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EVN Alpha is a LEGO-compatible robotics controller built around Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU (Crowdfunding)

The EVN Alpha is a robotics project from a team based in Singapore and is aimed at roboticists seeking an advanced building platform beyond what LEGO Robotics kits offer. This robotics controller can be considered a spiritual successor to the LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 intelligent brick. It runs on the Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller with two Cortex M0+ cores running at a maximum clock speed of 133 MHz and 264KB of embedded SRAM and builds upon the rich software support available for the microcontroller. It features 64 LEGO Technic-compatible holes on five sides for easy installation into your projects and has 26 ports for I2C, UART, servos, EV3, and NXT motors. It is smaller volumetrically than the LEGO bricks and can be powered from two generic 18650 Lithium-ion cells rather than a proprietary solution (unlike the LEGO SPIKE Prime). The EVN Alpha was created as a “basecamp for students looking to […]

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ReBoi Raspberry Pi Game Boy project blends classic gaming with modern tech (Crowdfunding)

James Sargent’s ReBoi Raspberry Pi Game Boy is a Raspberry Pi Zero-powered handheld console kit that easily snaps and screws together without soldering. Its design allows the PCB to fit snugly into both original and replica Nintendo Game Boy Color cases. We’ve seen several handheld consoles with powerful processors and great portability, including the Raspberry Pi CM4 console similar to a Nintendo Switch Lite, GPD WIN Max, LyRa RPi CM3L, and many other gaming consoles. Key Highlights of the ReBoi Raspberry Pi Game Boy Kickstarter Project: Core Concept: A Raspberry Pi-powered handheld that revives the classic Game Boy console. Continues the tradition of distributing DIY electronics as kits. Enabling anyone to build their own Game Boy. Accessibility and Ease of Assembly: No soldering is required; the kit snaps and screws together. Comprehensive website with documentation and tutorials for easy assembly. Raspberry Pi Zero and RP2040 Integration: Integrates Raspberry Pi Zero […]

Khadas Edge2 Arm mini PC
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Seeed Studio mmWave sensor kit – Part 1: unboxing and first impression with ESPHome and Home Assistant

Excited to share my first review, written for CNX Software! This time, we’re diving into the Seeed Studio mmWave Human Detection Sensor Kit, which harnesses the power of mmWave radar. The technology I’m particularly interested in for its smart home potential. Therefore, I jumped at the chance when CNX Software offered a product review opportunity. The kit arrived promptly at my doorstep just one week after accepting CNX Software’s offer. Here are my initial findings of the product and its capabilities to replace existing motion detection products.  Unboxing the mmWave sensor kit I opened the DHL box and found the neatly bubble-wrapped mmWave Human Detection Sensor Kit. Alongside the kit, I discovered a bonus: the MR60FDA1 60GHz mmWave Sensor – Fall Detection Module Pro. This higher-frequency module boasts better resolution and even adds a fall detection feature compared to the kit’s included module, the MR24HPC1. However, the MR24HPC1 24GHz mmWave Sensor […]

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Review of RaZberry 7 Pro Z-Wave Raspberry Pi HAT and Z-Uno2 Z-Wave board

Z-Wave.Me has sent us a couple of Smart Home devices based on Z-Wave technology for review, namely the RaZberry 7 Pro Raspberry Pi HAT and the Z-Uno2 board. The Swiss company has primarily developed Z-Wave products for years and is a member of the Z-Wave Alliance. For those who are concerned about the issues of signal interference in the 2.4GHz range (WiFi, Zigbee, Bluetooth, and Thread), Z-Wave technology is an excellent choice because it operates on a less congested frequency range of 800-900MHz and the technology has been around for more than 20 years, resulting in a wide variety of Z-Wave devices available in the market, and they can work well together across different brands due to a proper certification process which is another advantage when compared to other protocols. The two devices we received are RaZberry 7 Pro, which is a shield that plugs into the 40-pin GPIO header […]

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Raspberry Shake HAT brings earthquake monitoring to the Raspberry Pi SBC

Raspberry Shake is a family of Raspberry Pi HATs and full seismograph and infrasound monitors designed to enable earthquake monitoring on the popular single board computer Raspberry Pi Shake and Boom (for acoustic monitoring) HATs have been around for a few years, but I only learned about it now through an article on The MagPi Magazine where Branden Christensen, Business Steward, and Mike Hotchkiss, Marketing Director, were interviewed, so I decided to have a closer look. Four main models of the Raspberry Shake are available: RS1D vertical motion seismograph with a single motion velocity sensor to detect earthquakes RS3D vertical & lateral motion seismograph with one vertical & two lateral motion velocity sensors to measure earthquakes of all magnitudes RS4D “strong motion seismograph with one vertical motion velocity sensor to detect earthquakes, plus one extra vertical and two lateral accelerometer sensors for powerful earthquakes RS&BOOM seismograph & infrasound monitor that […]

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DietPi News – v8.20 released, NanoPi Neo Air handheld Linux terminal

The latest DietPi v8.20 release of the lightweight Debian-based Linux distribution for SBCs and server systems was outed on July 29, 2023, and on a separate note, a DIY handheld Linux terminal based on the NanoPi Neo Air SBC and running DietPi has been found on the interwebs. DietPi v8.20 release The project team released the new DietPi v8.20 on July 29th, 2023 with the following highlights: Homebridge: New software package bringing Apple Homekit support Kernel updates for Pine64 Quartz64  – Linux 6.4.7 and enabled support for the NFS kernel server FriendlyELEC NanoPi R5S/R5C/R6S series – Linux 5.10.160 StarFive VisionFive 2 RISC-V SBC – Linux 5.15.123 WiFi Hotspot: Enhanced DHCP default settings Fixes and updates for DietPi-LogClear, DietPi-Dashboard, DietPi-LetsEncrypt, PaperMC, vaultwarden, etc… The full changelog can be found on the DietPi website and the source code is hosted on GitHub. NanoPi Neo Air handheld Linux terminal running DietPi While it’s […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs
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MangoPi mCore-R818 module powers CyberPad 3.1-inch handheld android “tablet”

mCore-R818 is the first time that MangoPi adopts the design combination of a core-lite module and a carrier board. As its name suggests, it is an AllWinner R818 SoM whose SoC integrates an Imagination PowerVR GE8300 GPU for UI rendering, can drive MIPI DSI, LVDS, and RGB displays, as well as cameras through a MIPI CSI interface, 8MP/5MP/2MP interfaces. The Allwinner R818 system-on-module powers a feature-rich carrier board as well as an upcoming Cyberpad Android “tablet” with a 3.1-inch display. MangoPi mCore-R818 The package design of the processor itself is small, so the MCore-R818 core board is only 3x3cm in size, but still contains four components with the Allwinner R818, the eMMC flash, LPDDR4 memory, and the AXP717 PMU. MangoPi provides two hardware configurations: 2GB DDR with 16GB eMMC flash, and 4GB DDR with 32GB eMMC flash. MCore-R818 Core Lite Specifications: SoC – Allwinner R818 CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 […]

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BIGTREETECH Pad 7 7-inch 3D printer control display runs Klipper on Allwinner H616 SoM or Raspberry Pi CM4

Yesterday, I wrote about the BTT Pi V1.2 Allwinner H616 SBC designed for 3D printers, but also mentioned I had received the Pad 7 from BIGTREETECH which is a software-compatible, but more complete solution with a 7-inch display and an Allwinner H616-powered CB1 system-on-module compatible with the Raspberry Pi CM4. The BIGTREETECH Pad 7 should be more convenient to use with its integrated 7-inch touchscreen display, and if you ever decided you didn’t need it to control your 3D printer anymore, it could always be used as a small Linux computer running Raspberry Pi OS or another operating system. BIGTREETECH Pad 7 specifications: Supported modules BIGTREETECH CB1 v2.2 (included in the kit) – Allwinner H616 quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU with Mali-G31 MP2 GPU, 1GB RAM, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi 4 Raspberry Pi CM4 module with Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 CPU with VideoCore IV GPU, 1 to 8GB RAM, 0 to 32GB eMMC […]

Khadas VIM4 SBC