CNXSoft - Embedded Systems News

January 14, 2019 - 6 Comments

Tiny Giant Board Runs Linux, Follows Adafruit Feather Form Factor

If you want a tiny single board computer that runs Linux on Arm Cortex-A processor, some options include Raspberry Pi Zero (W), PocketBeagle, or FriendlyElec NanoPi Duo with the latter being smaller and more powerful than RPi Zero although it lacks video output. Another potential option that may become available soon is the Giant Board, which as its name clearly does not imply, is a really tiny board powered by Microchip Atmel SAMA5 Cortex-A5 processor, and leveraging Adafruit Feather form factor. Giant board preliminary specifications: SiP – ATSAMA5D27C-D1G with Microchip SAMA5D2 Arm Cortex-A5 Processor 500MHz, 128MB DDR2 RAM Storage – Micro SD slot for OS and storage Peripherals & I/Os 6x 12-Bit ADC with 3.3V Reference 4x 16-Bit PWM ADC external trigger PWM external trigger 1x I2C, 1x SPI, 1x UART Misc- Power button Power Supply 5V via micro USB port 3.7V LIPO support for portable projects The Microchip / Atmel SAMA5 SiP is really what made possible the super …

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January 14, 2019January 14, 2019 - 5 Comments

SEI 520 is a 2-in-1 Android TV Hybrid Set-top Box and Smart Speaker

SEI Robotics has showcased a new device at CES 2019 that looks like a smart speaker, and SEI 520 is indeed a smart speaker with Google Assistant support, but it also adds a digital TV tuner and a quad-core Cortex A53 processor running Android TV 9.0 operating system to allow you to watch live TV, and stream videos. Preliminary specifications for SEI 520 smart speaker: SoC – Quad core Arm Cortex-A53 processor, possibly Amlogic S905X2 System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 16GB eMMC flash Video Output – HDMI up to 4K UHD Video Decode – VP9 and H.265/HEVC Audio Output – HDMI audio + optical S/PDIF Input – Far-field microphone Speaker – No technical details provided Connectivity – Ethernet, 2T2R MIMO WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0 Tuner – DVB-S2X/T2/C, ATSC, ISDBT USB – 1x USB 3.0 port, 1x USB 2.0 port Misc – IR blaster Power Supply – 12V DC via power barrel jack The device will ship with a remote …

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January 12, 2019 - 21 Comments

tinyWiFi-5G is a NanoPi NEO Air Clone with 5 GHz WiFi

NanoPi NEO Air is a tiny Allwinner H3 board with 802.11 b/g/n WiFi connectivity that launched in 2016 for $17.99 and is now available as NanoPi NEO Air-LTS (Long Term Support) for $28 and up. A company – or group of software developers – called tinyDebian decided to create a clone based on NanoPi NEO Air design, but replacing the 2.4 GHz Ampak AP6212 802.11n WiFi + Bluetooth 4.0 LE module by a dual-band Realtek RTL8821CS module that supports 802.11 b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth 4.2 LE. Meet tinyWiFi-5G. NanoPi NEO Air comes with two different storage configuration (8GB or 32GB flash), but tinyDebian did not provide the full specifications of the board, so tinyWiFi-5G board specifications below are preliminary: SoC – Allwinner H3 quad-core Cortex A7 @ 1.2 GHz with an ARM Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 512 MB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC Flash + micro SD card slot Connectivity – Dual-band 802.11b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2 LE via …

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January 11, 2019 - 2 Comments

Edu-C Arduino Compatible Board Targets Education & Game Development

Sometimes learning can be boring, and a potentially good way to get kids more engaged is to learn by playing. Edu-C Arduino compatible board is designed to teach game development to kids old and young, so they have a lasting reward once they complete programming of the board, or they may decide to customize the game further. Edu-C hardware specifications: MCU – Microchip Atmel AVR328 microcontroller Display – 28×64 pixel OLED display + 1-digita 7-segment display Game Inputs – Left and right potentiometers Misc – 8x LEDs, left & right LEDs, RGB LED, on/off power switch, reset button, buzzer USB – 1x micro USB connector for programming (CH340) and power Power Supply – 5V via USB; LiPo battery support The board ships with a 200 mAh Lipo battery, and a charger. Educational materials are also provided, but only in French right now, except for some documents which are in English. There are also various tutorials, again in French language: EduC-Clair complies …

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January 11, 2019 - 3 Comments

Obvious is an App Store for Embedded Devices

Mobile devices have gotten their own app stores for more than 10 years already, with Google Play for Android and Apple App Store for iPhones and iPads. Linux powered IoT devices – usually gateways – also got their own app stores with branded Ubuntu app stores relying on Ubuntu Snaps, although I’m not sure they are widely used. However, low power embedded devices usually based on microcontrollers did not get their own app store, and Obvious aims to fill this gap with the Obvious platform, an app store for embedded devices, which enabled after-sales features and upgrades. Obvious app store is currently in Beta and works exclusively with Nordic Semi based products at this stage. We don’t know an awful lot about the services, except it will enable a new revenue stream for providers of low power wireless IoT devices. Some benefits listed by the company include: Untapped resources – Spare CPU cycles, an extra I/O port or an unused …

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January 11, 2019January 11, 2019 - 8 Comments

Self-powered Swallowable Thermometer Measures Internal Body Temperature

Having just written about a thermometer board for home automation, I’ll stay on the temperature measurement topic, as I’ve found another thermometer that targets the medical field instead. Body temperature measurement at my local hospital is done under the armpit, which does the job in most cases, but more accurate temperature measurement of “deep body temperature” is normally achieved through rectal temperature measurement which is not as practical and comfortable for most people. Daily measurements of deep body temperature can apparently allow physicians to better understand “biological clocks”. In practical terms, it means doctors would be able to know ovulation cycles, measure the fatigue degrees of athletes, and even prevent heat strokes and hypothermia. Seeing the impractically in the conventional method, Nakamura Lab at Tohoku University developed a “swallowable thermometer” for this purpose. The swallowable sensor measures just 9.16mm in diameter, is allegedly perfectly safe to the human body, and is powered in the stomach using the same principle as …

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January 11, 2019January 15, 2019 - 2 Comments

ANAVI Thermometer WiFi Board is Designed for Home Automation (Crowdfunding)

ANAVI Technology launched several open source hardware boards for the Raspberry Pi and ESP8266 maker communities in the past, starting with RabbitMax Flex home automation HAT for Raspberry Pi, and several others including ANAVI Light Controller ESP8266 board to control LED strips. All boards are designed with KiCad opensource EDA software, and I’ve tested several already such as ANAVI Infrared pHAT or ANAVI Light Controller, and found documentation to be very good and easy to follow. The company has now launched another ESP8266 board with ANAVI Thermometer that allows you to monitor temperature and humidity, effectively acting as a thermostat for home automation. ANAVI Thermometer specifications: SoC – Espressif Systems ESP8266 Tensilica L106 32-bit processor Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n Display – Mini OLED display Build-in sensor – AM2302 (DHT22) temperature and humidity sensor Expansion Terminal block for DS18B20 waterproof temperature sensor UART pins 3x slots for I2C sensors Misc – Button Dimensions – 75 mm x 40 mm Certification – …

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January 10, 2019January 10, 2019 - 10 Comments

$16 Raspberry Pi Case Integrates a 3.5″ Touchscreen Display

Most Raspberry Pi cases are not really newsworthy, but there’s an unnamed case for Raspberry Pi 2 & 3 boards sold for $15.99 on Banggood that looks like a normal case, except the top cover is replaces with a 3.5″ touchscreen display, and the kit also ships with a stylus. Key features of the display: LCD Type – TFT LCD Interface – SPI Touch Screen Type – Resistive Touch Screen Controller – XPT2046 Colors – 65536 Backlight – LED Resolution – 320×480 (Pixel) Aspect Ratio – 8:5 There are two ways to assemble the kit. Either with the 3.5″ display and no fan, or without display, but a top cover including a fan. I’ve not sure why would anyone would purchase this kit without using the display but at least you know that’s an option. There are ready-to-use Raspbian images for Raspberry Pi 3 and Raspberry Pi 3 B+, but I doubt they’ll be updated, so instead, you may want …

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