CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

March 24, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Pockit modular Linux computer takes hot plugging magnetic blocks

There have been attempts to create modular computers and smartphones to reduce electronics waste and improve user-serviceability over the years with initiatives and products like Google Project Ara, PinePhone and Fairphone3 smartphones, DevTerm mini computer, Olimex TERES-I laptop, and many more. Here’s another modular computer project that looks really cool. Pickit modular computer is comprised of an STM32+ESP32 based mainboard with a socket for an optional Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3. The board includes magnets and electrical contacts to snap and hot-plug modules/blocks while the computer is running. The video demo embedded further below, is really impressive, but let’s check out Pockit preliminary specifications first: MCU – STMicro STM32 microcontroller Wireless MCU – ESP32 dual-core processor with WiFi and Bluetooth LE CPU module – Socket for Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 Expansion 24+ feature BLOCKS ready to use with instant connection using magnetic-snaps including Ethernet, Display (HDMI), audio, sensor modules […]

March 23, 2021March 23, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

MicTrack MT700 Cat M1 & NB-IoT GPS tracker promises up to 8 years of battery life

MicTrack MT700 LTE IoT GPS tracker with large battery

We’ve covered several Mictrack cellular GPS asset trackers in the past starting with the MT600 4G LTE model, later followed by MT825 with more efficient LTE Cat M1 & NB-IoT connectivity. The company has now introduced a new model with MicTrack MT700 still offering eMTC and NB-IoT cellular networking but with a much larger 7,800mAh battery allowing up to 8 years of battery life with a single daily location update. Mictrack MT700 specifications: Connectivity Cat M1 (LTE-M, eMTC) LTE FDD: B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B8/B12/B13/B18/B19/B20/B26/B28 LTE TDD: B39 NB-IoT (Cat NB1) – LTE FDD: B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B8/B12/B13/B18/B19/B20/B26/B28 2G GSM fallback – 850/900/1800/1900Mhz Internal Micro 3FF SIM Optional WiFi Internal antennas GNSS – Qualcomm Gen 8C GNSS receiver (GPS+Glonass+Galileo+Beidou) plus internal GPS antenna Sensors – 3-Axis accelerometer, light sensor Misc – Charge/SYS/GPS LEDs Power Supply – 5V/2A via Micro USB port Power Consumption – <1.5ua standby current (in lowest power configuration) Battery Rechargeable 3.7V/7,800mAh Li-ion battery for […]

March 23, 2021March 23, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Made in Thailand CorgiDude RISC-V AI board aims to teach machine learning

There’s a relatively small but active maker community in Thailand, and we’ve covered or even reviewed some made in Thailand boards including ESP8266 and ESP32 boards, a 3G Raspberry Pi HAT, and KidBright education platform among others. MakerAsia has developed CorgiDude, a board based on the version of Sipeed M1 RISC-V AI module with built-in WiFi, and part as a kit with a camera and a display used to teach machine learning and artificial intelligence with MicroPython or C/C++ programming. CorgiDude board specifications: AI Wireless Module – Sipeed M1W Module with Kendryte K210 dual-core 64-bit RISC-V RV64IMAFDC CPU @ 400Mhz with FPU, various AI accelerators (KPU, FFT accelerator…), 8MiB on-chip SRAM Espressif ESP8285 single-core 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 SoC plus IPEX antenna connector Storage – MicroSD card slot Camera I/F for 2MP OV2640 sensor up to 1280 × 1024 (SXGA) @ 30 fosm SVGA @ 30 fps, or CIF @ […]

March 23, 2021June 18, 2023 by Sponsored Post - 17 Comments

NextPCB offers free PCB prototypes for first order (sponsored)

Shenzhen Huaqiu Electronics Co., Ltd, better known as NextPCB, is a PCB manufacturer with multiple factories in China that has been in business for over 15 years. The headquarter of the company is however located in Paris, France, under a company called NOVA SILK ROAD SARL, but most operations are managed in China from the branch office in Shenzhen, and the company operates three plants all certified by IATF16949, ISO9001, ISO14001, UL, CQC, RoHS and REACH: A PCB prototype factory in Bao‘an District, Shenzhen, Guangdong A PCB mass manufacturing factory in Xigang District, Jiujiang Economic Development Zone, Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province A PCB assembly plant in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, China. The prototype factory always for fast turnaround for prototype, while the mass manufacturing factory targets higher volume production with further lower costs. Beyond just making PCBs, the assembly plant works on soldering BGA, Micro-BGA, QFN, and other components to […]

March 23, 2021March 24, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

Pack of 4 ESP8266 smart plugs sold for $13.49 (Promo)

There’s currently a promotion on Amazon for a pack of four ESP8266 smart plugs that are ETL and FCC certified, and sold for $13.49, or around $3.5 per socket. In order to apply for the discount, you’ll need to the Amazon product page, tick on “Save an extra 20% when you apply this coupon.”, and enter the coupon code “ABVYP87G“. Once this is all done the price will be $13.49 shipped within the US. The plug works in the 100-240V range, but when shipping outside of the US, you’ll need to pay extra for shipping and provisions for customs duties. Gosund WP3 key features: 2.4 GHz WIFI connectivity Rated Voltage: 100 – 240V Rated Current: 10A Max AC Frequency: 50/60Hz Max power: 1100W Operating Temperature – -10 ~ 60°C If you have no interested in running proprietary software, you’ll be happy to know Gosund WP3 smart plugs are compatible with […]

March 22, 2021March 22, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

CutiePi tablet gets a Raspberry Pi CM4 upgrade

CutiePi tablet was launched on Kickstarter last year with a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+ Lite, an open-source hardware carrier board, and an 8-inch multi-touch display with 1280×800 resolution. Shipping to backers is about to start, but the company has already started working on a new version of the CutiePi Tablet with the Raspberry Pi CM4 module released last October. This will enable greater performance and more memory with the tablet shipping with a 2GB RAM CM4 module by default. CutiePi CM4 tablet preliminary specifications: SoM – Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 Lite with Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 processor @ 1.5 GHz, 2GB RAM Storage – MicroSD card slot Display – 8-inch 5-point multi-touch IPS LCD with 1280×800 resolution Video Output – Micro HDMI Audio – 2W 8Ohm speaker, audio amplifier, built-in microphone Camera – 5MP front-facing camera (OV5647) Connectivity – Dual-band 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 USB […]

March 22, 2021February 27, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Annke CZ400 AI security camera reviewed with basic and smart events

At the beginning of this month, I started the review of Annke CZ400 AI security camera by listing specifications, unboxing the device, and doing a partial teardown, notably to install a MicroSD card. In theory, the camera comes with more advanced AI features than Reolink RLC-810A 4K CCTV camera that only supports people and vehicle detection, as the Annke security camera can handle face detection, line crossing, unattended baggage detection, and other smart event detections. So let’s see how it performs Annke CZ400 installation The first challenge was the installation, as I told the company I would not be willing to install the camera on the ceiling since I’m renting, and preferred wall-mounting. after checking the user manual that included a wall mount, I decided to go ahead, and get the review unit. But sadly, the wall mount is not included in the package, and Annke even told me they […]

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March 22, 2021March 21, 2021 by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 14 Comments

Windows Performance on an Intel NUC 11 Enthusiast Phantom Canyon NUC11PHKi7C

The Enthusiast Phantom Canyon is Intel’s flagship product from its latest NUC 11 range of mini PCs. Specifically targeting gamers it includes an NVIDIA RTX 2060 GPU. In this article, I take a brief look at the performance under Windows and compare it against Intel’s previous NUC with a discrete GPU: the NUC 9 Extreme Ghost Canyon. Hardware Overview The NUC11PHKi7C physically consists of a 221 x 142 x 42 mm (8.70 x 5.59 x 1.65 inches) rectangular plastic case which is remarkable because of its size and is similar to just a graphics card like NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 2060 Founders Edition (229 x 113 x 35 mm). It is an actively cooled mini PC and uses Intel’s 10 nm Core i7-1165G7 Tiger Lake processor which is a quad-core 8-thread 2.80 GHz processor boosting to 4.70 GHz with Intel’s Iris Xe Graphics. But it also includes NVIDIA’s N18E-G1-B notebook graphics […]