CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

October 2, 2017October 4, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

STMicro BlueNRG-MESH SDK for Bluetooth Mesh to Include Code for Firmware, Android and iOS Apps

Earlier this summer, the Bluetooth SIG announced Bluetooth Mesh, which supports many-to-many (m:m) device communications for up 32,767 unicast addresses per mesh network (in theory), and is compatible with Bluetooth 4.0 or greater hardware. Several companies immediately unveiled Bluetooth Mesh SDK at the time including Qualcomm, Nordic Semi, and Silicon Labs. ST Micro has now unveiled their own BlueNRG-MESH SDK which the company claims is “the market’s only three-part SDK that provides two app developer packages for Android and iOS, and the embedded-development software for building smart objects such as light fittings and sensors”. Sadly, details about the SDK are near inexistent now, except – as one would expect – BlueNRG-MESH SDK will work with ST BlueNRG Bluetooth low energy wireless network processor based on an ARM Cortex M0 core, and corresponding development kits. [Update: STSW-BNRG-Mesh page has many more details about the SDK including the architecture diagram below. ] […]

October 2, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

HeartyPatch is an Open Source Wireless ECG Patch Powered by ESP32 WiSoC (Crowdfunding)

Smart health gadgets will soon have a bigger part to play in our lives, especially for health monitoring. It mainly started with fitness trackers, but now we are starting to see connected devices such as blood pressure monitors, including the upcoming watch like Omron HeartVue, thermometer, scales, vital sign monitoring systems, certified medical SBC‘s to allow engineers to developer their own medical applications, and even open source surgical robots. HeartPatch is one of those medical board that specifically aims at measuring ECG data, and sent it over Bluetooth or WiFi thanks to Espressif ESP32 WiSoC. HeartPatch specifications: SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32 dual core Tensilica LX6 processor with Wi-Fi/Bluetooth ECG Chip – Maxim MAX30003 analog front-end USB – 1x micro USB connector for programming, data, power, and battery charging Debugging – USB-UART bridge based on CP2104 Misc – Onboard Snap-on Buttons for disposable electrode pads, RGB LED, Battery – 450 […]

October 2, 2017October 2, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Popcorn Hour RockBox Basic TV Box To Leverage ROCK64 Board Firmware Images

Pine64 launched ROCK64 development board powered by Rockchip RK3328 processor a few months ago. The board exposes fast interfaces like Gigabit Ethernet and USB 3.0, and support 4K video playback, and runs Android 7.1 or various Linux distributions such as Ubuntu 16.04 and others. Pine64 and Cloud Media companies share some of the same owners, and RK3328 being a TV box processor, it should not come as a surprise that Cloud Media has introduced Popcorn Hour Rockbox Basic TV box based on the processor. While the box is running Android 7.1 by default, it will also be support alternative operating systems such as LibreELEC, Android TV OS, Ubuntu, etc… thanks to the work of Pine64/Rock64 community. Popcorn Hour RockBox Basic specifications are quite standard: SoC – Rockchip RK3328 quad core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.5 GHz with Mali-450MP2 GPU System Memory – 1 GB LPDDR3 Storage – 8 GB eMMC […]

October 1, 2017October 5, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Sonoff B1 Smart Light Bulb Review – Part 1 : eWeLink Android App and Teardown

ITEAD Studio has a popular family of home automation devices call Sonoff with WiFi switches, smart sockets, RF to WiFi bridges and so on. All WiFi devices are based on Espressif ESP8266 or ESP8285, and while the company provide a stock firmware working with eWelink app, at least two communities have formed around Sonoff and other similar devices providing two open source firmware alternatives: ESPurna and Sonoff-Tasmota. The company has sent me Sonoff B1 smart RGB light bulb for review. Today, I’ll check out the light with eWelink app for Android, and do a teardown, before trying one of the open source firmware in the second part of the review. Sonoff B1 Unboxing Some Chinese products come in a blank cardboard boxes, but Sonoff’s light bulb comes with in a nice looking retail package that would look good on store’s shelves. One of the side lists the specifications with an […]

September 30, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Mediatek MT6739 Launched for Entry-Level 4G Smartphones with 18:9 Displays

India Mobile Congress 2017 took place in New Delhi this week, and at the event, Mediatek officially launched Helio P23 processor (in India), as well as a new MT6739 SoC with a quad core Cortex A53 processor, Imagination PowerVR GE8100 GPU, an a LTE Cat.4/5 modem for entry level 4G LTE smartphones. Mediatek MT6739 specifications: CPU – 4x ARM Cortex-A53 cores clocked up to 1.5GHz GPU – Imagination PowerVR GE8100 GPU @ 570 MHz with System Memory – LPDDR3-667MHz up to 3GB Storage – eMMC 5.1 Flash Display – up to 1440 x 720 (18:9 aspect ratio) Camera – 13MP, dual camera supported Video Decoding – 1080p @ 30FPS, H.264/HEVC Video Encoding – 1080p @ 30FPS, H.264 Modem – 4G LTE Cat. 4 DL / Cat. 5 UL (FDD/TDD) up to 150Mbps download, 50Mbps upload, CDMA2000, L+G, L+W/L+L DSDS, eMBMS, HPUE, 600MHz band supported; Dual VolTE Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth […]

September 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Intel Compute Card and Dock Hands On, Windows 10 and Ubuntu Benchmarks

We’ve recently seen Intel introduced Dock DK132EPJ for their Compute Cards, and released some pricing info. Ian Morrison (Linuxium) got sent a full kit by Intel with the dock and Compute Card CD1M3128MK powered by a dual core / quad Core m3-7Y30 processor with 4GB RAM, 128GB PCIe SSD, and Intel Wireless-AC 8265 module. You can get the full details in Ian’s post, but I’ll provide a summary of the key points here. While the compute card and dock are thinner than most product, the computer card is quite wider than TV sticks, and the dock larger than an Intel NUC. It also comes with a fan, and cooling works well with maximum CPU temperature under being 70°C. The Compute Cards do not come with any operating system, but you get to the BIOS easily, and install Windows or Linux distributions. Ian’s started with Windows 10 Enterprise Evaluation, and ran […]

September 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

Nokia 3310 3G Dumb Phone Works with 2G & 3G Networks

Many people use smartphones now, but “dumb” feature phones are still being sold, as they are cheaper, some may find smartphones too complicated to use, while others wary about privacy issues. However, most feature phones comes with 2G connectivity, and with 2G sunset in many countries, I’ve recently realized it’s not so easy to find a simple phone with 3G cellular connectivity. The good news is that Nokia 3310 3G has just been announced by HMD global. Nokia 3310 3G specifications: SoC – TBD System Memory – TBD Storage – 64 MB storage; MicroSD card slot supporting up 32GB Display – 2.4” QVGA (320×240) color display Keyboard – “beautiful push buttons and iconic, shaped design” Camera – 2MP camera with LED flash Audio – Headphone jack Cellular Connectivity 2G/ 3G connectivity: dual band 900/1800 MHz +3G Band 1 and 8 (Single SIM) quad band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 + 3G Band 1, […]

September 29, 2017October 25, 2017 by Karl Johnson - 6 Comments

Tronxy X3S 3D Printer Review – Part 1: Build and First Prints

Karl here with part 1 of Tronxy X3S build. It is another large volume printer to fully assemble on your own. Taking between 8-10 hours to put together. I have high hopes for this printer. Key things I like: metal frame, dual X, large build volume. Just from looking at it I don’t like the fact that it has no parts cooler but is easy to remedy. Tronxy X3S Specifications Let’s look at some specs. 300 x 300 x 400 mm hot bed (Actually get 330x330x400 build volume) Hot bed temperature: 40 – 110 Deg.C Nozzle temperature: 170-275 Degree Marlin 1.1.5 Frame material: Aluminum Extrusion I have not taken the hotend apart yet so not sure about the nozzle temperature going over 245°C. I will take it apart for the next part. If you are not familiar you don’t want to get lined nozzles above 245°C, or the lining starts […]