Raspberry Pi News - Page 32 of 154 - CNX Software

December 28, 2022December 28, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Banana Pi BPI-Pico-RP2040 – Raspberry Pi Pico replica gets USB-C port, I2C connector, and RGB LED

Banana Pi BPI-Pico-RP2040 is basically a clone of the original Raspberry Pi Pico, but with the addition of an RGB LED and a 4-pin I2C connector, and the company replaced the micro USB port with a Type-C connector. The rest of the board, also called Banana Pi Pico, is exactly the same up to the through holes and castellated holes for the I/Os, and has a similar form factor as the Banana Pi BPI-PicoW-S3 that adds WiFi and Bluetooth through the ESP32-S3 wireless microcontroller. Banana Pi BPI-Pico-RP2040 specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ microcontroller @ up to 133 MHz with 264KB SRAM Storage – 2MB QSPI flash USB – 1x USB 1.1 Type-C port used for power and programming Expansion 2x 20-pin 2.54mm pitch header and castellated holes with 26 GPIOs, 3x 12-bit ADC up to 500 Kbps, 2x UART, 2x I2C, 2x SPI, 16x PWM, 2x programmable […]

December 23, 2022December 23, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

LEGO brick with Raspberry Pi RP2040 runs Doom

James Brown (aka Ancient) has built a tiny computer inside a LEGO brick with a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller and a 0.42-inch OLED display. And yes, it runs Doom. So finally, the LEGO minifigures have access to a computer suitable for their size :). James did not post a lot of information to reproduce the build by yourself, but he still released the “uGrey” code, written in Micropython, to display greyscale on a monochrome OLED. We can learn from the design in a mesmerizing video (embedded at the end of this post) showing how he made a Raspberry Pi RP2040 computer fit into a LEGO brick. The tiny design is comprised of five main boards/modules: Raspberry Pi RP2040 module The micro USB module Two side modules with other components A 0.42-inch OLED display with 72×40 resolution (SSD1306) Since soldering the four modules together by hand only would be really challenging, […]

December 21, 2022December 21, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

ArduCam Mega – A 3MP or 5MP SPI camera for microcontrollers (Crowdfunding)

ArduCam Mega is a 3MP or 5MP camera specifically designed for microcontrollers with an SPI interface, and the SDK currently supports Arduino UNO and Mega2560 boards, ESP32/ESP8266 boards, Raspberry Pi Pico and other boards based on RP2040 MCU, BBC Micro:bit V2, as well as STM32 and MSP430 platform. Both cameras share many of the same specifications including their size, but the 3MP model is a fixed-focus camera, while the 5MP variant supports autofocus. Potential applications include assets monitoring, wildfire monitoring, remote meter reading, TinyML applications, and so on. ArduCam Mega specifications: Camera Type 3MP with fixed focus 5MP with auto-focus from 8cm to infinity Optical size – 1/4-inch Shutter type – Rolling Focal ratio 3MP – F2.8 5MP – F2.0 Still Resolutions 320×240, 640×480, 1280×720 x 1600 x1200x 1920 x 1080 3MP – 2048 x 1536 5MP – 2592×1944 Output formats – RGB, YUV, or JPEG Wake-up time 3MP – […]

December 18, 2022December 18, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

OpenPLC open-source Programmable Logic Controller Suite works with Arduino, ESP8266/ESP32, Raspberry Pi, etc.

OpenPLC is an open-source, free-to-use Programmable Logic Controller Suite, compliant with the IEC 61131-3 standard, and working with a range of hardware platforms such as Arduino, ESP8266/ESP32, Raspberry Pi SBCs, as well as Windows and Linux machines. When Arduino unveiled the Arduino PLC IDE, we noted the languages defined by the IEC 61131-3 standard were licensed, and the PLC key for the Portenta Machine Control unit sold for $17.60. One reader complained about the high license cost per device, but Massimo Banzi, the co-founder of the Arduino project, replied it was cost-effective for smaller deployments: Actually it’s not that much money compared to the cost of other PLC software (thousands of dollars per seat!). This model helps small companies with not that many devices.. It’s possible to negotiate bulk licenses for companies. But there’s also another option with OpenPLC open-source PLC suite that does not require any license fee. That’s […]

December 17, 2022December 17, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

LapPi 2.0 – A DIY laptop for Raspberry Pi 4 and other single board computers (Crowdfunding)

The LapPi 2.0 is a DIY laptop kit with an acrylic enclosure, a UPS HAT with a 18650 battery holder, and off-the-shelf parts including speakers, a touchscreen display, a Raspberry Pi camera, and a wireless keyboard that’s suitable for the Raspberry Pi 4 and pretty much any other small single board computer from Radxa, Orange Pi, Banana Pi, FriendlyElec, Hardkernel, and others. We’ve seen several Raspberry Pi laptops over the years with the CrowPi L and Pi-Top, and I have to say the LapPi 2.0 is not the most eye-pleasing or sophisticated design, but at least, it’s versatile and not limited to the Raspberry Pi family. LapPi 2.0 kit content and highlights: Display – 7-inch 5-point capacitive touchscreen IPS display with 1024×600 resolution support for audio output via 3.5mm audio jack and 4-pin header Camera – Official 8MP Raspberry Pi Noir camera with night vision support Audio – 2x 5W/8 […]

December 16, 2022February 8, 2023 by Sponsored Post - 2 Comments

Elephant Robotics Christmas 2022 sales (Sponsored)

Elephant Robotics is back with another promotional event for Christmas 2022 selling educational robotic kits and toys with up to a $400 discount until December 26, 2022. The highest discount is for the Raspberry Pi 3-powered MarsCat selling for $999, or $400 less than the original price tag of $1,399, but the company also offers an $80 discount for all robotic arms from the company including the myCobot and mechArm robotic arms, myBuddy dual arm system, and myPalletizer compact 4-axis robotic arm, as well as the myAGV four-wheel drive vehicle. If you use the coupon code Xmas, you’ll get a $50 on the metaCat robotic plush toy / smart cat. Finally, all orders over $3,000 qualify for free shipping with the FREESHIP3000 coupon code. The exact same promotions are available on the Elephant Robotics’ Amazon store. If you prefer doing your shopping on Aliexpress instead, Elephants Robotics has more Chrismas […]

December 14, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

Sipeed LM4A – T-Head TH1520 RISC-V module to power Raspberry Pi 4 competitor and cluster board

Sipeed LM4A is a quad-core RISC-V system-on-module based on the T-Head TH1520 SoC found in the ROMA laptop and destinated to be found in a Raspberry Pi SBC competitor as well as a cluster board. The LM4A, which stands for Lichee Module 4 Model A, comes with 4GB to 16GB RAM, and up to 64GB flash, and connects to the carrier board through a 260-pin SO-DIMM connector. The TH1520 is one of the rare RISC-V SoCs with a 3D GPU, and the SBC based on LM4A has been shown to outperform the Raspberry Pi 4 in benchmarks as we’ll see below. Sipeed LM4A specifications: SoC – Alibaba T-Head TH1520 quad-core RISC-V Xuantie C910 (RV64GCV) processor @ 2.5 GHz, Xuantie C906 audio DSP @ 800 MHz, low power Xuantie E902 core, 50 GFLOPS Imagination 3D GPU, and 4 TOPS NPU System Memory – 4GB, 8GB, or 16GB RAM Storage – Optional […]

December 13, 2022December 14, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Raspberry Pi availability improves, “unlimited supplies” expected by H2 2023

The Raspberry Pi SBCs have been in short supply for a couple of years, especially for individual buyers since Raspberry Pi Trading prioritizes commercial customers, but Eben Upton has just announced some good news with over 100,000 boards comprised of a mix of Raspberry Pi Zero W, Pi 3A+, and Raspberry Pi 4 2GB and 4GB variants being made available for single-unit sales through approved resellers. Eben however notes there’s more to do, and recommends buying from an approved reseller to get the boards at the recommended retail price (RRP), checking rpilocator to check for availability, and potentially considering switching to the Raspberry Pi Pico or Pico W if the project allows it as there’s plenty of stock for the MCU boards. Industrial and enterprise customers who still have issues can get in touch with the company by email using business <at> raspberrypi.com. But based on some feedback I received, […]