CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

October 3, 2018June 19, 2019 by Karl Johnson - 2 Comments

Genmitsu CNC Router Review – Part 1.5: Laser Attachment

Hey Karl here with a small update for the SainSmart Genmitsu CNC Router 3018 review. In the first part I described the build and first cuts. And in this part I am calling it 1.5 because it is to just talk about the optional laser attachment that was just made available and initial impressions. In the first part I commented about the laser connector on the board. The stars aligned and Sainsmart asked if we wanted to check out their 2.5W PWM controlled laser sold for $89.99 with free shipping. Installation In the box all you get is the laser itself and some eye protection. At first I wanted to mount the laser on the side of the tool head so it would be easy to change between CNC and the laser. I took the laser apart and was going to use the 2 mounting holes and ended up breaking […]

October 2, 2018October 2, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Dav1d Open Source AV1 Decoder Aims to be Fast and Lightweight

Lots of efforts are being put into AV1 open source, royalty-free video codec with the AV1 specification published in March, and companies like YouTube and Netflix having recently uploaded AV1 video samples for testing and evaluation. We also reported FFmpeg 4.0 was released with AV1 supporting using libaom reference decoder. However, the library is not really optimized for code size and speed, but instead just to demonstrate AV1 decoding and encoding. So VideoLAN, VLC and FFmpeg communities have been working on another decoder called Dav1d – which stands for “Dav1d is an AV1 Decoder” – that aims to be lightweight, cross-platform, fast and open source. Some of the technical details about dAV1d include: written in C99 without VLAs (Variable Length Arrays) ASM in NASM/GAS syntax (no intrinsics), Meson/ninja buildsystem, Works on x86, x64, ARMv7, ARMv8 architectures for now Runs on Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, iOS operating systems Licensed under BSD […]

October 1, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 30 Comments

Air602 is another $2 WiFi IoT Module, Based on Winner Micro W600 Arm SoC

WiFi used to be fairly expensive to add to MCU projects with spending $30 to $40 just for a WiFi module pretty common just less than 5 years ago, but this all changed thanks to Tensilica based Espressif ESP8266 modules selling for $5 in 2014, and an active community gathering behind the WiSoC, and related modules and development board. ESP8266 modules are now available for under $2, and around two years ago it looked like we would have another option based on Arm Cortex-M3 with RTL8710 modules such as Pine64’s PADI IoT stamp also selling for about $2 in single quantities. However, most people did not really the benefit of switching to another platform based on Arm for this type of applications, and the products never really took off, many went away, and PADI IoT stamp appears to be one of the few survivors. Yet another $2 WiFi IoT module […]

September 30, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

ESP32-CAM is a $10 ESP32 Camera Development Board

Espressif Systems ESP32 has many new interfaces over ESP8266, but still lacks a hardware camera interface like DVP or MIPI CSI. However, it’s still possible to connect a camera to the I2S interface. What? Isn’t I2S used for audio? It turns out there’s more to ESP32’s “I2S interface” as pointed out in the forums: The I2S subsystem in the ESP32 also provides a high speed bus connected directly to RAM for Direct Memory Access. Putting it simply, you can configure the ESP32 I2S subsystem to send or receive parallel data under hardware control. There were some ESP32 camera boards launched previously such as ESP32-PICO-tinyCAM, but most seem to have been phased out. However not is all lost, as Seeed Studio is now taking pre-orders for the new A.I. Thinker ESP32-CAM board with a 2MP camera for $9.90. ESP32-CAM board specifications: Wireless Module- ESP32-S WiFi 802.11 b/g/n + Bluetooth 4.2 LE […]

September 29, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

iBASE Introduces MI988 Ryzen Embedded V1000 Mini-ITX Motherboard

iBASE has recently announced the MI988 Mini-ITX motherboard based on the latest AMD Ryzen Embedded V1000 processor family. The motherboard is equipped with two DDR4-2666 SO-DIMM slots that support up to 32GB ECC memory, M.2 NVMEe storage (NVMe), two Gigabit Ethernet ports, and various display options. iBASE MI988 motherboard specifications: SoC – AMD Ryzen Embedded V1000 processor with AMD Radeon Vega GPU System Memory – 2x DDR4-2666 SO-DIMM, supports ECC, up to 32GB Storage – 1x M.2 SSD (NVMe), 2x SATA III Display Interfaces 1x HDMI 2.0a, 1x DisplayPort 1.4 1x eDP or 1x 24-bit dual channel LVDS Audio – Built-in HD audio w/ALC662 codec for 5.1 channel; 3x 3.5mm audio jacks Connectivity – 2x RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet connectors via 2x Intel I211AT USB – 2x USB 3.1 Gen2 (10Gbps) on board, 2x USB 3.1 Gen1 (5Gbps) on board Serial – 2x RS232/422/485 (Jumperless selection), 4x RS232 Expansion Slots 1x […]

September 28, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Octavo Systems Adds eMMC flash and Oscillator to its TI Sitara AM335x SiP

Octavo Systems unveiled their OSD3358 System-in-Package (SiP) in 2016 with the package integrating TI Sitara AM3358 Arm Cortex-A8 SoC, 256 to 512MB memory, PMIC, LDO and passive components into a single package. The SiP is notably found in the $25 PocketBeagle board, which only adds a micro SD card slot, a micro USB port, and a few passive components to the PCB. The company has now gone further by also adding an eMMC flash and an oscillator to their OSD335x C-SiP. That means another version of PocketBeagle could potentially be made without the micro SD card, using the eMMC flash in the SiP instead, and adding an oscillator – missing in PoketBeagleBone – necessary to use low power modes and RTC wake-up. OSD335x C-SiP main specifications: SoC – Texas Instruments Sitara AM335x Arm Cortex-A8 processor @ up to 1 GHz with PowerVR SGX530 GPU, PRU Subsystem System Memory – Up […]

September 27, 2018September 27, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments

VIP1111 TV Box is Powered by Realtek RTD1395 Processor

A few days ago, the U-boot & Linux source code for Realtek RTD1296 processor was released, and when we checked out the code we found out references to a completely new Realtek RTD1619 hexa-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor, as well as code for the previously announced Realtek RTD1395 processor. The CES 2018 announcement was really short on details though: “Realtek’s Android & RDK STB platform (RTD1395) supports 4K UHD, HDR, an advanced DRM security system, and OTT integration, giving MSOs a reliable SoC partner”. We now have more details thanks to Taiwan based Compal Broadband Networks and their VIP1111 4K IP set-top box powered by RTD1395 processor.VIP1111 TV box specifications: SoC – Realtek RTD1395 quad core Cortex-A53 processor, Arm Mali-470 MP4 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR4 (4x 512MB x 16bit) Storage – 8GB eMMC Flash Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0 Video Codec – HEVC 4Kp60+2Kp60, VP9.2 4Kp60, HDR10 […]

September 27, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Arm Cortex-A76AE Processor is Designed for Autonomous Driving Applications

Arm Cortex A76 processor core was first unveiled in June of this year, and very recently Hisilicon – part of Huawei – introduced Kirin 980 processor with four Cortex A76 cores, four Cortex A55 cores. Arm has now unveiled another variant of Cortex-A76 core. Cortex-A76AE (Automotive Enhanced) is designed for automotive application, and specifically autonomous driving applications, thanks to extra safety features such as Split-Lock capability which includes the ability for Dual Core Lock-Step (DCLS). The latter means that two processors are running the same code at the same time, and the instructions is only validated is the results are identical on both processors. Microarchitectural highlights of Cortex-A76AE for safety: Dual Core Lock-Step (DCLS) – The Cortex-A76AE is capable of running in Dual Core Lock-Step (DCLS), and hence is able to contribute towards a system’s ASIL D hardware diagnostic coverage requirements. Memory protection – The Cortex-A76AE supports Single Error Correction, […]