CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

June 1, 2021 by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 24 Comments

MeLE Quieter2 Review – Windows 10, Ubuntu 20.04, and eGPU

MeLE has recently released a passive mini PC called the Quieter2. What is particularly interesting is that whilst it only has a low-powered Intel Celeron CPU it also supports an M.2 2280 NVMe SSD drive which theoretically makes using an eGPU possible. MeLE provided a 99% discount coupon so that I could purchase one for review and the results from various testing are detailed below. Hardware Overview The Quieter2 physically consists of a 131 x 81 x 18.3mm (5.16 x 3.19 x 0.72 inches) rectangular plastic case with a metal base plate. The top half of the case is finely grooved to mimic the fins of a heat spreader but is made of plastic rather than metal to allow reception to the WiFi antennas as one is directly connected to it. As a passively cooled mini PC, it uses Intel’s 14 nm J4125 Gemini Lake Refresh processor which is a […]

June 1, 2021June 1, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 23 Comments

You can now buy Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU for one dollar

Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller is not exactly new, as it was introduced with Raspberry Pi Pico board last January. But until now, you had to get samples from the Raspberry Pi Foundation due to limited supplies. What has changed today is that you can more easily buy Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU for one dollar either in single quantity or reels with the following pricing: Reel/Tape with 3400 pcs for $3400 US Reel/Tape with 500 pcs for $500.00 US Raspberry Pi RP2040 cut tape (single unit): $1.00 US The math geniuses among us will have quickly figured out there isn’t any volume discount, so it’s one dollar per chip whether you buy one or thousands. [Update: See comment from Raspberry Pi Foundation below explaining pricing for reels is still to be determined] That’s about all there’s new. If you have not quite followed recent Pico news, here’s a summary of Raspberry […]

May 31, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Intel Core i7-1195G7 Tiger Lake mobile processor reaches up to 5 GHz

Intel QuickSync & Intel Gaussian-and Neural Accelerator 2.0

Intel introduced the Tiger Lake family of processors last September with the 7-15W UP4-Series SoCs, and the more powerful 12-28W UP3-Series processors. The company has announced two new Tiger Lake processors at Computex 2021 with the Core i5-1155G7 and Core i7-1195G7 U-Series with the latter reaching up to 5.0 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost on a single core to compete and in some cases outperform AMD Ryzen 5000-series mobile processors. While reaching 5GHz on a 28W processor is a nice milestone, nothing much has changed as we can see from the table above, except for tweaks in the CPU and GPU frequency. The base frequency has actually been slightly lowered in the new part, but the Turbo frequencies for single-core and all cores have been increased. Intel did share some performance slides comparing a Core i7-1195G7 system to one with AMD Ryzen 7 5800U. The first slide shows casual gaming […]

May 31, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Intel 5G Solution 5000 5G M.2 module developed with MediaTek, Fibocom

Qualcomm very recently unveiled Snapdragon X65 and X62 5G M.2 card reference designs to help OEM’s develop their own 5G modules for integration into PC’s and CPE’s. But as one should have expected, more options are coming, and Intel have now announced their own “5G Solution 5000” 5G M.2 card for laptops at Computex 2021 in collaboration with MediaTek and Fibocom. Fibocom FM350-GL (Intel 5G Solution 5000) specifications: Modem technologies – 5G NR, 4G LTE, 3D WCDMA Frequency bands – Sub 6GHz for global coverage Data throughput 5G NR – Up to 4.7 Gbps downlink; up to 1.25 Gbps uplink 4G LTE – Up to 1.6 Gbps Cat 19downlink; up to 150 Mbps uplink Built-in eSIM Host interface – PCIe Gen 3 Dimensions – 30 x 52 x2.3 mm (M.2 card) Temperature Range – -10 to +55°C The 5G module targets platforms built upon Intel Tiger Lake and Alder Lake […]

May 31, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Mercury+ XU6 Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ module is optimized for I/O-intensive applications

Enclustra, a company headquartered in Switzerland specializing in FPGA solutions, has recently announced the launch of the Mercury+ XU6 system-on-module based on Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC. The module is optimized for I/O-intensive applications with up to 294 user I/Os, up to eight 6/12.5 Gbps multi-gigabit transceivers, and available with six different variants of Xilinx MPSoC. The company also offers Mercury+ ST1 and PE1 baseboards for evaluation and early software development. Mercury+ XU6 SoM Key features and specifications: SoC – Xilinx Zynq Ultrascale+ MPSoC (ZU2CG, ZU2EG, ZU3EG, ZU4CG, ZU4EV, or ZU5EV) with: CPU ARM dual-/quad-core Cortex-A53 processor up to 1333 MHz ARM dual-core Cortex-R5 up to 533 MHz GPU – Mali-400MP2 GPU (only for EG/EV variants) Video Codecs – H.264 / H.265 Video Codec (only for EV variants) FPGA fabric – Up to 256,000 system logic cells System Memory – Up to 8 GB DDR4 ECC SDRAM (PS side) Storage – […]

May 30, 2021January 17, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

MyCobot robotic arm is offered with Raspberry Pi 4 or M5Stack ESP32 modules

Elephant Robotics’ MyCobot robotic arm was introduced last year with M5Stack Atom & Basic ESP32 modules with 6-degrees of freedom, a 250 grams max payload, available now for $599. The company has launched a new $699 version – MyCobot-Pi – with most of the same features, except for an upgrade to Raspberry Pi 4B which offers more performance and flexibility. Both versions of MyCobot arm robotic arm support accessories such as a gripper and a suction pump attachable through a LEGO connector, but while the original version – MyCobot-M5 – relies on Arduino programming, the new MyCobot-Pi runs Debian/Ubuntu and ROS operating systems with image recognition algorithms that can work with a variety of cameras. Since we’ve missed last year’s announcement, we’ll cover both models in this article. MyCobot Robotic Arm Despite the mechanical parts being the same, the specifications for MyCobot-M5 and MyCobot-Pi differ quite a lot: Controller MyCobot-M5 […]

May 29, 2021May 29, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Nordic Semi nPM1100 PMIC combines battery charger and regulator in tiny WLCSP package

Nordic Semi is well-known for its 2.4GHz multi-protocol chips such as nRF52840 or nRF52832 that are typically found in battery-powered devices such as smartwatches with Bluetooth connectivity. But once rechargeable batteries are involved that means a charging circuit is needed, and for instance, PineTime nRF52832 based watch relies on SGMicro SGM40561 Li-Ion battery charger and SGM2036 low-power regulator. So Nordic Semi has decided to get involved in the power management business and launched its first PMIC with nPM1100 combining a USB-compatible Li-ion/Li-Po battery charger and an efficient DC/DC buck regulator in a single, compact WLCSP package. Nordic Semi nPM1100 PMIC key features and specifications: 400 mA battery charger USB compatible input regulator Up to 150 mA of regulated voltage output at 1.8, 2.1, 2.7, or 3.0 V Overvoltage protection Ship mode disables power output Low quiescent currents Drivers for charge and error LEDs Supports Lithium-Ion and LiPo batteries with a […]

May 28, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

T-Nixie Tube is an ESP32 based Nixie Tube lookalike

I tend to see Nixie Tube projects regularly as I spend my days going through the news, and the projects, usually some sort of clock, typically look pretty neat. But although Nixie Tubes can still be purchased online, they are not mass-produced anymore, which may explain why LilyGo decided to create a “fake” Nixie Tube, or let’s call it a lookalike, with T-Nixie Tube that comes with an IPS LCD display driven by an ESP32 WiFi & Bluetooth WiSoC. T-Nixie Tube specifications: Wireless Module – TTGO T-Micro32 module with ESP32 V3 Bluetooth and WiFi processor, 4MB Flash Display – 1.14-inch IPS LCD display covered by glass tube USB – USB Type-C port for power and programming Expansion – 4-pin I2C/UART Grove? connector for T-WATCH sensor kit or T-FH interface sensor modules Misc – PCF8563 RTC, IR receiver, TTP223 touch button, Reset button Power Supply – 5V via USB-C port Dimensions […]