CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

June 3, 2017June 3, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Zotac PI225 Ultra Slim Apollo Lake Mini PC is Smaller than a 2.5″ SSD, About as Thick as a Smartphone

We’ve covered a large number of tiny mini PCs and TV sticks powered by Intel processors, but usually they are thicker than your smartphone because of USB, HDMI, and Ethernet ports if the latter is included. Zotac decided to leverage USB type C data and display capabilities to do away with USB & HDMI ports, and used a micro USB port for power in their latest Zotac PI225 mini PC resulting in an ultra thin (8mm) mini PC that is smaller than a 2.5″ SSD. Zotac PI225 mini PC specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N3350 dual core “Apollo Lake” processor @ 1.1 / 2.4 GHz with 12 EU Intel HD Graphics 500 (6W TDP) System Memory – 4 GB LPDDR3 Storage – 32 GB eMMC flash, micro SDXC slot USB – 2x USB 3.0 type C connectors with data and DisplayPort support Connectivity – 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2 Power […]

June 2, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 19 Comments

BLOMC ONE is a Linux IPTV/OTT Set-Top Box Compatible with Stalker Middleware Portal

Infomir MAG boxes are popular for people running their own IPTV network with content managed using Linux servers to store media files and run Stalker open source IPTV middleware portal developed by the company. A new company has now launched a competing set-top box compatible with Stalker called BLOMC ONE. BLOMC ONE specifications: Processor – Unamed 667 MHz CPU with LQFP144 package System Memory – 2Gbit (256 MB) DDR3 memory Storage – 16 MB flash Video Output – HDMI 1.3 port up to 1080p, AV (CVBS) Transport Stream & Profile Level – MPEG-4, H.264, H.265, MPEG-2 MP@HL,MPEG/AVC Audio – S/PDIF output, HDMI, and AV Audio Decoding – MPEG1 Layer I&II, MPEG4 AAC, and MPEG4 AAC-HE (AAC+), Dolby Digital(AC-3), MP3, WMA Connectivity – Ethernet (RJ45) port USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports Misc – RS232 connector, IR expansion port Power Supply – 12V/1.5A; standby Power – 0.5 watts max. Dimensions […]

June 2, 2017 by TLS - 10 Comments

LyCOM shows off a range of Raspberry Pi Hats at Computex 2017

Taiwanese LyCOM, a maker of various I/O accessories showed off a range of Raspberry Pi compatible expansion boards at Computex. Some of them are rather unusual, such as the Pi-112 which adds M.2 drive support. LyCOM also offers modules that adds SATA and mSATA support. Common among all three modules is that they use a USB to SATA bridge chip, although unfortunately I wasn’t able to determine who the manufacturer of the bridge chip was, as all the hats were in a glass display case. All three hats have a micro USB connector that needs to be connected to one of the USB ports on the Raspberry Pi board, but they can also be connected via a pin-header. The M.2 adapter also has a second micro USB port for power and it’s of course only compatible with SATA based M.2 drives. LyCOM was also showing off a full-size SD card […]

June 2, 2017June 2, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

XOD is a Visual Programming Language for Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and other Maker Boards

When you think about visual programming on the Raspberry Pi or Arduino board, Scratch may come to mind, but some developers have decided to create their own visual programming language working for Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and other boards. Meet XOD, pronounced ksəud. The developers explains their used “functional reactive programming principles and added graphical functionality”. XOD is comprised of “nodes” that represents either some physical device like a sensor, motor, or relay, or some operation such as addition, comparison, or text concatenation, which you can link together through inputs and outputs to create a program, and XOD IDE will compile the resulting diagram to create and upload a binary program to Arduino, Raspberry Pi, etc… You can also convert a XOD diagram into a node with inputs and outputs to use it in another diagram, so the language is scalable. The developers are now looking for testers to play with […]

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

Compulab’s Miniature “Bend & Fold” UCM-iMX7 System-on-Module Could Fit into a Watch

Many companies are still releasing NXP – soon to be Qualcomm – i.MX 6/7 system-on-modules, but I don’t cover all of them, since we have already many to choose from. But Compulab’s latest UCM-iMX7 SoM differentiates itself by it size, using the company’s “Ultra-compact Multilevel Module” (UCMM) technology, to pack NXP i.MX7 processor, 2GB RAM, 64 GB eMMC flash, and a wireless module into a 30 x 27 x 8 mm volume that could potentially fit into something as small as a watch. The picture above clearly shows how UCMM technology works with the module comprised of two rigid PCBs and one flexible layer routing signals between the two allowing to bend and fold the rigid parts together to form a vertical stack. The principle could be extended to more PCBs and flexible layers, sof for example you could have four PCBs with three flexible layers in future / custom […]

June 1, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

UP Core Intel Board Has Launched for 69 Euros and Up on Kickstarter

During spring, we discovered UP Core, a tiny board powered by Intel x5-Z8350 Cherry Trail processor that promised to sell for as low as 69 Euros. But at the time, it was not available yet for purchase, and the good news is that UP has just launched a one month crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to raise funds for mass production, and promote the board. UP Core specifications have not changed since the first announcement: SoC – Intel Atom x5-Z8350 “Cherry Trail” quad core processor @ 1.44 GHz / 1.92 GHz (Burst frequency) with Intel HD 400 graphics @ 200 / 500 MHz System Memory – 1, 2 or 4 GB DDR3L-1600 Storage – 16, 32, or 64 GB eMMC flash, SPI flash ROM Video Output / Display – HDMI 1.4 port, full eDP (embedded DisplayPort) connector Audio I/O – Via HDMI, and I2S Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi @ 2.4 […]

June 1, 2017November 27, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

MediaTek MT7622 SoC with WiFi Network Accelerator Supports 4×4 802.11n WiFi & Bluetooth 5

MediaTek has launched a new ARM SoC for routers, home automation gateways, wireless audio and storage, with MT7622 equipped with a dual core ARM Cortex A53 processor, a dedicated network accelerator, 4×4 802.11n and Bluetooth 5 connectivity. Two models with be available: MT7622A with all features, and MT7622B with router features only, which probably mean no Bluetooth, and possibly less I/Os. MediaTek MT7622 specifications: Processor – Dual core ARM Cortex A53 @ up to 1.36 GHz Storage – eMMC and SDXC interfaces; storage accelerator (SATA 3.0/eSATA Gen2) Connectivity 802.11b/g/n WiFi @ 2.4GHz, 4T4R antenna; 802.11ac can be added through MT7615 SoC Bluetooth 5 Fast Ethernet Switch, RGMII and SGMII Network Accelerator – APT+HQoS, MediaTek Wi-Fi Warp Accelerator Audio – Audio Amplifier, I2S, TDM, S/PDIF USB – USB 2.0 host/device, USB 3.0 host Other Peripheral Interfaces – PCIe Gen 2.0, ADC, GPIO, I2C, IR, PMIC I/F, PWM, SPI, UART Misc – RTC The specs on the product […]

June 1, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Windows 10 ARM Mobile PCs Demonstrated with Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC at Computex 2017

Windows on ARM has been tried before with Windows RT, but the systems were crippled, and it was not exactly a success. Microsoft and Qualcomm are now giving it another try with ARM mobile computers running the full version Windows 10 on Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, and Asus, HP, and Lenovo building devices based on the solution. There are plenty of inexpensive Intel PCs running Windows 10, so what would be the benefits of using Snapdragon 835 SoC? Qualcomm explains that it’s the first to coming integrate Gigabit LTE, it offers up to 50% longer battery life in specific use cases like watching videos and gaming, and thanks to big.LITTLE technology provides up to 4 to 5 times improvement in battery life compared to Intel’s solutions. Windows 10 does not have the same limitations as Windows RT had, and you can do pretty everything that you would on an Intel […]