C/C++ News - Page 3 of 12 - CNX Software

February 21, 2023February 21, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Badger 2040 W e-Paper display gets WiFi & Bluetooth with Raspberry Pi Pico W

Pimoroni Badger 2040 W wireless programmable e-Paper badge comes with a 2.9-inch black & white E-Ink display and a Raspberry Pi Pico W board for WiFi (and Bluetooth) connectivity. It is an update to the Pimoroni Badger 2040 with the exact same display, but instead of using a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller, Pimoroni fitted a Raspberry Pi Pico W on the back of the board, probably to avoid going through FCC and CE certifications. Badger 2040 W specifications: MCU board – Raspberry Pi Pico W board with: Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Arm Cortex M0+ running at up to 133Mhz with 264kB of SRAM Storage – 2MB QSPI flash Wireless – 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 and Bluetooth Classic+LE with ABRACON onboard antenna (Infineon CYW43439 connected over SPI) Display – 2.9-inch B&W E-Ink display with 296 x 128 pixels resolution, ultrawide viewing angles, ultra-low power consumption; Dot pitch – 0.227 x 0.226 mm […]

February 16, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Control 8 relays with the Raspberry Pi Pico using PicoRelay8 or Pico-Relay-B

Waveshare Pico Relay B with Raspberry Pi Pico board

8086 Consultancy’s PicoRelay8 is a baseboard for the Raspberry Pi Pico (W) board equipped with eight 28V DC / 10A Normally Open relays that be used for all sorts of automation projects, while Waveshare Pico-Relay-B also supports eight relays with both DC and AC loads and comes with some extra features. PicoRelay8 PicoRelay8 board specifications: Supported MCU board – Raspberry Pi Pico or Pi Pico W, and it may also work with “mostly” compatible boards such as the Banana Pi BPI-Pico-RP2040 or BPI-PicoW-S3, WeAct RP2040, and others as long as all GPIO used on the PicoRelay8 are exposed on the same pins. Relays 8x HF3FF/005-1HST relays rated for 28V DC/10A, as well as 10A/250V AC and 15A/125V AC, but the board is not designed to get power from the mains (safety-wise), so it’s only really suitable for DC loads Each relay has a 2-pin terminal block attached to it. GPIO […]

January 24, 2023January 24, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

HackyPi Raspberry Pi RP2040 USB dongle serves as an educational “hacking” tool (Crowdfunding)

SB Components’ HackyPi is a Raspberry Pi RP2040-based USB dongle whose main purpose is to teach ethical hacking and coding programs, in other words, some sort of portable educational hacking tool. The small USB stick features a 1.14-inch color LCD, a MicroSD card to store data such as scripts and photos, and a button to enable programming like on other Raspberry Pi RP2040 boards. HackyPi specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ microcontroller @ 133 MHz with 264KB SRAM Storage – QSPI flash, MicroSD card slot Display – 1.14-inch color LCD with 240 x 135 resolution USB – 1x USB 1.1 Type-A port Misc – Boot “Initiate Program” button Power Supply – 5V via USB port Dimensions – 55.04 x 23.20mm SB Components says the HackyPi USB dongle can be programmed with Raspberry Pi Pico C/C++ and MicroPython SDKs as well as CircuitPython, and they will release hardware design […]

December 21, 2022December 21, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

ArduCam Mega – A 3MP or 5MP SPI camera for microcontrollers (Crowdfunding)

ArduCam Mega is a 3MP or 5MP camera specifically designed for microcontrollers with an SPI interface, and the SDK currently supports Arduino UNO and Mega2560 boards, ESP32/ESP8266 boards, Raspberry Pi Pico and other boards based on RP2040 MCU, BBC Micro:bit V2, as well as STM32 and MSP430 platform. Both cameras share many of the same specifications including their size, but the 3MP model is a fixed-focus camera, while the 5MP variant supports autofocus. Potential applications include assets monitoring, wildfire monitoring, remote meter reading, TinyML applications, and so on. ArduCam Mega specifications: Camera Type 3MP with fixed focus 5MP with auto-focus from 8cm to infinity Optical size – 1/4-inch Shutter type – Rolling Focal ratio 3MP – F2.8 5MP – F2.0 Still Resolutions 320×240, 640×480, 1280×720 x 1600 x1200x 1920 x 1080 3MP – 2048 x 1536 5MP – 2592×1944 Output formats – RGB, YUV, or JPEG Wake-up time 3MP – […]

November 28, 2022November 28, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Raspberry Pi RP2040 development board doubles as a magnetic rotary encoder

Raspberry Pi RP2040 rotary encoder board

PICO DEV M3 is a round-shaped development board based on a Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core microcontroller and serves as a magnetic rotary encoder with a few 3D printed parts. Designed by Ahmsville Labs, the board comes with 2MB QSPI flash, various through holes for GPIOs, a USB-C port, and the magnetic rotary encoder supports up to 36,000 steps per revolution and comes with 18 individually addressable LEDs. PICO DEV M3 development board specifications: Microcontroller – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ MCU at 133 MHz with 264kB on-chip SRAM Storage – 2MB QSPI flash USB – 1x USB 1.1 Type-C host/device port Encoder Base resolution of 36 steps, extending up to 36,000 steps per revolution. Ring of 18x individually addressable LEDs Encoder button Ball bearing for a smoother feel compared to traditional rotary encoders Customizable 3D printed encoder Expansion – Through holes placed on the edge of the board for: […]

November 9, 2022November 11, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 148 Comments

Giveaway Week 2022 – Pico:ed Smart Cutebot Kit

The third prize of this year’s giveaway week comes courtesy of ELECFREAKS which offers a Cutebot Pico:ed kit based on the Pico:ed board with a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller and following BBC Micro:bit form factor. The kit also includes two high-speed motors to drive two wheels, ultrasonic & distance sensors, two RGB LED lights and clearance lamps on the bottom, two line-tracking probes, and an active buzzer used as a horn. It is powered by three AAA batteries. The company initially me asked me if I wanted to review the board/robot, but since I may not have the time to do so, I asked whether they wanted to be included in our yearly giveaway week which they accepted. The company provides instructions to program the robot with “Micro block” visual programming IDE, C++, and CircuitPython. You’ll find resources to get started and eight projects for the robot in the Wiki. […]

November 2, 2022November 2, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Quadric Chimera GPNPU IP combines NPU, DSP, and real-time CPU into one single programmable core

A typical chip for AI or ML inference would include an NPU, a DSP, a real-time CPU, plus some memory, an application processor, an ISP, and a few more IP blocks. Quadric Chimera GPNPU (general purpose neural processor unit) IP combines the NPU, DSP, and real-time CPU into one single programmable core. According to Quadric, the main benefit of such design is simplifying system-on-chip (SoC) hardware design and subsequent software programming once the chip is available thanks to a unified architecture for machine learning inference as well as pre-and-post processing. Since the core is programmable it should also be future-proof. Three “QB series” Chimera GPNPU cores are available: Chimera QB1 – 1 TOPS machine learning, 64 GOPS DSP capability Chimera QB4 – 4 TOPS ML, 256 GOPS DSP Chimera QB16 – 16 TOPS ML, 1 TOPS DSP Quadric says the Chimera cores can be used with any (modern) manufacturing process […]

October 24, 2022February 21, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Automation 2040 W board supports 6V to 40V I/Os, ships with Raspberry Pi Pico W

Pimoroni Automation 2040 W is an industrial/automation controller based on the Raspberry Pi Pico W board that supports I/Os from 6V up to 40V and offers 2.4GHz WiFi 4 connectivity. The board offers plenty of interfaces including the ADC inputs, four digital inputs, three digital outputs, and three relays whose signals are all available through screw terminals, as well as two Qwiic/STEMMA QT connectors for further expansion. Automation 2040 W specifications: Controller – Raspberry Pi Pico W with Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ microcontroller @ 133 MHz with 264KB SRAM, 2MB flash, 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 module I/Os 3x 12-bit ADC inputs up to 40V 4x digital inputs up to 40V 3x digital sourcing outputs at V+ (supply voltage) with 4A max continuous current 2A max current at 500Hz PWM 3x relays (NC and NO terminals) supporting 2A up to 24V, 1A up to 40V 3.5mm screw terminals for inputs and […]