seeed studio News - Page 15 of 16 - CNX Software

January 19, 2015January 19, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

LinkIt Connect 7681 is a Wi-Fi IoT Board Powered by Mediatek MT7681

So it looks like Mediatek has decided to carry on with its Mediatek Labs endeavours, as after launching LinkIt ONE last year, they’re about to introduce LinkIT Connect 7681, a development board with a Mediatek MT7681 based Wi-Fi module, and access to various GPIOs. LinkIt Connect 7681 HDK (Hardware Development Kit) specifications: SoC – Mediatek MT7681 Andes N9 processor @ 80 MHz with 64KB RAM, Storage – 1MB SPI Flash for firmware Connectivity – Wi-Fi: 802.11 b/g/n for Station mode; 802.11 b/g for AP mode via a MT7681 module by AcSIP Headers – 12-pin header for UART, 5 GPIOs (also usable as software PWM), RESET, and 3.3V/5V/GND; 6-pin header for SPI, 3.3V and GND. USB – 1x micro USB for power and programming/debugging Misc – Reset push-button, 2x UART LEDs Power Supply – On-board 1A 3.3V voltage regulator (can be powered from USB connector) I/O Voltage – 3.3V for GPIO […]

January 12, 2015January 12, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

GrovePi+ Starter Kit Adds Multiple Sensors, Relays, an LCD, a Buzzer… to the Raspberry Pi Boards

Seeed Studio and Dexter Industries has introduced the GrovePi+ Starter Kit for the Raspberry Pi (All models) that includes the GrovePi+ board, and various Grove modules adding sensors, buttons, a buzzer, LEDs and more. GrovePi+ board connects to the GPIO header of the Raspberry Pi, and features several Grove connectors to interface with Groves modules part of the starter kit Grove Light Sensor Module Grove Sound Sensor Module Grove Temperature and Humidity Sensor Module (not the ‘PRO’ version) Grove Button Module Grove Rotary Angle Sensor Module Grove Buzzer Module Grove Relay Module 3x Grove LED Modules (One Red, Green, and Blue LEDS, all replaceable with user LED) Grove Ultrasonic Sensor Module Grove LCD RGB Backlight Module Grove cables, and a GrovePi+ guidebook are also included. The GrovePi+ board is an Arduino compatible board featuring ATMEGA328 microcontroller, and can be programmed with C/C++, Python, and experimental Go and node.js coding is […]

January 5, 2015January 5, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

LinkIt A-Core Packs Mediatek MT2502A SoC into a Tiny Module for Wearables

LinkIt ONE is a development board based on Meditak MT2502A SoC for wearables, and developed by SeeedStudio. With GPS, Wi-Fi, and GSM/GPRS connectivity, and a LiPo battery, it’s great to experiment IoT or wearable applications, but if you plan to launch an actual product, it could be nice to have a module, and built a baseboard around it. That’s exactly what SeeedStudio is working with LinkIt A-Core module. LinkIT A-Core module specifications: SoC – Mediatek MT2502AV ARM7 SoC @ 260 MHz with 32MB PSRAM and 32MB Flash on-chip. External Storage – 16M external Flash (MX25U12835F) Cellular Connectivity – GSM/GPRS quad-band 850/900/1800/1900MHz with RF7198 RF transmitter. Connectivity – Bluetooth 2.0 / 2.0 EDR / 4.0, GPS compatible GPS/GNSS (requires external GPS module) Expansion – 48 general purpose digital I/O Power supply: DC 3V~4.2V Power Consumption – > 3mA Dimensions – 19x23x2 mm The module is still in development, and the company welcomes […]

September 21, 2014January 23, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

Getting Started with LinkIt ONE Development Kit for Wearables & IoT

After going through WRTnode Quick Start Guide, it’s now time to play with LinkIt ONE, the IoT development board from Mediatek designed by Seeed Studio. LinkIt ONE is the first Hardware Development Kit (HDK) for Mediatek LinkIt, so there may be a LinkIt TWO, and/or other hardware platforms in the future. LinkIt ONE specifications Let’s quickly go through the specifications first: Processor – Mediatek MT2502A (Aster) ARM7 EJ-STM processor @ 260 MHz System Memory – 4 MB Storage – 16MB Flash for firmware + micro SD slot shared with SIM slot for up to 32GB additional storage Connectivity: Wi-Fi – 802.11 b/g/n (MT5931) with external antenna Bluetooth – BR/EDR/BLE(Dual Mode) GPS – Mediatek MT3332 with external antenna GSM/GPRS – 850/900/1800/1900 MHz band, Class 12 GPS with external antenna Audio – 3.5mm headphone jack (including mic support) – Support for MP3, AAC, and AMR codecs. Serial – Software Serial (Serial), and […]

September 18, 2014September 18, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Getting Started with WRTnode OpenWRT Development Board

Seeed Studio sent me two nice little boards that can be used for IoT development: WRTNode and LinkIt ONE. Today, I’ll show pictures of WRTNode and accessories, and go through the “starting guide“, and will test LinkIt ONE board a few days later. WRTnode Unboxing I’ve received WRTnode by Fedex, and the board is stored in a plastic box. Inside the box, you’ll find the board, a “special” USB used to power the board and as an OTG adapter, a piece of paper with useful links (Wiki), and some WRTnode stickers. Any micro USB to USB cable can be used to power the board, but this cable is useless to connect USB devices such as flash drives, webcams (OpenCV is supported), Bluetooth dongles, and so on. You could even connect a USB hub to connect multiple USB devices as shown below. I’ve also taken a picture of both sides of […]

August 28, 2014November 23, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

ESP8266 WiFi Serial Module Costs Just $5

Wi-Fi is great because it’s ubiquitous, and rather fast for a wireless standard. However, it drains batteries fast, and Wi-Fi modules are usually much more expensive than Bluetooth modules for instance. There’s not much that can be done with regards to power consumption, but thanks to ESP8266 module, it’s now feasible to add Wi-Fi to your Arduino board, or others, for just $5 including shipping on Aliexpress, but SeeedStudio also have it for $6.95. If you buy 1,000 pieces, it goes down to about $3 per unit. As reported by Hackaday, this module embeds ESP8266 SoC which takes care off all IP stacks, a bit like Texas Instruments CC3000 SoC, but it’s just much cheaper. Here are some of the specifications of the module (and processor): SoC – Espressif Systems ESP8266 32-bit RISC processor with 802.11 b/g/n support(32-pin QFN package), Interfaces: SDIO 2.0, SPI, UART, I2S Wi-Fi – 802.112 b/g/n […]

July 12, 2014July 12, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

More Details on Mediatek MT2502 Aster SoC and Linkit Platform for Wearables (Video)

Last month, Mediatek announced their Mediatek MT2502 SoC for wearables, codenamed Aster, as well as the Linkit development platform targeting the developer’s community. But at the time they did show the actual hardware, and thanks to Charbax we know have more interesting details about Aster and Linkit. First they compare a design based on Aster to Samsung Galaxy Fit wearable band, and show why it uses less space, will cost less, and they claim over twice the battery life. Simple and smaller design (~36% reduction in size) Aster solution – MT2504 (6.2 x 5.4 mm) plus all required resistors, capacitors and inductors require 89.97 mm2 Galaxy Fit – MCU. Bluetooth Transceiver, external memory, a linear charger, and all required resistors, capacitors and inductors require 140.97 mm2 Battery life – Samsung Galaxy Fit is supposed to last between 1 and 1.5 days on a charge, whereas devices based on Aster should last about […]

September 9, 2013September 9, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Free Shenzhen Map to Shop for Electronics in Huaqiangbei

Huaqiangbei is the place in Shenzhen, China, to shop for electronics components and devices. There are several multi-story buildings with lots of different electronics fares, and if you look for some specific components it’s more than likely to be found there. However it may take some time to find what you need there, but it may just have become a little easier, as Seeed Studio has published a map that you can buy for $5, or simply download for free (PDF). The map has 2 main sections: Some general information about Shenzhen such as transportation (border crossing, station), leisure, main locations of factories, and a bit more. Huaqiangbei map with short descriptions of what you can buy in the different buildings, as well as places to eat, and stay. Seeed Studio will also setup a wiki, so that makers can add interesting places they went shopping in Shenzhen. Jean-Luc Aufranc […]