Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Kneron KL720 Arm Cortex-M4 AI SoC Delivers 1.5 TOPS at 1.2 Watts

Kneron KL720 Arm Cortex-M4 AI SoC Delivers 1.5 TOPS at 1.2 Watts

Kleron KL720 Cortex-M4 AI Processor

We first came across Kneron AI processors last year, when we covered AAEON M.2 & mPCIe AI accelerator cards powered by Kneron KL520 dual-core Cortex-M4 processor and delivering 0.3 TOP AI acceleration performance at 0.5 Watt. The company has now introduced a more powerful processor with Kneron KL720 single Arm Cortex-M4 AI processor delivering up to 1.5 TOPS at 1.2 Watts, or 0.9 TOPS for 1 Watt. The company does not provide much other information in terms of specifications, but Kneron KL720 is said to be two to four times more power-efficient than competitors at a lower cost and is best suited for high-end IP cameras, Smart TVs, AI glasses & headsets, as well as AIoT Gateways. The processor can process 4K images, full HD videos, and 3D sensing data for facial recognition and gesture control for gaming, shopping kiosks, etc.. Besides computer vision, the chip can also handle natural […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on VIA Pixetto Hi3518E V300 HD Camera Board Targets Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Education

VIA Pixetto Hi3518E V300 HD Camera Board Targets Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Education

VIA Pixetto HD Camera Board AI Education

VIA Technologies has launched the VIA Pixetto vision sensor aims to teach artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to students aged twelve and above. The Linux board features an Hisilicon Hi3518E V300 Cortex-A7 HD camera SoC combined with 64MB RAM, 128MB SPI flash, a MicroSD slot, as well as GalaxyCore GC2053 2M CMOS sensor offering 1920 x 1080 resolution and a 130° field of view. VIA Pixetto hardware specifications: SoC – Hisilicon Hi3518E V300 Cortex-A7 HD camera SoC @ 900 MHz with H.264, H.265, MJPEG/JPEG encoder System Memory – 64MB DDR, MicroSD card slot Storage – 128MB SPI flash Camera – GalaxyCore GC2053 2M CMOS sensor with 1920 x 1080 resolution,  130° FoV Audio – Microphone USB – 1x Micro USB 2.0 port Connectivity – WiFi 4 via Hisilicon Hi1131 low-power Wi-Fi chip  and ceramic antenna Expansion – Grove connector Misc – 3x LEDs (Power, OS boot, active status), […]

Graperain Samsung, Rockchip, and Qualcomm CPU modules, SBCs, and carrier boards
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on The Notch is Gone! ZTE Axon 20 5G Smartphone Features an Under-Display Camera

The Notch is Gone! ZTE Axon 20 5G Smartphone Features an Under-Display Camera

ZTE Axon 20 5G Under-Display-Camera Smartphone

A little over a few ago, we reported companies like Xiaomi and Oppo were working on under-display cameras to remove the notch on smartphones. This works by having the phone display a black bar (that means transparent) above the camera while taking a photo, and reverting to normal display once the photo is taken or video is shot. At the time, picture quality left to be desired, so more work was needed, but the first phone with an under-display camera is now available for ZTE Axon 20 5G selling for 2,198 RMB (~$322) and up in China. ZTE Axon 20 5G specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G octa-core processor with 1x Kryo 475 Prime (Cortex-A76 class) @ 2.4GHz, 1x Kryo 475 Gold (Cortex-A76 class) @ 2.2GHz, 6x Kryo 475 Silver (Cortex-A55 class) @ 1.8GHz System Memory – 6 or 8GB RAM Storage – 128GB or 256GB flash MicroSD card slot […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on M5Stack Launches Core2 ESP32 IoT Development Kit with 2-inch Touch Display

M5Stack Launches Core2 ESP32 IoT Development Kit with 2-inch Touch Display

M5Stack Core2 ESP32 IoT Devkit

M5Stack has just launched an upgrade to its M5Stack Core development with M5Stack Core2 based on the same Espressif ESP32 WiFI + Bluetooth SoC, but adding capacitive touchscreen support to the 2-inch TFT LCD, as well as a motion sensor and a microphone. The new version also adds 8MB PSRAM, a larger 390 mAh battery, and targets IoT terminals for Smart Home, industrial automation or robotics, STEM Education, and DIY prototyping. M5Stack Core2 specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP32-D0WD-V3 dual-core Xtensa LX6 processor clocked at up to 240MHz with 520KB SRAM, Wi-Fi, and dual-mode Bluetooth connectivity External Memory – 8MB PSRAM Storage – 16MB flash storage, MicroSD card slot up to 16GB Display – 2-inch IPS LCD screen with 320×240 resolution (ILI9342C driver), and touchscreen support (via FT6336U controller) Audio – 1W speaker (1W-0928), SPM4123 microphone, NS4168 I2S power amplifier Antenna – 2.4GHz 3D antenna USB – 1x USB Type-C port […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on PinePhone Manjaro Community Edition Linux Phone Pre-orders to Start Mid-September

PinePhone Manjaro Community Edition Linux Phone Pre-orders to Start Mid-September

PinePhone Manjaro

Pine64 is producing PinePhone Linux phone in batches and each time there’s a different Linux operating system. It started with the BraveHeart edition in November 2019 without any OS at all, following by the UBPorts community edition, then the PostMarkerOS community edition, and we should expect pre-orders for PinePhone Manjaro Community Edition to start mid-September 2020. Just like for the PostMarketOS edition, the new PinePhone Manjaro CE will be offered in two versions: $149 with 2GB RAM, 16GB eMMC flash $199 with 3GB RAM, 32GB eMMC flash and a USB-C dock for people wanting to connect the phone to a monitor and use it as an entry-level Linux PC The phone still has the same hardware with an Allwinner A64 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor, a 5.95-inch IPS display, rear & front-facing cameras, as well as 4G LTE, WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity. The additional USB-C dock that comes with the […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Espressif Unveils ESP32-S2-MINI Modules, ESP32-S3 and ESP32-C3 SoC’s Coming Soon

Espressif Unveils ESP32-S2-MINI Modules, ESP32-S3 and ESP32-C3 SoC’s Coming Soon

ESP32-S2-MINI modules

Espressif Systems has unveiled two new ESP32-S2 WiFi modules part of the new MINI series modules, namely ESP32-S2-MINI-1U with IPEX antenna, and ESP32-S2-MINI-1 with a PCB antenna. The press release also mentions upcoming ESP32-S3 and ESP32-C3 processors with few details. Let’s have a look. ESP32-S2-MINI modules Preliminary specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP32-S2FH4 single-core 32-bit LX7 microcontroller @ up to 240 MHz, RISC-V ultra-low-power co-processor, 320 kB SRAM, 128kB ROM, 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 connectivity, 4MB flash Antenna ESP32-S2-MINI-1 – PCB antenna ESP32-S2-MINI-1U – IPEX antenna connector Dimensions ESP32-S2-MINI-1 – 20 x 15.4 x mm ESP32-S2-MINI-1U – 15.4 x 15.4 x mm The company states the exact processor SKU used in the module is ESP32-S2FH4, but initially I could not find out it differed from ESP32-S2 since it has the same specs include a single-core processor, ULP core, up to 43 GPIOs, and USB-OTG support. It turns out the flash appears […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Heart Rate Development Kit Features ESP32 WiSoC, MAX30102 Pulse Oximeter & HR sensor

Heart Rate Development Kit Features ESP32 WiSoC, MAX30102 Pulse Oximeter & HR sensor

Arduino ESP32 Heart Rate-Oxygen Level Monitor

LilyGO has launched a fair amount of ESP32 boards with some less common features like Ethernet and OLED Display, cellular connectivity, LoRa & GPS, PoE, watch form factor, and more. Their latest product is somewhat different from their earlier boards with the TTGO Heart rate programming development kit being closer to a reference design since it comes with an enclosure similar to commercial products. The heart rate devkit features ESP32 WiFi and Bluetooth SoC, a small LCD, as well as a Maxim Integrated MAX30102 pulse oximeter and heart-rate sensor.   TTGO heart rate development kit specifications: SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32 dual-core Tensilica SoC with WiFi 4 & Bluetooth connectivity Display – 0.96-inch IPS LCD via ST7735 SPI controller Sensors MAX30102 heart rate blood oxygen I2C sensor MPU6050 6-axis accelerometer and gyroscope (I2C) Debugging – Micro USB port via CP2104 USB to TTL bridge Misc -PCF8563 RTC, user button Battery […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on JPEGDEC is a Faster JPEG Arduino Library Designed for 32-bit MCUs

JPEGDEC is a Faster JPEG Arduino Library Designed for 32-bit MCUs

In order to ensure software compatibility, Arduino libraries are supposed to work on various types of hardware from 8-bit microcontrollers with a limited amount of memory to more powerful 32-bit chips like STM32 Arm Cortex-M MCU or ESP32 dual-core Tensilica WiSoC that can access a larger amount of RAM. This is all good, but in some cases, this may affect performance. Larry Bank noticed this when looking for a JPEG viewers for Arduino and only found ones which sacrificed speed to work on MCUs with very little RAM. So he started to work on JPEDDEC JPEG Arduino library optimized for speed and compatible with any MCU with at least 20K of RAM. Optimizations go beyond just loading more data into memory, as Larry explains in a blog post, the library also performs the removal of stuffed bytes, optimize the Huffman decode and DCT parts, and more. Some of the key […]

Boardcon LGA3576 Rockchip RK3576 System-on-Module designed for AI and IoT applications