CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

September 19, 2023September 20, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Lichee Cluster 4A mini-ITX RISC-V cluster board launched for $929 and up

As expected, Sipeed has now launched their Lichee Cluster 4A mini-ITX cluster board and box taking up to seven RISC-V modules with prices starting at $929 on Aliexpress. All kits on offer are fitted with seven Sipeed LM4A system-on-modules based on the T-Head TH1520 quad-core RISC-V processor in either 8GB/32GB or 16GB/128GB memory and storage configuration. Lichee Cluster 4A specifications: SoM – 7x Sipeed LM4A modules with Alibaba T-Head TH1520 processor (4x C910 @ 1.85GHz) and a total of either 56 or 112GB LPDDR4X, and 224GB or 869GB eMMC flash Storage – 7x microSD card slots, one per slot Video Output – 1x HDMI port connected to slot 1 Networking 1x Gigabit Ethernet port for the cluster 1x Gigabit Ethernet port for slot 1 only 1x Ethernet for BMC control USB 7x USB 3.0 ports, one per slot 1x USB 2.0 port for BMC Power Supply – 12V DC input […]

September 19, 2023September 22, 2023 by Sponsored Post - Comments Off

Review of ALLPCB PCB manufacturing services with an ESP8266 board (Sponsored)

ALLPCB, a PCB manufacturer based in China, has offered us to review their PCB manufacturing services. We’ve taken them up on their offer and will report our experience with the ordering process, shipping, and the board itself, in this review. We will be using the E66 Transmitter board based on an ESP8266 module, and designed to read values from an I2C sensor and send them over RS485 using the Modbus RTU protocol for a range of up to 1.2 km. Since the E66 Transmitter can also connect to WiFi thanks to the ESP8266 module, Modbus TCP is also supported. Since we have our PCB design ready, we can go to the ALLPCB website to start the ordering process. We just had to upload the Gerber files, and then select parameters such as the number of boards, the number of layers, thickness, material type, and whether to include a Stencil or […]

September 18, 2023September 18, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 19 Comments

Amlogic S905X5 Armv9 TV Box SoC supports AV1, H.266, Ai-SR

The Amlogic S905X5 may be first the Armv9 processor designed for set-top boxes (STB) and TV boxes, supports the latest AV1 and H.266 video codecs, and also comes with a 4 TOPS AI accelerator. We don’t have the full details yet, and the news comes from a tease from SEI Robotics which is about to unveil an Amlogic S905X5 AI-SR (AI Super Resolution) Android TV box at IBC 2023. Preliminary specifications for S905X5 SoC and SEI Robotics TV box: SoC – Amlogic S905X5 CPU – Quad-core Armv9 CPU (likely Cortex-A510 cores) delivering 40K+ DMIPS GPU – Arm Mali-G310 V5 entry-level GPU clocked at 1 GHz for 4K HDR user interfaces VPU – Up to 2x 4Kp60 10-bit H.266/VCC and AV1 video codecs, and the usual VP9, AVS3, H.265/HEVC, H.264 AI accelerator – 4 TOPS NPU enabling AI-SR Process – “Second generation” 6 nm process System Memory & Storage – TBD […]

September 18, 2023September 17, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Realtek RTL8852BE based WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 module targets Smart Home, industrial and healthcare applications

Realtek RTL8852BE WiFi 6 LGA & M2 modules

Telit Cinterion WE310K6-P is a dual-band Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 based on the Realtek RTL8852BE wireless controller and designed to be integrated into connected devices for Smart Home, medical, industrial, and smart city applications. The WE310K6-P wireless is available in either LGA or M.2 module form factors and can operate in the -40°C to +85°C temperature range which should make it suitable for a wide range of Linux devices. Telit Cinterion WE310K6-P specifications: Wireless chipset – Realtek RTL8852BE Wi-Fi WiFi 6 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax (2.4GHz, 5GHz) with 20MHz, 40MHz, or 80MHz bandwidth Dual-stream spatial multiplexing up to 1201 Mbps data rate Tx output – 19 dBm @ 2.4 GHz, 18 dBm @ 5 GHz Wi-Fi 802.11 e, h, k, i support Security features such as WPA3 and integrated crypto hardware Bluetooth Version 5.2 Dual mode with Bluetooth 2.1 Classic Bluetooth Low Energy up to 2 Mbps Bluetooth LE Audio (CIS) […]

September 17, 2023September 17, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Review of CM4 XGO Lite – A Raspberry Pi CM4 based smart robot dog with a robotic arm

The CM4 XGO Lite is a smart robot dog based on Raspberry Pi CM4 system-on-module and designed to learn to program using Blockly, Python, and ROS. This four-legged robot also happens to feature a 3-joint robot arm and a robot gripper installed on the back that can pick up light objects. The Raspberry Pi CM4 module drives the LCD screen and camera and performs AI and computer vision processing, while each joint is controlled with a servo motor, and a 6-axis tilt sensor ensures stable walking and movement. We’ve already discussed the capabilities of the CM4 XGO Lite, aka XGO Lite 2, when it was announced earlier this year, so we’re not going to go into details here, but some of the highlights include support for faster AI edge computing applications such as face detection and object classification, omnidirectional movement, six-dimensional posture control, posture stability, and multiple motion gaits. Robot […]

September 16, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Sparkfun launches cheaper no-code “DataLogger IoT” board compatible with Qwiic modules

Last May, SparkFun introduced the “Datalogger IoT – 9DoF” no-code platform with support for over 50 Qwiic sensor modules and a built-in 9-axis IMU sensor and magnetometer. Taking into consideration that some users may not make use of the built-in sensors, the company decided to launch a cheaper version called the “DataLogger IoT” that can still get data from Qwiic sensor and GPS modules without any programming thanks to the “no-code” Arduino firmware preloaded on the ESP32-WROOM-32E module. SparkFun DataLogger IoT specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-WROOM-32E with: ESP32 dual-core microcontroller 4MB flash 2.4 GHz WiFi and Bluetooth LE connectivity, built-in PCB antenna Storage – MicroSD card slot USB – 1x USB Type-C port for power and configuration via CH340C Expansion – 2x Qwicc I2C connectors for sensors and/or GPS module Misc Boot and Reset buttons Status and charging LED, WS2812 RGB LED Jumpers to enable/disable LEDs, I2C pull-up resistors, and […]

September 15, 2023September 28, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Intel N100 mini PC offers eight USB ports, NVMe and SATA storage

We’ve already written about many mini PCs powered by the Intel Processor N100 SoC and other SKUs part of the Alder Lake N-series family, but the HUNSN BM34 is a bit different as it offers eight USB ports, with two USB 3.0 and six USB 2.0 ports that should remove the need for an external USB hub for most use cases. The fanless mini PC ships with up to 16GB DDR4 memory, supports one mSATA SSD, one NVMe SSD, and one 2.5-inch SATA drive, and offers two HDMI ports and DisplayPort video output, plus dual GbE, WiFi 5, and two audio jacks for speaker and microphone. HUNSN BM34 specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N100 quad-core Alder Lake-N processor @ up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel HD graphics @ 750 MHz; TDP: 6W System Memory – Up to 16GB DDR4 via SO-DIMM socket Storage 1x mSATA socket, […]

September 15, 2023September 18, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Cadence Neo NPU IP scales from 8 GOPS to 80 TOPS

Cadence Neo NPU (Neural Processing Unit) IP delivers 8 GOPS to 80 TOPS in single core configuration and can be scaled to multicore configuration for hundreds of TOPS. The company says the Neo NPUs deliver high AI performance and energy efficiency for optimal PPA (Power, Performance, Area) and cost points for next-generation AI SoCs for intelligent sensors, IoT, audio/vision, hearables/wearables, mobile vision/voice AI, AR/VR and ADAS. Some highlights of the new Neo NPU IP include: Scalability – Single-core solution is scalable from 8 GOPS to 80 TOPS, with further extension to hundreds of TOPS with multicore Supports 256 to 32K MACs per cycle to allow SoC architects to meet power, performance, and area (PPA) tradeoffs Works with DSPs, general-purpose microcontrollers, and application processors Support for Int4, Int8, Int16, and FP16 data types for CNN, RNN and transformer-based networks. Up to 20x higher performance than the first-generation Cadence AI IP, with […]