CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

November 19, 2019 by Ayo Ayibiowu - 8 Comments

Bangle.js is an Hackable, Open Source JavaScript and TensorFlow-driven Smartwatch (Crowdfunding)

Espruino brought JavasScript to the Microcontroller, now Bangle.js is bringing Javascript plus TensorFlow Lite to your smartwatch. There has been some movement by some developers that says that JavaScript should be used for everything, even though I find that idea ridiculous, I still find JavaScript a fascinating language. The NeaForm Research team and Gordon Williams (the brain behind Espruino) have all teamed up in launching Bangle.js Smartwatch. Bangle.js isn’t your ordinary smartwatch, at the heart of it is the open-source ecosystem. JavaScript plus TensorFlow Lite and of course, a cool looking Smartwatch is what Bangle.js is offering. Bangle.js was launched at the recently concluded NodeConf EU conference, and the goal is to bootstrap an Open Health Platform hopefully. NodeWatch is the specific implementation of Bangle.js for NodeConf EU 2019, co-developed by Espruino and NearForm Research. This project has the potential to bootstrap a community-driven open health platform where anyone can build or use any compatible device and everyone owns their …

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November 19, 2019November 20, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 29 Comments

Orange Pi 4/4B SBC Comes with Rockchip RK3399 SoC, Gyrfalcon 2801S NPU

Shenzhen Xunlong Software’s Orange Pi RK3399 single board computer launched in early 2018 with 2GB RAM for $109, and earlier this year, the company launched an updated version with 4GB RAM and a lower $99.96 price tag. But there are plenty Rockchip RK3399 SBC’s on the market, including FrienglyELEC NanoPi M4 going for $50 and up ($75 with 4GB RAM), and Pine64 RockPro64 board starting at $59.99 with 2GB RAM, and $79.99 with 4GB. So unless you need the extra features (HDMI Input, SATA port, mPCIe socket…) offered by Orange Pi RK3399, other boards may be more competitive. So the company has been working on lowering the cost with a smaller board. Meet Orange Pi 4. They’ve also provided some extra features with a variant of the board called Orange Pi 4B that adds a Gyrfalcon Lightspeeur 2801S AI accelerator chip/NPU. That says a lot that neither Rockchip RK3399Pro SoC nor Rockchip RK1808 NPU were used in Orange Pi 4B …

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November 19, 2019November 21, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Black Friday & Cyber Monday 2019 – International Deals

As every year, November is the month of deals. With Single’s Day 2019 behind us, it’s time to look ahead for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. There will be plenty of deals in the US, but in this post, I’ll focus on international Black Friday 2019 deals available mostly from Chinese online shops like I did in previous years. Aliexpress Black Friday will start in about 10 days on Nov 29, 2019 ,12:00 AM PT and last until Dec 3, 2019 ,11:59 PM PT. But the site will start to show discounted prices on November 22, and you’ll be able to collect coins and coupons from that date, as well as add items to your cart before making the order during the 6-day promotion. Banggood Black Friday promotions have already started and will last until November 30 16:00 UTC+8. The easiest and most flexible way to get a discount is to use their $6 coupon for orders over $60. You …

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November 18, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Some FUJITSU FUTRO Thin Clients are Powered by Intel Gemini Lake Refresh SoC’s

Fujitsu FUTRO-Gemini Lake Refresh Thin -Client

Six new Intel Gemini Lake Refresh processors were just announced a couple of weeks ago, and some of the first systems to feature the processor are part of FUJTISU Thin Client FUTRO family. Three models based on the new processors have been introduced with namely FUTRO S9010, S7010, and S5010 thin clients, all passively-cooled, running either eLux RP or Windows 10 IoT Entreprise, and equipped with SO-DIMM slots, M.2 SSD storage, six USB ports, Gigabit Ethernet, and two DisplayPort outputs. Beside the processor, the three thin clients share mostly share the same specifications, especially S5010 and S7010, and S9010 does add a few features: SoC FUTRO S9010 – Intel Pentium Silver J5040 quad-core GLK Refresh processor @ 2.0 GHz (up to 3.2 GHz) with Intel UHD Graphics 605; 10W TDP FUTRO S7010 – Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core GLK Refresh processor @ 2.0 GHz (up to 2.7 GHz) with Intel UHD Graphics 600 ; 10W TDP FUTRO S5010 – Intel Celeron …

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November 18, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Lightspeeur 5801 AI Accelerator Delivers 2.8 TOPS at 224 mW of Power

Announced in 2017, Gyrflacon LightSpeeur 2801 AI Accelerator could deliver 2.8 TOPS at 0.3 Watts of power. It’s now found in Orange Pi AI Stick Lite computer stick selling for around $20. Since then the company released 2802 chip for IoT applications, and earlier this year, the company introduced Gyrfalcon 2803 yielding up to 16.8TOPS @ 700 mW for “advanced edge” applications, and they’ve now announced Lightspeeur 5801 chip delivering 2.8 TOPS at 224 mW of power, or 12.6 TOPS/W. That does not seem much of any improvement of Lightspeeur 2801 since peak performance is the same, and power only slightly lower, but let’s check out more details to find out if there’s more to it. Key features: Based on the Gyrfalcon Matrix Processing Engine Performance – Up to 12.6 TOPs/Watt, peak: 2.8 TOPS @ 200 MHz Power Consumption – 224 mW @ 2.8 TOPs Latency – < 4 ms Package – 6×6 mm An important point is that Lightspeeur …

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November 18, 2019November 18, 2019 by Stephen Vicinanza - 3 Comments

Shine Assistant AI-Powered Toilet Cleaning System Aimed at the Mass Market (Crowdfunding)

Shine Assistant AI For The Bathroom Entering the consumer market with an AI device can be tricky, it is difficult to explain how and why they work. Shine Bathroom has entered into the arena of smart bathrooms, which are starting to pop up with more frequency. Shine Assistant is the latest, stand-alone smart toilet automated cleaner and maintenance system on the market. The Smart Toilet Market The smart toilet has been reported on in the articles on Kohler Novita, an AI toilet called the “Therapy Bidet” and the Lixil AI-based toilet that can analyze feces to help in healthcare, especially for the elderly. The Shine Assistant Features and Advantages The Shine Assistant is a device that attaches to any toilet, mounts to the wall or side of the toilet, and leverages AI for cleaning and maintenance. The system has a number of features and advantages over human-based cleaning and maintenance. Features Automatic Toilet Cleaning Chemical-Free Cleaning Automatic Deodorization Automate Toilet …

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November 17, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Nordic Semi nRF5340 Dual Arm Cortex-M33 SoC Supports Bluetooth 5.1/Mesh, NFC, Thread & Zigbee

After introducing nRF52833 WiSoC with Bluetooth 5.1 direction-finding support last month, Nordic Semiconductors has now launched another multi-protocol wireless SoC with nRF5340 featuring two Arm Cortex-M33 cores and supporting Bluetooth 5.1, Bluetooth Mesh, NFC, Thread & Zigbee. One of the Cortex-M33 is an application core incorporating 1 MB Flash and 512 KB RAM, as well as Arm CryptoCell-312, Arm TrustZone technology, and Secure Key Storage for the highest level of security, and the other Cortex-M33 core is used for networking functions. The company also announced nRF5340 PDK to get started with the new WiSoC. nRF5340 Dual-Core Multiprotocol SoC Key features and specifications: CPU Application core – Arm Cortex-M33 @ 128/64 MHz with 1 MB Flash + 512 KB RAM, 8 KB 2-way set associative cache; CoreMark: 510/255; CoreMark/mA: 65/76 Network core – Arm Cortex-M33 @ 64 MHz with 256 KB Flash + 64 KB RAM, 2 KB instruction cache; CoreMark: 238; CoreMark/mA: 101 Wireless Protocol support – Bluetooth 5.1 LE …

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

PinePhone “BraveHeart” Limited Edition Linux Smartphone is Now Available for $150

Pinephone is a Linux smartphone powered by an Allwinner A64 processor, and running one of the various Linux mobile distributions such as PostmarketOS or Ubuntu Touch among others. Last time we wrote about Pinephone mass-production schedule, the phone was expected to start shipping in October, and there has been a slight delay, but the good news is that Pinephone “BraveHeart” Limited Edition is now up for sale for $149.99. Note this batch is for enthusiasts as the phone may have some defects, and comes without operating system with the users having to flash it themselves. Pinephone specifications: SoC – Allwinner A64 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.2 GHz with Arm Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 2GB LPDDR3 SDRAM Storage – 16GB eMMC flash, MicroSD Card (SDHC/SDXC) up to 2TB Display – 5.95″ IPS capacitive touchscreen with 1440×720 resolution Audio – Mono loudspeaker, 3.5mm stereo audio jack with mic support Cameras 5MP rear camera with 1/4″ sensor, LED Flash 2MP …

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