CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

July 25, 2014December 3, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 36 Comments

Firefly-RK3288 Development Board To Support Android and Lubuntu

We’ve already got a long list of upcoming Rockchip RK3288 based Android media players, but no low cost development boards have been announced to date. We can certainly expect a Radxa Rock 2 board with the Cortex A17 processor, but it might not be the only one, as Firefly-RK3288 development board powered by Rockchip RK3288 is currently being developed by another Chinese team. Current specifications for Firefly-RK3288 board: SoC – Rockchip 3288 quad core ARM Cortex A17 up to 1.8 GHz with Mali-T764 GPU supporting OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0 /3.0, and OpenCL 1.1 System Memory – 2G DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot Video I/O HDMI 2.0 up to 3840×2160@60p VGA out (D-SUB connector) VGA in is available via the expansion headers. LCD, MIPI and LVDS Audio Output / Input – HDMI, optical S/PDIF, microphone header, and built-in MIC Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, dual band 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi with external antenna, and Bluetooth […]

July 25, 2014July 25, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

FreakTab Community Introduces Freakbox Android TV Box Powered by Rockchip RK3188

FreakTab is a community of developers and users focusing on Android tablets, smartphones and especially mini PCs. Users will get answer to their technical problems, and developers such as Finless or Neonode, will release improved custom “ROMs” for more popular devices. But instead of simply working on other product’s firmware, the main contributors on Freaktab have apaprently decided to work together on the Freakbox Project, an Android TV Box powered by Rockchip RK3188 quad core SoC. Freakbox Project hardware specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3188 Quad core ARM Cortex A9 processor @ 1.6GHz with Mali-400MP4 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB to 16 GB NAND Flash + SD slot up to 32GB Video Output – HDMI 1.4, AV output (3.5mm jack) Audio I/O – HDMI, AV, and S/PDIF Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, dual band WiFi 802.11 b/g/n with external antenna, and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 3x USB 2.0 […]

July 25, 2014July 25, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Freescale WaRPBoard Reference Platform for Wearables is Now Available for Pre-order

Back in January, Freescale announced WaRP (Wearable Reference Platform) comprised of the WaRPboard, a tiny board based on Freescale i.MX 6SoloLite running Android, and a daughter board with KL16 Cortex M0+ MCU and several sensors. The company collaborated with Revolution Robotics for the hardware design, and Kynetics for the software, and the platform is now available for pre-order for $149, and a few more details have surfaced since my first article. The hardware specifications of WaRP are as follows: WaRPboard: SoC – Freescale i.MX 6SoloLite Cortex A9 processor @ 1GHz with 2D graphics Vivante GC355 and GC320 GPUs. System Memory – LPDDR2 (Micron Multi-Chip Package) Storage – 4Gbit eMMC (Same Micron MCP chip as for RAM) Connectivity – WLAN and Bluetooth 4.0 LE via Murata LBEH17YSHC Display I/F: MIPI DSI for LCD display + touchscreen EPCD for E-Ink Display Sensors – Xtrinsic FXOS8700CQ, 6-Axis Sensor with Integrated Linear Accelerometer and Magnetometer. Daughtercard: […]

July 24, 2014May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

PcDuino8 Octa-core Development Board Revealed (Video)

Two AllWinner A80 powered development boards are currently expected. We’ve already seen some pictures of the Cubieboard8, and today we can gt more details about PcDuino8 development board thanks to Charbax who visited Linksprite, and interviewed the company. Here are PcDuino8 (Beta) specifications based on the interview and pictures: SoC – AllWinner A80 octa core big.LITTLE processor with 4 ARM Cortex A15 cores, 4 Cortex A7 cores, and Imagination PowerVR G6200 GPU System Memory – 1GB Storage – 4GB flash + micro SD Card slot Video Output – HDMI Audio Output – HDMI, stereo audio jack Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n + Bluetooth 4.0 (AP6330 module) USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x Micro-B USB 3.0 port Debugging – 14-pin header for JTAG Expansion Header – 32-pin header Misc – IR receiver Power – Round DC power jack (5V?) The hardware specs are a bit lower compared […]

July 24, 2014February 25, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Immedia Blink Battery Powered HD Security Camera Lasts Over One Year on Batteries (Crowdfunding)

There are plenty of security systems with IP cameras selling on the market, but they can be a pain to install because you need to use long power cables or use power extensions. There are battery-free such as NETGEAR VueZone Home Video Monitoring System that cost $259 with 6-month battery life for normal usage, and $50 yearly subscription fee. Immedia Semi is providing an alternative with Blink, a wire-free (wireless + battery) HD Home Monitoring & Alert System that starts at $69 with one camera, and is said to last over one year powered by two CR123 batteries, without monthly fees, and can stream live views and video recordings to your Android or iOS smartphone or tablet, or any web browser. The one-year battery claim seems preposterous. How is that possible? The first reason it’s possible is because of the way typical usage is defined for home security cameras. They […]

July 23, 2014February 16, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

DIY Power Measurement Board

When I review media player or development boards, I’m often asked about power consumption figures. One way to measure power consumption is to use a Kill-a-Watt, but for low power devices it’s not always accurate enough, and it also includes the heat dissipation from the power adapter, which may or may not be useful depending on what you want to measure. For USB powered devices or boards, an easy way to measure power consumption is to use CHARGER Doctor, a small $5 USB dongle that displays both voltage and current alternatively. Unfortunately, most products I’ve received lately use barrel type connectors, so this little tool has not been as useful as I hoped. The only solution is then to measure voltage and current with a multimeter. Voltage is measured in parallel, so you just need to point the multimeter’s leads where you want to perform the measurements. However, the current […]

July 23, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

ARM TechCon 2014 Schedule – 64-Bit, IoT, Optimization & Debugging, Security and More

ARM Technology Conference (TechCon) 2014 will take place on October 1 – 3, 2014, in Santa Clara, and as every year, there will be a conference with various sessions for suitable engineers and managers, as well as an exposition where companies showcase their latest ARM based products and solutions. The detailed schedule for the conference has just been made available. Last year, there were 90 sessions organized into 15 tracks, but this year, despite received 300 applications, the organizers decided to scale it down a bit, and there will be 75 session in the following 11 tracks: Chip Implementation Debugging Graphics Heterogeneous Compute New Frontiers Power Efficiency Safety and Security Software Development and Optimization Software Optimization for Infrastructure and Cloud System Design Verification There are also some paid workshops that take all day with topics such as “Android (NDK) and ARM overview”, “ARM and the Internet of Things”, or “ARM […]

July 23, 2014July 23, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Nvidia Announces Tegra K1 based Shield Tablet with Game Controller and Stylus

After the Shield game console, Nvidia has now announced the Shield Tablet powered by Nvidia Tegra K1 quad core processor, and specifically designed for gamer with a kickstand to adjust the inclination of the 8″ display, and a Wi-Fi Direct game controller with low latency, including a built-in stereo headphone jack and microphone. Shield tablet specifications: SoC – NVIDIA Tegra K1 quad core Cortex A15 @ 2.2 GHz processor with a 192 core Kepler GPU System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 32 GB (WiFi+4G LTE) or 16 GB (WiFi-only), and micro SD slot Display – 8″ multi-touch display; 1920×1200 resolution Video Output – 1x mini HDMI output Audio I/O – Front facing stereo speakers, dual bass reflex port with built-in microphone, 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack with microphone support Connectivity – Wireless 802.11n 2×2 Mimo 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 LE and GPS / GLONASS Cellular […]