smart home

Posted on by Debashis Das - 3 Comments on $13 Qualcomm QCC74xM EVK offers Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, and 802.15.4 connectivity (Bouffalo Lab BL618 inside)

$13 Qualcomm QCC74xM EVK offers Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, and 802.15.4 connectivity (Bouffalo Lab BL618 inside)

The Qualcomm QCC74xM EVK

Back in November 2024, we wrote about Qualcomm’s QCC730M and QCC74xM modules for low-power IoT devices, but at the time, there was no evaluation board EVK for those SoCs. Fast forward to today, and the official development boards for the QCC74x series have finally been released, complete with a surprisingly affordable price tag. The Qualcomm QCC74xM EVK is a tri-radio evaluation board with Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, and IEEE 802.15.4 (Thread/Zigbee) with a price tag of just over $13. But what is interesting is that, while it carries the Qualcomm brand, documentation from the Zephyr Project clearly shows that the QCC74x series is actually based on and mostly equivalent to the Bouffalo Lab BL61x series, specifically the BL618. Qualcomm QCC74xM EVK specifications: Wireless Module – Qualcomm QCC74xM LGA Module (QCC743M, QCC744M, or QCC748M depending on the board variant) CPU – 32-bit RISC-V processor (RV32IMAFCP) @ up to 325 MHz with FPU […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments on SONOFF Hydro DUO – A dual-channel Zigbee 3.0 smart water valve with flow meter

SONOFF Hydro DUO – A dual-channel Zigbee 3.0 smart water valve with flow meter

SONOFF Hydro DUO

SONOFF Hydro DUO is a dual-channel Zigbee 3.0 and Bluetooth 5 LE smart water valve with up to 12 customized watering schedules, a flow meter, and alerts for frost risk, leakage, low battery, and water shortages. Paisit previously reviewed the SONOFF SWV smart water valve, but the company has now launched the Hydro series with various improvements, including a brass inlet instead of a plastic one, weather-based skipping, real-time alerts, flow metering, and dual Zigbee + BLE so it can work even without a Zigbee gateway. The single-channel Hydro models were introduced earlier this year, and now the Hydro DUO offers a variant with two outlets to manage two watering zones. SONOFF Hydro DUO (SWV-ZF2U/SWV-ZF2E) specifications: MCU –   Telink TLSR8258 (TLSR8258F1KAT32) multiprotocol microcontroller @ 48 MHz with BLE 5 and Zigbee 3.0, RF4CE, Thread, 6LoWPAN, HomeKit, ANT, and 2.4GHz proprietary connectivity Inlets SWV-ZF2U model – NH (National Hose) pipe thread […]

Posted on by Debashis Das - 4 Comments on HAUI 3Gang Touch Display is a 7-inch wall-mount Home Assistant dashboard with MQTT support

HAUI 3Gang Touch Display is a 7-inch wall-mount Home Assistant dashboard with MQTT support

HAUI 3Gang 7-inch Display Wall Mount Dashboard WiFi

The HAUI 3Gang Touch Display is a wall-mount smart home control dashboard designed specifically to run Home Assistant, OpenHAB, Domoticz, or any other web-based home automation dashboard. Built around a Raspberry Pi 3B+ since it’s one of the cheapest options following Pi 4/5 price hikes, the HAUI (Home Assistant User Interface) replaces standard wall switches and fits into a standard single-gang electrical box, while its front panel spans roughly a three-gang footprint, hence the “3Gang” name. It runs a customized version of FullpageOS Linux distribution with a Chromium browser in kiosk mode and includes built-in MQTT integration along with SSH access for advanced users. HAUI Touch Display specifications Main Controller – Raspberry Pi 3B+ Display – 7-inch capacitive touchscreen Connectivity – Wi-Fi on Raspberry Pi (configured via initial setup wizard) Power Input Voltage – 120 VAC ±10% Maximum Current – 1 A Internal USB charger module (Line/Neutral wiring, no ground […]

Posted on by Debashis Das - No Comments on STMicro VD65G4 and VD55G4 0.56MP global shutter image sensors enable ultra-low-power always-on event-driven vision

STMicro VD65G4 and VD55G4 0.56MP global shutter image sensors enable ultra-low-power always-on event-driven vision

VD55G4 and VD65G4 always on ultralow power global shutter image sensors

STMicroelectronics VD65G4 and VD55G4 are ultra-low-power 0.56-megapixel global shutter CMOS image sensors designed for battery-operated edge AI and always-on vision applications. The main difference between the two sensors is that the VD65G4 features a color RGB Bayer pattern, while the VD55G4 is a monochrome sensor designed to capture visible to near-infrared (NIR) light. Both sensors use a compact 1/9-inch optical format and a 2.16 µm pixel pitch, utilizing Back Side Illuminated (BSI), CDTI, and 3D stacking technologies to achieve a tiny 2.73 x 2.16 mm bare-die footprint. STMicro VD65G4 and VD55G4 specifications: Resolution – 0.56 MP (804 x 704) Chroma VD65G4 – RGB Bayer (RGGB). VD55G4  – Monochrome (Clear, Visible to NIR). Optical Characteristics – 1/9-inch (2.3mm) optical format with a 30° linear CRA and close to 1:1 aspect ratio. Pixel Technology – 2.16 µm x 2.16 µm pixel size utilizing global shutter, BSI, CDTI, and 3D stacking. Frame Rates […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on SONOFF NSPanel Pro Gen2 – A 86-Type Smart Home control panel with two relays, dual-band WiFi, Zigbee 3.0, Matter support

SONOFF NSPanel Pro Gen2 – A 86-Type Smart Home control panel with two relays, dual-band WiFi, Zigbee 3.0, Matter support

SONOFF NSPanel Pro Gen2

SONOFF NSPanel Pro Gen2 is an 86-type Smart Home control panel featuring a 3.95-inch touch display, two relays supporting up to 10A, and dual-band WiFi 4, Bluetooth LE, and Zigbee 3.0 connectivity. The device also integrates a 1.5W speaker and a microphone for voice interaction, light and proximity sensors, and runs Android on a Rockchip RK3326-S SoC paired with 2GB RAM and 32GB eMMC flash. SONOFF NSPanel Pro Gen2 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3326-S CPU – Quad-core Cortex-A35 processor @ 1.5 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G31 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 32GB eMMC 5.1 flash Display – 3.95-inch capacitive touchscreen color TFT display with 480×480 resolution Audio – 1.5W speaker, digital microphone for two-way communication (intercom) Connectivity Zigbee 3.0 support via EFR32MG24 Dual-band 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WiFi + Bluetooth Matter support Relay – Dual-gang relay up to 5A per gang, or 10A in total (resistive […]

Posted on by Debashis Das - No Comments on MoreSense MS-07 – An ESP32-S3 indoor air quality monitor with SEN66 multisensor and Home Assistant support

MoreSense MS-07 – An ESP32-S3 indoor air quality monitor with SEN66 multisensor and Home Assistant support

MoreSense MS-07 CO2 PM NOx VOC Temp and Hum Wifi Sensor

MoreSense MS-07 indoor air quality monitor is built around the Sensirion SEN66 multisensor, powered by an ESP32-S3 microcontroller, and features a 3.5-inch capacitive IPS touchscreen for local data visualization and control. The MS-07 is a direct upgrade to the earlier MS-06, replacing the Sensirion SCD40 used for basic CO₂, temperature, and humidity measurement with the more advanced Sensirion SEN66 multisensor, which adds support for PM1.0, PM2.5, PM4.0, PM10, nitrogen oxides (NOx), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Like the previous model, it focuses on local operation and privacy, and supports integration with Home Assistant and Domoticz via MQTT autodiscovery, as well as Homey through the HomeyDuino app. It is typically used in homes, offices, and indoor environments to track air quality, comfort levels, and pollution metrics in real time. MoreSense MS-07 specifications: Microcontroller – ESP32-S3 SoC, dual-core XTensa LX7 @ up to 240 MHz; 512KB SRAM; Integrated 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and BLE Storage […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments on ESP32-C5 Mini USB-C board supports 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WiFi 6, up to 14x GPIO pins for IoT projects

ESP32-C5 Mini USB-C board supports 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WiFi 6, up to 14x GPIO pins for IoT projects

ESP32-C5 Mini board

ESP32-C5 Mini is a tiny development board with dual-band (2.4/5 GHz) WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.x LE, and an 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee, Thread, and Matter, as well as two 9-pin headers offering up to fourteen GPIOs for IoT and Smart Home projects. It reminds me of the XIAO ESP32-C5, but it’s slightly longer and features an ESP32-C5HF4 SoC instead of an ESP32-C5HR8 + 8MB SPI flash, meaning it lacks PSRAM, and only comes with 4MB flash on-chip instead of external flash. It also adds four GPIO pins and comes with a built-in antenna and an IPEX antenna connector. NiceMCU ESP32-C5 Mini specifications: Wireless MCU –  Espressif Systems ESP32-C5HF4 CPU Single-core 32-bit RISC-V processor @ up to 240 MHz Low-power RISC-V core @ 48 MHz acting as the main processor for power-sensitive applications Memory – 384 KB SRAM on-chip Storage – 320 KB ROM, 4MB SPI flash Wireless Dual-band (2.4/5 GHz) […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Boardcon Tiny1126B is a smaller and lighter Rockchip RV1126B system-on-module, yet with more I/Os

Boardcon Tiny1126B is a smaller and lighter Rockchip RV1126B system-on-module, yet with more I/Os

Tiny Rockchip RV1126B system-on-module

Boardcon Tiny1126B shrinks the company’s MINI1126B-P Rockchip RV1126B system-on-module (SoM) from 38x30mm to 34x30mm, targeting even more compact AI vision systems such as smart cameras, smart door locks, inspection cameras, cleaning/logistics robots, DMS (Driver Monitoring Systems), BSD (Blind Spot Detection) solutions, and smart displays. Despite its smaller size, the Tiny1126B features two 0.4mm pitch 100-pin connectors, instead of two 0.5mm pitch 80-pin connectors for its predecessors, offering even more I/Os. It’s notably gaining a USB 3.0 DRD (Dual-Role Device) interface, an extra SDMMC interface, one additional SPI and I2C interfaces, Fast Ethernet, and more. The rest of the specifications, including memory capacity (up to 4GB LPDDR5) and storage (up to 256GB eMMC flash), remain the same. Boardcon Tiny1126B system-on-module Boardcon Tiny1126B specifications: SoC – Rockchip RV1126B CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 up to 1.6 GHz with 32KB L1 I-Cache and 32KB L1 D-Cache, unified 512KB L2 Cache GPU – 2D […]

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