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October 26, 2025October 26, 2025 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

CrowPanel Advance 7-inch ESP32-P4 HMI display supports Zigbee, LoRa, and 2.4GHz radio modules

CrowPanel Advanced 7 inch ESP32 P4 HMI AI Display

The CrowPanel Advance 7.0-inch ESP32-P4 HMI AI display is an ESP32-P4 HMI terminal that is similar to the GUITION 7-inch touchscreen display. It also adds an ESP32-C6 module for WiFi 6, Bluetooth LE, and 802.15.4 connectivity, and is suitable for Smart Home, industrial automation, and AIoT applications. It features a 7-inch 1024×600 IPS capacitive touchscreen and optional AI vision and audio through a 2MP MIPI-CSI camera for face and object recognition, and a speaker header and a dual microphone array for interactive voice applications. The smart display also supports interchangeable wireless expansion for Zigbee/Thread, LoRa, and 2.4 GHz proprietary (nRF2401) connectivity. CrowPanel Advance 7.0-inch display specifications: Microcontroller – Espressif Systems ESP32-P4 CPU Dual-core RISC-V HP (High-performance) CPU @ up to 400 MHz with AI instructions extension and single-precision FPU, 768KB of on-chip SRAM Single-RISC-V LP (Low-power) MCU core @ up to 40 MHz with 8KB of zero-wait TCM RAM Memory – […]

October 17, 2025October 16, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Google’s open-source, RISC-V-based Coral NPU is integrated into Synaptics SL2610 Edge AI SoCs

Google has very recently introduced Coral NPU full-stack, open-source RISC-V-based platform for always-on AI on low-power edge devices and wearables. The first chip to integrate the Coral NPU is the upcoming Synaptics Astra SL2610 family. Google Coral NPU The Coral NPU aims to address the software fragmentation on entry-level AI accelerators that makes them difficult to program. By releasing an open-source NPU and associated source code, Google hopes its design will be adopted by silicon vendors, reduce software fragmentation over time, and help machine learning (ML) developers bring products to market faster. Building on the works on the Coral platform, the new, open-source Coral NPU is comprised of three main components: A scalar core – A lightweight, C-programmable RISC-V core that manages data flow to the back-end cores. It uses a simple “run-to-completion” model for ultra-low power consumption and traditional CPU functions. A vector execution unit – A single instruction […]

October 14, 2025October 15, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

ADLINK OSM-IMX95 – An NXP i.MX 95 OSM Size-L system-on-module for IoT and industrial applications

ADLINK OSM-IMX95 is an OSM Size-L solder-on system-on-module powered by an NXP i.MX 95 hexa-core Arm Cortex-A55 SoC with an up to 2 TOPS eIQ Neutron NPU/AI accelerator. It follows the OSM-IMX93 OSM Size-L module based on NXP i.MX 93 SoC, but features a more powerful SoC, up to 16GB LPDDR4L RAM, up to 256GB eMMC flash, and high-speed interfaces like USB 3.0 and PCIe Gen3. The new NXP i.MX 95 OSM module is designed for Smart Home, Smart Building, Smart City, medical, and Industry 4.0 applications. ADLINK OSM-IMX95: SoC – NXP i.MX 95 CPU Up to 6x Arm Cortex-A55 cores @ up to 1.8 GHz Real-time co-processors – Arm Cortex-M7 @ 800MHz and Cortex-M33 @ 250MHz 2D/3D Graphics Acceleration Arm Mali-G310 3D GPU with OpenGL ES 3.2, Vulkan 1.2, OpenCL 3.0 2D GPU Video Encode / Decode – 4Kp30 H.265 and H.264 AI/ML – 2 TOPS eIQ Neutron NPU System […]

October 11, 2025October 13, 2025 by Debashis Das - 6 Comments

ESP32-based dual-port WLED controller features Ethernet port, 24V DC input

When it comes to ESP32-based WLED controllers, some of the best options are boards like the Adafruit Sparkle Motion, Mini Sparkle Motion, and Sparkle Motion Stick, but most of the time, they are out of stock. Thankfully, there are similar alternatives like the xChroma WLED Type-C and HACK Lab HackLED Pro, with similar features and wider availability. Now adding to that list is the 2-Port ESP32 ETH0 WLED Controller, which not only adds Ethernet connectivity but also supports dual outputs and 5V–24V LEDs, making it an excellent alternative to the Adafruit ones. The board supports both Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity and includes an onboard DC-DC converter that delivers a stable 5V supply to the ESP32 and logic circuits. Each output channel is fused with a 6A resettable polyfuse and a status LED that lights up during fault conditions. For added safety, the main power input is protected against reverse polarity, […]

October 9, 2025October 9, 2025 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - No Comments

Weffort Outdoor Smart Shade Review with Home Assistant over Matter/Thread

We’re going to do a quick review of smart outdoor motorised shades from Weffort — another brand that makes smart shades compatible with popular Smart Home platforms, including Home Assistant, SmartThings, Google Home, Apple HomeKit, and Amazon Alexa. The cool thing about Weffort’s shades is that everything’s fully customisable and made-to-order — from the fabric and motors to casing styles, size, and the Smart Home platform you want to use with. With various options, it might sound complicated at first (usually people just let a pro handle it), but it’s actually way easier than you think. Plus, the shades are lightweight, so you can totally install them by yourself. Custom-made shades Before we got the test unit from Weffort, they let us locate a good spot for installation and testing so that we could take measurements following the guide on their website, which also has tips on choosing materials, installation, measurements, […]

September 19, 2025September 20, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Olimex ESP32-C5-EVB – A dual-band WiFi 6 IoT board with relays, opto-isolated inputs, LiPo battery support

Olimex ESP32-C5-EVB is an evaluation board built around Espressif’s ESP32-C5-WROOM-N8R4 module with dual-band (2.4/5.0GHz) WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, and 802.15.4 (Zigbee/Thread/Matter) wireless connectivity, 8MB flash, and 4MB PSRAM. The board integrates two relays rated 250V/10A, two opto-isolated inputs, and a LiPo UPS charger and step-up converter. Other features include USB-C ports, a UEXT connector for expansion, and two buttons. It’s one of the first ESP32-C5 boards we’ve seen, after Espressif’s own ESP32-C5-DevKitC-1 development kit, and Wireless Tag’s WT99P4C5-S1 board using the ESP32-C5 as a wireless co-processor to the ESP32-P4 MCU. Olimex ESP32-C5-EVB specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-C5-WROOM-N8R4 SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-C5 CPU Single-core 32-bit RISC-V processor @ up to 240 MHz Low-power RISC-V core @ 40 MHz acting as the main processor for power-sensitive applications Memory – 384 KB SRAM on-chip, support for external PSRAM Storage – 320 KB ROM, support for external flash Connectivity Dual-band 802.11ax WiFi 6 […]

September 19, 2025September 18, 2025 by Debashis Das - 2 Comments

Elecrow ESP32-S3 rotary displays combine round IPS touchscreen, knob, and press input

CrowPanel 1.28 inch and 2.1 inch ESP32 S3 Rotary Display

Elecrow has added two new ESP32-S3-powered rotary displays to its CrowPanel Advance lineup, which come in 1.28-inch (240×240) and 2.1-inch (480×480) sizes, and feature a round IPS screen with rotary, touch, and press input. Both rotary displays feature IPS capacitive touchscreens, rotary input with a smooth feel, knob-press operation, ambient lighting, USB-C (5V) power, and expansion capabilities via UART, I²C, and FPC connectors. These features make them suitable for DIY projects, IoT prototypes, and embedded product development across various applications, including smart home appliances, industrial control, and UI training scenarios. Elecrow CrowPanel 1.28-inch and 2.1-inch rotary display specifications: SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3R8 CPU – Dual-core Xtensa LX7 processor @ up to 240 MHz Memory – 512 KB SRAM, 8 MB PSRAM Wireless Wi-Fi 4 (802.11 b/g/n, 2.4 GHz) Bluetooth 5.0 LE Storage – 16 MB flash Display Two options 1.28-inch IPS touchscreen, 240 × 240 resolution 2.1-inch IPS touchscreen, […]

September 17, 2025September 17, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

SONOFF Dongle Max (Dongle-M) – A PoE-based Zigbee/Thread gateway with ESP32 and MG24 chips

As expected, SONOFF has now launched the Dongle Max (also known as Dongle-M) Zigbee coordinator and Thread Border Router with Ethernet, WiFi, and USB connectivity. The company also highlights PoE or USB power supply options, web console access, and support for advanced features such as Webhooks, MQTT, WireGuard VPN, and Turbo mode. SONOFF Dongle Max specifications: Wireless SoCs Silicon Labs EFR32MG24 MCU core – Arm Cortex-M33 MCU @ 78 MHz Memory – 256 KB RAM (300% more RAM than ZBDongle-E) Storage – 1536 KB flash (twice the flash of ZBDongle-E) Radios/Protocols – 802.15.4, Matter, OpenThread, Zigbee 3.0, BLE, Bluetooth Mesh, Proprietary 2.4 GHz, Multiprotocol Espressif Systems ESP32-D0WDR2-V3 MCU cores – Dual-core Xtensa LX6 32-bit microprocessor up to 240 MHz Memory – 520 KB SRAM + 2 MB embedded PSRAM Wireless – 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n WiFi 4 and Bluetooth: v4.2 + EDR Storage – 16MB flash for ESP32 Wired networking […]