CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

October 20, 2023October 19, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

microSD Express memory cards to support up to 2GB/s data transfers

SD Association (SDA) has announced the new SD 9.1 specification that doubles the speed of microSD Express memory card speed up to 2GB/s, defines four new SD Express Speed Classes to ensure guaranteed minimum sequential performance levels, and adds support for multi-stream access and related power and thermal management to assure the guaranteed performance. We first covered the microSD Express cards in 2019 as they were added to the SD 7.0 specification with promises of SSD performance through a PCIe 3.0 interface delivering up to 985MB/s. Over four years have passed since then, and I have yet to write about devices supporting the new standard, but the SD Association is not giving up with the introduction of the SD 9.1 specification that doubles the speed of the microSD Express cards, and full-size SD Express card can even reach close to 4GB/s. More specifically, the maximum speed achievable on microSD Express […]

October 19, 2023October 19, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

KAMRUI AK1 Plus Processor N95 mini PC comes with a detachable base for SATA storage expansion

Alder Lake-N mini PCs keep on coming, the latest model is the KAMRUI AK1 Plus with an Intel Processor N95 CPU and a detachable base that can take a 2.5-inch SATA hard drive or SSD. The computer also features 8GB or 16GB soldered-on memory, up to 1TB M2 SSD, two HDMI ports, gigabit Ethernet and dual-band WiFi 5, four USB ports, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. KAMRUI AK1 Plus specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N95 quad-core Alder Lake N-series processor @ up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 16EU Intel HD graphics @ 1.2 GHz; TDP: 15W (up to 20W) System Memory – 8GB or 16GB DDR4 RAM Storage 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB M.2 SSD (apparently SATA and not NVMe, TBC) 2.5-inch SATA bay in detachable base for HDD or SSD Video Output – 2x HDMI ports up to 4Kp60; dual independent display support Audio – 3.5mm headphone jack, […]

October 19, 2023October 19, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Generative AI on NVIDIA Jetson Orin, Jetpack 6 SDK to support multiple OSes

NVIDIA has had several announcements at ROSCon 2023 related to robotics & embedded with highlights including generative AI on the NVIDIA Jetson Orin module and the Jetpack 6 SDK will be released next month (November 2023) with supports for Ubuntu as usual, but also other operating systems and platforms such as Debian, Yocto, Wind River, Redhawk RTOS, and Balena. Generative AI on NVIDIA Jetson Orin There’s been a lot of hype in the last year about generative AI thanks to services such as ChatGPT, Google Bard, or Microsoft Bing Chat. But those rely on closed-source software that runs on powerful servers in the cloud. As we noted in our article about the “AI in a box” offline LLM solution there are some open-source projects such as Whisper speech-to-text model and Llama2 language models that could be run on embedded hardware at the edge, but as noted by some readers platforms […]

October 18, 2023October 18, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

SiFive announces Intelligence X390 NPU, Performance P870 RISC-V core

SiFive Performance P870 RISC V Intelligence X390 NPU

SiFive has announced two new high-performance IP blocks with the Intelligence X390 NPU and the Performance P870 RISC-V core that should find their way into SoC designed for Generative AI and ML applications. We had already covered the Performance P870 and its automotive sibling – the P870-A – from information in an earlier presentation, but the SiFive Intelligence X390 NPU is new to me and appears to be aimed at generative AI in data centers, although we will very soon be seeing companies implement generative AI at the edge in pretty powerful embedded devices. SiFive Performance P870 highlights: Full support for the RVA23 RISC-V profile specification and Vector 1.0 and Vector Crypto Six-wide, out-of-order 64-bit core Up to a 32-core cluster >12 SpecINT2k6/GHz, or a 50% peak single thread performance upgrade over the previous generation SiFive Performance P670 SiFive Features 2x 128b VLEN RVV Vector crypto and hypervisor extensions IOMMU […]

October 18, 2023October 18, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Rugged fanless Alder Lake-N mini PC features 6x RS232/422/485 ports, dual 2.5GbE, dual HDMI

We’ve covered many Alder Lake-N mini PCs, but the AAEON BOXER-6617-ADN is a little different as a robust, fanless industrial embedded PC with up to six RS232/RS422/RS485 serial ports, two 2.5GbE ports, and two HDMI video outputs. Powered by up to an Intel Core i3-N305, the latest mini PC from AAEON works in a -20°C to 70°C temperature range and supports 9V to 36V DC input with circuit protection suitable for industrial environments like the previously announced BOXER-6406-ADN fanless embedded computer from the company, but with a slightly different feature set. BOXER-6617-ADN specifications: Alder Lake-N SoC (one or the other) Intel Atom x7211E dual-core processor up to 3.2 GHz with 6MB cache, 16EU Intel UHD Graphics; 6W TDP Intel Processor N50 dual-core processor up to 3.4 GHz with 6MB cache, 16EU Intel UHD Graphics; TDP: 6W Intel Processor N97 quad-core processor up to 3.6 GHz with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel […]

October 17, 2023October 17, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Raspberry Pi Zero W-based Weather Orbs shows weather data on three round displays (Crowdfunding)

Peter Holderith’s Weather Orbs is a Raspberry Pi Zero W-powered desktop weather station that displays animated weather data from NOAA and NWS on three small round displays connected over SPI. Internally it’s an add-on board that connects to the 40-pin GPIO header of the Raspberry Pi Zero W and with three additional headers to connect the smartwatch round displays. The PCB also comes with 16 RGB LEDs to create some nice lighting effects. The Raspberry Pi Zero W and accompanying electronics are housed in a custom “high-quality” 3D printed enclosure with a cover made of brushed stainless steel, and thick glass magnifiers complete the design for a retro style. The default firmware fetches weather data, such as live satellite images from NOAA or radar from NWS, and displays those on the three round displays. It also starts a Wi-Fi hotspot called “weatherorbs” to which the user can connect and then […]

October 17, 2023October 17, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Hummingboard 8P Edge AI SBC combines NXP i.MX 8M Plus SoC with Hailo-8 AI accelerator

Hummingboard 8P Edge AI Pico-ITX SBC combines an NXP i.MX 8M Plus processor – itself with a 2.3 TOPS NPU – with the 26 TOPS Hailo-8 AI accelerator for edge AI applications such as smart cameras and automated optical inspection. The compact board comes with up to 8GB RAM, up to 128GB eMMC flash, two gigabit Ethernet ports including one with PoE, WiFi 5, a MIPI camera interface, HDMI and micro HDMI ports, two USB 3.0 ports, and more. Hummingboard 8P Edge AI specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Plus quad-core Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.8 GHz with Arm Cortex-M7 @ up to 800 MHz, Vivante GC7000UL 3D GPU, Vivante GC520L 2D GPU, 2.3 TOPS NPU System Memory – Up to 8GB LPDDR4 Storage – Up to 128GB eMMC flash, microSD card slot AI accelerator – M.2 Hailo-8 module delivering up to 26 TOPS Video Output – HDMI and Micro […]

October 16, 2023October 16, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Tiny low-power Hyperlux LP camera sensors can extend battery life by up to 40%

onsemi has introduced the Hyperlux LP image sensor family for battery-powered industrial and commercial cameras with resolutions from 5MP to 20MP and a low power consumption that can extend battery life by up to 40% based on the company’s internal testing. Three models of the 1.4 µm pixel sensors will initially be offered: the 5MP AR0544, the 8MP AR0830, and the 20MP AR2020. Those camera sensors should eventually be found in a wide range of products such as smart doorbells, security cameras, AR/VR/XR headsets, devices leveraging machine vision, and video conferencing. The AR2020 is a 1/1.8inch Back-Side Illuminated (BSI) Stacked CMOS digital image sensor with a 5120 x 3840 active pixel array with a rolling shutter readout and capable of capturing images in either linear or enhanced Dynamic Range (eDR) modes. Its smaller siblings support the same features, but the AR0830 is a 1/2.9-inch image sensor with a 3840 […]