CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

September 23, 2021July 9, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Gateworks GW16146 is an 802.11ah WiFi HaLow Mini PCIe module

GW16146v3 802.11ah WiFi Halow mPCIe module

Gateworks GW16146 is an 802.11ah WiFi HaLow Mini PCIe card designed to provide long-range wireless to IoT applications utilizing the company’s Venice and Newport single board computers. We first noticed 802.11ah WiFI LPWAN standard operating at 900 MHz for the Internet of Things in 2014, followed by Newracom NRC6101 chip in 2015, and the following year the Wi-Fi Alliance decided to call the new standard “Wi-Fi HaLow“. I was expecting it to compete with the likes of LoRa and NB-IoT, but I have not heard much about it, and when I asked a WiFi module and board supplier earlier this year, they seemed surprised I would even be interested in this type of hardware and, obviously, did not have any… So it’s good to see some new hardware coming out. Gateworks GW16146 specifications: 802.11ah Halow connectivity Silex SX-NEWAH 802.11ah Module based on Newracom NRC7292 System-on-Chip (US only) Compliant with IEEE […]

September 23, 2021February 27, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

DIY Spotify Box features custom-designed Allwinner V3s SBC

The Spotify Box is a small DIY device based on an Allwinner V3s single-core Cortex-A7 camera SoC and a wooden enclosure designed to play Spotify songs, and not much else… The device serves as a bridge between the official Spotify app and your home audio system connected through the RCA jacks of the box. and allowing you to connect your smartphone to your audio setup and stream music throughout your house. Spotify Box specifications: SoC – Allwinner V3s single-core Cortex-A7 processor @ 1.2 GHz with on-chip 64MB DDR2 Storage – MicroSD card slot for OS Audio – 2x RCA jack for left and right audio Connectivity 10/100M Ethernet RJ45 port 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 4.2 via RTL8723DS module Misc – Push button, RGB LED Power Supply – 5V via USB-C port Evan Hailey selected Allwinner V3s over other processors such as NXP i.MX233 or Microchip SAM9N because […]

September 22, 2021September 22, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

PiKVM v3 Raspberry Pi HAT offers KVM over IP on the cheap (Crowdfunding)

Last December, we wrote about the inexpensive DIY Pi-KVM board to add KVM over IP to the Raspberry Pi board mentioning PiKVM v3 was in the works with extra features such as onboard ATX power control. It turns out PiKVM v3 HAT has been on Kickstarter for about a month and raised close to $600,000 US from over 2,500 backers with just about two days to go at the time of writing. PiKVM v3 hardware features and specifications: Video & audio capture port – 1x HDMI input up to 1080p50 MIPI CSI-2 interface to Pi to visualize HDMI input USB 1x USB-C console port 1x USB-C power input port USB-OTG pins USB-C OTG port doing the emulation of a USB keyboard, mouse, Virtual CD-ROM or USB Flash Drive, USB-Ethernet, USB-Serial port, etc… Console – RJ45 console port Debugging – UART access pins Expansion SPI and an extra GPIO for the […]

September 22, 2021September 22, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

UP Xtreme i11 Edge Compute Enabling Kit supports 5G, WiFi 6, Myriad X AI accelerator cards

UP! Bridge the Gap, a brand belonging to AAEON Technology, has started taking pre-orders for the UP Xtreme i11 Edge Compute Enabling Kit, a mini PC based on the UP Xtreme i11 Edge Tiger Lake SBC that was first introduced last year, and formally launched last month. The mini PC is offered with Celeron 6305E up to Intel Core i7-1185GRE processor, optional DDR4 and SSD, M.2 sockets for 5G, WiFi 6, or an AI accelerator card based on Movidius Myriad X VPU., serial ports, as well as a Phoenix terminal connector to access some of the GPIOs. UP Xtreme i11 Edge Compute Enabling Kit specifications: Tiger Lake “E”/”GRE” SoC (one or the other) Intel Core i7-1185G7GRE quad-core/8-thread processor @ up to 4.4 GHz with 96 EU Intel Iris Xe Graphics; up to 28W TDP (cTDP 15W) Intel Core i5-1145G7GRE quad-core/8-thread processor @ up to 4.1 GHz with 80 EU Intel […]

September 22, 2021September 22, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

$25 “Raspberry Pi 3 mini” board comes with a camera interface, USB & I/Os headers

TPCast-VR, aka “Raspberry Pi 3 mini”, is a compact board based on Broadcom BCM2837 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor, and that should come as part of Element14’s Raspberry Pi customization program, just like the custom Raspberry Pi 3 SBC with eMMC flash designed for laundry gateways that I noticed a few months ago. The board was initially integrated into the power box of the TPCAST Wireless Adaptor for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift virtual reality headsets, but eventually found its way into other applications notably FPV drones, and it’s now sold separately, as we’ll see further below. I found about the board via a tweet from Will Whang who purchased it for under $20 at the beginning of the year, and discovered the connection with the TPCast wireless adapter. TPCast-VR board specifications: SoC – Broadcom BCM2837 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.2GHz with Videocore IV GPU System Memory – 1GB RAM Storage – […]

September 21, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

OpenNCC Nighthawk – A face blurring AI camera based on Myriad X VPU

We’ve just written about OpenCV Ai Kit Lite computer vision camera based on Intel Myriad X VPU, and OpenNCC Nighthawk is another such programmable camera based on the Intel AI accelerator, but with an IR filter for night vision, and working with OpenNCC-SDK notably supporting real-time face blurring for enhanced privacy. OpenNCC Nighthawk specifications: VPU – Intel Movidius Myriad X MA2085 up to 4 TOPS RAM – 8 Gbits (1GB) LPDDR4 Camera 2MP camera up to 1920 x 1080 @ up to 30fps ~114° Field of View (DFOV) 2.2mm focal length Lens TTL (through the lense) – 24mm Mount – M12 x 0.5mm thread size Day&Night IR Filter – Solenoid excitation type, automatically switch between 0.1~2 lux IR LED – 850nm up to 5m Output Data format – YUV420, YUV422, MJPG, H.264 Misc – Reset, GPIO Host Interface – USB 3.1 TYPE-C port Temperature Range – 0°- 50° The camera […]

September 21, 2021September 24, 2021 by Sponsored Post - No Comments

SMARC Modules With NXP i.MX 8M Plus Processor (Sponsored)

Low-power flagship for artificial intelligence – congatec is expanding its SMARC platform with a new module with an NXP i.MX 8M Plus processor especially for embedded AI applications. Thanks to the extensive ecosystem with an application-ready 3.5-inch carrier board, Basler cameras, and AI software stack, fast proof of concept is possible. That hasn’t always been so easy. Previously, it was usually much more difficult to use the latest processor technology from the Arm environment as a finished system than to implement the x86 environment. This is because, as a result of the historically large range of individually tailored custom designs used in large quantities, the ecosystem of system platforms is not that extensive. However, with the modular approach based on the SMARC computer-on-modules specification, it is now also possible to obtain standard form factors from the x86 box PC range with ARM processors. For example, the embedded computing specialist congatec […]

September 21, 2021April 13, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

OpenCV AI Kit Lite – A compact 4K Tri-camera kit for computer vision applications (Crowdfunding)

The OpenCV AI Kit “OAK-D” now has a little brother with the OpenCV AI Kit Lite equipped with the same Intel Myriad X-based DepthAI solution with three cameras, but in a much compact form factor and a price slashed to as low as $79 and up. Like its predecessor, the OpenCV AI Kit leverage the Myriad X AI accelerator’s capabilities to provide a wide range of real-time computer vision applications, and can be programmed with C++ or Python APIs, as well as graphical user interfaces. OpenCV AI Kit Lite (OAK-D Lite) specifications: Intel Myriad X-based DepthAI with 4 TOPS of AI performance Cameras (made by ArduCam) Color Camera IMX214 (PLCC) with 4208×3120 resolution, 1.348:1 aspect ratio 1/3.1 inch Lens size 81.3 degrees DFOV Focus range 8cm – ∞ Stereo Camera specifications: Omnivision OV07251-G04A-1E (COB) with 640 x 480 resolution, 1.333:1 aspect ratio 1/7.5 inch lens size DFOV: 85.6,HFOV: 72.9, VFOV: […]