CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

May 7, 2018May 7, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X is a $60 Gigabit Ethernet PoE Router Supported by OpenWrt

Stanislav needed a Gigabit Ethernet router to run OpenVPN, and after some research he settled on Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X router with 5 Gigabit Ethernet ports, PoE in and pass-through, with a decent 256 MB RAM and 256MB flash, and a $49 MSRP, although I’ve only seen it for $60 and up. The router is not a new product, as it has been out for a few years (since 2015), and it’s also officially supported by OpenWrt, which makes it even more interesting. Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X (ER-X model) specifications: Processor – Mediatek MT7621AT dual core MIPS1004Kc processor @ 880 MHz System Memory – 256MB RAM Storage – 256 MB NAND flash for firmware 5x Gigabit RJ45 ports Ports configurable for line-rate, Layer-2 switching 260 kpps for 64-byte packets 1 Gbps for 1518-byte packets Passive PoE passthrough option Power – 24V via passive PoE or power adapter There’s also a ER-X-SFP model […]

May 7, 2018May 7, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Review of Ubuntu 18.04 on ODROID-XU4Q Development Board

Hardkernel released their first Samsung Exynos 5422 octa-core board in July 2014 with ODROID-XU3, which at the time was really a powerful board, but also pricey at $179. Later that year, the company released a cheaper version ($99) called ODROID-XU3 Lite, which I had the chance to review with Ubuntu 14.04 and Android 4.4. The company’s adventure with Exynos 5422 processor did not stop there, as in 2015 they released the smaller and even cheaper ($74) ODROID-XU4 board, and last year launched a fanless version of the board with ODROID-XU4Q featuring a large heatsink. More recently, the company also introduced ODROID-HC1 and ODROID-MC1 solutions for respectively network storage and clusters applications. That’s the short history of Hardkernel Exynos 5422 boards as I remember it, and that means that since 2014, or nearly 4 years so far, the company has kept updating Ubuntu and Android firmware for their board, including the […]

May 6, 2018May 7, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 53 Comments

Allwinner Unveils A40i/A40pro and A60i/A60pro Industrial & Military Grade Processors

Allwinner A20 dual core Cortex A7 processor was/is one of the most popular Allwinner SoCs thanks to its low cost, the availability of interfaces such as SATA, Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 1.4, and multimedia support with H.264 encoding and decoding. The company has now introduced new processors that build upon A20, but working in industrial and military temperature ranges, and compliant with various standards (TBD). Allwinner A40i & A40pro The first two models are quad core Cortex A7 processors with A40i being the industrial version, and A40pro the military grade one. Both share most of the same specifications: CPU – 4x Arm Cortex A7 @ 1.2 GHz GPU – Mali-400 MP2 Memory I/F – DDR2/DDR3/LPDDR2/LPDDR3 up to 3GB RAM Storage I/F – 32-bit NAND, eMMC, SD card, SPI NOR flash, SPI NAND flash, 1x SATA Video Engine Decoder – Multi-format decoder up to 1080p60 Encoder – H.264 encoder up to 1080p45 […]

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

Lenovo Introduces Mirage Solo Daydream Standalone Virtual Reality Headset & Mirage Camera for VR180 Video Recording

Standalone / All-in-One Android virtual reality headsets have been around for a couple of years, mostly from Chinese vendors. But the number and quality of VR apps available were rather low at the time, and those VR headsets were mostly useful to watch 360° & VR videos. This may explain why larger companies had not launched any standalone headset so far, but this week everything changed, as Facebook started selling their Oculus Go virtual reality headset , and Google & Lenovo have just jointly announced the availability of Mirage Solo, the first standalone VR headset compatible with Google Daydream. Lenovo Mirage Solo specifications: SoC- Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 VR processor System Memory – 4 GB RAM Storage – 64 GB UFS flash, microSD Card slot up to 256 GB Display – 5.5″ QHD (2560 x 1440) LCD display @ 75 Hz Lenses – 2 x Fresnel-Aspheric 110° FOV Camera – Dual […]

May 4, 2018October 19, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

ESP8266 Loader App Allows you to Flash and Debug ESP8266 Boards from Android Smartphones

In case you’d like to flash ESP8266 boards using a phone, you can now do so with ESP8266 Loader app for Android, which also gives you access to the serial console. All you’ll need to an Android smartphone with USB OTG support, a good USB cable, and a few ESP8266 boards such as Wemos D1 mini or NodeMCU. It should also be possible to use a TV box instead. Other listed features: Support any USB chip – CDC/ACM, FTDI, PL2303, CH34X and CP210X Change the SSID & password automatically durring upload No Ads (Pro version) Access to Google Drive storage (Pro version) Multiple upload widgets button (Pro version) That’s a free app with premium features, which also means it’s not open source, so any new features would have to be implemented by the developer. I asked him whether ESP32 boards were also supported, but he answered the app only works […]

May 4, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Acme Systems CM3-PANEL Panel PC based on Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 Sells for 99 Euros and Up

After their first Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 based board called CM3-Home designed for home automation, Acme Systems has designed a new RPi CM3 carrier board called CM3-PANEL for panel PCs / tablets. They sell four variants of their panel PC built around the board with or without WiFi module and/or 868MHz RF module, and offer customization services for people willing to purchase at least 100 pieces. CM3-PANEL based Panel PC specifications: Socket for Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 Display – 7″ (800×480 resolution) with 10-point capacitive touch Camera – MIPI connector for Raspberry Pi Camera Up to 24 GPIO lines available for extensions or LCD backlight control Camera led and camera shutdown control SPI bus (5 GPIOs) Hardware PWM lines (2 GPIOs) Serial line PCM line (4 GPIOs) I2C bus Model specific features: CM3-PANEL-W – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi @ 2.4GHz (RaLink RT5370N USB module) CM3-PANEL-U – 1x USB host […]

May 4, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

AAEON Releases an Intelligent Vending Machine Development Kit based on UP Board

UP board is a low cost development board powered by an Intel Atom x5-Z8350 Cherry Trail processor with 1GB to 4GB RAM, and 16 to 64GB eMMC flash that mostly follows Raspberry Pi 3 form factor. AAEON is now offering an “intelligent vending development kit” featuring UP board together with a vending machine controller (VMC) board, a motor for the machine’s internal mechanisms, a camera, a QR Code device, and all the necessary cables, as well as optional WiFi and Bluetooth modules. Some details about AIOT-MSSP01 Mini SSP Vending control board: “Intel Intelligent Vending Based” Motor Control – 24V or 12V, Supports GPIO, DC, PWM Type, Supports up to 160 DC Motors Support LCD and Keypad Feature I/Os Vending machine specific interfaces / standards 1x MDB (MultiDrop Bus) 1x DEX (Digital EXchange) 1x Protocol A (EXE) 1x 1-WIRE 4-channel ADC x 1 4-channel Relay GPIO for 12V & 5V by […]

May 3, 2018May 3, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

XH-M452 Board Helps Controlling a Cabinet or Room’s Temperature & Humidity

XH-M452 is a board designed to control the temperature and humidity in a room or cabinet. It comes with two relays to control appliances like fans, air conditioners, (de-)humidifiers, or heaters, and ships with a temperature and humidity probe attached to a one meter cable. XH-M452 board specifications: “ST Controller” Relays – 2x SONGLE 10A/250VAC 125VAC relays for temperature control (left) and humidity control (right). Display – 2x LED display for temperature & humidity Sensor 1 meter probe for temperature & humidity Temperature range – -20 to 60°C +/- 0.1°C Humidity range – 0% to 100% RH +/- 0.1% RH Misc – +/- buttons to adjust temperature and humidity; 2x relay status LEDs. Power Supply – 12V via terminal Dimensions – 65 x 55 x 28mm You’ll need to provide a 12V power source for the board, connect an appliance to control the temperature on the left terminals, and an […]