open source News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

June 13, 2026June 13, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Espressif ESP32-E22 WiFi 6E module gets Wi-Fi CERTIFIED certificate, open-source WiFi and Bluetooth Linux drivers

The ESP32-E22 tri-band Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.4 module has received a Wi-Fi CERTIFIED certificate from the Wi-Fi Alliance, and Espressif has also released WiFi and Bluetooth Linux drivers for the chip. The ESP32-E22 was first unveiled at CES 2026 with a dual-core RISC-V processor clocked at up to 500 MHz, 1MB RAM, tri-band WiFi 6E tested up to 2.1 Gbps with iperf, and dual-mode Bluetooth 5.4/6.0. While it also features 41 GPIO pins, it’s not mainly designed for IoT projects, but instead targets host-based wireless systems needing WiFi 6E / Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity through PCIe 2.0 or SDIO interfaces. In other words, the ESP32-E22 will likely show on M.2 modules, competing against similar products from MediaTek and Intel. Espressif has not said which module was tested for the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED certificate, but I suspect it should be the upcoming ESP32-E22-M2-1 M.2 module listed on the company’s website. From the certificate, […]

June 11, 2026June 11, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Bare-metal MSX2+ Emulator for ESP32-S3 offers custom LCD_CAM VGA implementation & Z80 optimizations

Ivan Svarkovsky’s S3-MSX-PC open-source project implements a bare-metal MSX2+ emulator running on an ESP32-S3 microcontroller and outputting 64-color VGA via a simple R-2R resistor ladder. It’s a fork of the Retro-Go emulator for ODROID-GO and other ESP32 devices, but with various optimizations. It was tested on an off-the-shelf ESP32-S3 board with one core handling the game logic and the other video and audio output. VGA is implemented through a clever resistor network that converts digital data into an analog signal that any old monitor understands, while audio relies on Sigma-Delta modulation with a multi-stage PDM filter. The USB host port on the board allows for the connection of a keyboard. S3-MSX-PC firmware highlights: Emulation Core – fMSX 6.0 — Full MSX1 / MSX2 / MSX2+ support Video Output VGA 640×480@60Hz, 16-bit parallel RGB via LCD_CAM Color Depth – 64 colors (2 bits per channel: R, G, B) Audio – PDM Stereo […]

June 11, 2026 by Debashis Das - 7 Comments

piBrick PocketCM5 – An open-source handheld Linux computer kit for Raspberry Pi CM5

Designed by Indonesian maker Ahmad Amarullah (amarullz), the piBrick PocketCM5 is an open-source hardware handheld Linux computer kit built around the Raspberry Pi CM5; it’s basically a smartphone-sized Linux machine with a physical keyboard and touchscreen. It is for developers, makers, and system administrators, for tasks such as general experimentation, embedded development, and remote access. We have seen other handheld terminals and pocket computers based on Raspberry Pi SBCs and Compute Modules over the years, such as the PocketTerm35, DevTerm, Carbon’s CyberT, Pi Slate, and many others. However, the piBrick PocketCM5 is based on the latest Raspberry Pi CM5 and features a 3.92-inch AMOLED touchscreen display, a physical BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard, and various expansion options. piBrick PocketCM5 specifications: Compatibility – Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 (CM5 and CM5 Lite) Auxiliary MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 for keyboard/trackpad input, rotary encoders and buttons, USB HID (keyboard/mouse) emulation, and accelerometer data processing Storage […]

June 10, 2026June 10, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

OpenCV 5 release – New DNN engine with enhanced ONNX and LLM/VLM support, Intel, Arm, and RISC-V hardware optimizations

OpenCV 5 open-source computer vision library has recently been released with a brand-new DNN (Deep Neural Network) engine that provides better ONNX coverage and enables LLM/VLM support. The fifth version of the popular CV library also adds support for Intel, Arm, Qualcomm, and RISC-V hardware acceleration, improved 3D vision, and various new core features such as new data types, real N-dimensional and scalar support, and performance improvements. OpenCV 5’s DNN Engine OpenCV 4.x supports about 22% of ONNX operators, and the new DNN engine in OpenCV 5 brings coverage to over 80%. That means models with dynamic shapes that used to fail on OpenCV 4.x, should now work, as the 5.x engine was rebuilt around a typed operation graph with proper shape inference, constant folding, and operator fusion. The table below shows the main difference between OpenCV 4.x and OpenCV 5 Since it’s quite a big change, to make sure […]

June 8, 2026June 8, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Armbian Imager 2.0 release supports over 300 boards from 64 SBC vendors, custom user profiles

Rock 5B Plus Armbian Operating System Selection

The Armbian community has just released the Armbian Imager 2.0 GUI program to easily flash pre-built Armbian-built Ubuntu or Debian images for over 338 boards from 64 SBC vendors. The new version features a slick user interface rewritten from scratch and implements custom user profiles in the settings with username and password, SSH key, Wi-Fi network credentials and country code, timezone, locale, and shell. That means the board is ready to use after flashing. In some ways it’s similar to the Raspberry Pi Imager 2.0, except it covers a much broader ecosystem of single board computers. To be honest, I had no idea Armbian had an imager so far. The last time I used an Armbian image, I downloaded it directly from their website and used USB Imager or another tool to flash it to a microSD card slot. So it’s a good opportunity to check out the Armbian Imager […]

June 6, 2026June 6, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Docker for Microcontrollers? AkiraOS combines Zephyr RTOS with WebAssembly (WASM) applications

AkiraOS is a Zephyr-based embedded OS that runs sandboxed WebAssembly applications on microcontrollers and lets users deploy and update firmware OTA without reflashing. In other words, it’s similar to Docker containers, but for microcontrollers. The open-source embedded platform separates the OS from the application. That means the firmware stays stable, while apps are independent .wasm binaries deployable over-the-air without touching the OS, and portable so a single binary works on ESP32-S3, nRF5x, or STM32 MCU boards. AkiraOS highlights: User space Up to 8 wasm apps can be installed Up to two apps can run at the same time Footprint: 50KB to 200KB per app Akiraz runtime – Custom WASM runtime App Manager UI Framework with 32 widgets Shell/console 18 API modules WebAssembly Micro Runtime (WAMR) – Two options: Interpreter or Ahead-Of-Time (AOT) compilation with 10 to 50x higher performance RTOS – Zephyr RTOS Scheduler Network stack HTTP for OTA updates […]

June 5, 2026June 5, 2026 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

EKOS – An ESP32-S3 ePaper dashboard housed in an oak-aluminum enclosure (Crowdfunding)

EKOS A Programmable Open Source ePaper Hub in Solid Oak

Designed by StillFixing in Normandy (France), the EKOS is a local-first, low-power ePaper dashboard built around an ESP32-S3 SoC. It operates without any cloud dependency, subscriptions, or external accounts, offering full privacy, faster response times, and direct local control. The device comes in two variants: the EKOS Pure is a minimalist, non-touch version with two physical buttons for basic control, and the EKOS Sense adds a capacitive touch layer for smart home control, such as toggling devices, triggering scenes, or managing tasks. Both models feature a repair-friendly design with no adhesives, using four screws for assembly and a user-replaceable lithium-polymer battery. Additionally, the dashboard can be updated entirely over your home network without needing the internet. You can push data to the screen using a local API from a phone or PC, link it straight to Home Assistant, or use it to control other ESPHome devices around your house. EKOS […]

June 4, 2026June 5, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Convert old IR remote controls into presentation clickers using an RP2040 USB board and open-source TTVKTR firmware

Brisk4t’s “Tossed The TV — Kept The Remote” (TTVKTR) is an open-source firmware project for Raspberry Pi RP2040 USB boards that aims to reduce electronics waste by converting old IR remote controls into presentation clickers. Most Raspberry Pi RP2040 boards with USB ports should work, but the project highlights the Waveshare RP2040-Zero combined with a standard 38 kHz infrared receiver due to its small size and low price ($4-5). The project also relies on the built-in RGB LED for layer color feedback. That’s about it for the hardware. It just required some basic soldering of the IR receiver to GPIO 28 (OUT), 5V or 3.3V, and GND pins. Nothing too hard. The WS2812 RGB LED is already connected to GPIO 16. I tried to look for RP2040 USB boards with a built-in IR receiver, but I could not find any. The firmware receives IR codes from a standard 38 […]