CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

April 26, 2021April 26, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Quad GPIO Expander for Raspberry Pi Pico adds battery, display module, sensors, etc…

Raspberry Pi Pico with OLED display, 18650 battery

People are normally using MCU boards for their low cost, low-power consumption, low price and/or real-time ability. The Raspberry Pi Pico is no exception, but if you don’t care about using a large board, Waveshare created a 177 x 62 mm “expander” board for the Raspberry Pi Pico that can take four modules. The company’s Quad GPIO Expander board includes a set of female headers for RPi Pico, and four sets of 2×20 male headers for extra modules that bring support for 14500 batteries, OLED displays, RTC, relays, and other compatible modules. The expansion board also has a Micro USB port for power, and to leave the Micro USB OTG port on the Raspberry Pi Pico for other purposes. Each header pin is clearly labeled, which could be useful if using some of the pins with jumper wires instead of modules. Waveshare has hundreds of different modules and somehow decided […]

April 26, 2021May 6, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

M5Stack UnitV2 Linux AI camera features Sigmastar SSD202D SoC

We’ve written about SigmaStar SSD201/SSD202 processors several times now. The low-cost dual-core Cortex-A7 processor comes with 64MB or 128MB built-in RAM, and so far has been found in modules, smart displays, an SBC, and a gateway only available from China via stores like Taobao. But with mainline Linux support progressing nicely, it was only a matter of time until others make a product based on the processor, and M5Stack Unitv2 is an “AI” camera combining SSD202D processor with 128MB DDR3, and a GC2145 2MP camera sensor. M5Stack UnitV2 specifications: SoC – SigmaStar SSD202D dual-core Cortex-A7 processor @ 1.2 GHz with 128MB on-chip DDR3 Storage – 512MB on-chip NAND flash with around 100MB free space, MicroSD card socket Camera GC2145 1080p color sensor with USB UVC support 68° FoV, 60 cm to ∞ depth of field (DoF) Audio – Built-in microphone Connectivity – 2.4GHz WIFi 4 up to 150 Mbps USB […]

April 26, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

PinePhone Keyboard to make for a cheaper, albeit slower Cosmo Communicator

Pine64 PinePhone is a popular Linux smartphone among the developers and Linux enthusiasts’ communities and some of the most popular Linux operating systems support by the phone include KDE Plasma Mobile, PostMarket OS, Manjaro, and UBports for an Ubuntu Touch like interface. But soon, you’ll be able to use your PinePhone like a portable Linux computer, a 5.95-inch mini laptop of sorts, that’s similar to the 2-in-1 Cosmo Communicator device, but at a much lower price, albeit with lower performance, thanks to PinePhone Keyboard accessory. The PinePhone Keyboard is not quite ready yet, but Lukasz Erecinski (aka Luke) has shared the progress of the latest version of the prototype, and almost looks like a finished product, albeit we’re told another revision will be made as the tolerances on the keycaps are not suitable. Here are some of the main features we can expect from the keyboard: QWERTY keyboard (by default). […]

April 25, 2021April 25, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

MYS-8MMX i.MX 8M Mini SBC runs Yocto 3.0 Linux or Ubuntu 18.04

MYiR Tech has just launched MYS-8MMX single board computer powered by NXP i.MX 8M Mini Cortex-A53/Cortex-A4 processor with 2GB RAM, 8GB eMMC flash, and designed for embedded applications in areas of consumer electronics, industrial automation, smart healthcare, security monitoring, etc… thanks to its video and graphics capabilities. MYS-8MMX SBC specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Mini Quad quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.6 GHz (industrial temp.) or 1.8 GHz (commercial temp.), Arm Cortex-M4F realt-time core @ 400 MHz, Vivante 2D and 3D GPU’s, and 1080p VPU System Memory – 2GB DDR4 (supports up to 4GB) Storage – 8GB eMMC flash (supports up to 128GB), 32MB QSPI flash, MicroSD card slot, M.2 NVMe SSD support Video Output 40-pin FPC connector for LVDS & capacitive touchscreen interface 1x HDMI output up to 1080p60 Camera I/F – 24-pin FPC connector with MIPI-CSI Connectivity Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port 2.4GHz/5GHz dual-band WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 […]

April 24, 2021April 29, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

The 5 best Intel & AMD single board computers for makers

A few weeks ago, we wrote a list of what we consider to be the top 5 most powerful Arm SBC’s and development kits, and this time around we’ll cover x86 SBC’s powered by Intel or AMD processors. But this time around, instead of focusing on the most powerful x86 single board computers which would lead to unaffordable, industrial Xeon SBC’s, we’ll be looking into the 5 best boards designed for makers. That means affordable pricing, I/O headers, and community support. The list is in no particular order. Rock Pi X – x86 on the cheap If you ever wanted the cheapest possible x86 board, Atomic Pi SBC $35 price tag was hard to beat, but it was only cheap because it was sourced from a failed robotics project, and not very convenient to use. But now in 2021, the cheapest x86 SBC that can run Windows is clearly Rock […]

April 24, 2021April 24, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

AI-Thinker introduces 5 ESP32-C3 modules pin compatible with ESP8266 & ESP32 modules

ESP32-C3 is the first RISC-V wireless SoC from Espressif Systems, and at the time of the initial announcement promised to cost about the same as ESP8266 but adds support for Bluetooth 5.0 LE besides 2.4 GHz WiFi, and retain software compatibility through the ESP-IDF framework. We were also told the goal was to provide ESP8266 compatible modules, and AI-Thinker has just announced five new ESP32-C3 modules compatible with earlier ESP8266 & ESP32 modules as shown in the table below. The table above is quite low resolution but that’s the best I could obtain from the company… It’s also a complete mess, not showing all alternative ESP8266 or mistaken in board sizes. So I’ll try to give a short summary of differentiating features and equivalent ESP8266/ESP32 modules: ESP32-C3F is meant to replace ESP-12F with a 24 x 16 mm form factor. It does add an IPEX connector, besides the PCB antenna. […]

April 23, 2021April 29, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

ODYSSEY-X86J4125 SBC gets a faster Celeron J4125 SoC and a price increase

ODYSSEY-X86J4105 is an Intel Gemini Lake SBC designed for makers with Arduino compatibility thanks to a Microchip SAMD21 microcontroller, as well as Raspberry Pi headers. We reviewed the board and enclosure last year both with Windows 10 Enterprise and Ubuntu 20.04, and we also successfully tested the Arduino and Raspberry Pi GPIO headers with the latter. But the Intel Celeron J4105 quad-core Gemini Lake processor has been scheduled for discontinuance since last year, and the last order on January 22, 2021, and the final shipment on planned for July 9, 2021. So Seeed Studio had to find a replacement, and they’ve now launched ODYSSEY-X86J4125 single board computer with the same features, but switching to a slightly faster, and still available, Intel Celeron J4125 processor. ODYSSEY-X86J4125800 SBC specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core Gemini Lake Refresh processor @ 2.0 / 2.7 GHz (Turbo) / 2.4 GHz (Turbo all cores) with […]

April 23, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Arduino unveils Edge Control board for smart agriculture

Arduino hardware and software have been used for smart agriculture applications for years, but Arduino has now launched a board part of its Arduino Pro program specifically designed for smart farming. Meet Arduino Edge Control. Powered by a Nordic Semi nRF52840 Bluetooth microcontroller, the board offers the usual digital & analog I/O’s, plus four 60/V2.5A solid-state relays, hydrostatic watermark sensor inputs, support for DC or solar power input, and can be augmented with one or two Arduino MKR boards for WiFi, 3G NB-IoT, or LoRaWAN connectivity. Arduino Edge Control specifications: MCU – Nordic Semi nRF52840 Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller @ 64 MHz with 1MB flash, 256KB SRAM Additional storage – 2 MB QSPI flash memory, MicroSD card slot Connectivity Bluetooth LE Optional Wifi, 2G, 3G, NB-IoT, eMTC, and/or LoRaWAN via Arduino MKR board USB – Full-speed 12 Mbps micro USB port Expansion I/Os Digital Input – 6x edge-sensitive wake-up pins Digital […]