smart home News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

May 29, 2023May 31, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

zigpy-zboss library makes Nordic Semi nRF52840 Zigbee dongles compatible with Home Assistant

zigpy-zboss is a Python library that adds support for Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 modules to zigpy open-source Python Zigbee stack project, as well as other Network Co-Processor radios that run firmware based on ZBOSS Open Initiative (ZOI). This enables integration with compatible Zigbee gateway implementations such as Home Assistant’s ZHA integration component and allows users to directly control Zigbee devices from a wide range of manufacturers such as IKEA, Philips Hue, SmartSung SmartThings, ITEAD SONOFF, Xiaomi Aqara, and others. Home Assistant’s ZHA integration already worked with Zigbee dongles based on Silicon Labs Mighty Gecko EFR32MG21 or Texas Instruments CC2652P microcontrollers, but now it’s possible to use nRF52840 dongles and development as Zigbee Coordinators thanks to the zigpy-zboss library. The zigpy-zboss ZBOSS radio library for zigpy source code and resources can be found on GitHub, but note that this is still an unofficial and experimental port, so testers need to manually […]

May 24, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Imagination IMG CXM is a small GPU with HDR support for TV boxes, wearables, and Smart Home appliances

Imagination IMG CXM is a power-efficient embedded GPU family with HDR support user interfaces, thus enabling OEMs to provide users the enriching visual experience they have come to expect but at a lower cost and with more design flexibility. The new CXM GPUs also deliver close to 50% performance density improvement over IMG BXM consumer GPUs, offer support for 10-bit RGBA/YUV to deliver a HDR graphical user interface with less visible banding, and integrate well with Imagination RISC-V CPUs. Three CXM GPUs are available: The CXM-2-64 with 2 pixels per clock (PPC) and 64 FLOPS per clock is the smallest GPU with native support for HDR The CXM-4-64 with 4 pixels per clock (PPC) and 64 FLOPS per clock targets mainstream products The CXM-4-128 with 4 pixels per clock (PPC) and 128 FLOPS per clock targets is better suited to “premium DTV solutions” All share the following features: 10-bit RGBA/YUV […]

May 23, 2023May 23, 2023 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - No Comments

SONOFF TX Ultimate Review – A smart touch wall switch with innovative features

SONOFF has been producing a wide range of new products over the years, and since the beginning of the year, the company introduced various new products and features including the iHost Smart Home Hub local hub which no longer requires cloud connectivity. The one we are going to review is the Ultimate Smart Touch Wall Switch (also known as the SONOFF TX Ultimate). SONOFF stated that they wanted to provide a new experience with their smart switch. Initially, we couldn’t imagine what new experiences a smart switch could offer. When we think of SONOFF, we usually associate it with affordable smart switches that are durable and perform as expected, not stylish or feature-rich devices. However, the SONOFF TX Ultimate comes as a complete package with light, color, sound, and touch. SONOFF has also expanded the touch area, so there’s no need to worry about missing the button while pressing it. […]

May 6, 2023May 9, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

SONOFF SNZB-02D review – A Zigbee temperature & humidity sensor with a 2.5-inch display

We’ve previously tested the SNZB-02 Zigbee temperature and humidity sensor with the SONOFF NSPanel Pro smart panel, but ITEAD has now launched the SONOFF SNZB-02D that integrated the same features plus a 2.5-inch display to visualize the data. They’ve sent us a SNZB-02 sample for review, so after listing the specifications we’ll test SONOFF’s latest Zigbee sensor with Home Assistant. SONOFF SNZB-02D specifications Display – 2.5-inch black&white display Connectivity – Zigbee 3.0 Sensors Temperature sensor with -9.9°C to 60°C range, ±0.2°C accuracy Humidity sensor with 5%—95%RH range, ±2%RH accuracy Battery – 3V CR2450 coin-cell battery good for about 2 years with a 5-second polling rate Dimensions – 62.5 x 59.5 x 18.5mm Material – PC Color: White Unboxing and first try We’ll find the sensor in the usual orange package used for Zigbee devices. The SNZB-02D sensor comes with a quick start guide and a pre-installed battery. Just pull the […]

May 5, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

$60 M5Stack CoreS3 ESP32-S3 IoT controller comes with 2-inch display, VGA camera, multiple sensors

M5Stack CoreS3 is a battery-powered ESP32-S3 IoT controller with WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, a 2-inch touchscreen display, a 0.3MP camera, a microSD card slot for storage, several sensors, plenty of I/Os, a USB Type-C OTG port, as well as a 9V to 24V DC input port. That’s the second ESP32-S3 IoT controller from M5Stack we’ve seen this year, as the CoreS3 follows the smaller M5Stack AtomS3 with a 0.85-inch display, only a few I/Os, and fewer features overall although it does come with an IR transmitter that’s missing from the larger CoreS3. M5Stack CoreS3 specifications: Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3FN16R8 dual-core 32-bit Xtensa LX7 microcontroller with AI vector instructions up to 240MHz, RISC-V ULP co-processor, 512KB SRAM, 2.4GHz WiFi 4 (802.11b/g/n), Bluetooth 5.0 BLE + Mesh, 16MB flash, 8MB PSRAM Antenna – Internal “3D” antenna Storage – MicroSD card slot Display – 2-inch display with 320×240 resolution via ILI9342C […]

April 28, 2023April 28, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 19 Comments

Meet the $1,000 ESP32 board with 512 GPIOs (12V/24V)

KinCony IoT’s KC868-A566 is an ESP32 WiFi & BLE IoT board with a massive 512 GPIOs, more specifically with 256 12V/24V digital outputs and 256 digital inputs that should meet most people’s requirements, except for its price, as it is currently selling for $1,000 on Aliexpress. The board is based on ESP32-WROOM-32E, and besides the massive numbers of GPIOs, also adds four analog input ports, an Ethernet port, and an RS485 connector. The company also made sure it can run ESPHome open-source firmware and integrates well with Home Assistant open-source home automation framework. KinCony IoT KC868-A566 board specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-WROOM-32E with ESP32 dual-core microcontroller 4MB flash 2.4 GHz WiFi and Bluetooth LE connectivity, built-in PCB antenna, fully compatible with ESPHome firmware Ethernet – 100/10Mbps Ethernet via vertical RJ45 jack USB – 1x USB Type-C port Serial – RS485 interface I/Os 256x MOSFET outputs (12V/24V 5000mA per channel) with […]

April 21, 2023April 21, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Offline voice recognition module supports Arduino programming, custom voice commands

We’ve already covered inexpensive offline voice recognition modules based on US516P6 or TW-ASR ONE microcontrollers that allow people to add smarts to their projects without a network connection for improved privacy and lower latency. Those are great in theory, but at the time (April 2022) documentation was lacking or only in Chinese, and they were fairly hard to use based on some of the comments in my earlier posts. But today, I’ve noticed DFRobot is now selling the “Gravity: Offline Voice Recognition Sensor – I2C & UART” module with support for Arduino programming, and it looks fairly easy to customize as we’ll see further below. Gravity Voice Recognition DF2301QG module specifications: Voice recognition module – WS-2520-TR module with MCU – TBD 121 commonly used fixed voice commands, one-fixed wake word Support for 1 learned wake-word, 17 user-defined commands Audio Output – Built-in speaker and external speaker interface Input – Dual […]

April 12, 2023April 11, 2023 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - 8 Comments

SONOFF iHost Review – A future-proof Smart Home Hub for local control

ITEAD has sent us a Sonoff iHost Smart Home Hub for review, and this device seems to be what many SONOFF fans have been waiting for, especially in terms of local control. meaning it can work without an Internet connection. SONOFF is known for its durable devices and good interoperability, but they are still catching up with other companies in terms of local control. Finally, the iHost Smart Home Hub fills the gap. In addition to local control, it also comes with privacy features as data stay local. SONOFF plans to expand its ecosystem by including devices from other brands compliant with standards such as Zigbee 3.0. Furthermore, the iHost Smart Home Hub is more like a platform than just a product, as it has add-ons to add more capability over time. In the future, it can be expanded to support the new “Matter” standard, similar to Home Assistant. The […]