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Variscite DART-MX6 is a Tiny SoM with Freescale i.MX6 SoC, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

Variscite has unveiled what they claim to be the world’s smallest i.MX6 SoM with DART-MX6, a 50x20mm system-on-module featuring Freescale i.MX6 dual or quad processor, up to 1GB RAM, up to 32GB eMMC flash, as well as a wireless module for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. Other small i.MX6 modules include TechNexion PICO-iMX6, or SolidRun microSoM found in Hummingbird board, and DART-MX6 has indeed the smallest area among the three. DART-MX6 specifications: SoC- Freescale i.MX6 dual or quad core Cortex A9 processor up to 800 MHz with Vivante GC2000 3D GPU System Memory –  512 to 1024 MB LPDDR2 (PoP) Storage – 4 to 32GB eMMC flash, 4KB I2C EEPROM Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n + MIMO, Bluetooth 4.0  BLE (TI WL183xMOD WiLink) Audio Codec – Texas Instruments TLV320AIC3106 Interfaces and I/Os via 2x 80-pin and 1x 50-pin board to board connectors Camera Interfaces – 1x CSI, 2x CPI Display – […]

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Relative Performance of ARM Cortex-A 32-bit and 64-bit Cores

Many people assume newer processors will be faster, or that 64-bit processor will provide a performance boost compared to 32-bit processors, but the reality can be quite different, and I’ve decided to have a look at ARM Cortex-A cores using ARMv7 (32-bit) and ARMv8 (64-bit) architecture, and see what kind of integer performance you can expect from each at a given frequency. To do so, I’ve simply use DMIPS/Mhz (Dhrystone MIPS/Megahertz) values listed on Wikipedia. Drystone benchmark has no floating-point operating, so it’s a pure integer benchmark. I’m only looking at ARM core here, and once integrated in an SoC, other parameters like memory bandwidth, amount of cache,  GPU, etc.. will greatly affect the overall system performance. The figure above are per MHz, and it does not mean for example that a Cortex A5 processor will be slower than a Cortex A7 processor, as can be seen by the comparison […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM
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Baseball Nano-ITX i.MX6 Board Targets Secure Industrial M2M and IoT Products

Calao Systems has introduced a new Freescale i.MX6 single board computer with Baseball embedded platform, targetting network-connected industrial M2M and Internet of Things (IoT) applications requiring a high-level of security achieved with an FIPS 140-2 trusted platform module, and Crypto Authentication chip. The board is comprised of a Nano-ITX based board and a Freescale.iMX6 (Solo, Dual or Quad) SMARC 1.1 module with the following combined specifications: SoC – Freescale iMX6 Solo, Dual or Quad Cortex A9 processor @ up to 1GHz with Vivante GPU System Memory – 2 GB DDR3L, Storage On Module: 8 GB e-MMC, 8 MB SPI Flash, 1x EEPROM with unique S/N and MAC address On Baseboard: 1x Micro-SD socket, 1x Industrial Grade eMMC NANDrive (optional), 1x Industrial Grade SATA Nandrive (optional), Video Output – HDMI Audio Output – HDMI and optical S/PDIF Connectivity – 2x Gigabit Ethernet, 1x SIM card slot USB – 3x USB 2.0 […]

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Online Labs pBox (C1 Node) is a mini ARM Server with 4 Gigabit Ethernet Ports, mSATA and mPCIe Slots

Online Labs, a subsidiary of Iliad (free), recently launched hosting services with dedicated ARM servers based on Marvell processor with modules they call C1. The company has decided to design a baseboard (pBox) for C1 module, and, as I understand it, plans to sell it to the public. It’s an exciting development for those who are looking for affordable and tiny purpose built Linux ARM servers. Preliminary C1 Node / pBox mini server specifications (based on C1 specs and bits of information gathered online): SoC – Marvell Armada 370/XP quad core ARMv7 processor @ up to 1.2 GHz System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 256 MB NAND flash + mSATA slot + eSATA port + micro SD slot Connectivity – 4x Gigabit Ethernet ports USB – 1x micro USB port Expansion – mini PCie, 1x 20-pin header for expansion (no details yet) Debugging – 20-pin JTAG connector Power Supply […]

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Broadcom Introduces WICED Sense Bluetooth Low Energy Development Kit

Broadcom has recently announced a new development board for IoT applications using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) called WICED Sense. The kit consists of a “sense tag” powered by the company’s BCM20737S Bluetooth SIP Module with five micro-electromechanical sensors (MEMS), and Bluetooth 4.1 compatible WICED SMART software stack. The key features of WICED Sense devkit are as follows: Broadcom BCM20737 Bluetooth Smart system in package (SiP) module Five low-power MEMS sensors by ST Micro (part of the module): Gyroscope (L3GD20) Accelerometer (LIS3DSH) eCompass (LSM303D) Pressure sensor (LPS25H) Humidity Temperature sensor (HTS221) Bluetooth Smart connection covers distance of roughly 30 meters. USB – 1x micro USB connector to update applications Encryption, decryption, certificate signing, verification and various algorithms for increased privacy Secure Over-the-air (OTA) download capability to enable firmware updates from central device including smartphone, tablet and computers Misc – iBeacon, NFC, Wireless charging (Rezence A4WP) support. Power – Coin-cell battery The […]

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ARM Introduces DSP ‘Lab-in-a-Box’ For Education Combining STMicro STM32F4-Discovery Board and Wolfson Audio Card

DSP (Digital Signal Processing) courses at University have traditionally used software simulation packages (Matlab), or hands-on labs using development kits costing around $300 per student. In order to reduce costs, ARM University program and their corporate partners have launched a DSP ‘Lab-in-a-Box’ so that university students can learn DSP and audio systems with hardware selling for about $50, or over 80% cheaper than previous educational hardware. A typical DSP Lab-in-a-Box (LiB) would come with: STMicroelectronics ARM Cortex-M4-based STM32F4 Discovery MCU board Wolfson Microelectronics and Farnell element14 Wolfson Audio Card. ARM Keil MDK-Professional development tool with a 1-year renewable software license. Teaching materials such as lecture slides, code samples, and hands-on lab manuals. STM32F4-Discovery board features an STM32F407VGT6 MCU (ARM Cortex-M4F core) with 1 MB Flash, and 192 KB RAM, sensors (motion and accelerometer), a digital microphone, and audio DAC, a micro USB connector, and various buttons and LEDs. The Wolfson […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025
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Iteaduino Lite is an $8 Arduino (Mostly) Compatible Board (Crowdfunding)

A few months ago, Borderless Electronics sold a $12 Arduino Leonardo clone ($9 + $3 shipping), and a Chinese company called Itead Studio, which also makes Iteauino Plus board (AllWinner A10), has just launched an Indiegogo campaign for an $8 Arduino “nearly-fully-compatible” board, and yes, that includes shipping. The board is similar to Arduino UNO, but with a different MCU in order to reduce costs: MCU – Logic Green LGT8F88A @ 16MHz with 8KB flash (0.7KB used by bootloader), 1KB SRAM, and 504 byte EEPROM. Operating Voltage  – 5V / 3.3V Input Voltage – Recommended: 7-20V, Limits: 7-24V Digital I/O – 14 pins of which 6 provide PWM output. Analog Input – 6 pins DC Current per I/O – Pin80 mA DC Current for 3.3V – power supply 250 mA USB – microUSB for power, programming and debugging Arduino Uno is based on Atmel ATmega328, but this baord uses LFT8F88A, […]

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$25 Flutter is a Wireless Arduino compatible Board with Up to 1 km Range

There are already several ways to add wireless connectivity to your hardware project. For short ranges, we can use protocols such as Bluetooth (e.g. RFDuino, BLEDuino projects, or Bluetooth USB dongle), for much longer ranges 3G/4G connectivity may be required, and achievable via a 3G/4G USB dongle, or SparqEE CELLv1.0 project for example. But what if you want something in the middle with a range closer to 1km? Flutter boards using the 915MHz band (US only) can provide such range, and are software compatible with the Arduino. There are two version of the board: Flutter Basic – Board with an low-profile integrated antenna. It features micro USB for power, an LED, and a button, as well as several digital and analog I/O. Flutter Pro – Board with external antenna (and probably longer range). It comes with all features found in Flutter Basic, and adds battery charging, an additional button, and […]

Boardcon CM3588 Rockchip RK3588 System-on-Module designed for AI and IoT applications