CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

July 17, 2019July 17, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 26 Comments

Checking Out Machine Check Exception (MCE) Errors in Linux

I recently reviewed ODROID-H2 with Ubuntu 19.04, and noticed some errors messages in the kernel log of the Intel Celeron J4105 single board computer while running SBC-Bench benchmark: I did not know what do make of those errors, but I was told I would get more details with mcelog which can be installed as follows: There’s just one little problem: it’s not in Ubuntu 19.04 repository, and a bug report mentions mcelog is not deprecated, and remove from Ubuntu 18.04 Bionic onwards. Instead, we’re being told the mcelog package functionality has been replaced by rasdaemon. But before looking into the utilities, let’s find out what Machine Check Exception (MCE) is all about from ArchLinux Wiki: A machine check exception (MCE) is an error generated by the CPU when the CPU detects that a hardware error or failure has occurred. Machine check exceptions (MCEs) can occur for a variety of reasons ranging from undesired or out-of-spec voltages from the power supply, …

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July 17, 2019July 18, 2019 by Tiwalade Joanna Okedara - 2 Comments

Dooba ioNode Microchip AVR Development Board Comes with a C programming SDK

The new Dooba ioNode development board is multifunctional and can be used for projects with space limits. The board features Microchip ATMEGA1284P AVR microcontroller, Dooba’s open-source embedded development ecosystem boasts of a variety of add-on modules which provide the board with increased functionality. These modules will work perfectly with the board and with any project that supports an SPI interface. Some of these add-on modules are: An Aecho MP3 player Nomad LiPo battery Inpad user input module MicroSD socket in SIP or DIP versions The development board is available with either male or female headers. It is also shipped with an IOPROTO prototyping board. You can also choose whether you want the headers already soldered on the top, bottom, or not soldered. The ioNode also features a USB port with USB-UART for programming. Specifications of the Dooba ioNode Core CPU Clock: 10MHz Flash: 128 Kb RAM: 16 Kb I/O 29x (30x in total but one is hardwired to onboard LED) …

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July 17, 2019July 17, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Group Theoretic Cryptography (GTC) Offers an Alternative to TLS’s ECC/RSA Security for Microcontrollers

The Transport Layer Security (TLS), sometimes incorrectly referred as its predecessor: Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), helps securing messages over the network using symmetric cryptography, and optionally public-key cryptography (aka asymmetric cryptography). This works well in servers and computers, but with the Internet of Things, even low-power sensor nodes would benefit from secure communication. The trouble is that today’s commonly-implemented RSA- and Diffie-Hellman-type public-key protocols have a memory footprint that will not fit on resource-constrained microcontrollers systems, e.g. Arm Cortex-M0 based ones, and power consumption may also be an issue since many of those are battery-powered. I’m writing about this topic today, as there may be a better alternative for resource-constrained microcontrollers which I noticed in Arm Techcon 2019 schedule, with SecureRF Corporation’s session entitled “When it comes to connect IoT devices, how small is small?” that will present an alternative to TLS’s ECC and RSA based security that relies on in “Group Theoretic Cryptography (GTC)” designed specifically for low resource …

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July 16, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Ameba Z2 IoT Board Features Realtek RTL8720CM Armv8-M KM4 Secure Wireless MCU

In 2016 we discovered Realtek Ameba wireless microcontrollers combining an Arm Cortex-M3 core with WiFi connectivity, and that could potentially become an ESP8266 competitor with modules selling for as low as $2. But the solution never really took off, because it was about the same price as ESP8266, and the latter already had a solid software ecosystem and community. But RealTek has now introduced a new Ameba Z2 IoT development board powered by RTL8720CM microcontroller featuring an Armv8-M KM4 core clocked at 100 MHz. What’s an Arm KM4 core you may ask? Seeed Studio informed me Arm and RealTek worked together on the KM4 core, so it looks like a custom Armv8-M microcontroller. Ameba Z2 IoT Development Board Ameba Z2 (ZII) specifications: Wireless MCU – Realtek RTL8720CM single core Armv8-M KM4 core @ 100MHz with 4.2MB internal RAM, WiFi and Bluetooth radios Storage – 2MB external flash on module Connectivity Wi-Fi – 802.11 b/g/n 1×1 Wi-Fi 4 (20/40MHz) with PCB …

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July 16, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Arduino based Clover Platform Targets STEM Education in Vietnam

We’re already seen there’s an active maker community in South East Asia with products such as KidBright32 educational board in Thailand, and Singapore & Thailand based MakerAsia’s recent launch of the open-source KB-IDE for ESP32 targets. Vietnam based Clover Team also introduced a STEM platform for students late last year with hardware, an IDE, and a mobile application. The team has made three educational kits: Clover EDU Basic with Clover Master Board and basic modules Clover Car Robot with Clover Master Board, motor, motor driver module, line sensor, distance sensor, Bluetooth module Clover Inventor that includes all items from Clover EDU Basic and Clover Car Robot plus a WiFi module. The Master board is compatible with the Arduino UNO platform (software-wise) and comes with the following key features: Connectivity – Header for ESP8266 WiFi module Expansion – 4x RJ11 ports for input and output with color signs, and compatible with all modules with are also color-coded to make sure students …

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July 16, 2019July 16, 2019 by Stephen Vicinanza - No Comments

PicoLog 6 Beta supports Raspberry Pi 4, 3B and 3B+

One of the most popular computer platforms, Raspberry Pi has not been supported for Pico’s advanced datalogging software, up until now. The PicoLog 6 datalogging software is now compatible with Raspbian Stretch or later OS. The software has been designed for quick access to simple or complex acquisitions, and enabled to record, analyze or view data of almost any type. TC-08 Thermocouple Datalogger with Raspberry Pi 3 board Real Power It is essentially the same software that runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with a few differences to take advantage of the capability of the lower-powered Arm processors. Producing a powerful datalogger for the Raspberry Pi SBC platform. The PicoLog 6 is optimized for Raspbian Stretch and runs the Raspberry Pi 4, 3B and 3B+ SBC’s. The core of the utility is an easy to use visual interface that allows for an almost out-of-box use to the program. Features Making Use of the Raspberry Pi The tweaking and system building …

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July 16, 2019July 16, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

3 Ways to Power Devices with PoE: Wall Plug, Multi-port Injectors, and Injector/Splitter Cables

I regularly browse new arrivals feeds of popular websites to look out for interesting products, and I’ve noticed Banggood has several inexpensive PoE plugs and injectors going for around $6, which is quite cheaper than I would have expected. Apart from MatchX LoRaWAN gateway, I’ve never really used PoE to power devices, but I may soon have another look on Raspberry Pi 4 board with a third-party PoE HAT. PoE is mostly interesting if you need to run long cables to your boards or IP cameras since using a single Ethernet cable for data and power saves on cabling. 24V/48V PoE Plugs for the European market Banggood had three PoE plugs with prongs made for the European market: 48V/0.5A (24W) PoE Wall Plug 12V/1A (12W) PoE Wall Plug 24V/1A (24W) POE Wall Plug All three plugs are visually identical with a LAN port to connect to your router, and a PoE port adding power to the data signal, and only …

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July 15, 2019July 16, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus SoC Update Closes on the 3.0 GHz Mark

Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 was officially unveiled in December 2018, and is found in several premium phones and at least one development kit. The processor features one Kryo 485 Gold (A76-class) core clocked @ 2.84GHz, with 7 others cores in another 3-core Kryo 485 Gold cluster @ 2.42 GHz, and a 4-core Kryo 485 Silver (A55-class) cluster clocked at 1.80 GHz. Qualcomm has now announced the Snapdragon 855 Plus processor that’s virtually the same as the original, but with the high-performance Kryo 485 Gold core frequency boosted to close to 3.0 GHz (2.96 GHz), and the Adreno 640 GPU also getting faster at 672 MHz against 585 MHz for Snapdragon 855. The differences are highlighted in bold in the comparison table below courtesy of Anandtech. SoC Snapdragon 855 Snapdragon 855 Plus (855+) CPU 1x Kryo 485 Gold (A76 derivative) @ 2.84GHz 1x512KB pL2 3x Kryo 485 Gold (A76 derivative) @ 2.42GHz 3x256KB pL2 4x Kryo 485 Silver (A55 derivative) @ 1.80GHz …

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