Tiny Jetson Xavier NX mini PC gets AI-powered Oosto video analytics software

Oosto Vision AI Appliance

The Oosto Vision AI Appliance is a palm-sized “near-edge” device based on the NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX system-on-module and running the company’s neural network models for video analytics that are optimized to support low-power devices, as opposed to servers with powerful GPUs. It’s not actually a new device, as the light gold color of the enclosure below looks like a model from AAEON, and indeed, it looks just like the AAEON BOXER-8251AI embedded box PC. That most probably means AAEON provides the hardware, and Oosto installs their video analytics software unto the device. It’s still interesting to look into the announcement, and Oosto has a TCO calculator that will put into context the cost involved in specialized B2B or B2G (business-to-government) solutions.   Oosto video analytics software appears to focus on facial recognition for touchless access control and to help law enforcement apprehend suspects (from a watchlist) and help de-escalate […]

ANNKE NC800 security camera review – Part 2: color night vision, vehicle & human detection

Security camera soft light

I started the review of ANNKE NC800 security camera with color night vision last month by checking out the specifications and package content. I’ve now had time to install and test the camera with a focus on night image quality and person and vehicle detection. ANNKE NC800 installation The camera should be powered by a PoE injector, but since I don’t have any spare one, I just used an Ethernet cable and a 12V power supply. The kit includes bits to make sure the Ethernet cable is waterproof, but I would have had to cut the plastic bit on top of my connector, so I skipped that part. The cable is also protected from rain and sun where I’ll install it. I also installed a MicroSD card after formatting it to FAT32 to make sure it is recognized by the system, but it may not be necessary as the card […]

Pockit modular Linux computer gets a Raspberry Pi CM4 upgrade

Pockit modular computer

We first wrote about the Pockit modular Linux computer with hot-plugging magnetic blocks about a year ago. The system was based on a STM32+ESP32 mainboard with a socket for an optional Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 and included magnets and electrical contacts to snap and hot-plug modules/blocks while the computer is running. The developer (Anil Reddy) has made good progress with the project and added the option to use a Raspberry Pi CM4 with Pockit (provided you can find one) to improve performance, for example for computer vision. Other changes include support for AI accelerators, an improved dashboard, home automation integration, and more. Pockit now supports over 80 feature BLOCKS ranging from a rotary encoder to a microSD card reader to various camera types, an HDMI block, AI accelerators, and so on. All of which can be magnetically snapped while the computer is running, and automatically detected in the dashboard. […]

Lanner IIoT-I530 machine vision industrial PC comes with 6x PoE+ ports, dual 2.5GbE

machine vision industrial PC

Lanner IIoT-I530 is a fanless machine vision IPC (Industrial PC) powered by a choice of Intel Tiger Lake UP3 processors and equipped with six PoE+ or LAN ports for IP cameras, as well as two 2.5GbE ports. The embedded computer also comes with up to 64GB DDR4 RAM, two COM Ports, four USB 3.0 ports, dual HDMI output, digital inputs and outputs, as well as M.2 sockets for WiFi 6 or/and 5G connectivity, plus NVMe SSD storage. Lanner IIoT-I530 specifications: SoC – 11th Gen Intel Core Tiger Lake UP3 up to Core i7-1185GRE quad-core CPU @ 1.8 GHz / 4.4 GHz (Turbo) with Intel Iris Xe Graphics System Memory – Up to 64GB DDR4 3200 RAM via 2x 260-pin SO-DIMM sockets Storage 1x SATA with 2.5-inch drive bay for SSD/HHD 1x mSATA socket, 1x M.2 M-Key 2280 PCIe Gen4 x4 socket for NVMe SSD 256Mbit SPI Flash for AMI BIOS […]

OpenScan DIY 3D scanner works with Raspberry Pi, DSLR, or smartphone cameras

OpenScan DIY 3D scanner Raspberry Pi

OpenScan is an open-source DIY 3D scanner that relies on Photogrammetry and works with Raspberry Pi camera modules, compatible ArduCam modules, as well as DSLR cameras, or the camera from your smartphone. The open-source project was brought to my attention after I wrote about the Creality CR-Scan Lizard 3D scanner. The OpenScan kits include 3D printed parts such as gears, two stepper motors, a Raspberry Pi shield, and a Ringlight module to take photos of a particular object from different angles in an efficient manner. The OpenScan Classic kit above allows for 18x18x18cm scans and comes with the following components: 1x Nema 17 Stepper Motor (13Ncm) 1x Nema 17 Stepper Motor (40Ncm) 2x A4988 Stepper driver 1x Power Supply 12V/2A (5.5-2.5mm plug) 1x Optional Bluetooth remote shutter control for smartphones If you’re going to use the Raspberry Pi as shown on the right side of the image, you’ll also need […]

Review of ANNKE NC800 Smart IP camera with color night vision – Part 1: unboxing

ANNKE NightChroma NC800 Review

ANNKE NC800 is a 4K security camera with people and vehicle detection, and other AI features as tested in our Annke CZ400 review. The main differentiating factor is support for “true full color” night vision that does not rely on a spotlight, but instead a “soft light”, a BSI sensor, and f/1.0 aperture as we’ll explain in a bit more detail below. The company sent me a sample for evaluation, and today I’ll check out the specifications of the “NightChroma NC800” camera and the content of the package, before installing and focusing testing on night capture in the second part of the review. ANNKE NC800 (I91BQ) specifications Camera Image Sensor – 1/1.2″ Progressive Scan CMOS Video Codec Main stream – H.265+/H.265/H.264+/H.264 Sub-stream – H.265/H.264/MJPEG Third stream – H.265/H.264 Framerate and Video Resolution 20 fps @ 3840×2160, 3072×1728 50 Hz: 25 fps @ 2688×1520, 1920×1080, 1280×720 60 Hz: 30 fps @ […]

RISC-V or Arm? This tiny 4x4cm Linux board with WiFi offers both options

Arm RISC-V MangoPi MQ boards

Last fall, we wrote about Allwinner D1s/F133-A RISC-V processor and the upcoming MangoPi MQ1, a tiny 4x4cm board based on the processor. The board is not for sale, but we have more details, and the company is also working on an Arm version equipped with Allwinner T113-S3 dual-core Cortex-A7 processor that is pin-to-pin compatible with F133-A SoC. The Allwinner F133-A board will finally be called MangoPi Nezha-MQ, or MangoPi MQ for shorts, and come with 64MB on-chip RAM while the Allwinner T113-S3 board, with 128MB on-chip RAM, will be named MangoPi MQ-Dual. Both are fitted with a Realtek RTL8189-based Wi-Fi module, offer display and camera interfaces, two USB-C interfaces, and headers for GPIOs. MangoPi MQ RISC-V or Arm Linux board MangoPi MQ/MQ-Dual specifications: SoC (one or the other) MangoPi MQ – Allwinner D1s/F133-A 64-bit RISC-V processor @ 1 GHz with 64 MB DDR2 MangoPi MQ-Dual – Allwinner T113-S3 32-bit dual-core […]

Basler prB-IMX8MP embedded vision processing kit supports BCON for MIPI, GigE Vision, and USB3 Vision cameras

Basler prB-IMX8MP embedded vision processing kit

Basler prB-IMX8MP is a Linux-based, NXP i.MX 8M Plus powered embedded vision processing kit working with the company’s cameras designed for factory automation, medicine, traffic and several other markets. The board is equipped with Variscite DART-MX8M-Plus system-on-module and offers multiple camera interfaces to support BCON for MIPI, GigE Vision, and USB3 Vision cameras through Basler’s pylon Camera Software Suite. Basler prB-IMX8MP specifications with interfaces in bold usable by Basler cameras: SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Plus quad-core Cortex-A53 processor clocked at up to 1.8GHz, Cortex-M7 real-time core @ 800 MHz, 1080p H265/H264 encode/decode, AI/ML accelerator up to 2.3 TOPS, Vivante GC7000UL 3D GPU, Vivante GC520L 2D GPU System Memory – 8GB (CNXSoft: Probably a mistake since the DART-MX8M-PLUS module only supports 1GB to 4GB RAM. Is it 8 Gbit = 1GB?) Storage – 64 GB flash, MicroSD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 1080p60, 2-lane MIPI DSI […]