Raspberry Pi News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

May 19, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

$30 compact multi-sensor board works with any microcontroller with I2C (Crowdfunding)

SENSE is a compact multi-sensor board supporting measurement of air quality, sound, light intensity, temperature, proximity, etc… and designed by Zack Seifert, a seventeen-year-old electronics enthusiast and president of his school’s robotics team. SENSE can work with any microcontroller or processor with I2C (hardware or implemented with bit-banging), including Arduino and Raspberry Pi boards. and an extra Qwiic connector allows for additional sensors. SENSE board specifications: Storage – MicroSD card holder Sensors BME688 4-in-1 air quality sensors with pressure, humidity, temperature, and VOC measurements (also used to estimate CO2), as found in Arduino Nicla Sense ME board APDS9960 proximity, light, RGB, and gesture sensor sensor SPK0641HT4H PDM microphone Host interface – 1x Qwiic I2C connector to connect to the host system Expansion 1x Qwiic I2C connector for an additional sensor 2x 7-pin header with microphone, I2C, SPI, 3.3V, GND signals Misc – PCF8523 RTC + coin-cell battery holder Power Supply […]

May 18, 2022May 18, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Exo Sense RP – A Raspberry Pi RP2040-based multi sensor module

Sfera Labs Exo Sense RP is a multi-sensor module with a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller and various sensors to report temperature, humidity, air quality (VOC), light intensity, audio, and motion. The module can work as a standalone unit but can also communicate with a host through RS485 and USB interfaces, and supports expansion via surge-protected digital inputs and outputs. The Exo Sense RP is designed for indoor residential and commercial applications such as environmental monitoring and data logging, people and assets tracking, room management, access control, and more. Exo Sense RP specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Arm Cortex M0+ @ 133 MHz with 264KB SRAM Storage – 16MB flash memory Communication ports RS485 half-duplex up to 115200 bps, with surge protection Micro USB 1.1 Type-B connector Sensors Sensirion SHT40 temperature and humidity sensor Sensirion SGP40 air quality (VOC) sensor Texas Instruments OPT3001 light intensity sensor TDK ICS-43432 digital […]

May 18, 2022May 18, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

PikaScript – A lightweight Python implementation that runs on STM32 and other low-end MCUs

PikaScript is an ultra-lightweight Python engine that can run on microcontrollers with as little as 4KB of RAM and 32KB of Flash, while the more popular MicroPython requires at least 256kB of code space and 16kB of RAM. PikaScript was initially developed to run on STM32G030C8 and STM32F103C8 MCUs, meaning, for example, it works on the BluePill board, but it has also been ported to other platforms like WCH CH582 RISC-V MCU, WinnerMicro W806 C-Sky microcontroller, as well as other like Raspberry Pi RP2040, ESP32-C3, etc… but those are not quite as well supported with some features missing. PikaScript also permits the binding C function to a Python module through Pika Pre-compiler. PikaScript can run bare metal on the microcontroller, but also supports real-time operating systems such as RT-Thread and VSF (Versaloon Software Framework), as well as Linux. Just like MicroPython, it’s using a subset of Python 3, but I’d […]

May 17, 2022May 17, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

Turing Pi 2 mini-ITX cluster board supports RK3588 based Turing RK1, Raspberry Pi CM4, and NVIDIA Jetson SoMs (Crowdfunding)

We first covered the Turing Pi V2 mini-ITX cluster board supporting up to four Raspberry Pi CM4 or NVIDIA Jetson SO-DIMM system-on-module in August 2021. The company has now launched the Turing Pi 2 on Kickstarter with a little surprise: the Turing RK1 module with Rockchip RK3588 Cortex-A76/A55 processor and up to 32GB RAM. The board allows you to mix and match modules (e.g. 3x RPi CM4 + 1x Jetson module as on the photo below), and with SATA ports, Gigabit Ethernet networking, USB 3.0 ports, mPCIe socket, you could build a fairly powerful homelab, learn Kubernetes, or self-host your own apps. Turing Pi 2 specifications: SoM interface – 4x 260-pin SO-DIMM slots for up to four Raspberry Pi CM4 with Broadcom quad-core Cortex-A72 processor, up to 8GB RAM, up to 32GB eMMC flash (adapter needed) NVIDIA Jetson Nano/TX2 NX/Xavier NX SO-DIMM system-on-modules with up to 6x Armv8 cores, and […]

May 10, 2022May 11, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Mini keyboards launched with ESP32-C3 or Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU

Tiny Keyboards Raspberry Pi RP2040 or ESP32-C3

Last week, when I saw LilyGO T-Keyboard based on ESP32-C3, I didn’t think much of it and did not expect many people to be interested, so I skipped it. But earlier today I also noticed Solder Party launched a very similar-looking product – the BB Q20 Keyboard with Trackpad – based on Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU. So after all, it might be worthwhile to look into those mini keyboards for makers. LilyGO T-keyboard Hardware specifications: SoC – ESP32-C3 single-core RISC-V processor with Wi-Fi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE connectivity Display – 0.99-inch TFT color LCD QWERTY keyboard Battery – 400mAh built-it battery Power Supply – 5V via USB port Dimensions – 6.9 x 5.3 x 1.7 cm The company promotes it as a mini Bluetooth keyboard for iOS and Android smartphones, as well as Windows machines, but also has plans to make it work with their T-Echo LoRa messaging hardware. […]

May 5, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Badger 2040 is a programmable E-Ink display powered by Raspberry Pi RP2040

Pimoroni Badger 2040 is a Raspberry Pi RP2040 board equipped with a 2.9-inch black and white E-Ink display with 296 x 128 resolution and programmable with C/C++, MicroPython, or CircuitPython. The board is not just an ePaper badge, as it also comes with five buttons, and expansion capability through a Qwiic/STEMMA QT connector plus some pads with UART, I2C, interrupt, and power signals. Badger RP2040 specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Arm Cortex M0+ running at up to 133Mhz with 264kB of SRAM Storage – 2MB QSPI flash Display – 2.9-inch B&W E Ink display with 296 x 128 pixels resolution, ultrawide viewing angles, ultra-low power consumption; Dot pitch – 0.227 x 0.226 mm USB – 1x USB Type-C port for power and programming Expansion Qwiic/STEMMA QT connector 10 pads with I2C, an interrupt pin, UART, SWC/SWD, 3.3V, GND Misc 5x front user buttons Reset and boot buttons (the […]

May 2, 2022May 4, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

LilyGO T-PicoC3 board merges RP2040 & ESP32-C3, integrates color display

LilyGO T-PicoC3 is a small development board combining Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core microcontroller with ESP32-C3 RISC-V MCU to add WiFi and Bluetooth LE connectivity and adds a 1.14-inch color display to the mix, plus several I/Os. We had previously other designs merging ESP32 and RP2040 with UDOO KEY, Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect, or the Pico Wireless Pack among others, but as far as I know, the T-PicoC3 board is the first to use Raspberry Pi RP2040 and ESP32-C3 RISC-V processor. LilyGO T-Pico3 specifications: Microcontrollers Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ MCU with 264 KB of embedded SRAM Espressif Systems ESP32-C3 RISC-V processor with WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE connectivity Storage – 4MB SPI flash connected to RP2040 Display – 1.14-inch full-color IPS LCD Display (ST7789V SPI controller) with 240 x 135 resolution USB – USB Type-C port for power and programming (RP2040 / ESP32-C3) Expansion – 15-pin + 12-pin expansion […]

April 29, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

Turing Smart Screen – A low-cost 3.5-inch USB Type-C information display

“Turing Smart Screen” is a low-cost 3.5-inch USB-C display that connects to systems with a USB port, and works with Windows, Linux (including Raspberry Pi), MacOS, and other operating systems that support Python3. But contrary to my initial assumptions, it does not exactly act as a second monitor, and instead, it is an information display, originally designed to show resource utilization, e.g. CPU and memory usage, in Windows, and controlled through commands send to the USB port. Turing Smart Screen specifications: 3.5-inch IPS display with 480×320 resolution, portrait and landscape support MCU – WCH CH552T 8-bit E8051 core MCU for USB devices Host interface – USB Type-C interface Auto start on power on Dimensions Product: 85 x 55 x 8 mm Display area: 74 x 49 mm The manufacturer says it works with Windows only using its own software, and not AIDA64. The Windows software features functions to change the […]