (STT), and local and cloud-based LLMs and VLMs, and also quickly test servo control to wave a flag using voice commands. SunFounder Fusion HAT+ unboxing I received the sample in the retail package reading “SunFounder Fusion HAT+ for Raspberry Pi” and detailing the key features, namely rechargeable battery, 12x PWM, onboard speaker and microphone, 4x 12-bit ADC, safe shutdown, 4x DC […]

Posted on by Debashis Das - 2 Comments on Geehy G32R430 Arm Cortex-M52 Encoder MCU features Arctangent accelerator, dual 16-bit ADC for industrial motion control systems

Geehy G32R430 Arm Cortex-M52 Encoder MCU features Arctangent accelerator, dual 16-bit ADC for industrial motion control systems

Geehy G32R430 Cortex M52 Encoder MCU

Last year, Geehy introduced the industry’s first dual-core Cortex-M52 real-time MCU, and has now followed up with the G32R430, an Arm Cortex-M52 Encoder MCU with two 16-bit ADCs and a hardware ATAN (arctangent) accelerator for sub-1 µs electrical angle computation in high-precision encoder and motion control systems. The MCU is clocked at 128 MHz and uses ITCM/DTCM tightly coupled memory for deterministic, zero-wait-state execution, alongside a 4KB cache for low-latency control loops. It integrates two 16-bit high-precision ADCs with support for synchronous sampling, along with an extra 12-bit ADC, multiple analog comparators, DACs, and an on-chip temperature sensor, allowing encoder designs to be built with very few external analog components. It also supports various encoder protocols, including BiSS-C, SSI, Tamagawa, and SPI, and includes generic interfaces like USART, SPI, and I²C. With a –40°C to +105°C industrial operating range, this MCU is suitable for servo motors, industrial robots, absolute and incremental […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on Allwinner V861 dual-core 64-bit RISC-V AI Camera SiP features 128MB DDR3L, 4K H.265/H.264 video encoder

Allwinner V861 dual-core 64-bit RISC-V AI Camera SiP features 128MB DDR3L, 4K H.265/H.264 video encoder

Allwinner V861 Block Diagram

Allwinner V861 is a new dual-core 32-bit/64-bit RISC-V C907 system-in-package (SiP) with 128MB on-chip DDR3L and designed for 4K AI camera applications with a 1 TOPS AI NPU. The chip also features a 32-bit RISC-V E907 low-power core, a 4Kp25 H.264/H.265 video encoder, a 1080p60 JPEG video decoder and encoder, MIPI CSI and parallel camera interfaces, audio codec with input and output interfaces, Fast Ethernet, USB 2.0, and a range of digital and analog I/Os. Allwinner V861M3-XXX specifications: CPU Dual-Core RISC-V XuanTie C907 (RV64GCBV/RV32GGCBV) clocked up to 1.4GHz with RVV 1.0 extensions Single-core RISC-V XuanTie E907 (RV32IMAFC) clocked up to 800MHz VPU Video Encoder H.264/H.265 up to  4K @ 25fps (M)JPEG up to 8192×8192 Video Decoder – (M)JPEG up to 1080p60 AI accelerator – 1 TOPS (INT8) NPU dubbed “AI-ISP 2.0” Memory 128MB DDR3/DDR3L (SiP) “SQPI” PSRAM interface Storage QSPI flash eMMC 4.41 SDIO 2.0/3.0 Display – SPI interface Camera […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Lattice Semi MachXO4 FPGA family offers up to 9400 LUTs, 448 kb user flash, improved “hot socketing”

Lattice Semi MachXO4 FPGA family offers up to 9400 LUTs, 448 kb user flash, improved “hot socketing”

MachXO4 development board

Lattice Semiconductor has recently launched the MachXO4 low-power FPGA family featuring 896 to 9400 LUTs, fabric performance of up to 150 MHz, and improved “hot socketing” with a low leakage current of 350 μA. Other features include up to 432 kb embedded RAM, 73 kb distributed RAM, 448 kb User Flash Memory (UFM), up to 382 I/Os, hardened SPI and I2C interfaces, a wide range of packages from 2.5×2.5mm to 20 x 20 mm, and three temperature grades (consumer, industrial, and automotive). Lattice Semi MachXO4 key features and specifications: FPGA Fabric 896 to 9400 LUTs 1,100 to 11,300 logic cells Up to 150 MHz operation Memory Embedded RAM – 64 kb to 432 kb Distributed RAM – 10 kb to 73 kb Storage – 64 to 448 kb User Flash Memory (UFM) I/O and peripherals Up to 382 I/O pins 1x Phased Lock Loop (PLL) Hardened functions: SPI, 2x I2C, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Fusion HAT+ Raspberry Pi expansion board targets motor and servo control with AI and LLMs

Fusion HAT+ Raspberry Pi expansion board targets motor and servo control with AI and LLMs

SunFounder Fusion HAT+

SunFounder Fusion HAT+ for Raspberry Pi 5/4/3B+ and Zero single board computers is a motor control and GPIO expansion board designed to work with LLMs such as ChatGPT or Gemini using the board’s built-in speaker and microphone for voice interaction. It features four DC motor drivers, twelve PWM servo channels, four ADC inputs, I2C, SPI, and UART interface for sensors, and ships with two 18650 rechargeable batteries with smart power management & safe shutdown. It can be used in smart cars, humanoid robots, robotic arms, multi-legged spiders, and smart home systems. Fusion HAT+ specifications: MCU – Gigadevices GD32E203C8T6 Arm Cortex-M23 microcontroller @ 72MHz with 64KB flash, 8KB SRAM. Motor control – 4x motor ports Audio 2030 audio chamber speaker connected to an I2S audio port MEMS microphone Expansion 4-channel digital pins 4-pin I2C interface compatible with Qwiic/STEMMA Qt 7-pin SPI interface 4-pin UART interface 12-channel PWM pins for servos 4-channel […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on STEVAL-ROBKIT1 – A robot evaluation kit based on STM32H725 and STM32G0 microcontrollers

STEVAL-ROBKIT1 – A robot evaluation kit based on STM32H725 and STM32G0 microcontrollers

STEVAL-ROBKIT1 STM32H725 robot evaluation kit

The STEVAL-ROBKIT1 is an evaluation kit for robotics applications based on ST’s STM32H725 and STM32G0 Arm microcontrollers. It’s the first such robot kit from the company, and it targets both traditional engineering teams, educators, and students. The kit features an STM32H725 main board, an STM32G0 motor-control PCB, and a 1.53MP camera + ToF sensor module, as well as a robotic frame, wheels, and motors with encoders. It does not require a soldering iron for assembly to make it easier for students. STEVAL-ROBKIT1 key components and features: Main board – STEVAL-ROBKIT1-1 SoC – STMicro STM32H725IGT6 Arm Cortex-M7 microcontroller @ 550 MHz with 1MB flash, 564 KB SRAM with ECC Wireless – BlueNRG-M2 Bluetooth LE 5.2 SoC Sensors 6-axis IMU (LSM6DSV16BX) Magnetometer (LIS2MDL) Microphone (MP34DT06J) Expansion – 40-pin Raspberry Pi-like header Motor control board – STEVAL-ROBKIT1-2 SoC – STMicro STM32G071CBT6 Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller at 64 MHz with 128 KB flash, 36KB SRAM Motor […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on ST launches 800 MHz STM32V8 Arm Cortex-M85 high-performance MCU manufactured with 18nm FD-SOI process

ST launches 800 MHz STM32V8 Arm Cortex-M85 high-performance MCU manufactured with 18nm FD-SOI process

STM32V8 STM32V863 873 block diagram

ST has just launched its most powerful STM32 microcontroller so far, with the STM32V8 family, the first equipped with a Cortex-M85 core (clocked at up to 800 MHz) and manufactured with an 18nm FD-SOI process. It’s a non-pin compatible update to the STM32H7 family that delivers up to 5,072 CoreMarks, greatly improves Edge AI performance thanks to Arm Helium and MVE, integrates up to 4MB eNVM (Embedded NVM), operates up to 140°C, and adds PCM (phase-change memory) radiation immunity. Two main parts have been launched in different configurations and packages: STM32V863 and STM32V873. STM32V863/873 specifications: Core – 32-bit Arm Cortex-M85 CPU @ up to 800MHz with Arm Helium, Arm MVE, TrustZone…; up to 5,072 CoreMarks Multimedia accelerators – Chrom-ART 2D GPU, and JPEG hardware accelerator Memory/Storage 1.5 MB system SRAM with ECC (partial) 8 KB backup RAM 192 KB zero-wait state TCM Up to 512 KB TCM with ECC Up […]

Posted on by Debashis Das - 3 Comments on Microchip PIC32-BZ6 BLE 6.0, Thread, and Matter wireless MCU integrates touch and motor control

Microchip PIC32-BZ6 BLE 6.0, Thread, and Matter wireless MCU integrates touch and motor control

Microchip IC32 BZ6 single chip wireless MCU

Microchip has recently introduced the PIC32-BZ6 family of single-chip, multiprotocol wireless MCUs, also available as RF-certified modules, and designed for smart home, industrial automation, and automotive applications. The module supports Bluetooth LE 6.0, IEEE 802.15.4-based Thread and Matter, and proprietary mesh protocols. For wired connectivity, there are two CAN-FD ports, a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet MAC, and a USB 2.0 full-speed transceiver. Other features include CVD-based touch sensing and motor control interfaces for interactive and real-time applications. As a secure MCU, the PIC32-BZ6 integrates a hardware-based security engine, a secure boot ROM, and encryption accelerators, along with OTA update capability for long-term device management. The microcontroller offers up to 54 GPIO pins, multiple pin and package options (up to 132-pin VQFN), and automotive-grade variants rated for -40°C to +125°C operation. Microchip PIC32-BZ6 specifications: MCU Core – 128 MHz Arm Cortex-M4F with FPU and DSP extensions Memory 512 KB multi-port SRAM (with […]

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