CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

June 8, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Topton L4 mini laptop comes with a 7-inch 1024 x 600 display

I remember many years ago, I had an Acer Aspire One D255E netbook with a 10.1-inch display with 1024 x 600 resolution. I liked its portability, but the performance was rather poor and I got headaches with the 600-pixel vertical resolution, and some badly designed programs, such as USB firmware flashing tools, would not show fully on the display and be unusable. Well almost ten years later, I’m happy to report you too can experience the same pain, with Topton L4 mini laptop equipped with a 7-inch touchscreen display offering a 1024 x 600 resolution. On the plus side, it comes with an Intel Celeron J3455 processor, 8GB RAM, and up to 1TB SSD storage, as well as a webcam and Lenovo TrackPoint-like pointing stick both of which are pretty rare on 7-inch laptops. Topton L4 mini laptop specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron J3455 quad-core Apollo Lake processor @ 1.50 […]

June 7, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Keyboard also serves as USB-C hub with 11 ports from audio jack to VGA

I’m not sure who needs this, but if you’d like a USB-C hub with a QWERTY keyboard and a good variety of ports, you’ll be glad QGeeM Keyboard and USB-C hub/dock station exists. The device comes with one HDMI port, one VGA D-Sub connector, 3x USB 3.0 ports, a memory card reader, an RJ45 port for Ethernet, an audio jack, and USB-C port with USB-C PD 3.0 support up to 100W. This may look like a keyboard PC, but nope, it’s just a USB-C hub that happens to have a built-in keyboard. QGeeM Keyboard and USB-C hub key features: Storage – MicroSD and full-size SD/SDXC card readers (multiplexed) up to 2TB Video Output HDMI 1.4 port up to 4Kp30, VGA D-Sub connector up to 1920×1080 @ 60 Hz Dual display setups up to 1080p60 per display Mirroring and extended display modes supported Audio -3.5mm audio AUX jack Networking – Gigabit […]

June 7, 2021June 8, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Combining OSTree and SW Containers for reliable IoT Device updates

CNXSoft: This is a guest post by Drew Moseley, Technical Solutions Architect at Toradex, explaining how the company updates Linux IoT devices firmware with OSTree (aka libostree) open-source operating system build and deployment tool, as well as Docker software containers. Every day more and more connected devices are being brought to market and estimates for the total size of the Internet of Things (IoT) market are as high as $1.5 trillion by 2027. Gas pumps, medical devices, and point of sale systems are increasingly connected, making it virtually impossible to avoid interacting with these devices, even for complete Luddites. In the home, devices such as power meters, light switches, and security cameras are commonly internet-enabled allowing for smart home functionality. The level of complexity in the software for these devices increases with the functionality, and the number of devices with software defects in the field is growing. In many cases, […]

June 6, 2021August 2, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

Low-cost AMD Mini PC offered with AMD 3020e APU or Ryzen R1305 embedded processor

While there’s a fair amount of AMD mini PC’s, few target the low-cost segment of the market. Maxtang MTN-FP50 offers a cheaper option with either AMD 3020e dual-core APU or AMD Ryzen Embedded R1305 dual-core processor, and pricing starting at around $250 shipped with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage. The mini PC is equipped with two HDMI ports for dual 4K monitor setups, Gigabit Ethernet, five USB 3.0/2.0 ports, and can be upgraded in various ways thanks to SO-DIMM sockets for up to 64GB RAM, M.2 socket for SSD, SATA port for a 2.5-inch drive, and another M.2 slot for the wireless module. Maxtang MTN-FP50 specifications: SoC Mobile processor – AMD 3020E APU with 2-core/2-thread processor @ 1.2GHz / 2.6 GHz (Max Boost frequency, 3x CU Radeon Vega 3 graphics @ 1.0 GHz ; 6W TDP (The manufacturer offers optional AMD 2500U or 3500U 15W processor) Embedded processor – AMD […]

June 5, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

3D printer board leverages Allwinner A64’s AR100 core for real-time control

Elias Bakken has been working on Recore 3D printer control board based on Allwinner A64 processor since 2019 and with revision “A5” of the PCB, Recore is now considered stable and will ship to customers. But wait? Isn’t Allwinner A64 just a quad-core Cortex-A53 processor meant to run Linux? But 3D printer control boards require real-time I/O and that’s why many are designed with STM32, Arduino compatible Microchip MCU or other microcontrollers. The trick here is that Elias did not use the Cortex-A53 cores for real-time control, but instead the 300 MHz AR100 32-bit OpenRISC 1000 core found in Allwinner A64 SoC. Recore specifications: SoC – Allwinner A64 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor running at 1 GHz, with AR100 32-bit core @ 300 MHz, Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 1 GB DDR3 RAM Storage – 8 GB eMMC flash Video Output – HDMI output to connect a display Networking – Gigabit Ethernet […]

June 4, 2021June 4, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Ryzen Embedded V2000 mini-ITX industrial motherboard offers four DP++ video ports

AMD Ryzen Embedded V2000 mini-ITX motherboard

DFI RNO171 is a mini-ITX industrial motherboard powered by an AMD Ryzen Embedded V2000 processor with up to 64GB RAM, two SATA ports, four DisplayPort++ video outputs, and plenty of I/Os including dual GbE, a PCIe x16 expansion slot, multiple USB and serial ports, and more. DFI RNO171 mini-ITX SBC specifications: SoC – AMD Ryzen V2000 Series Processors either: AMD Ryzen Embedded V2748, 8C/16T up to 2.9GHz (4.25GHz) with 4MB cache, 7 CU Radeon Vega graphics; 45W TDP AMD Ryzen Embedded V2546, 6C/12T up to 3.0GHz (3.95GHz), with 3MB cache, 6 CU Radeon Vega graphics; 45W TDP AMD Ryzen Embedded V2718, 8C/16T up to 1.7GHz (4.15GHz), with 4MB cache, 7 CU Radeon Vega graphics; 15W TDP AMD Ryzen Embedded V2516, 6C/12T up to 2.1GHz (3.95GHz), with 3MB cache, 6 CU Radeon Vega graphics; 15W TDP System Memory – Up to 64GB dual-channel DDR4 (ECC/non-ECC) via 2x 260-pin SODIMM sockets Storage […]

June 4, 2021June 4, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

TQ unveils i.MX 8M Plus LGA module and evaluation single board computer

We’ve seen plenty of systems-on-module based on NXP i.MX 8M Plus AI processor announced at Embedded World 2021 either with edge or board-to-board connectors. TQ TQMa8MPxL is a bit different as an i.MX 8M Plus LGA (Land Grid Array) system-on-module meant to be soldered on a carrier board. The company also took the occasion to unveil STKa8MPxL evaluation kit based on TQMa8MxML in single board computer format to demonstrate its new LGA module. TQMa8MPxL i.MX 8M Plus LGA module Specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Plus “Quad 8 ML/AI”, “Quad 6 Video”, or “Quad 4 Lite” processor with four Cortex-A53 cores, one Cortex-M7 core, Vivante GPU, video encoder/decoder, HiFi4 audio DSP, and 2.3 TOPS AI accelertor System Memory – Up to 4 GB LPDDR4 Storage – Up to 256 MB (MBytes)Quad SPI NOR flash, up to 256 GB eMMC flash, optional EEPROM up to 64 Kbit 362-pin LGA with Storage […]

June 4, 2021June 4, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

reServer 2-bay multimedia NAS is equipped with an Intel Core Tiger Lake SBC

Seeed Studio has just introduced reServer dual-bay multimedia NAS based on Intel Core i3/i5/i7 Tiger Lake 11th generation processor. The networked storage device is based on ODYSSEY X86 V2 single board computer that offers an upgrade to the ODYSSEY-X86J4105 and ODYSSEY-X86J4125 Gemini Lake SBC’s. reServer comes with up to to 64GB dual-channel memory, dual 2.5GbE, support for two 3.5-inch SATA drives, HDMI and DisplayPort video output, and some USB 3.0/2.0 ports. reServer (preliminary) specifications: SoC (one or the other) Intel Core i3-1115G4 dual-core/quad-thread processor with 48 EU Intel UHD Graphics @ 400 – 1250MHz; 28W TDP Unnamed Intel Core i5 with 80 EU Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 @ 400-1300MHz; 28W TDP Unnamed Intel Core i7 with 96 EU Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 @ 400-1300MHz; 28W TDP Co-processor – Microchip ATSAMD21G18 32-Bit Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller System Memory – Up to 64GB dual-channel DDR4-3200 SDRAM via two SO-DIMM sockets Storage […]