CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

April 7, 2021April 7, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

GMSL2 camera kit supports 15-meter long cables, up to six cameras with NVIDIA Jetson Xavier AGX

6x gmsl2 cameras nvidia agx xavier devkit

We’ve recently seen it’s possible to use a long cable with the Raspberry Pi camera thanks to THine camera extension kit that works with 20-meter LAN cables using V-by-One HS technology. e-con Systems has now launched a similar solution for NVIDIA Jetson Xavier AGX, one of the most powerful Arm devkits available in 2021, with NileCAM21 Full HD GMSL2 HDR Camera that supports up to 15-meter long cable as well as LFM (LED Flickering Mitigation) technology. NileCAM21 camera features and specifications: Based on OnSemi AR0233 Full HD camera module with S-mount interchangeable lens holder Gigabit Multimedia Serial Link 2 (GMSL2) interface with FAKRA connector Shielded coaxial cable for transmission of power and data over long distances (up to 15m) High Dynamic Range (HDR) with LED Flickering Mitigation (LFM) Supported resolutions and max frame rates for uncompressed UYVY streaming VGA (640 x 480) up to 60 fps qHD (960 x 540) […]

April 7, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Google releases the source code for Lyra low bitrate speech codec

Google showcased Lyra audio codec for high-quality voice calls at a low 3 kbps bitrate last February. But at the time, it was only for our eyes to see, or rather our ears to listen to, as the company did not release any software, but only audio samples with excellent quality compared to Speex @ 3 kbps or Opus @ 6 kbps. Google has now released the Lyra source code, written in C++ for optimal speed, efficiency, and interoperability and relying on both the Bazel build framework and the GoogleTest framework. The beta release provides the tools and APIs needed for Lyra encoding and decoding, and is currently optimized for the 64-bit Arm Android platform, but can also be run in Linux x86 64-bit. There is also an example app – lyra_android_example – that integrates with the Android NDK and offers a minimal GUI with two buttons to either record […]

April 6, 2021April 7, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Xiaomi Mi AX9000 WiFi 6 Enhanced router supports up to 1000 clients

Xiaomi launched the Mi AX6000 WiFI 6 Enhanced router, not to be confused with WiFI 6E, at the beginning of the year. The router offers up to 4804Mbps link at 5 GHz, and up to 574Mbps with a 6+1 antenna configuration, as well as one 2.5GbE port, and several Gigabit Ethernet ports. But for people requiring even more bandwidth, Xiaomi Mi AX9000 WiFi 6 Enhanced router offers even more wireless throughput using three frequency bands with four antennas each, and up to 1148 Mbps at 2.4 GHz, up to 4804Mbps at 5.2GHz, and up to 2402Mbps at 5.8GHz, which the company refers to as the 5G_Game band. Xiaomi Mi AX9000 WiFI 6 Enhanced Edition router specifications: SoC – Qualcomm IPQ8072 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ 2.2 GHz with dual-core 1.7GHz NPU (network acceleration engine / processing unit) System Memory – 1GB RAM Connectivity Wired 1x 2.5GbE LAN/WAN port 1x Gigabit Ethernet […]

April 6, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

ClearLink EtherNet/IP motion and I/O controller supports 4 axes of motion control

A few weeks ago, we wrote about ClearCore Arduino compatible industrial I/O and motion controller that can be programmed with the Arduino IDE or a C/C++ SDK. Teknic has now announced ClearLink with basically the same hardware, but instead of being programmable in C++, the controller is managed over the EtherNet/IP protocol. ClearLink key features and specifications: MCU – Microchip SAME53 Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller clocked at up to 120 MHz, with 512 KB flash, 192 KB of SRAM Storage – MicroSD card slot Connectivity 1x 10/100M Fast Ethernet RJ45 port compatible with EtherNet/IP Support for Xbee modules for wireless communication (WiFi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, DigiMesh, 802.15.4, etc.) I/Os 2x RJ45 serial ports for SPI or UART devices (5V output) 13x 3-pin terminal blocks with software configurable I/O, power, and ground Digital outputs can drive resistive or inductive loads up to 9 watts such as contactors, pneumatic or liquid valves, guard locks, […]

April 6, 2021July 18, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 28 Comments

MECOOL KM2 – Netflix 4K certified, Amlogic S905X2-B TV Box runs Android TV 10

There are plenty of Amlogic TV boxes around, but unless you buy from the big players, most devices won’t support Netflix FullHD/4K because certification is hard to get for smaller companies. The Hailstorm device scaling program launched in 2018 aimed to make the process easier on Amlogic and Hisilicon processors, and HiMedia S1 TV dongle was one of the first to get approved. But now MECOOL KM2 joins the rank of Netflix 4K certified devices. The TV box is powered by an Amlogic S905X2-B processor running Android TV 10, also known as Android TV on Android 10. MECOOL KM2 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905X2-B quad-core Cortex-A53 processor System Memory – 2GB DDR4 Storage – 8 GB eMMC flash, MicroSD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.1 up to 4Kp60 with HDCP 2.3, HDMI-CEC support Codecs – H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC, VP8 & VP9 HDR – HDR10+, HDR & HLG DRM – Widevine […]

April 5, 2021April 6, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Raspberry Pi Pico Arduino Core released for RP2040 boards

Since Arduino plans to launch its own Raspberry Pi RP2040 based board with Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect, one would have expected software support for the Arduino IDE would have come from the company itself. But apparently, the developer community, or more exactly Earle F. Philhower, III did not feel like waiting. He had previously written ESP8266Audio library for audio file and I2S sound playing routines for ESP8266 & ESP32, and has recently released Raspberry Pi Pico Arduino Core on arduino-pico Github repository. The implementation appears to be already fairly comprehensive with support for digitalWrite/Read, shiftIn/Out, SPI master, analogWrite/PWM, Wire/I2C Master and Slave, analogRead and Pico chip temperature, filesystems like LittleFS and SD/SDFS, I2S audio output, and more. The Raspberry Pi RP2040 programmable IOs are also used to control servos, generate tones, and I2S output. You’ll need the Arduino IDE 1.8.x or the beta version of Arduino IDE 2.0, and add […]

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

Minima is a tiny Arduino Zero compatible module with SAMD21 MCU (Crowdfunding)

We’ve covered a fair amount of compact Arduino Zero compatible boards based on SAMD21 Cortex-M0+ microcontroller over the years including Exen Proto, Wemos D1 SAMD21, or Seeeduino XIAO with the latter being the smallest of them all at just 23.5 x 17.5 mm. All those boards come with a USB port (Micro USB or USB-C) by default that makes it easy to work with, but may not be ideal to integrate into projects or final products. That may be why Hamish Morley designed the Minima Arduino Zero compatible module with a size even smaller than the XIAO board at 19.8 x 16.6 mm, and the USB interface exposed through 4 pads instead of a connector. Minima specifications: Microchip SAMD21G18A 32-bit Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller @ 48 MHz with 256KB of flash storage, and 32KB of SRAM Expansion – 24x castellated pads (2.54mm pitch) with 18 GPIO pins, including 5x analogue capable, […]

April 5, 2021 by Abhishek Jadhav - No Comments

Board::mini development tools offer a complete Vehicle-Hacking Platform (Crowdfunding)

board::mini base CAN bus automotive development board

If you are looking to connect to a vehicle’s CAN bus, then the newly launched open-source board::mini development tools include a board and expansion boards that will aid your application. BMC labs have introduced a development board based on the STM32 MCU and supporting expansion boards to increase the capabilities of the baseboard via a crowdfunding project. As mentioned earlier, the board:mini base development board features an STM32 MCU at its heart and comes with a CAN transceiver. For those who do not know what a CAN transceiver is, it just transmits and detects data on the CAN bus. The board:mini project also includes three expansion boards designed to fit on top of the base development board. The bmc::board project was born to produce development tools appropriate for both field- and industrial-prototyping work. These boards were not designed to sit on a workbench. We ourselves have a habit of strapping […]