wifi 6 News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

November 21, 2022November 21, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 30 Comments

Radxa E25 modular 2.5GbE router supports WiFi 6 and 4G/5G cellular connectivity

Radxa E25 is a modular router with two 2.5GbE ports based on the Radxa CM3 Industrial (CM3I) system-on-module equipped with a Rockchip RK3568 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor, and optional support for WiFi 6 and 4G or 5G cellular connectivity. I got an early sample of the Radxa E25 carrier board in January, but the company has now refined the design with version 1.4 of the board and will launch the Radxa E25 as a complete router with an enclosure similar to NanoPi R5S and LinkStar H68K we’ve covered previously. Radxa E25 specifications: SoM – Radxa CM3I with Rockchip RK3568 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ 2.0 GHz with Arm Mali-G52, up to 8GB RAM, up to 128GB eMMC flash (250MB/s max), optional WiFi and Bluetooth Storage – MicroSD card socket, M.2 SATA 2242 SSD (multiplexed with 4G) Networking 2x 2.5GbE ports via Realtek RTL8125B 2.5 Gbps Ethernet transceiver (Tested by Radxa at 2.2 […]

November 11, 2022November 11, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 121 Comments

Orange Pi 5 Rockchip RK3588S SBC launched for $60 and up

Orange Pi 5 (LTS) is a single board computer powered by Rockchip RK3588S cost-down octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 processor that offers one of the best cost/performance ratios on the market with pre-order pricing starting at just $60. The SBC was initially unveiled with up to 32GB RAM and 32GB eMMC flash, but at launch, Shenzhen Xunlong Software offers models with 4GB and 8GB RAM, and no flash storage. The board supports dual 8K display setups thanks to HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 Type-C video outputs and also features up to two MIPI DSI display interfaces, three camera interfaces, Gigabit Ethernet, and WiFi 6 connectivity, and a few USB ports plus a GPIO header. Orange Pi 5 LTS specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588S octa-core processor with 4x Cortex-A76 cores @ up to 2.4 GHz, 4x Cortex-A55 cores @ up to 1.8 GHz, Arm Mali-G610 MP4 GPU, 6 TOPS AI accelerator System Memory – […]

September 13, 2022September 13, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

ESP-Hosted simplifies adding WiFi connectivity to legacy Linux or MCU-based products

Most of the ESP8266 and ESP32 projects and products we cover here use the Espressif microcontroller as the main chip, but ESP8266 started as a WiFi module meant to be controlled with AT commands from a host device. But there are still “legacy” products that may benefit from connecting to the cloud, and Espressif introduced the ESP-Hosted for that purpose in 2020, and recently released a next-generation ESP-Hosted solution (ESP-Hosted-NG) specifically for Linux hosts. The solution is available in two variants: ESP-Hosted-FG (First generation) exposing an Ethernet interface to the host and suitable for microcontrollers and Linux hosts, and the ESP-Hosted-NG presenting an 802.11 network interface and designed for Linux hosts only. Both solutions include ESP32 firmware and a host driver running on the legacy system. Espressif Systems recommends using ESP-Hosted-FG on an MCU host, and ESP-Hosted-NG on a Linux host in order to benefit from Linux user space applications/services […]

September 12, 2022September 14, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

8K TV box powered by Amlogic S928X Cortex-A76/A55 processor showcased at IBC 2022

Amlogic S928X multi-core Cortex-A76/A55 8K media processor, which may have been initially known as S908X, is being showcased at ICB2022 in Amsterdam in the “SEI 8K Box” developed by SEI Robotics. Amlogic S908X/S928X was first discovered in a roadmap in 2019 and was expected to launch by the end of 2020 at the time. But after a long wait of nearly three years, the Amlogic S928X processor is finally showing in SEI 8K box with an HDMI 2.1a 8K video interface, supports for HDR and advanced audio codecs like Dolby Atmos and DTS, and support for Smart Home functions through an IoT module with WiFi 6E, Zigbee and more. SEI 8K box preliminary specifications: SoC – Amlogic S928X multi-core Cortex-A76/A55 processor, next-gen GPU (likely Mali-G610?); 12nm process System Memory – 64-bit DDR Storage – eMMC flash Video Output HDMI 2.1a up to 8Kp60 (7680 x 4320 resolution) with HDR10+/HLS, Dolby […]

September 9, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

MaxLinear AnyWAN URX850, URX851, and MxL25641 Intel Atom SoCs target broadband routers and gateways

MaxLinear AnyWAN Atom SoC broadband routers

MaxLinear has just announced the availability of the first three AnyWAN broadband SoCs featuring Intel Atom cores with the MxL25641, URX850, and URX851 processors designed for 5Gbps and 10 Gbps broadband routers and gateways, usually referred to as CPEs (customer premise equipment). When I first read the news of MaxLinear releasing Intel Atom SoCs, I could not quite compute how it was possible, as I can’t remember any third-party releasing Intel processors and I thought it might be a system-in-package instead. But MaxLinear keeps calling those Intel Atom SoCs, and the reason is that the company acquired Intel’s Home Gateway Platform Division in 2020. MaxLinear AnyWAN x86 SoCs key features and specifications: AnyWAN URX850/URX851 (for 10Gbps systems) CPU – 4x Intel Atom CPU cores @ 2 GHz Memory – Up to 16GB LPDDR4 or DDR4 Storage – eMMC 5.1 flash Networking 4x 2.5GE PHYs XFI WAN Packet processor for full […]

August 19, 2022August 19, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Radair mini gateway – A 3-in-1 LoRaWAN gateway, Helium miner, and environmental monitoring station

Radair mini gateway is a multiple-purpose gateway with LoRaWAN, WiFi 6E, Bluetooth and Ethernet connectivity, a Quectel GNSS module, the ability to connect to the Helium network to mine HNT cryptocurrency, as well as a 4-in-1 Bosch environmental sensor to monitor temperature, humidity, pressure, and air quality. Radair mini gateway specifications: SoC – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 “crypto” CPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash, MicroSD card socket Connectivity WM1302 LoRa concentrator for LoRaWAN support Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port 802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 via Mediatek MT7921AU module Dual Antenna – Wi-Fi 6E, LoRa GPS – Quectel GNSS module 4-in-1 Bosch environmental sensor Temperature & Humidity Pressure (Altitude accuracy +/- 1M) Air Quality (Carbon Monoxide, Bacteria, Smoke, Sulfur, Hydrogen) USB – 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type C port (in front) for external accessories HW security – Microchip Technologies ECC608 secure element Misc – Reset/Bluetooth […]

August 17, 2022August 17, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Nordic Semi nRF7002 is a dual-band WiFi 6 companion IC for nRF52, nRF53, and nRF91 wireless chips

Nordic Semiconductor nRF7002 dual-band WiFi 6 companion chip is the first WiFi chip from the company and is designed to add Wi-Fi connectivity to solutions based on nRF52840 and nRF5340 wireless SoCs, and nRF9160 cellular IoT SiP, as well as non-Nordic host microcontrollers. The nRF7002 also adds Wi-Fi-based locationing (SSID sniffing of local Wi-Fi hubs) when used alongside Nordic’s existing products, and the launch means Nordic is now one of the rare companies offering chips for Bluetooth, 802.15.4 (Matter/Thread), Wi-Fi, and cellular IoT (NB-IoT, LTE Cat M). This was made possible with the acquisition of the development team, core Wi-Fi expertise, and Wi-Fi IP assets of Imagination Technologies Group in 2020. Nordic Semi nRF7002 key features specifications: Complies with 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz dual-band Wi-Fi 6 Station (STA) 1 Spatial Stream (SS) 20 MHz channel bandwidth 64 QAM (MCS7), 86 Mbps PHY throughput OFDMA (Downlink and Uplink) BSS […]

August 9, 2022August 9, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

ACTAMID M8S – An Intel Pentium N6005 palm-sized PC with dual Gigabit Ethernet, 3x HDMI ports (Crowdfunding)

ACTAMID M8S is a palm-sized 3.4-inch mini PC powered by an Intel Pentium N6005 Jasper Lake processor with up to 16GB LPDDR4 memory, 1TB M.2 2242 SSD. The M8S is bigger than the recently announced 2.7-inch PIX NII mini PC based on the same processor, but that’s for a good reason since it offers more ports with three HDMI outputs, dual Gigabit Ethernet, and three USB 3.0 ports. The mini PC also features WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 wireless connectivity, a quiet fan, and a 7-color LED backlight for good effects… Win Element Technology Co., Ltd, the Hong Kong company owning the ACTAMID brand, says the mini PC ships preinstalled with an activated version of Windows 11, but also supports Linux distributions such as Ubuntu 20.04. ACTAMID M8S specifications: SoC – Intel Pentium N6005 quad-core processor @ 2.0GHz / 3.3GHz (Turbo) with Intel UHD graphics @ up to 900 MHz; […]