Game Bub open source hardware FPGA retro emulation handheld
Posted on

FPGA-based Game Bub handheld console supports original Nintendo cartridge, wireless controllers (Crowdfunding)

Game Bub is an open-source AMD Artix-7 FPGA and ESP32-S3-based handheld gaming console that supports Nintendo Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges. On top of that, it supports TV output via the Game Bub Dock and features Bluetooth for connecting wireless controllers. The device also features cartridge backup and restore functions through FlashGBX, letting users save files, dump ROMs, reflash writable carts, and even extract photos from the Game Boy Camera. The device supports direct ROM loading and the built-in rumble motor, accelerometer, gyroscope, and real-time clock ensure compatibility with games that rely on these peripherals. The device is housed in a transparent 90s-style enclosure, runs on a 3000 mAh battery for over 14 hours of gameplay, and weighs just 250 g, making it portable yet durable. Additionally, it can be used as an FPGA development board with its PMOD expansion slot and plenty of unused […]

Blackout Comms Off Grid Encrypted Mesh Texting and GPS
Posted on

Blackout Comms Cluster – A pre-configured off-grid LoRa texting and GPS system with cryptographic security

Designed by Altware Dev Shop in the US, the Blackout Comms is an off-grid, LoRa-based encrypted mesh communication system built around ESP32 for texting and GPS location sharing without the need for any cellular networks or internet. The device uses asymmetric encryption and digital signatures for secure communication during blackouts, emergencies, or in remote areas where connectivity is unavailable. The device seemed a little bit pricey at first, but the complete kit includes two customized T-Deck communicators and one Altware Link/Node, all pre-configured and ready to use. Each communicator features a DFRobot GPS, Adafruit DS3231 real-time clock, 5000 mAh battery (≈48-hour runtime), external antenna, and PETG printed case, while the Link/Node integrates its own GPS, RTC, 3000 mAh+ battery, and antenna for cluster support. The system forms a private cluster with encrypted, frequency-hopping communication, signed delivery confirmations, and distributed mesh caching. Beyond messaging and location, it also supports proximity/motion sensing […]

Sponsored
Sponsored
Sponsored
Waveshare RP2350 WS2812 RGB LED Matrix
Posted on

Waveshare RP2350-Matrix board features 8×8 WS2812 RGB LED matrix, 6-axis IMU, Dout pin for more LEDs

Waveshare’s RP2350-Matrix is a Raspberry Pi RP2350A-powered LED matrix board featuring 64 RGB LEDs (8×8 RGB matrix), a built-in 6-axis IMU, and a Dout pin in case the user needs even more LEDs. The RP2350-Matrix also includes 25 GPIOs along with 12 PIO state machines for custom peripheral support, an on-chip temperature sensor, accurate hardware timers, and support for low-power sleep and dormant modes. It comes with a USB Type-C port for power and programming via USB 1.1 device/host, and an onboard 800mA LDO regulator for stable power delivery. These features make this board suitable for motion sensing and visual feedback. Waveshare RP2350-Matrix Specifications: SoC – Raspberry Pi RP2350A CPU Dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 @ 150 MHz with Arm Trustzone, Secure boot OR Dual-core RISC-V Hazard3 @ 150 MHz Up to two cores can be used in any combination Memory – 520 KB on-chip SRAM Package – QFN-60 Storage – 16 MB […]

80GHz mmWave Liquid Level Detection Sensor
Posted on

80 GHz mmWave liquid level detection sensor supports ModBus, offers 40m range

I’ve just come across a no-name non-contact, high-precision 80 GHz mmWave radar sensor for liquid level detection with a 40m range, ±5mm accuracy, and Modbus communication over UART. We had seen 24 GHz and 60 GHz mmWave sensors mostly for precise motion detection, but it’s the first time I’ve seen an 80 GHz mmWave sensor, or more exactly, 79 GHz. It operates on the same principle of Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar as most other mmWave sensors and connects to an Arduino or other board over UART. It targets applications such as smart water management, industrial process control, and environmental disaster prevention/monitoring. Specifications: MCU – GigaDevice GD32F405 Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller @ 168 MHz with 192KB SRAM, 3MB flash, 1MB code-flash Transmit frequency – 77–81 GHz (79 GHz mid frequency), 4 GHz bandwidth Output power (EIRP) – 13 to 20dBm Beamwidth (-3dB) Horizontal ±25°, Vertical ±25° With external lens: Horizontal […]

Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2
Posted on

Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2 Z-Wave USB adapter launched for $69

Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2 is a new Z-Wave USB adapter with Long Range support, which follows the launch of the Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 (SkyConnect) Zigbee 3.0, Thread, and Matter USB dongle in 2022. Home Assistant explains that Z-Wave operates in the sub-GHz (865-926 MHz) frequency band, where waves can more easily go through thick walls and reach across large households, and do not need to compete in the crowded 2.4 GHz airspace used by wireless protocols such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and Thread. Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2 specifications: SoCs Silicon Labs ZG23 Cortex-M33 Z-Wave microcontroller @ 78 MHz ESP32-S3 wireless MCU used as USB-to-serial bridge (WiFi and Bluetooth present, but not used by the firmware) Wireless Z-Wave, Z-Wave Long Range Z-Wave series 800 Range – Tested up to 1.5km (line of sight) by Nabu Casa Antenna Frequency range: 860-930 MHz The frequency used by end devices depends on the […]

ESP32 Bus Pirate
Posted on

ESP32 Bus Pirate open-source firmware works on off-the-shelf hardware

ESP32 Bus Pirate is an open-source firmware inspired by the original Bus Pirate from Dangerous Prototypes, which turns off-the-shelf (ESP32-S3) hardware into a multi-protocol hacker’s tool. It supports sniffing, sending, scripting, and interacting with various digital protocols (I2C, UART, 1-Wire, SPI, etc.) via a serial terminal or web-based CLI. It’s been tested on Espressif ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1 development board, M5Stack Cardputer, M5StickC Plus2, Atom S3 Lite, M5Stamp S3, and LILYGO T-Embed (CC1101) boards. ESP32 Bus Pirate firmware highlights: Interactive CLI via USB serial – For faster performance and high responsiveness Web interface (over WiFi) – No cable needed to the host, works from any web browser Supported Modes HiZ (default) – High-Z is a safe mode where all outputs are disabled and all power supplies are turned off I2C (scan, glitch, slave mode, dump) SPI (flash, SD card, slave mode) UART / Half-Duplex UART (bridge, read, write) 1-WIRE (ibutton, temp sensor) 2-WIRE […]

Advertisement

Henbot Sirius trainable AI robot dog
Posted on

Hengbot Sirius is a trainable AI robotic dog for consumers and developers (Crowdfunding)

Hengbot Sirius is a small AI robotic dog that can be trained by users with “manual teaching” and by developers using tools such as Sirius Creator Studio Pro and C or Python APIs. Features include an 8MP camera, a dual-mic array, and a speaker for user interaction using LLMs, text-to-speech, voice recognition, and computer vision leveraging the built-in 5 TOPS AI accelerator, a small LCD, a few RGB LEDs and sensors, and 14 DoF for legs and the head. We’ve seen plenty of other robot dogs over the years, such as the Hiwonder MechDog, the Raspberry Pi CM4-based CM4 XGO Lite smart robot dog, Mini Pupper 2, and Petoi Bittle, among others. Most are more robot-like than dog-like, and the Sirius has a more appealing design closer to a real dog. Hengbot Sirius specifications: SoC – Unnamed but likely Horizon Robotics Sunrise X3 CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 @ 1.2-1.5 […]

Tonybot STEM Education humanoid robot
Posted on

Tonybot educational humanoid robot is programmable with Arduino, Scratch, and Python

While child-sized humanoid robots like the Unitree R1 have come down in price, not everybody has a spare $6,000 to throw around to play with robots, and smaller models like the Tonybot are more affordable for educational purposes. The Tonybot offers 17 degrees of freedom, relies on high-voltage bus servos and anti-blockage servos, and has a separate ESP32 expansion board for extra modules. Optionally equipped with an ESP32-S3 AI vision camera and an AI voice integration module, the 38cm tall humanoid robot supports object and face recognition, color and line following tracking, human-robot interaction, fall recovery, obstacle avoidance, and more, besides walking, dancing, etc… Tonybot specifications: H5S Robot Controller Storage – MicroSD card socket 6x servo ports, head module port Bluetooth/MP3 module header Sensor – Accelerometer Debugging – 4-pin UART header Misc ON/OFF switch Buzzer Power Supply Via DC jack Terminal block for battery ESP32 Expansion Board ESP32-DevKitC board PWM […]

Boardcon MINI1126B-P AI vision system-on-module wit Rockchip RV1126B-P SoC