CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

June 29, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Diginnos Docking Station Adds USB Ports and Ethernet to HDMI TV Sticks

Android, Windows, and/or Linux based HDMI TV sticks are great, except they usually come with few USB ports, and lack wired connectivity. A couple of years ago, Measy created a dock adding USB ports and an SD card slot with their Measy U2C Android TV box mostly to allow user to used the built-in camera, but a Japanese company has now released another docking station for TV sticks adding USB ports and Ethernet. Diginnos DG-STKLC docking station specifications: Video output – HDMI Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet port (RJ45) USB – 3x USB 2.0 ports, 1x micro USB port for power Misc – Integrated cables to connect to TV stick micro’s USB power port, USB host port, and HDMI Power Supply – 5V via micro USB port Dimensions – 128 x 60 x 57 mm Weight – 157grams The docking station has been designed to work with Diginnos own TV sticks, but […]

June 29, 2016June 30, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments

ARMADA 8040 Networking Community Board with a Quad Core ARM Cortex A72 SoC Coming Soon for $300 and Up

Developers interested in ARMv8 server or networking boards are starting to have more and more affordable choices. After AMD Opteron A1100 series based LeMaker Cello board, and Softiron Overdrive 1000 server, SolidRun is now working on ARMADA 8040 networking community board powered by Marvell ARMA8040 quad core Cortex A72 network processor. ARMADA 8040 networking board (mrvl8040) preliminary specifications: SoC – ARMADA 8040 (88F8040) quad core Cortex A72 processor @ up to 2.0 GHz with MoChi architecture System Memory – 4GB DDR4 DIMM by default Storage – 4x SATA 3.0 port + micro SD slot Connectivity – 1x Gigabit RJ45 port, 1x SFP SGMII @ 2.5Gbps, dual 10Gbps copper with auto switchover to dual SFP+ Expansion – 1x PCIe-x4 3.0 slot, Linaro 96Boards expansion slot exposing GPIO, UART, I2C and SPI, Marvell TDM module header USB – 1x USB 3.0 port, 2x micro USB ports Debugging – Console port (UART) over […]

June 29, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

$25 Ameba Arduino IoT Board Powered by Realtek RTL8195AM MCU Supports WiFi and NFC

Ameba Arduino is another development board for the Internet of Things, but beside WiFi connectivity, it also includes an NFC tag, and can support Ethernet via Arduino compatible headers. The brain of the board is Realtek RTL8195AM ARM Cortex M3 MCU that includes WiFi connectivity, hardware SSL, SRAM, and flash. Ameba Arduino Specifications: MCU – Realtek RTL8195AM ARM Cortex M3 @ up to 166MHz with 512KB SRAM, 1MB ROM, WiFi connectivity, hardware SSL engine Memory – 2MB SDRAM Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n 1T1R with PCB antenna and external antenna connector, NFC tag with read/write Function, 10/100M Ethernet via expansion headers USB – 1x micro USB OTG port, 1x micro USB host port Expansion Headers SDIO Device/SD card controller Up to 30x GPIOs 2x SPI interfaces supporting master and slave modes 3x UART interfaces including 2 HS-UART and one log UART 4x I2C Interfaces supporting master and slave mode 2x […]

June 28, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments

Amlogic S912(-H) TV Box Boards Are Starting to Show Up

Amlogic S912 is one of the most expected processor this year for TV box users, and while there’s still a few months development needed before devices based on the new platform go on sale, some boards have started to surface on the Internet. The first board named S912_MBX_REF_Q02_V01 is shown above, and has the following specifications: SoC – Amlogic S912 or S912-H octo core ARM Cortex A53 processor @ 2.0GHz with ARM Mali-820MP3 @ 750MHz+ System Memory – 2GB (Optional 1GB) Storage – 16GB eMMC flash (Optional 8GB) + micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0 and AV ports Audio Output – HDMI, AV, and optical S/PDIF Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth 4.0 Misc – IR receiver, recovery push button (behind AV jack) As a reminder the -H suffix means Dolby and DTS licenses are paid for, so audio down-mixing will work in all apps. […]

June 28, 2016March 8, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 24 Comments

Broadlink RM Mini 3 is a $10 WiFi IR Blaster for Home Automation

Many electrical appliances such as TVs, air conditioners, heaters, and so on are still controlled using an infrared remote control, but as more and more people are getting used to their smartphone to control pretty much everything, devices such as Xiaomi Mi Smart Remote Center that allows to control IR appliances with ANdroid or iOS mobile are starting to come to market. However during my Smart Remote Center review, I noticed that the app was only available in Chinese, and that it was not quite able to perform all the tasks I wanted (e.g. multiple IR codes programming). There’s now a cheaper and small device available in the form of Broadlink RM Mini 3 “Black Bean” that sells for just $9.88 including shipping, and whose app supports not only Chinese, but also English, Russian, Japanese, and other languages. Broadlink RM mini 3 specifications: WiFi – 802.11 b/g/n @ 2.4 GHz […]

June 28, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Raspberry Pi Zero Based Google’s Project Bloks Aims to Teach Programming to Young Children

Visual programming development tools such as Scratch or Blockly are now becoming more popular to introduce school children to programming, and Google Research is now working on bringing the software visual programming concept to physical blocks “programming” though Project Bloks targeting younger children who may not be able to write or read yet. It might also help older children grasping programming concepts faster than when programming by typing on a keyboard. Project Bloks is comprised of three main hardware components connected together: Pucks – Those are the buttons, dials, switches, and other inputs from the project. Pucks have no active electronics, and even a piece of paper with some conductive ink could be a Puck. Base Boards – They read a Puck’s instruction through a capacitive sensor, and forward a Puck’s command to the Brain Board. Each Base Board is also fitted with a haptic motor & LEDs, and can […]

June 27, 2016December 2, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 31 Comments

Mediatek Labs Unveils Deca-core Helio X20 Development Board Compliant with 96Boards CE Specifications

More and more companies are joining the 96Boards bangwagon, and the latest move by Mediatek Labs will mean their Helio X20 development board, designed in collaboration with ArcherMind, will be the most powerful 96Boards CE edition released so far thanks to its deca-core processor with two Cortex A72 cores, and 8 Cortex A53 cores. Mediatek Helio X20 board specifications: SoC – Mediatek Helio X20 (MT6797) deca-core processor with two ARM Cortex A72 cores @ 2.3 GHz, four Cortex A53 @ 1.95 GHz, four Cortex A53 @ 1.4 GHz, and ARM Mali-T880 GPU @ 800 MHz System Memory – 2GB LPDDR3 @ 933 MHz Storage – 8GB eMMC 5.1 flash + micro SD 3.0 (UHS-I) slot Video Output – HDMI up to 1080p @ 30 fps Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS with antenna connector USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB port (device only). Expansion: […]

June 27, 2016July 5, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Review of Xiaomi Mi Band 2 Activity Tracker

I’ve been using Xiaomi Mi Band 2 for a little over two weeks now, so I’m not ready to report my findings, and the results are mixed. If you are interesting in checking out the accessories, and physical aspect of the watch, feel free to read Xiaomi Mi Band 2 unboxing post first. Since the new model adds an OLED display, let’s first see what options it has to offer. The display is off by default, and pressing the capacitive touch button (please note that it’s not a real physical button, so it won’t work with most gloves for example) will turn on the display for 5 seconds. You can keep pressing to go through time, step count, distance, calories burnt, heart rate monitor, and battery level. Except for time, there’s a icon shown before display the actual value. If you find that the display does not look clear, that’s […]