Ariel OS is a new RTOS for microcontrollers written in Rust with support for popular hardware architectures (Arm Cortex-M, ESP32, RISC-V) and boards from Espressif, Nordic Semi, Raspberry Pi, and STMicroelectronics. Ariel OS is built on top of Embassy Rust framework and embedded-hal Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) for embedded systems, and adds several OS functionalities and a multi-core capable scheduler. It is mainly designed for secure, memory-safe, networked applications on microcontrollers. The developers further describe Ariel OS as follows on the project’s website: Ariel OS follows an approach whereby it simultaneously integrates a curated ecosystem of libraries (available via crates.io), and adds missing operating system functionalities as depicted below. Such functionalities include a preemptive multicore scheduler, portable peripheral APIs, additional network security facilities, as well as a meta-build system to bind it all together. As a result, a low-power IoT developer can focus on business logic sitting on top of […]
SONOFF Dongle Max (Dongle-M) Review – A Zigbee/Thread PoE, USB, and WiFi adapter tested with Home Assistant
SONOFF sent us a sample of the SONOFF Dongle Max (also known as Dongle-M) Zigbee/Thread adapter with PoE support for review. It is based on Espressif ESP32-D0WDR2-V3 and Silicon Labs EFR32MG24 SoCs, and can serve as both a Zigbee coordinator and Thread Border Router, with connectivity options including Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and USB. The dongle is specifically designed for popular smart home platforms like Home Assistant, Zigbee2MQTT, ioBroker, and OpenHAB. Key advantages of the Dongle Max over the recently reviewed Dongle Plus MG24 include built-in Wi-Fi and Ethernet support (in addition to USB), Power over Ethernet (PoE), and a convenient Web Console for easier device configuration. It basically provides more flexibility thanks to a wider range of connection options, and it’s easier to place it in strategic locations since it doesn’t need to be connected directly to your Home Assistant server. In this review, we’ll go through the unboxing, initial setup, […]
Raspberry Pi CM5-based outdoor PoE security camera features 12.3 MP IMX500 sensor, IP66 enclosure
Arducam recently launched the All-in-One Raspberry Pi AI Camera Kit with CM5, a Raspberry Pi CM5-based PoE outdoor security camera featuring a 12.3MP Sony IMX500 AI vision sensor housed in an IP66-rated enclosure. The camera combines pixel-level sensing and AI inference on a single chip, reducing the need for cloud processing while improving efficiency and privacy. The security camera supports operation from -20°C to +75°C, although image stability is only guaranteed in the 0 to 50°C range, potentially making it unsuitable for locations where temperatures drop below freezing. It can be used for perimeter security, construction site safety monitoring, traffic and parking enforcement, and public-space crowd analytics. All-in-One Raspberry Pi AI Camera Kit specifications SoM – Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 (CM5) by default CM5004016 with 4GB RAM, 16GB eMMC Flash, no Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Image Sensor 12.3MP Sony IMX500 Intelligent Vision Sensor (as found on the Raspberry Pi AI camera) […]
FOSDEM 2026 schedule – Embedded, RISC-V, Robotics, Rust, Open Hardware, and more
FOSDEM 2026 will take place on January 31-February 1, with thousands of developers meeting in Brussels to discuss open-source software & hardware projects. The free-to-attend “Free and Open Source Software Developers’ European Meeting” gets more traction every year, and in 2026, there will be at least 1,113 speakers, 1,016 events, 70 tracks, and potentially close to 10,000 attendees. As usual, I’ll create a virtual schedule with sessions most relevant to the topics covered on CNX Software from the “Embedded, Mobile and Automotive” and “Open Hardware and CAD/CAM” devrooms, but also other devrooms, including “RISC-V”, “Robotics and simulation”, and “FOSS on Mobile”, among others. I’m aware some of the talks overlap by a couple of minutes or so… FOSDEM 2026 Day 1 – Saturday, January 31 10:40 – 11:15 – RISC-V Vector optimisations in FFmpeg by Rémi Denis-Courmont FFmpeg is the most versatile multimedia codec and format support library, and was […]
3D printed breadboards optimized for Raspberry Pi Pico and ESP32 boards
We’ve seen people try to make MCU development boards as breadboard-friendly as possible by leaving plenty of space to connect wires and components. lhm0 tackled the issue from the opposite direction and designed 3D printed breadboards optimized for Raspberry Pi Pico and ESP32 development boards. The Pico typically only leaves two rows of each side of a typical breadboard, and some ESP32 boards are wide enough to take all rows and, as a result, are unusable. The trick here was to design the breadboard for each board with an opening in the middle, so that they only take two rows (one on each side) on the 3D printed breadboard, and the user still has four rows on each side to play with, plus the top and bottom rows. We only have photos for two variants of the breadboard (highlighted in bold below), but a total of five breadboard designs are […]
Raspberry Pi OS adds easier USB gadget mode support
Raspberry Pi OS Trixie now supports USB gadget mode out of the box, allowing users to connect to their Raspberry Pi boards over IP through USB without the need for a router. My first experience with USB gadget functionality was when I reviewed the Beaglebone Green Wireless SBC in 2016, but for some reason, official support for the Raspberry Pi ecosystem took a lot longer, and it was only officially implemented in Raspberry Pi OS Trixie images dated 20.10.2025 and later through the rpi-usb-gadget package. It’s been possible to use the USB gadget mode on Raspberry Pi OS for a while, but it was rather convoluted with outdated scripts, manual configuration steps, and platform-specific instructions. The new rpi-usb-gadget package streamlines the process and makes things much easier: The Raspberry Pi SBC will present itself as a USB Ethernet device when connected to a PC Users can SSH directly using the […]
Raspberry Pi AI HAT+ 2 review – A 40 TOPS AI accelerator tested with Computer Vision, LLM, and VLM workloads
Raspberry Pi sent me a sample of their AI HAT+ 2 generative AI accelerator based on Hailo-10H for review. The 40 TOPS AI accelerator is advertised as being suitable for LLMs (Large Language Models) and VLM (Vision Language Models), while delivering about the same performance as the first-generation AI HAT+ (Hailo-8) for AI vision/computer vision models. After going through an unboxing, I’ll assemble the AI HAT+ 2 to a Raspberry Pi 5 with 2GB of RAM fitted with a Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3, before quickly checking whether AI vision models work as expected, and spending more time on testing LLM and VLM samples. Raspberry Pi AI HAT+ 2 unboxing My sample had a somewhat long and rough trip from the UK to Thailand, and the package did not look that good when DHL delivered it. But luckily, nothing was damaged, and I got the AI HAT+ 2 with a […]
2-channel GMSL camera adapter board supports Raspberry Pi 5 and NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano/NX
After phasing out the earlier MAX9296-GMSL-Camera-Board, Waveshare has now released the MAX9296-GMSL-DESER-MODULE 2-channel GMSL camera adapter board designed for high-speed, low-latency video transmission on the Raspberry Pi 5 and NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano/NX developer kits. The adapter is built around the MAX9296A deserializer, and supports two MATE-AX FAKRA Z coaxial inputs for long-distance video transmission and two 22-pin CSI outputs for connection to the host. It supports both GMSL1 and GMSL2 cameras (such as the Sony ISX031) via software configuration and is compatible with serializers like the MAX9295, MAX96717, and MAX96705. These features make it suitable for applications such as robotics, autonomous driving, surround-view systems, and more. Waveshare MAX9296-GMSL-DESER-MODULE specifications: Compatible boards – Raspberry Pi 5, Jetson Orin Nano, Jetson Orin NX developer kits Deserializer IC – Maxim (ADI) MAX9296A GMSL Inputs – Supports two GMSL2 cameras(ISX031) via MATE-AX FAKRA Z connectors (backward compatible with GMSL1) Output Interfaces – 2x 22-pin […]

