Arduino Nicla Vision – A tiny STM32H7 board with 2MP camera, WiFi & Bluetooth LE, sensors

Arduino Nicla Vision

Arduino Nicla Vision is an ultra-compact (~2.3×2.3 cm) board powered by an STMicro STM32H7 dual-core Cortex-M7/M4 microcontroller, and equipped with a 2MP camera, a WiFi & Bluetooth LE module, and a few sensors. Those features make the board suitable for machine vision and edge computing applications such as asset tracking, image detection, object recognition, and predictive maintenance. For instance, image detection, facial recognition, automated optical inspection, vehicle plate reading, or gesture recognition can be added to projects, either using Nicla Vision as a standalone board or in combination with Portenta or MKR boards. Arduino Nicla Vision specifications: Microcontrollers – STMicro STM32H757AII6 dual-core MCU with Arm Cortex M7 @ 480MHz, Cortex-M4 @ 240MHz, 2 MB flash, 1MB RAM Storage – 16MB QSPI flash Connectivity – 2.4GHz WiFi 802.11b/g/n up to 65 Mbps and Bluetooth 5.1 BR/EDR/LE via Murata 1DX module Camera – 2MP GC2145 color camera. USB – Micro USB port […]

ESP8285 WiFi DIP module replaces ATMega328P MCU on Arduino UNO board (Crowdfunding)

Arduino UNO WiFi DIP Module

Released over 10 years ago, Arduino UNO is still the best-selling Arduino board, but lacking WiFi in the IoT era is not ideal, so Gianluca Martino, Arduino co-founder and working with the company until 2015, decided to design the Jolly DIP module based on ESP8285 WiFi chip that can replace the ATmega328P 8-bit AVR DIP-40 microcontroller. Since ESP8285 cannot provide all I/Os, notably analog inputs offered by ATmega328P, Gianluca combined it with the ATMega328PB microcontroller in a compact SMD package to offer firmware compatibility plus WiFi connectivity in the same DIP form factor. Jolly module specifications: MCU – Microchip ATMega328PB 8-bit AVR microcontroller with 32 KB ISP Flash, 1 KB EEPROM, 2 KB SRAM (Based on data from the datasheet) Wireless chip – Espressif Systems ESP8285H16 WiFi SoC with 2MB integrated flash plus ceramic antenna Communication interfaces between the two chips – SPI + UART (the latter exclusively for ESP8285 […]

Adafruit ESP32 Feather V2 ships with 8 MB Flash, 2 MB PSRAM, USB-C port, and more

Adafruit ESP32 Feather V2

Adafruit ESP32 Feather V2 (aka Huzzah32 Feather V2) is an upgrade to the company’s HUZZAH32 ESP32 Feather, still based on ESP32 WiFi & Bluetooth processor, and designed with the initial goal of replacing the obsolete CP2104 with the CP2012N USB to TLL chip. But Adafruit ended up doing a complete redesign with extra storage (8MB flash in total), 2MB PSRAM, a USB-C port replacing the Micro USB port, an extra tactile switch, an RGB LED, lower power consumption, and more. Adafruit ESP32 Feather V2 specifications: Wireless module – Espressif Systems ESP32-PICO-Mini-02 (PDF datasheet) with an ESP32 dual-core Xtensa processor @ up to 240MHz with 2.4 GHz WiFi and Bluetooth Classic/LE, 8MB flash, 2MB PSRAM, PCB antenna, FCC/CE certification. USB – USB Type-C port for power and programming via CP2102N chipset I/Os 16-pin and 12-pin GPIO headers with GPIOs, analog inputs, I2C, UART, SPI, DAC, etc… STEMMA QT connector for I2C devices, […]

Ultra-low power printed flexible E-paper displays work with Arduino

Ultra-low-power flexible e-paper display

Ynvisible Interactive will soon release upgrades to their printed flexible E-paper displays that consume 50% less energy per switch and can last 10 longer when switched on and off, with the company claiming to offer the lowest energy-consuming displays in the e-paper industry. Those displays are mostly used in specific industries such as digital signage, smart monitoring labels, authenticity & security, and retail. While we have very little information about the new upgrades, I’ve noticed the company is offering a development kit with several “ultra-low-power, thin and flexible Segment E-Paper Displays”, so let’s have a look. Here are some of the specifications of the displays part of the kit: White Reflectance – 40% Contrast Ratio (Yb/Yd) – 1:3 Angle Dependency – No, lambertian Thickness – 300 μm (0.3 mm) Graphical layout – Segments with 1mm to 100mm dimensions Response time – 100-1000 ms Driving voltage – 1.5 V (direct drive) […]

M5Stamp C3U IoT module relies on ESP32-C3’s own USB interface for firmware programming

M5Stamp C3U

M5Stamp C3U is an update of the M5Stamp C3 RISC-V IoT module with heat-resistant cover, support for WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0, that does without CH9102 USB to TTL chip, relying instead on the internal USB interface of ESP32-C3 processor to handle serial programming of the firmware, and gaining on extra GPIO pin in the process. While several ESP32 processors come with a built-in USB interface, many boards still use an external USB to TTL chip such as CH340 or CP2102 to handle the serial interface used for debugging and flashing the firmware likely because of limitations when using ESP32-C3’s USB serial/JTAG controller console, but M5Stack probably considered those to be workable, and the small cost-saving beneficial. M5Stamp C3U specifications: WiSoC – ESP32-C3FH4 32-bit single-core RISC-V processor @ up to 160 MHz, with 384KB ROM, 400KB SRAM, 8KB RTC SRAM, 4MB embedded flash, WiFi and Bluetooth Connectivity 2.4 GHz WiFi […]

Challenger RP2040 LoRa board combines Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU with RFM95W LoRa module

Challenger RP2040 LoRa

Invector Labs is now offering a variant of the WiFi-based Challenger RP2040 board with a LoRa radio. The Challenger RP2040 LoRa board features the Hope RF RFM95W LoRa radio transceiver module instead of the ESP8285 WiFi chip found in the original board. Raspberry Pi RP2040 has already been used in combination with a LoRa module, notably in Rakwireless RAK11300 WisDuo LPWAN module and the “LoRa Expansion for Pico“, a baseboard for Raspberry Pi Pico equipped with a LoRa module, but it’s the first time I see the combination in a development board form factor, which as a potential bonus following Adafruit Feather form factor. Challenger RP2040 LoRa board preliminary specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ MCU @ 133MHz with 264KB SRAM Storage – 8MB flash Wireless module – Hope RF RFM95W connected via SPI channel and some GPIOs 168 dB maximum link budget. +20 dBm – 100 mW […]

DIY Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W handheld PC (mostly) makes use of off-the-shelf parts

Penkesu Computer

The Penkesu Computer is a DIY handheld PC powered by a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W SBC, and mostly comprised of off-the-shelf parts including a 7.9-inch display from Waveshare, replacement hinges for the Gameboy Advance SP, a 48-key mechanical keyboard fitted with Kailh low profile Choc V1 switches, and so on. Penk also happens to have designed the CutiePi tablet with Raspberry Pi CM4, and designed the Penkesu Computer (ペンケース in Japanese) as a side project without having to “worry too much about commercial viability” and as a way to remind himself why he started tinkering. Penkesu Computer handheld PC specifications: SBC – Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W with Broadcom RP3A0 SiP with Broadcom BCM2710A1 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.0 GHz, 512MB RAM, MicroSD card slot Display – 7.9-inch IPS display with capacitive touch screen, 1280x 400 resolution, connected over HDMI via flat cable through an Adafruit adapter Keyboard – […]

CANFDuino – A Dual CAN Arduino based platform with enclosure, proto area (Crowdfunding)

CANFDuino

CANFDuino is an Arduino-compatible dual CAN bus platform with CAN FD support that can be used for both prototyping and deployment on the field thanks to its rugged aluminum enclosure, two DB9 CAN connectors, an IO terminal block. The board is powered by a Microchip SAMC21G18A microcontroller with CAN-FD support, a MicroSD card slot, a micro USB port, various analog and digital I/O, as well as a prototyping area allowing users to solder their own components to the board if needed.   CANFDuino specifications: MCU – Microchip SAMC21G18A Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller @ up to 64 MHz with 32KB SRAM, 256KB flash Storage – MicroSD card slot I/Os 2x DB9 connectors with CAN/CAN-FD up to 5 Mbps 12-way screw terminal block IO Through holes with 10x analog inputs Up to 24 digital IO w/14x PWM 2x UART (+1 UART2USB) 1x I2C,1x SPI 3.3V and 5V supplies Prototyping area for soldering extra […]

EDATEC Raspberry Pi 5 fanless case