CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

July 6, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Diabolic Drive is a penetration testing USB key with 64GB storage, ESP8266 and ATmega32U4 microcontrollers

Diabolic Drive may look like a 64GB USB flash drive and show as such when you insert it into your computer, but it’s actually a wireless keystroke injection tool with a Microchip ATmega32U4 8-bit AVR microcontroller and an Espressif Systems ESP8266 WiFi SoC. Egypt-based UNIT 72784 says their cyber security tool enables Red Teaming – the practice of rigorously identifying an attack path to breach a device’s security – as it behaves like a flash drive while being able to deploy keyboard strokes wirelessly through the ESP8266 WiFi MCU. Diabolic Drive specifications: MCUs Microchip ATmega32U4 microcontroller @ 16 MHz (5V) acting as a Serial Bridge Espressif Systems ESP8266EX microcontroller @ 160 MHZ (3.3V) with WiFi 4 support ATmega32U4 and ESP8266 are connected via Serial and I2C protocols thanks to an LDO regulator. Storage 64 GB flash storage up to 20MB/s read, 10MB/s write 4MB W25Q32 SPI flash memory o Antenna […]

July 6, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

VL53L7CX Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensor offers camera-like 90° field of view

STMicroelectronics VL53L7CX is the latest FlightSense multi-zone Time-of-Flight (ToF) distance sensor from the company with the main highlight between its camera-like 90° diagonal field of view, derived from a 60° x 60° field of view… This is a significant improvement over the 61° diagonal field of view of the previous generation ToF sensors such as the VL53L8 or VL53L5CP, and the wider field-of-view is said to bring “lifelike situational awareness” to applications like home automation, computers, house appliances, robots, and industrial equipment with full-privacy since ToF sensors do not capture photos or videos like traditional cameras. STMicro VL53L7CX key features and specifications: 940 nm invisible light vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) and integrated analog driver 60° x 60° square field of view (FoV) (90° diagonal) using diffractive optical elements (DOE) on both transmitter and receiver enabling square FoV Receiving array of single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) Multizone ranging output […]

Graperain Samsung, Rockchip RK3588, and Qualcomm CPU modules, SBCs, and carrier boards

July 5, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Amlogic C302X, C305X, and C308X Arm SoCs target Smart IP cameras

Amlogic C302X and C305X are dual-core Arm Cortex-A35 processors, while the C308X is a dual-core Cortex-A55 processor with all SoCs designed for Smart IP cameras with the integration of an AI accelerator up to 4 TOPS, and 1080p30 H.264/H.265 video encoding. I was first informed about Amlogic C302/C305/C308 SoCs for Smart cameras as far back as June 2019, or about four years ago, but there wasn’t enough information to write anything about those at the time. But I’m now seeing more details about the camera SoCs, now named C302X, C305X, and C308X, so it’s a good time to have a closer look. Amlogic C302X Amlogic does not have a product page for this model, so I need to rely on a recent commit in the Linux Kernel mainline list to extra some information. The Amlogic S302X is a dual-core Cortex-A35 processor found in the Amlogic AW409 development board (likely internal […]

July 5, 2023July 6, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 27 Comments

T9 Plus is a low-cost pocket-sized Intel N100 mini PC with three HDMI ports, dual GbE

We’ve seen a range of mini PCs based on the Intel Processor N100 “Alder Lake-N” SoC in recent months, and the T9 Plus is yet another one but offered in an ultra-compact (85x85x43 mm) form factor, yet still offering three HDMI 2.0 video output, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, and three USB ports. Pricing is also a highlight since the mini PC sells for as low as $117 in barebone configuration. The mini PC also features either 8GB or 16GB LPDDR5, an optional M.2 SATA or NVMe 2240 SSD up to 1TB, Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, and an audio jack. Unsurprisingly for this small form factor, it’s not fanless, and actively cooled by a heat pipe, heat sink, and “silent fan”. T9 Plus mini PC specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N100 quad-core Alder Lake-N processor @ up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel HD graphics @ […]

July 5, 2023July 4, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

An ESP32-S3 board for vending machines with RS485, microSD card slot, optional cellular mPCIe module

LILYGO T-Vending is an ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth IoT board designed for vending machines with an RS485 terminal block, a microSD card slot, and support for an optional cellular mPCIe module. As I understand the board is connected to the vending machine through the RS485 terminal block to control vend motors (potentially via an additional board to control multiple motors) and a 10-pin connector for power (12V/24V), signals to/from a coin mechanism and other parts. The board also adds a Grove connector and an unpopulated 12-pin GPIO header for expansion. T-Vending specifications: ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 wireless module SoC – ESP32-S3FN16R8 dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller @ up to 240 MHz with 2.4 GHz 802.11n WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE connectivity Memory – 8MB PSRAM Storage – 16MB SPI flash PCB antenna Storage – MicroSD card slot Wireless 2.4 GHz 802.11n WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE connectivity (ESP32-S3) Optional T-PCIe 4G LTE […]

July 4, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

LuckFox Core3566 – A Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 alternative that sells for $24 and up

We’ve already seen Rockchip RK3566 system-on-modules that follow the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 with the likes of Pine64 SOQuartz and Radxa CM3. But there’s at least one more Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 alternative based on the RK3566 SoC with the LuckFox Core3566 going for as little as $23.99. I found out about the new module after checking out the upcoming Orange Pi Compute Module 4 (another CM4 alternative based on RK3566), and the LuckFox Core3566 is offered with 2GB or 4GB RAM, an optional 32GB eMMC flash, and an optional WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 module. LuckFox Core3566 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3566 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor up to 1.8 GHz with a 32-bit RISC-V MCU, an Arm Mali-G52 GPU supporting OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.0, Vulkan 1.1, a 0.8 TOPS NPU for AI acceleration System Memory – 2GB to 4GB LPDDR4 Storage – Optional 32GB eMMC module Wireless module […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025

July 4, 2023November 13, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

MangoPi MPi-GW1 RISC-V router will support dual GbE, dual USB 2.0, CAN bus, RS485, and more

MangoPi is working on the first RISC-V router I’ve seen. The MPi-GW1 is based on the ArtInChip D213ECV 64-bit RISC-V processor with 128 MB DDR3 on-chip, 256MB SPI NAND flash, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, two USB 2.0 ports, MIPI DSI+touch connector, support for CAN Bus and RS485, and expansion through a 22-pin GPIO header. Routers used to be mostly based on MIPS processors, then Arm processors took over, and maybe RISC-V is next, as MangoPi has just unveiled photos of the first RISC-V router on Twitter, and leaked some tidbits of information over the last two weeks or so on the social media platform. MangoPi MPi-GW1 RISC-V router specifications (preliminary): SoC – ArtInChip D213ECV 64-bit RISC-V (RV64IMAFDC) processor System Memory – 128MB 16-bit DDR3 @ 672 MHz (SiP) Storage – 256MB (2Gbit) SPI NAND flash (Winbond 25N02KVZEIR), microSD card slot (bottom side of the board) Networking – 2x Gigabit Ethernet […]

July 4, 2023July 6, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Link Pi ENC5 v2 video encoder supports up to 5 4Kp30 HDMI inputs

The Link Pi ENC5 v2 is a video encoder with five HDMI inputs up to 4Kp30, one HDMI output, two audio jacks, Gigabit Ethernet, and a USB 3.0 port that supports RTSP, ONVIF, SRT, and NDI streaming protocols. The system appears to be based on the Hisilicon Hi3531DV200 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor and features 8GB eMMC flash for the OS, plus 4GB RAM. The USB port can be used to record videos to an external hard drive or flash drive or add WiFi or 4G/5G cellular connectivity. Link Pi ENC5 v2 specifications: SoC – Unnamed, but some of the specs are matching the Hisilicon Hi3531DV200 SoC CPU – Arm Cortex A53 quad-core processor @ 1.2GHz with 32KB l-Cache, 32KB D-Cache VPU Decode – H264, H264, MJPEG Encode – Up to 4Kp30 / 1080p60 H.264 Main/Baseline/High/ profiles, H.265 Main profile, MJPEG/JPEG Max Bitrate – 20Mbps Bit rate control – CBR, VBR, AVBR, […]