CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

May 9, 2019May 13, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

$25 Wechip X88 Pro TV Box Features Low Cost Rockchip RK3318 Processor

With RK3328 SoC, Rockchip already has a quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor with an Arm Mali-450MP GPU, more exactly a Mali-450MP2 GPU. However, that GPU was found to underperform the penta-core Mali-450MP3 GPU handling graphics in Amlogic S905X processor. If that listing on Aliexpress is correct, it appears the company has made another quad-core Cortex-A53 processor with the same penta-core Mali-450MP3 GPU as found in the Amlogic processor. [Update: The description is wrong, and RK3318 GPU is not faster, so it must be the same (TBC). RK3318 is just a cost-down version of RK3328, but details have not been provided] The new Rockchip RK3318 processor can be found in Wechip X88 Pro TV box with the following specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3318 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.5 GHz with penta-core Arm Mali-450MP3 GPU @ up to 750 MHz System Memory – 2 or 4GB RAM Storage – 16, 32 or 64GB […]

May 9, 2019May 10, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

$40 Elecrow 5″ HDMI Raspberry Pi Display Features Backlight Control, a Resistive Touch Panel

There are plenty of small touch screen displays for Raspberry Pi board, including the official 7″ display that connects to the board’s MIPI DSI connector. Some people may prefer getting a small HDMI display however, as it can be used with most devices with an HDMI input port, and the touch screen function may be achieved over USB, I2C or SPI depending on the design. Elecrow has just launched a new 5″ HDMI display with resistive touch screen designed for the Raspberry Pi boards, and whose main feature is to support backlight control over GPIO 11 in order to lower power consumption according to the announcement tweet from the company. Specifications for RPD19048A display: Screen – 5″ TFT resistive touch screen display with 800×480 resolution @ 60 Hz; LCD Driver IC – Display Future ILI9486L (Likely wrong as this only supports 480×320 resolution) Touch controller – XPT2046 4-wire resistive […]

May 9, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Espressif Rolls out ESP32 Boards for Microsoft Azure IoT & Google Cloud IoT Core Services

Espressif ESP32 WiFi & Bluetooth processor is pretty versatile, and you could connect any ESP32 board to any cloud services with some efforts. But to make things even easier Espressif Systems worked with Microsoft and Google to release versions of ESP32 boards specifically designed to connect to Microsoft Azure IoT or Google Cloud IoT core. Meet ESP32-Azure IoT Kit and ESP32-DevKitC Google Cloud IoT. ESP32-Azure IoT Kit Hardware specifications: Wireless Module – ESP32-WROVER-B WiFi and Bluetooth module Storage – MicroSD card socket Display – 0.96” blue and yellow OLED display driven by SSD1306 I2C driver chip Sensors InvenSense MPU6050 motion sensor NXP MAG3110 magnetometer FBM320 barometer STMicro HTS221 humidity & temperature sensor ROHM BH1750FVI light sensor Expansion – 16-pin header Debugging – USB to UART bridge for serial debugging & programming Misc – Reset button, user button, 2x charge LED’s, 2x user LED’s, 1x passive buzzer Power Supply – 5V […]

May 9, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Roshambo Retro Gaming Console Kit Features Rock64 or RockPro64 Board

Recalbox, Lakka TV, Retro Arena, and Batocera are some of the retro gaming distributions optimized to run on development boards. You can install those by yourself, and enclose the board is any case, but if you want something more fancy, Cloud Media is now selling Roshambo retro gaming kit based on Rock64 (RK3328) or RockPro64 (RK3399) SBC’s. Roshambo and RoshamboPro retro gaming kits are compatible with respectively Rock64 and RockPro64 boards, come with a shell with carrier board, power supply, cooling fan (Pro model only) and support cables. The kits support 256GB or 512GB SSD cartridges provided by the company, and optional game controllers with analog triggers and buttons are also available for purchase. Pine64 Rock64 / RockPro64 boards are compatible with Recalbox, Lakka TV, Retro Arena, and Batocera distributions, but bear in mind ROMs are not provided, so you’d have to install your own, or play free games only. […]

May 8, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Split Home Energy Meter Combines ESP32 with Microchip ATM90E32 IC (Crowdfunding)

It’s always useful to monitor the electricity consumption of your house, as you can easily and quickly find out whether an appliance is suddenly consuming a large amount of electricity before finding out from your next utility bill. It can also help remotely monitoring if an appliance has stopped working and fix it as soon as possible, for example an electric pipe heater making sure your pipe do not freeze in a holiday home. In many cases, a qualified electrician needs to be involved for the installation of whole home energy meters both for safety and insurance matters. We’ve seen in the past energy meters fit easily into a circuit breaker box but they may not be suitable for all setups. I’ve previously reviewed an inexpensive digital clamp meter that you just need to clip on one of the wire connected to your home without having to mess with dangerous […]

May 8, 2019May 8, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Android 10 Beta 3 Now Available on 15 OEM Phones

Google introduced Android Q in March with the first beta and preview SDK release. The new version of Android introduced more privacy protections, support for foldables, sharing shortcuts, connectivity improvements (e.g. WPA3 security), new camera and multimedia features such as dynamic depth photos and AV1 media codec support, as well as an updated neural network API, higher ART performance, and security improvements. Google has now announced Android 10 Beta 3 with a few new features over the first preview release, and support for 15 OEM phones on top of the 6 Pixel phones already supported. Some of the new improvements in Android 10 Beta 3 include: Scoped Storage feature giving users control over files and preventing apps from accessing sensitive user or app data. See the corresponding developer page for details. Update of BiometricPrompt authentication framework to support biometrics, e.g. face recognition, at a system level. Project Mainline described as […]

May 8, 2019May 8, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Google Pixel 3a / 3a XL Mid-Range Smartphones Get a Premium Camera, an Headphone Jack

Google launched their Pixel 3 & 3 XL smartphones last fall with a Snapdragon 845 processor, a camera that takes excellent photos even in low-light conditions, and achieves an excellent score of 101 points in Dxo camera benchmark. The phone costs $799 and up in the US, and more in other countries. Most people I know use their phone for calls and SMS, taking photos, messaging with Facebook and LINE, and some casual gaming, so it would make sense to have a mid-range phone with an excellent camera, a slightly less powerful processor, and a significantly lower price tag. That’s what Google has done with Pixel 3a and 3a XL phones, taking many of the features of Pixel 3, including the camera, but selecting a Snapdragon 670 processor instead, shaving a few dollars with other design decision, and bringing the price down to $399. Pixel 3a / 3a XL smartphone […]

May 7, 2019May 7, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

ARBOR IoT-800N Android/Ubuntu Panel PC Targets Automotive Applications, Industrial Automation

Rockchip PX30 is a low cost low power quad core Arm Cortex-A35 processor mostly designed for car infotainment systems. Last month, we also found the processor in ARBOR SOM-RP301 system-on-module designed for retails kiosks such as automated currency exchange machines, electronic restaurant menus, , ticketing kiosks, etc… ARBOR has now launched another Rockchip PX30 platform with their IoT-800N 8″ Panel PC running Android 8.1 or Ubuntu 16.04, and designed for automotive applications such as fleet management or driver fatigue monitoring thanks to interfaces like OBD-II, as well as industrial automation. ARBOR IoT-800N specifications: SoC – Rockchip PX30 Quad-core Arm Cortex-A35 processor System Memory – 2GB DDR4 memory soldered on board Storage – 16GB eMMC flash soldered on board, microSDHC/microSDXC/microSD card socket up to 128GB Display – 8” TFT LCD display with 1024 x 600 resolution, 5-point projected capacitive touchscreen Camera – 8MP front-facing MIPI CSI camera with auto-focus Audio – […]