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Posted on by Debashis Das - No Comments on Amazing Hand – A 8-DOF 3D-printable open-source robotic hand for prototyping and research

Amazing Hand – A 8-DOF 3D-printable open-source robotic hand for prototyping and research

Amazing Hand Open Source Robotic Hand Developer Kit

Seeed Studio’s Amazing Hand is an open-source, 3D-printable robotic hand kit with eight degrees of freedom (8-DOF), designed for developers working on robotics control and hardware experimentation. It integrates all actuators directly in the hand itself, making it suitable for robotics projects, education, prototyping, and integration into systems like Reachy2 or custom robotic arms. The hand uses eight Feetech SCS0009 servos arranged in a parallel linkage, with all actuators housed in the palm to keep the unit compact and lightweight at around 400 grams. Each finger offers two-axis motion for flexion, extension, and limited abduction via differential servo control. Its structure is fully 3D-printable, combining rigid internal frames with flexible TPU shells for robotics prototyping, manipulation research, and custom hand design studies. Amazing Hand specifications Supported Controllers – Raspberry Pi, NVIDIA Jetson, and microcontrollers (MCUs) Degrees of Freedom – 8 Servo 8x Feetech SCS0009 bus servos (2 servos per finger […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on NetCube Systems Nagami Allwinner T113-S3 mini PCIe SoM features ESP32 wireless SoC, supports mainline Linux

NetCube Systems Nagami Allwinner T113-S3 mini PCIe SoM features ESP32 wireless SoC, supports mainline Linux

Netcube Systems Allwinner T113-S3 SoM mainline Linux

NetCube Systems Nagami is a small Allwinner T113-S3 system-on-module that I just saw added to Linux 6.18. Besides mainline Linux support, the Allwinner SoM offers somewhat unique or unusual features that include a mini PCIe form factor and an ESP32 co-processor for WiFi 4 and Bluetooth connectivity. The Nagami also comes with 128MB DDR3 embedded in the T113-S3, 4GB eMMC flash, a Fast Ethernet PHY, and a Qwiic connector for I2C expansion modules. All I/Os are exposed through a standard mini PCIe edge connector: audio I/Os, Ethernet, USB 2.0 OTG/host, and a range of low-speed I/Os. Nagami SoM specifications: SoC – Allwinner T113-S3 CPU – Dual-core Arm Cortex-A7 @ 1.2 GHz with 32 KB L1 I-cache + 32 KB L1 D-cache per core, and 256 KB L2 cache DSP – Single-core HiFi4 VPU – H.265/H.264 video decoding up to 1080p60 and JPEG/MJPEG video encoding up to 1080p60 Memory – 128 […]

Posted on by Debashis Das - 1 Comment on PhaseLatch Mini – An STM32-based low-cost SDR digitizer with two 12-bit ADCs, 210 kS/s USB streaming

PhaseLatch Mini – An STM32-based low-cost SDR digitizer with two 12-bit ADCs, 210 kS/s USB streaming

PhaseLatch Mini modular Software Defined Radio platform

PhaseLatch Mini is a low-cost STM32-based SDR digitizer for the previously released Phase Loom (tuner aboard), built in a Blue Pill–style form factor for HF, FM, and VHF experimentation. The board uses two 12-bit ADCs that sample I and Q at the same time, combine both readings into a 32-bit data word, and send the data over USB at about 210,000 I/Q sample pairs per second using just the standard USB CDC interface. It includes SMA inputs, a built-in ~100 kHz low-pass filter network, USB-C connectivity, ferrite-filtered power, and dedicated 8 MHz/32.768 kHz crystals for stable timing. Other features of the board include dynamic timer tuning, circular DMA, ISR-driven packet chaining, and a lock-free USB feed path to maintain high-rate streaming. PhaseLatch Mini specifications: Microcontroller – ST STM32F103C8 Arm Cortex-M3 @ 72 MHz USB Interface – USB-C 2.0 (Full-Speed) port; CDC class; RAW vendor class planned ADC subsystem Dual simultaneous […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Taradov’s open-source hardware pocket USB sniffer works with Wireshark

Taradov’s open-source hardware pocket USB sniffer works with Wireshark

Taradov USB Sniffer v6

Alex Taradov has designed a low-cost, open-source hardware USB sniffer compatible with the popular Wireshark packet capture utility, and also controllable from the command line, capturing data in the standard PcapNG format in either case. Wireshark has had built-in USB capture capability for many years, and I used it myself to reverse-engineer the software for a USB video capture card around 2007, but it’s not perfect since it does not capture low-level packets. For that, you need extra hardware, and last year we covered the tinysniffer USB sniffer based on a WiFi-connected Linux SBC. It does the job, but it’s sold for $199, and you don’t need an application processor to handle USB 2.0 speeds. Alex’s design is optimized for cost and built around three main components: Cypress CY7C68013A 8051 MCU, Lattice MachXO2 LCMXO2 FPGA, and Microchip USB3343 USB PHY. Taradov’s USB sniffer specifications: Microcontroller – Cypress CY7C68013A enhanced 8051 […]

Posted on by Debashis Das - No Comments on BenchVolt PD – An USB-C PD lab power supply with five channels and arbitrary waveform generator (Crowdfunding)

BenchVolt PD – An USB-C PD lab power supply with five channels and arbitrary waveform generator (Crowdfunding)

BenchVolt PD A five channel, 100 W, open source, USB PD power supply

BenchVolt PD is a five-channel, open-source USB-C PD lab power supply that turns any USB Type-C charger/power bank into a compact, portable bench PSU. Designed for makers, engineers, and field technicians, it delivers up to 100 W with fixed, adjustable, and waveform-capable outputs, making it an alternative to bulky lab units. It integrates three low-noise fixed rails (1.8 V, 2.5 V, 3.3 V), two adjustable outputs (0.5–5 V and 2.5–32 V), and supports up to 3A per channel with current limiting. An STM32 MCU handles sequencing, real-time safety checks, and monitoring. The device also features a 1.9-inch display and a rotary encoder for monitoring and control. It also includes protections for overcurrent, temperature, and power budgeting. BenchVolt PD specifications: MCU – STMicroelectronics STM32F030F4 32-bit Cortex-M0 @ 48 MHz with up to 256KB of flash Display – 1.9-Inch TFT display (320 x 170) showing voltage, current, thermal, and PD status Power […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on AOMedia AV2 open video codec release nears, delivers around 40% bandwidth reduction

AOMedia AV2 open video codec release nears, delivers around 40% bandwidth reduction

AV2 Performance subjective test

The Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia) will release the AV2 open video codec specification by the end of the year, as an update of the now widely-used AV1 video codec with up to 40% bandwidth reduction at the same level of quality. In the meantime, Debargha Mukherjee, Google Principal Engineer, has shared a progress report about AV2, first offering a historical perspective with the list of digital video codecs from 1990 to 2030 (expected), then stating AV2 goals, and going through requirements, coding tools, and what’s been achieved so far. You can check the eleven-minute presentation (04:27 – 15:30) embedded at the end of this post, or continue reading for the highlights of the talk. AV2 will be released very soon, while the H.267 proprietary video codec might only be released around 2030. We haven’t seen a lot of support/traction for H.266, so we’ll have to see if H.267 ever […]

Posted on by Debashis Das - No Comments on Arduino-programmable environmental and air quality sensor kit features ENS160 and BME280 sensors

Arduino-programmable environmental and air quality sensor kit features ENS160 and BME280 sensors

Novaduino Environmental Sensor Kit

Designed by Nova Radio Labs in the US, the Novaduino Environmental Sensor Kit is an Arduino-programmable air quality and weather monitoring solution built around the company’s own Novaduino Display Module. It provides VOCs, eCO₂, temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure data in real time, making it ideal for Smart Home experiments, classroom projects, or hobby weather-station builds. The kit integrates a Sciosense ENS160 air-quality sensor and Bosch BME280 environmental sensor connected via Qwiic, which measures TVOCs, eCO₂, temperature, humidity, and pressure with an on-device AQI indicator. It includes the Novaduino display PCBA, 2.4-inch IPS touchscreen, buttons, rotary encoder, Feather M0 Express or RP2040 module support, headers, mechanical hardware, and optional 3D-printable enclosures (STL/F3D/STP).  Designed for learning soldering, assembly, and Arduino programming, the kit is uncalibrated and intended for educational and experimental use only. Novaduino Environmental Sensor Kit specifications: Core Platform – Novaduino 2.4-Inch Display Module Supported development boards – Adafruit Feather and […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments on The Librephone project aims to remove proprietary blobs from smartphones running an open-source OS

The Librephone project aims to remove proprietary blobs from smartphones running an open-source OS

Librephone project

Some of you may already be running an open-source operating system on your smartphone, which could be Android-based, such as LineageOS, GrapheneOS, and e/OS, or Linux-based like postmarketOS and Ubuntu Touch. However, due to closed-source firmware files/proprietary blobs, you’re only running a partially open-source OS. The Free Software Foundation aims to change that with the Librephone project, whose goal is to reverse-engineer nonfree blobs and provide open-source alternatives. Some proprietary blobs are used to run WiFi, Bluetooth, 4G LTE/5G modems, touchscreen, fingerprint sensor, and other hardware. So it won’t be a trivial task, as serious reverse-engineering work is needed and done in a clean-room way to prevent copyright lawsuits, plus there may be regulatory issues with the code handling the radios\ frequency and power from the FTC and other governmental agencies around the world. To be clear, the Librephone project won’t be another operating system, and the only goal is […]