z-wave

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Design Amazon Alexa Gateways, Robots and Smart Speakers with WisCore Modular Development Kit

Design Amazon Alexa Gateways, Robots and Smart Speakers with WisCore Modular Development Kit

RAK Wireless has launched a new development board powered by Mediatek MT7628A processor running OpenWrt with built-in WiFi and Ethernet connectivity, and audio codec and microphone to support Amazon Alexa voice service. Bluetooth, Zigbee, and Z-wave will also be supported via UART modules. Wiscore Specifications: Processor – Mediatek MT7628A MIPS24KEc CPU @ up to  580MHz System Memory –  128MB DDR2 (64 MB optional) Storage – 16 MB flash + micro SD card Audio MicroSemi ZL38062 for audio in and out MicroSemi ZL38067 to handle “Alexa” keyword single or dual digital microphone up to 5 meter range Far field voice wake up Support for echo cancellation Connectivity 802.11 b/g/n WiFi 2×2 MIMO up to 300 Mbps 2x 10/100M Ethernet (LAN and WAN) Optional UART modules for Bluetooth, ZigBeem Z-Wave USB – 1x USB 2.0 host port Expansion – Arduino headers with UART, I2C, SPI and GPIOs Power Supply – 5V via […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 25 Comments on SmartHomy Hybrid TV Box with DTV Tuner Triples as a Game Console & Home Automation Gateway (Crowdfunding)

SmartHomy Hybrid TV Box with DTV Tuner Triples as a Game Console & Home Automation Gateway (Crowdfunding)

SmartHomy Homy Player is a TV box running Android TV that includes an ATSC, DVB-T2/C,DVB-S2, or ISDB-T tuner, is said to be powerful enough to be used as a 3D gaming platform, and serves as a security system and home automation gateway using Z-Wave, Bluetooth, WiFi and IR blaster to control your things. Homy player specifications [Updated on January 19th, 2017]: SoC – Amlogic S912 octa-core Cortex A53 processor with Mali T820MP3 GPU System Memory – 3 GB DDR3 Storage – 32 GB eMMC flash Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60Hz with HDCP 2.2, HDR, CEC Audio Output – HDMI and optical S/PDIF Video / Audio Capabilities – 10-bit 4K H.265 @ 60 fps, HD audio pass-through, Dolby Digital & DTS licenses DRM – Widevine Level 1, Microsoft PlayReader, Netflix license Digital TV Tuner – DVB-S2 (satellite), DVB-C/T/T2 (Cable/Terrestrial), ATSC, and ISDB-T Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on $99 MATRIX Creator Raspberry Pi Add-on Board Features Plenty of Sensors, a 2.4 GHz Radio, and More

$99 MATRIX Creator Raspberry Pi Add-on Board Features Plenty of Sensors, a 2.4 GHz Radio, and More

MATRIX Creator is a round-shaped add-on board for Raspberry Pi boards with various sensors, a microphone array, an LED array, a Xilinx FPGA, an Atmel Cortex-M3 MCU, wireless connectivity via Z-Wave, ZigBee, Thread, and NFC, as well as various I/Os…. MATRIX Creator specifications: FPGA – Xilinx Spartan 6 FPGA MCU – Atmel ATSAM3S2C Cortex-M3 MCU Connectivity – ZigBee, Thread, Z-Wave and NFC Sensors – Ultraviolet, pressure, humidity, temperature, 3D accelerometer, 3D gyroscope, 3D magnetometer Audio – 8x MEMs microphone array with Alexa support Expansion – 2x ADC, 17x digital GPIOs, SPI, I2C, UART; 40-pin connector for Raspberry Pi 2/3 Misc – 35x RGBW LEDs array, IR Rx/Tx, infrared ring for the Raspberry Pi NoIR camera I can’t think of the single application that would make use of all features of this board, but the least we can say is that it’s extremely versatile. The developers are providing MATRIX OS based […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Razberry Board and UZB Dongle Add Z-Wave (Plus) to Raspberry Pi Boards

Razberry Board and UZB Dongle Add Z-Wave (Plus) to Raspberry Pi Boards

Z-Wave is one of the low power wireless communication protocols used for automation, and supported, for example, by gateways such as Samsung SmartThings Hub or Vera3. Z-Wave Plus is a certification program used to identify Z-wave 5th Generation hardware platform, allowing a greater range up to 45 meters, 50% improvement in battery life, 250% more bandwidth, and providing a standardized method for Over the Air firmware updates (OTA), among other things. Zwave.me, a startup registered in Switzerland, is specializing in Z-Wave products and solutions, and among their other products they’ve also designed Z-Wave hardware to turn the Raspberry Pi board and other compatible hardware into a Z-Wave gateway. RazBerry module will fit into the 26 or 40-pin header found on Raspberry Pi boards, and comes with the following  specifications: Sigma Designs ZM5202 Z-Wave transceiver module Frequencies – Storage – 32KB SPI flash for network data CPU/MCU Interface – UART (Tx/Rx) […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Samsung Introduces $250 SmartThings Home Monitoring Kit

Samsung Introduces $250 SmartThings Home Monitoring Kit

Samsung has recently launched SmartThings Home Monitoring Kit including a SmartThings hub, a motions sensor, two multi-pupose sensors to detect when windows or doors are opened, and a smart outlet for home automation and monitoring via mobile devices. Some of SmartThings Hub technical specifications: Ethernet for connection to router Communication Protocol – ZigBee, Z-Wave, IP Range – 15 to 40 meters Power Supply – In-wall power adapter with about 10 hours of backup power from 4 included AA batteries Dimensions – 10.67 x 12.45 x 3.3 cm Weight – 218 grams Operating Temperature: 5 to 35°C (Indoor use only) They’ve decided not to include WiFi, or omitted in the product page, so it would have to be close to your router. The multi-purpose sensors, and motion sensor are powered by a pre-installed CR-2450 battery, while the smart outlet takes 100 to 220V (12A @ 120V max). All three devices communicate […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on $79 STACK Box Home Automation / IoT Gateway Supports Wi-Fi, Ethernet, BLE, XBee, X10, Z-Wave and More (Crowdfunding)

$79 STACK Box Home Automation / IoT Gateway Supports Wi-Fi, Ethernet, BLE, XBee, X10, Z-Wave and More (Crowdfunding)

Cloud Media (Syabas) is better known for their Linux based “Popcorn Hour” media players, and last year I reviewed their FreeOTT streaming media player powered by a Cavium ARM11 processor. The company is now entering the home automation market with the STACK Box (aka XuanBox) also powered by a Cavium ARM11 processor, and supporting various connectivity options to interface with popular smart “things” such as Belkin Wemo and Philips Hue, as well as a Raspberry Pi Bus (26-pin header) to support add-ons. STACK Box specifications: Processor – Cavium ARM11 processor @ 640 MHz (possibly Cavium CELESTIAL CNC1800L. TBC) System Memory – 256MB DDR3 Storage – 512 MB flash + SD card slot Connectivity 10/100M Ethernet Wi-Fi 802.11n with WPS Bluetooth LE 4.0 (included) Z-Wave (included) Dust Networks (extra module required) XBee  (extra module required) X10 (extra module required) Insteon (extra module required) RF433/315 (coming soon) EnOcean (coming soon) ZigBee(coming soon) DCLink(coming […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on CES 2011 Main Attractions

CES 2011 Main Attractions

CES 2011 will be held in Las Vegas 6-9 January 2011 featuring 2700 exhibitors, including manufacturers and service providers for the audio, digital imaging, home theater, wireless, content and gaming markets. Here are what may be the main attractions to look for at the event: Lots of Tablets: Motorola is expected to demo Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) with a 10″ tablet based on NVidia Tegra 2 and announcement about Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (probably using the Tegra 2 as well) . Here’s a list of companies that will exhibit their tablets at CES 2011: Acer – 7″/10″ Tablets running Android and Windows 7 Archos – Archos Gen 8 Devices: Archos 28/32/43/70/101 running Android Asus – Eee Pad running Windows 7 and Android (March 2011 release) Creative – ZiiO Pure Wireless Entertainment Tablets running Android. Dell – 7″ Dell Streak running Android. Entourage – Dual screen tablet (similar to the Kno) called […]

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