CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

March 11, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

MACOM X-Gene 3 Server-on-Chip is Equipped with 32 64-bit ARM Cores Clocked at 3.0 GHz

MACOM, having recently completed the acquisition of AppliedMicro, has now announced sampling of X-Gene 3 Server-on-a-Chip (SoC) with 16-nanometer FinFET process technology. X-Gene 3 features 32-core ARMv8 cores clocked at up to 3.0 GHz, 8 DDR4 channels, 42 PCIe Gen 3 lanes, SATA 3.0 and USB 3.0. X-Gene 3 SoC key features and specifications CPU – 32x 64-bit ARMv8 cores @ up to 3.0 GHZ (base freq.) / 3.3 GHz (turbo freq.) Cache – 32MB L3 cache Memory IF – 8x DDR4-2667 channels with ECC and RAS supporting up to 16DIMMs for up to 1TB RAM Storage – SATA 3.0 interfaces 42x PCIe Gen 3 lanes with 8x controllers USB 3.0 interfaces Max. TDP – 125 Watts (Expected) Process – 16nm FinFET TSMC X-Gene 3 is said to offer 4 to 6 better performance compared to X-Gene 2, and match “comparable x86 processors in CPU throughput, per-thread performance and power […]

March 10, 2017March 10, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Macchina M2 is an Open Source Hardware OBD-II Development Platform for Your Car (Crowdfunding)

ODB-II Bluetooth adapter and head-up displays to monitor and diagnose your car have been around for a while. I actually got two models to use with a Toyota Avanza and Torque Lite app, but never managed to make it work with my phone. Macchina M2 board is doing much of the same thing and more, as it is open source hardware, and supports more communications protocols including GPS, WiFi, 3G/LTE, BLE, and Ethernet using XBEE boards. Macchina M2 specifications: MCU – Atmel SAM3X8E ARM Cortex M3 processor @ 84 MHz (also used on Arduino DUE) with 96 KB SRAM, 512KB flash Storage – micro SD card socket, 32KB EEPROM via I2C USB – 1x micro USB port (USB device or host mode) Wireless XBee Socket – For Bluetooth LE, WiFi, GSM, 3G, LTE, I/Os 6x automotive level I/O pins to control 12V devices (Examples: relays, fans, lights, etc) OR act […]

March 10, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

F&S Elektronik armStone A53SD Pico-ITX SBC Features Qualcomm Snapdragon 410E Processor

F&S Elektronik Systeme GmbH will showcase their solutions at Embedded World 2017 next week, including their latest ARM Cortex A53 modules and boards based on NXP QorIQ LS1012A, and Qualcomm Snapdragon 410E processors. Today, I’ll write about the later with the company’s armStone A53SD pico-ITX single board computer equipped with up to 32GB flash and 8GB memory. armStone A53SD board specifications: Processor – Qualcomm Snapdragon 410E quad core ARM Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.2 GHz with Adreno GPU System Memory – Up to 8GB LPDDR3 RAM Storage – Up to 32GB eMMC flash, 1x micro SD card slot Display – 24-bit LVDS, DVI up to 720p, I2C for touch controller Audio – Line In/Out/Mic via header Connectivity – 1x 10/100M Ethernet, WiFi IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR/4.1 LE USB – 3x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x USB 2.0 device port Camera – MIPI-CSI connector Expansion – Unpopulated 66-pin header with […]

March 10, 2017March 11, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 90 Comments

$6 LicheePi Zero ARM Board Runs Linux 4.10, Supports Lots of Add-On Boards (Crowdfunding)

We’ve already covered LicheePi One board powered by Allwinner A13 processor, but it was not for sale out of China, and the developers are now back with LicheePi Zero board/module, slightly bigger than an SD card, featuring Allwinner V3s processor, and offered for as low as $6, or $8 with WiFi via an Indiegogo campaign. LicheePi Zero specifications: SoC – Allwinner V3s ARM Cortex A7 processor @ up to 1.2 GHz with an ARM Mali-400 GPU, 512Mbit (64MB) DDR2 on-chip Storage – micro SD card slot, SPI flash (not 100% clear if it will be populated when shipped to backers) Display – FPC40 RGB Connector with support for 800×480 RGB LCD Audio – Audio codec USB – micro USB OTG port Expansion 2x 15 headers with 2.54mm pitch, breadboard friendly with GPIOs, 2x UART, 1x SPI, 2x I2C,ADC, 1x PWM 2x 30 half-holes with 1.27mm pitch with OTG USB，MIPI CSI，EPHY，RGB […]

March 9, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

New 96Boards IoT Edition Boards Showcased at Linaro Connect 2017: BlueSky IE and WRTNode IE

Linaro Connect Budapest 2017 is taking place this week in Hungary, and during George Grey – Linaro CEO – keynote, he provided a status updates for the Linaro group, addressed some of Linaro’s criticisms from members and the community, and unveiled two upcoming boards compliant with 96Boards IoT edition both running Zephyr OS, and adding to BLE Carbon board announced last year. The first board is BlueSky IE board with the following key specifications: SoC – RDA Micro RDA5981A ARM Cortex-M4 Wireless MCU with 64KB ROM, and 32KB cache System Memory – 485KB SRAM. It’s unclear if that’s only the on-chip SRAM, and there’s also some external PSRAM added. Storage – 8Mb NOR flash 802.11 b / g / n HT20 / 40 mode Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi with support for HT20 / 40 modes Crypto security hardware The second board is WRTnode IE: SoC – Mediatek MT7697 ARM […]

March 9, 2017March 9, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Axiomtek Introduces PICO312 Fanless Apollo Lake Pico-ITX SBC

Axiomtek has recently introduce PICO312, a fanless pico-ITX single board computer powered by either Intel Pentium N4200 quad core processor or Celeron dual code N3350 processor N3350 part of “Apollo Lake” family. The board is equipped with a SO-DIMM socket supporting up to 8GB RAM, LVDS, VGA or HDMI output, and working within -20°C to +60°C without the need for a fan, but just a heat spreader with heatsink. Axiomek PICO312 Apollo Lake Pico-ITX board specifications: SoC – Intel Pentium N4200 quad core procesoor @ up to or Celeron N3350 processor @ up to with respectively 18EU or 12 EU Intel HD Graphics Gen 9. System Memory – 1x DDR3L-1867 SO-DIMM supporting up to 8GB Storage – 1x SATA-600 port, 1x mSATA via mini PCIe slot (both on the back of the board) Video Output / Display IF 1x LVDS; 18/24-bit single/dual channel 1x HDMI (N4200 model) or 1x VGA […]

March 9, 2017March 9, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Auxens OXI Brings Windows Continuum Like Desktop Mode to Android Smartphones

Remix OS, Phoenix OS, LightBiz OS… are all Android based operating systems with desktop optimizations, but so far they mostly work on TV boxes, computers or tablets. If you want something that works on smartphones with a desktop mode while connected, your choice is more limited with solutions such as community based Maru OS, or the upcoming Remix Singularity. But there’s now a new player in town with Auxens OXI that works a little like Windows Continuum, but with modifications to the Android API. OXI is based on CyanogenMod 13.1, with work being done to switch to LineageOS 14.1, and offers a desktop-like environment for Android with support for multitasking, multi-window support with resizing, notification support, and so on. It works by connecting the smartphone to a secondary screen via MHL, DisplayPort, or Miracast to get a desktop environment, while still being able to use your phone. Apps do not […]

March 9, 2017March 9, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

NVIDIA Shield Android TV Gets Unofficial USB Tuner (ATSC/DVB) Support

NVIDIA Shield Android TV may only be available in a limited number of countries, but if you happen to live in a country where it’s officially sold, it can be one of the best options due its hard-to-beat price to performance ratio, and official Android TV software support from Google & Nvidia. One features it does not support out of the box is support for digital TV tuner, but linux4all has released an unofficial firmware image adding USB TV tuner support to Android TV (7.0) on Nvidia Shield Android TV 2015 and 2017 models. You’ll first need a supported tuner either Hauppauge WinTV-dualHD (DVB-C, DVB-T and DVB-T2), Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-850 (ATSC), Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-955Q (ATSC, QAM, Analog), or Sony PlayTV dual tuner (DVB-T). More tuners may be supported in the future. One you’ve got your tuner connected to Nvidia Shield Android TV, make sure you have the latest Android TV 7.0 OTA […]