CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

July 18, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

LAPIS ML62Q1622 is a General Purpose 16-bit MCU with an LCD Driver

So this morning I received an email about some seminar & workshop about LAPIS microcontroller, including a free ML62Q1622 evaluation board. OK, good. But wait. Who is LAPIS? I have certainly never seen any projects with Lapis MCUs, and probably have never heard of them. It turns out OKI SEMICONDUCTOR Co.,Ltd. established in 2008 from a spin-off of Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd, changed the company name in to LAPIS Semiconductor Co.,Ltd in 2011. LAPIS is also part of ROHM Semiconductor group. Anyway, it was a good opportunity to find out more about ML62Q1622 micro-controller, and related evaluation boards & tools. Lapis Semi ML62Q1622 is part of ML62Q1600 group of 16-bit microcontrollers whose block diagram is shown above. ML62Q1622 MCU key features & specifications: CPU – 16-bit RISC CPU (CPU name: nX-U16/100) clocked @ up to 32 MHz Coprocessor for multiplication and division Program Memory – 64Kbyte Data Memory – […]

July 18, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Alldocube X Tablet with a Super AMOLED Display to Launch for $199 and Up (Crowdfunding)

Allcodube has been making Android tablets at least since 2012, although recently they’ve launched an Intel Gemini Lake Tablet with their Knote5 model running Windows 10. The company is still working on Android tablets however, as they are about to launch Alldocube X tablet with a Mediatek processor, and a 10.5″ Super AMOLED display on Indiegogo. Alldocube X tablet preliminary specifications: SoC – MediaTek MT8176 hexa core processor with 2x Arm Cortex A72 cores @ 2.1 GHz, 4x Arm Cortex A53 cores @ 1.7 GHz, and Imagination PowerVR GX6250 GPU System Memory – 4GB Storage – 64GB flash Display – 10.5″ Samsung Super AMOLED display with 2560×1600 resolution Audio – AKM Hi-Fi chip Camera – 8MP front-facing camera, 8MP rear camera Connectivity – 802.1ac WiFi and Bluetooth USB – 1x USB Type-C port Sensor – Fingerprint scanner Battery – 8,000 mAh with Pump Express 2.0 quick charging Dimensions – 6.9mm […]

July 17, 2018July 18, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

MediaTek Introduces Helio A-Series Processors for Mid-Range Smartphones, Starting with Helio A22 SoC

MediaTek started their Helio processor portfolio with X-series processors such as Helio X20 in 2015, with X standing for eXtreme performance. Since then the company has mostly stopped aimed at the top of the market, and launched P-Series (Premium) the next year with Helio P20 processor among others, which do not quite offer the same level performance, and can be found in smartphones that are sometimes referred to as mid-range premium mobile devices. The company has now launched another Helio family of processor with Helio A-Series, with A standing for “Advanced” but it could also be read as “Affordable” since the new series targets the mid-range market. The first member of the family is Helio A22 system-on-chip (SoC) with the following key features and specifications: CPU – Quad core Arm Cortex-A53 processor at up to 2.0 GHz GPU – Imagination PowerVR GE8320 GPU Memory I/F – LPDDR3 up to 4GB […]

July 17, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Espruino Pixl.js is a Bluetooth LE Display Programmable with JavaScript, Compatible with Arduino Shields

Espruino is an open source firmware that allows you to control micro-controllers board with JavaScript, and used in hardware such as Wio LTE GPS tracker, some STM32 Cellular IoT Discovery Kits, and other platforms. I have actually tried Espruino and JavaScript programming in an ESP32 board myself, and it worked reasonably well. But Espruino developers also provide hardware platforms for Espruino, which – as one should expect – are normally better supported than other third-party board. One of their latest platforms is Espruino Pixl.js a Bluetooth smart display powered by Nordic Semi nRF52832 WiSoC. Espruino Pixl.js specifications: WiSoC – Nordic Semi nRF52832 Arm Cortex-M4 @ 64MHz with 64kB RAM, 512kB Flash, Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity (via a Raytac Corportation module) Display – 54mm diagonal, 128 x 64 sunlight readable monochrome display with white backlight Connectivity – Bluetooth LE and NFC tag I/Os 20x GPIO in Arduino footprint with PWM, SPI, […]

July 17, 2018July 17, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Axiomtek eBOX560-900-FL Ubuntu 16.04 Fanless Embedded Computer is Powered by NVIDIA Jetson TX2 Module

Axiomtek has unveiled eBOX560-900-FL fanless embedded computer equipped with an NVIDIA Jetson TX2 module, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, a HDMI 2.0a port, an NVMe slot, etc. It also supports WiFi and LTE connectivity for gateway applications. The rugged computer runs Ubuntu 16.04, targets high performance AI workloads such as machine vision, deep learning, and edge computing, and comes with IP40 protection, vibration resistance, and -10 to 50°C temperature range support. Axiomtek eBOX560-900-FL specifications: SoM – NVIDIA Jetson TX2 module with SoC – NVIDIA TX2 hexa-core processor with 2x Denver cores, 4x Arm A57 cores, and a 256-CUDA core NVIDIA Pascal GPU System Memory – 8GB 128-bit LPDDR4 @ 1866 MHz Storage – 32GB eMMC flash Storage – 1x M.2 2280 M-Key slot w/ PCIe 2.0 x4 (supports M.2 NVMe SSD) Video Output – 1x HDMI 2.0 with 4K2K support Connectivity 2x 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet (NVIDIA + Intel I210-IT) 802.11ac WiFI […]

July 16, 2018July 16, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Orange Pi 3G/4G Cellular IoT Development Kits with Touchscreen Display Launched for $35 and Up

Earlier this year, Shenzhen Xunlong introduced two new Orange Pi cellular IoT boards running Android – but no Linux distribution just yet – with Orange Pi 3G-IoT and Orange Pi 4G-IoT boards, with LTE bands suitable for Asia and most part of Europe, but not the US. But boards are quite cheap, the 4G-IoT model recently got Android 8.1 Oreo support, if you’d like a display with the board, you can now buy various kits with touchscreen display and in some sets a power supply as well for $34.80 and up plus shipping, or the displays only for $14.80 and up. Four kits have been launched so far: $34.80 Orange Pi 3G-IoT-A Set1 with Orange Pi 3G-IOT-A board powered by Mediatek MT6572 dual core Cortex A7 processor + 256MB RAM/512MB eMMC combo chip, and a 4.98″ TFT LCD touchscreen display (854 x 480) $39.80 Orange Pi 3G-IoT-B Set1 with Orange […]

July 16, 2018July 18, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Extend VGA or HDMI Signals over “Ethernet” with VGA / HDMI Extender over Cat5/Cat6 Cables

A host computer or media player may not always be in the same room as its display(s), for example for digital signage where you may want to have several displays controlled by one computer in different rooms, or if you want to add a display to one of your room without necessarily adding another TV box or set-top box. We’ve already seen solution to extend the video signals over a few hundred meters using a HDMI powerline extender or wireless AV transmitted / receiver kit. The former is rather expensive (~$250) and the latter only works with composite. Today, I’ve come across other video extender solutions relying on Cat5/Cat6 “Ethernet” cables, first with an Ethernet to VGA extender kit that sells for $12.99 shipped on Banggood, but there are also Ethernet to HDMI solutions for around $25 to $40 offering a range of up to 120 meters over Ethernet. Both […]

July 16, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

KidBright32 Board is Thailand’s BBC Micro:Bit Equivalent

BBC Micro:Bit board was first announced in July 2015. Designed for STEM education, the board was then offered to UK schools in March 2016, and a few months later UK store would start selling it worldwide. It’s now available pretty much anywhere, and you can likely find it in a local store or online. The Thai government must have seen this, and thought to themselves “If the British can do it, we can do it too!”, as the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC) part of Thailand’s Ministry of Science and Technology designed KidBright32 board and courses to teach STEM to Thai students. The board is based on Espressif Systems ESP32-WROOM-32 WiFI and Bluetooth module, and comes with large holes for power (5V/GND) and 6 digital inputs/outputs, smaller through holes for I2C and more I/Os, as well as an I2C header. We’ll also find some LEDs, two dot matrix […]