$16 ESP32-A1S ESP32 Audio Development Kit Comes with 2 Microphones, Audio Jacks & Headers

Espressif ESP32 WiSoC can be integrated into various applications, and earlier this year Espressif Systems released ESP32 LyraTD MSC Audio Mic HDK (Hardware Development Kit) which I could test with Baidu DuerOS using Mandarin. Since then the company released the ESP-ADF Audio Development Framework that beside Baidu DuerOS, now supports Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, so you don’t need to speak or learn Chinese to use the kit! 🙂 Another ESP32 audio board was the similarly named ESP32-LyraT, and now we have at least more more option with Seeed Studio selling ESP32-A1S WiFi + Bluetooth ESP32 audio development kit for $16.90 on their store. ESP32-A1S ESP32 audio development kit specifications: Wireless Module A.I. Thinker ESP32-A1S module based on ESP32 dual core Tensilica CPU clocked at up to 240MHz with 520 KB SRAM, and 8MB on-module PSRAM 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2 LE Storage – Micro SD card slot up […]

Seeed Studio Introduces 1 to 8 Channels Grove I2C Solid State Relay Modules

I’ve been playing with products or boards with AC relays for a while, but I never really cared to check about different types of relay. So far, all platforms I tested came with largish blue or black boxes which are SPDT electro-mechanical relays. But as I browsed through Seeed Studio, I found some weirdly-shaped relay modules, much thinner than usual, and fairly more expensive. The main difference is that those are solid state relays, and the boards also include a grove connector that allows microcontrollers or other boards to control the relay over a simple I2C connection. The modules are available in 1-channel, 2-channel, 4-channel, and 8-channel  versions with the following specifications: MCU – STMicro STM32F030F4P6 Arm Cortex-M0 micro-controller Relay –  Omron G3MC202P module Input Voltage – 4~6V (Rated Input Voltage: 5V) Load Voltage Range – 75 to 264 VAC 50/60 Hz Rated Load Voltage –  100 to 240 VAC 50/60 […]

MT3620 Development Board for Azure Sphere is Up for Pre-order for $84.90

Microsoft unveiled Azure Sphere solutions last month in order to provide a complete secure IoT solution from the hardware to the cloud with three main components: a secure MCU, Linux based Azure Sphere OS, and Azure Sphere Security (Cloud) Service. The company already stated Mediatek MT3620 would be the first Azure Sphere compliant MCU,  and today Seeed Studio has announced MT3620 development board for Azure Sphere is up for pre-order for $84.90 with a $5 deposit, and shipping scheduled for the end of September. Preliminary specifications of MT3620 development board for Azure Sphere: WiSoC – Mediatek MT3620AN single core Arm Cortex-A7 processor @ 500 MHz, dual core Arm Cortex-M4F real-time core, Pluton security sub-system, and WiFi. System Memory – Over 5MB of embedded RAM, split among the various cores (4MB for Arm Cortex A7 core) Storage – 2x 8MB dual channel quad SPI (16MB in total) Connectivity –  Dual band […]

A List of Cellular IoT Development Boards

We’re starting to have a decent choice of cellular development boards, and as the number of products is getting larger having some sort of list would be useful. That’s exactly what Hologram has done. While the list is not quite exhaustive, they’ve pushed the CSV list to Github, and plans to update it. Hologram also encourages pull requests, so manufacturers may consider updating it with their own boards. The list focuses on development boards acting as cellular IoT endpoints, so you won’t find gateways, WiFi hotspots, end-user devices, and modules that needs to be soldered onto your own board. I have imported the list to WordPress to make it searchable, let people select the number of rows to display, and customize visible fields. The table is not automatically synchronized, so for the latest version always check out Github. Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, […]

ReSpeaker Core v2 is a 6-Mic Array Audio Development Kit Powered by Rockchip RK3229 Processor

Seeed Studio launched ReSpeaker Core board designed for voice interaction in 2016. The board was based on a Mediatek MT7688 MIPS WiSoC running OpenWrt, and came with a single built-in microphone, although a microphone array board with 7 microphones and 12 LEDs was also offered as option. The company is now back with a more powerful update of the board – called ReSpeaker Core v2 – featuring Rockchip RK3229 quad core Cortex A7 processor, running Debian Linux, and with 6 on-board microphones. Beside WiFi connectivity, the board also adds Ethernet and Bluetooth 4.0, as well as a USB hot port compared to the previous version. ReSpeaker Core v2 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3229 quad core Cortex A7 processor @ up to 1.5 GHz with Arm Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 RAM Storage – 4GB eMMC flash, micro SD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0 (but drivers not […]

Eagleye 530s Board Features Samsung Artik 530s IoT Module, Leverages Raspberry Pi Form Factor

Samsung Artik 530 is a module designed for the Internet of Things based on a quad core Arm Cortex A9 processor, and supporting Ethernet, dual band WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, and 802.15.4/Zigbee/Thread connectivity, as well as exposing display and camera interfaces, and of course various I/Os. The module was launched about one year ago with a developer kit that cost $189 and up, but Samsung has now worked with Seeed Studio to launch a cheaper developer board – called Eagleye – based on the secure version of the module (Artik 530s) and mostly following Raspberry Pi form factor in order to take advantage of its hardware ecosystem. Eagleye 530s board specifications: SoC – Unnamed quad core Arm Cortex A9 processor @ 1.2GHz with 3D graphics accelerator System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 4GB eMMC flash, SD card slot Connectivity 802.11a/b/g/n dual band SISO (2.4G/5G)  Bluetooth 4.2(BLE+Classic) Zigbee/Thread 802.15.4 Gigabit Ethernet […]

HiKey 960 Android Development Board Gets a 4GB RAM Version for $250

Hikey 960 development board is one of the most powerful Arm boards on the market thanks to Huawei/Hisilicon Kirin 960 octa-core processor with four ARM Cortex A73 cores, four Cortex A53 cores, and a Mali-G71 MP8 GPU, fast storage with 32GB UFS 2.1 flash, and 3GB LPDDR3 memory. Like the earlier Hikey (620) board, the board is also an official reference board for AOSP, so you should be able to run the latest Android version, and also play with sensors using Neonkey SensorHub 96Boards mezzanine board. If you are somehow limited by the 3GB RAM on the board, you can rejoice as Seeed Studio has just launched a 4GB RAM version selling for $249, or about $10 extra. Note that shipping is only scheduled for February 2, 2018, so those are pre-orders. The rest of the specifications for Hikey 960 4GB RAM version are unchanged: SoC – Huawei Kirin 960 […]

Arduino & Grove Compatible StitchKit Mixes Fashion & Technology (Crowdfunding)

I don’t really get fashion. For example, I don’t understand why somebody would spend $100 on a pair of “Jean-Patrick Coultier” trousers, while you could get pretty much the same for about $20. My clothes just need to keep me warm and comfortable. And now I can see people starting to attach blinking lights to their clothes. Heresy!!! But others have a different opinions, and people interested in fashion, may not be interested in electronics, but still want those shiny things on their clothes. StitchKit is an Arduino compatible board that can also take Seeed Studio Grove module designed for those kids, teachers, designers, and cosplayers who want to easily add LEDs and other electronics to clothes or other wearable pieces without having to dig into the technical details. The system works around MakeFashion board powered by an Arduino compatible Microchip / Atmel ATMega32U4 AVR micro-controller with two rows of […]

EDATEC Raspberry Pi 5 fanless case