CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

April 8, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Kodi 21.0 Omega released with FFmpeg 6, LG webOS support, and more

Kodi 21.0 “Omega” has just been released with the latest version of the open-source media center adding 3,750 commits since the release of Kodi 20.0 “Nexus” on January 15th, 2023 that notably added AV1 hardware decoding in Android and x86. The new Kodi 21.0 version updates FFmpeg to version 6, adds native support for LG webOS televisions after some reverse-engineering, and implements new features such as Dolby Vision on-the-fly profile conversion in Android, native windowing in macOS that does not rely on the SDL library, and an in-game player viewer to view which game port each player’s controller is currently connected to. Most of the changes were not user-facing and instead, were under-the-hood improvements to the stability, performance, and security of Kodi. You’ll find more changes in the Kodi 21.0 Alpha/Beta/RC pre-release announcements and the complete list of changes on GitHub. That also means Kodi v22 “P*” development has started. […]

April 8, 2024April 7, 2024 by Tomisin Olujinmi - No Comments

u-blox ALMA-B1 and NORA-B2, Bluetooth 5.4 LE modules are based on Nordic nRF54H20 and nRF54L15 SoCs

Wireless communication solutions provider, u-blox has added two new modules to its Bluetooth LE portfolio with the ALMA-B1 and NORA-B2 modules built upon the latest low-power wireless nRF54 chips from Nordic Semiconductor. Both modules come in a portable, power-efficient layout and support Bluetooth 5.4 and 802.15.4 (Thread, Matter, Zigbee). The ALMA-B1 and NORA-B2 BLE modules are powered by the low-power nRF54H20 and nRF54L15 SoCs, respectively. This enables them to provide IoT devices with sufficient processing power for edge computing and machine learning without the need for external components. u-blox claims that the ALMA-B1 module provides “more than twice the processing power of previous Bluetooth LE modules” and can replace general-purpose microcontrollers in compact solutions. Also, the NORA-B2 reportedly “consumes up to 50% less current compared to previous generations of Bluetooth LE modules,” leading to longer battery life or smaller batteries in end products. Both modules are classified as open CPU […]

April 8, 2024April 10, 2024 by Tomisin Olujinmi - 1 Comment

Digi ConnectCore MP25 SoM targets Edge AI and computer vision applications with STM32MP25 MPU

Digi International, an American Industrial IoT solutions provider, has announced its latest system-on-module, the Digi ConnectCore MP25 SoM, at Embedded World 2024 in Nuremberg, Germany. The Digi ConnectCore MP25 SoM is built upon STMicroelectronics’ STM32MP25 microprocessor. It supports artificial intelligence and machine learning functionality through an integrated neural processing unit (NPU) capable of 1.35 tera operations per second (TOPS) and an image signal processor (ISP). It is powered by two 64-bit Arm Cortex-A35 cores running at 1.5GHz, supported by a 32-bit Cortex-M33 core operating at 400MHz and a 32-bit Cortex-M0+core running at 200MHz. With its machine learning capabilities, support for time-sensitive networking, and versatile connectivity features, the ConnectCore MP25 module is suitable for edge AI, computer vision, and smart manufacturing applications in various sectors, including medical, energy, and transportation. Digi ConnectCore MP25 specifications: SoC – STMicroelectronics STM32MP257F CPU – 2x 64-bit Arm Cortex-A35 @ 1.5 GHz; MCU 1x Cortex-M33 @ […]

April 7, 2024April 8, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Testing Cytron MAKERDISK M.2 NVMe SSDs on Raspberry Pi 5 with GEEKWORM X1001 and Waveshare M.2 PCIe HAT+

MAKERDISK M.2 NVMe SSD Raspberry Pi 5 review

Cytron has sent us a few of their MAKERDISK NVMe SSDs preloaded with Raspberry Pi OS so that we can test them on a Raspberry Pi 5 SBC, either with a GEEKWORM X1001 or Waveshare M.2 PCIe HAT+ add-on boards both of which were also provided by the company. Ever since the first M.2 PCIe HATs for the Raspberry Pi 5 were released, we knew Raspberry Pi Limited was working on its own model, and based on some Twitter/X “rumors” (with photos) the launch of the official M.2 HAT+ should be just around the corner. So it’s the perfect timing to test some SSDs on the Raspberry Pi 5 even though I’ve yet to get the official HAT+ Cytron “MAKERDISK” package unboxing The Malaysian company sent me a kit with everything I needed to get started, minus the Raspberry Pi 5 I already owned. This includes 128GB or 256GB NVMe […]

April 6, 2024 by Debashis Das - 3 Comments

CWWK NAS mini-ITX motherboard features six SATA connectors, three 2.5Gbps Ethernet ports

In our last post, we wrote about the CWWK X86-P1 which is a fanless SBC and mini PC that goes for $101 and up, but while writing another product that got my attention was the CWWK NAS motherboard which is built around the Intel Celeron J Series SoC and features six SATA connectors and three 2.5GbE network ports, two of which are connected to Intel i226-V controllers and the other one to a Realtek RTL8125BG controller. The board also has support for dual 2280 M.2 NVMe SSDs and DDR4 memory. Other than that, it has HDMI, DisplayPort, USB 2.0, 3.0, PCIe, and audio output ports. The board follows the mini-ITX form factor, and previously, we have written about many different boards with the same form factor, such as the Sapphire Edge+ VPR-4616-MB, ASRock Industrial Boards, Kontron K3931-N, and many others. Feel free to check those out if you are interested […]

April 5, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

PCIe 7.0 to support up to 512GB/s bidirectional transfer rates

The PCI-SIG first unveiled the PCIe Express (PCIe) 7.0 specification at US DevCon in June 2022 with claims of bidirectional data rates of up to 512GB/s in x16 configuration, and the standard is now getting closer to the full release in 2025 with the release of the specification version 0.5. PCIe 7.0 increases data transfer speeds to 128 GT/s per pin doubling the 64 GT/s of PCIe 6.0 and quadrupling the 32 GT/s of PCIe 5.0, delivering up to 256 GB/s in each direction in x16 configuration, excluding encoding overhead. In other words, the total maximum bandwidth of a PCIe 7.0 x1 interface (32GB/s) would be equivalent to PCIe Gen3 x16 or PCIe Gen4 x8 as shown in the table below. PCIe 7.0 highlights: 128 GT/s raw bit rate and up to 512 GB/s bidirectionally via x16 configuration PAM4 (Pulse Amplitude Modulation with 4 levels) signaling Doubles the bus frequency […]

April 5, 2024April 6, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Kamvas Pro 16 (2.5K) review – A 15.8-inch drawing tablet and stylus with 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity

HUION Kamvas Pro 16 2.5K drawing tablet review

HUION Kamvas Pro 16 (2.5K) is a 15.8-inch drawing tablet with 2.5K resolution that comes with a stylus supporting 8192 levels of pressure. The company sent us a review sample, so I’ll test it as an external display in Windows 11 and Ubuntu 22.04, and check the drawing functions of the Kamvas Pro 16 with the stylus as well as other potential use cases. Kamvas Pro 16 (2.5K) specifications (model GT1602) But before that, let’s list the specifications of the display: Panel – 15.8-inch (diagonal) IPS display at 60 Hz Resolution – 2560 x 1440 (16:9) QHD PPI (Pixels Per Inch) – 186 Active Area – 349.6 x 196.7 mm Contrast Ratio – 1200:1 Brightness – 220nit (Max.) Response Time – 14ms Viewing Angle – 178° (89°/89°(H)/89°/89°(V) (Typ.)(CR＞10)) Color Gamut Volume – 145% sRGB Color Gamut Coverage – 99% sRGB / 99% Adobe RGB Colors – 16.7M (8-bit) Surface Finish […]

April 5, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Toradex Aquila AM69 SoM features TI AM69A octa-core Cortex-A72 AI SoC, rugged 400 pin board-to-board connector

Toradex Aquila AM69 is the first system-on-module (SoM) from the company’s Aquila family with a small form factor and a rugged ~400-pin board-to-board connector targetting demanding edge AI applications in medical, industrial, and robotics fields with Arm platforms that deliver x86 level of performance at low power. The Aquila AM69 SoM is powered by a Texas Instruments AM69A octa-core Arm Cortex-A72 SoC with four accelerators delivering 32 TOPS of AI performance, up to 32GB LPDDR4, 128GB eMMC flash, built-in WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 module, and a board-to-board connector for display, camera, and audio interfaces, as well as dual gigabit Ethernet, multiple PCIe Gen3 and SerDes interfaces. All that in a form factor that’s only slightly bigger (86x60mm) than a business card or a Raspberry Pi 5. Toradex Aquila AM69 specifications: SoC – Texas Instruments AM69A Application processor – Up to 8x Arm Cortex-A72 cores at up to 2.0 GHz […]