CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

March 9, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

MINIX Z100-0dB review – Part 3: A fanless Intel N100 mini PC tested with Ubuntu 22.04

MINIX Z100-0dB review Ubuntu 22.04 Linux

After the first part of the review with an unboxing and a teardown of the MINIX NEO Z100-0dB mini PC, we tested the fanless Intel N100 mini PC with Windows 11 Pro in the second part, and we are now ready to report our experience with Linux, and more specifically Ubuntu 22.04, on the MINIX Z100-0dB mini PC in the final and third part of the review. We will go through features testing, run some benchmarks to evaluate the performance in Linux, perform storage and network performance tests, check the cooling ability of the mini with a stress test, and also check its power consumption under different scenarios. We will also compare the MINIX Z100-0dB to the actively cooled GEEKOM Mini Air12 mini PC that uses the same Intel Processor N100 CPU. Ubuntu 22.04 installation We will install Ubuntu 22.04 alongside Windows 11 Pro in dual boot configuration, so we […]

March 8, 2024March 8, 2024 by Tomisin Olujinmi - No Comments

AMD announces the Spartan UltraScale+ FPGA family for cost-sensitive and IO-intensive applications

The Spartan UltraScale+ FPGA family is the latest inclusion to AMD’s Cost-Optimized portfolio, a series of FPGAs designed to balance cost, power, and form factor with affordability. The UltraScale+ FPGA family is designed for cost-sensitive, low-power applications requiring high I/O count and substantial security. Devices in the Spartan UltraScale+ family offer a high I/O to logic cell ratio for FPGAs built in 28nm and lower process technology (the highest in the industry, according to AMD), consume up to 30% less power than compared to the previous generation, and feature robust security features that outclass the rest of the Cost-Optimized portfolio. This FPGA family is built on the same UltraScale+ architecture as previous Artix and Zynq products. They are the first AMD UltraScale+ FPGAs to feature a hardened DDR memory controller and PCIe Gen4 x8 support, “providing both power efficiency and future-ready capabilities for customers.” AMD Spartan UltraScale+ specifications: System Logic […]

March 8, 2024March 8, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

PineBerry Pi launches five additional HAT+ boards for the Raspberry Pi 5 with 2.5GbE, GbE, M.2 NVMe, and more

PineBerry Pi was the first company to launch a Raspberry Pi HAT+ board making use of the Raspberry Pi 5’s PCIe FPC connector with the Hatdrive! M.2 HAT for the Raspberry Pi 5 along with the HatDrive! Bottom expansion board that goes underneath the Raspberry Pi 5 SBC. The company has now launched five additional HAT+ boards for the Raspberry Pi 5 with various PCIe (NVMe/AI modules) and networking (2.5GbE, GbE) options. Here’s the list with basic specifications: HatNET! 2.5G – 2.5GbE for the Raspberry Pi 5 using a Realtek RTL8125BG controller, dedicated MAC address range (i.e. not randomly assigned), and an RJ45 jack with Activity and Link LEDs HatDrive! NET 1G – Gigabit Ethernet (Realtek RTL8111H) and M.2 M-Key socket for NVMe 2230,2242 SSD. Implemented through an ASMedia PCIe Gen 2 switch and booting with the SSD is not supported at this time. You may want to follow the […]

March 8, 2024March 8, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Xtherm II TS2+ review – A 256×192 thermal imager tested with an Android smartphone

Shortly after I wrote about the Mustool MT13S 2-in-1 thermal imager and multimeter, Xinfrared asked me if I wanted to review the Xtherm II TS2+ thermal imager for smartphones. They offer versions that work for Android or iOS smartphones, so the company sent me the Android version of the Xtherm II TS2+ for review. After listing the key features and specifications, I’ll go through an unboxing, and report my experience using the thermal imager with the OPPO A98 5G smartphone running Android 14. Xtherm II TS2+ specifications Minimum focus – 8mm Resolution – 256×192 Pixel Pitch – 12μm FOV – 44.9° x 33.4° Image Frame Rate – 25Hz NETD (Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference) – ≤40mK@25°C, F#1.0 MRTD (Minimum Resolvable Temperature Difference) – ≤500mK@25°C,F#1.0 Temperature Range Measurements- -20°C ~ +450°C with ±2°C or ±2% reading accuracy Operating – -20°C ~ +50°C Temperature Correction – Manual/automatic Power Consumption – <350mW Dimensions – […]

March 8, 2024March 8, 2024 by Debashis Das - 3 Comments

Raspberry Pi RP2040-powered 0.99″ rounded display is housed in CNC metal case

The Waveshare RP2040-LCD-0.99-B rounded display is the latest display module by Waveshare. This board is built around the Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU and hosts a 128×115 pixels 65K color IPS LCD, along with a QMI8658C IMU, all inside a CNC metal case with an acrylic dull-polish bottom plate. The board also hosts a USB Type-C connector, an LDO, a 2MB NOR-Flash, a SH1.0 6PIN connector (adapting 4x GPIO pins), and a BOOT button. Waveshare RP2040-LCD-0.99-B rounded display module specification: Microcontroller – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Arm Cortex M0+ processor up to 133 MHz with 264KB SRAM Storage – 2MB on-board flash memory Display – 0.99-inch 128×115 pixel 65K color IPS LCD USB – 1x USB 1.1 Type-C port (host/device) for power and programming using drag-and-drop via USB mass storage Sensor – QMI8658C IMU Expansion – 4x GPIO via SH1.0 6PIN connector Power Management – Low-power sleep and dormant modes Dimension – […]

March 7, 2024April 24, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

RealTek RTD1325 SoC shows up in Formuler Z mini 4K Android 12 dongle

Formuler Z mini is a 4K Android 12 TV dongle powered by the new RealTek RTD1325 SoC with a Mali-G57 MC1, 4K AV1 video processing unit, and support for features such as Quick Media Switching (QMS) from the HDMI 2.1 specifications. The Android TV dongle also comes with 2GB LPDDR4 memory, 8GB eMMC flash, an HDMI 2.1 port up to 4K resolution, WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, Widevine L1 DRM, and a Bluetooth voice remote control. Formuler Z mini specifications: SoC – RealTek RTD1325 CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 @ 1.7GHz with 512KB L3 cache [Updated on April 24, 2024 – See comments section] GPU – Arm Mali-G57 MC1 VPU – 4Kp60 10-bit AV1 video decoder System Memory – 2GB LPDDR4 @ 2400MHz Storage – 8GB eMMC flash Video Output – HDMI 2.1 up to 4K resolution (3840 x 2160) with 4K HDR (HDR10+, HLG), QMS support Networking – […]

March 7, 2024March 6, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Allwinner T527 System-on-Module features octa-core Cortex-A55 CPU, 2 TOPS AI accelerator

MYiR MYC-LT527 is a compact System-on-Module (SoM) based on Allwinner T527 octa-core Arm Cortex-A55 SoC with a 2 TOPS AI accelerator, up to 4GB RAM, 32GB flash, and a land grid array (LGA) comprised of 381 pads with a range of interfaces for displays and cameras, networking, USB, and PCIe, and more. The company also introduced the MYD-LT527 development board to showcase the capabilities of the Allwinner T527 CPU module suitable for a range of applications such as industrial robots, energy and power management, medical equipment, display and controller machines, edge AI boxes and boards, automotive dashboards, and embedded devices that require media and AI functionalities. MYC-LT527 Allwinner T527 System-on-Module MYC-LT527 specifications: SoC – Allwinner T527 CPU Octa-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor with four cores @ 1.80 GHz and four cores @ 1.42GHz E906 RISC-V core up to 200 MHz DSP – 600MHz HIFI4 Audio DSP GPU – Arm Mali-G57 MC1 […]