Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on NXP i.MX 8M Mini Pico-ITX SBC Comes with Audio DSP, Optional PoE and Google Coral M.2 Module

NXP i.MX 8M Mini Pico-ITX SBC Comes with Audio DSP, Optional PoE and Google Coral M.2 Module

We’ve covered several NXP i.MX 8M Mini SBC‘s since the announcement of the processor in 2018 as the first i.MX SoC manufactured with a 14nm process allowing for a higher CPU clock of 2.0 GHz compared to the 1.5 GHz frequency used with the original i.MX 8M processor.  i.MX 8M Mini also removes some features (4K video playback, some video interfaces, …) in order to lower the cost of the processor. Companies are still releasing new i.MX 8M SBCs regularly, but we don’t always cover them all since many often do not offer much compared to the competition. But Estone Technology EMB-2237-AI Pico-ITX SBC has some unusual features and options including a Cirrus Logic audio DSP, as well as support for a PoE module and Google Coral M.2 AI accelerator module.   EMB-2237-AI SBC is comprised of a system-on-module and baseboard with the following specifications: Estone SOM-2237 module SoC – NXP i.MX8M Mini Dual or Quad Cortex-A53 @ up to …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Register to the Embedded Online Conference for Free Before February 29th

Register to the Embedded Online Conference for Free Before February 29th

Events such as the Embedded Linux Conference and Embedded Systems Conference take place in the US and Europe every year. There are plenty of talks and it’s certainly good for networking, but you need to travel to the event and the entrance fee to have access to all session costs several hundred dollars if you book early, and over one thousand dollars if you register close to the date of the event. Most ELC/ELCE videos usually end up on The Linux Foundation YouTube channel, but the Beningo Embedded Group and Embedded Related website decided to organize a similar conference happening online and simply called the “Embedded Online Conference“. The conference offers topics about embedded systems, DSP, machine learning and FPGA and will take place on May 20.  There are currently 17 talks, but they are still calling for talks so more sessions may be added before the actual event. You’ll also be able to ask questions to the speakers. Some …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Arm Helium Delivers up to 15x Performance Uplift for Machine Learning on Cortex-M MCUs

Arm Helium Delivers up to 15x Performance Uplift for Machine Learning on Cortex-M MCUs

Arm Helium

Arm has just unveiled Armv8.1-M architecture that adds Arm Helium technology, the M-Profile Vector Extension (MVE) for the Arm Cortex-M cores that will improve the compute performance of Cortex-M based microcontrollers. Helium will deliver up to 15 times more machine learning (ML) performance and up to 5 times uplift to signal processing allowing local decision-making on low-power embedded devices. Helium instructions will enable new applications for Arm Cortex-M microcontrollers in audio devices, sensor hubs, keyword spotting, voice command control, power electronics, communications and still image processing. Helium and Neon (the Advanced SIMD technology for Arm Cortex-A processors) are similarities but Helium has been designed for efficient signal processing performance in small processors. One different illustrated below is that while NEON loads 128-bit instructions (e.g. VLDR, VLMA), Helium will split up 128‑bit wide instruction into four equally sized chunks, called “beats” (labelled A to D) due to difference between Cortex-M and Cortex-A cores as explained in details in an Arm Research …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on Intel Quark S1000 “Sue Creek” Processor to Support On-Chip Speech Recognition

Intel Quark S1000 “Sue Creek” Processor to Support On-Chip Speech Recognition

Intel may have announced plans to discontinue several of their IoT boards, but based on some documents I received, the company has not given up on the Quark family, although they may have given up on the Intel architecture for low power microprocessor, as Intel Quark S1000 – codenamed “Sue Creek” – will feature two Tensilica LX6 cores (yes, just like ESP32), and is designed to handle speech recognition at the edge (e.g. locally), so some of your voice commands should still work when Internet is down. Intel Quark S1000 key features and specifications: Digital Signal Processors Dual Tensilica LX6 cores @ 400 MHz with HiFi3 DSP Single precision scalar floating-point instructions 16KB 4-way I$; 48KB 4-way D$ Up to 2400 DMIPS, 3.2 GMACS (16×16), 800 MFLOPS of Compute Speech Accelerators A GMM (Gaussian Mixture Model) and neural network accelerator Low power keyboard and limited vocabulary recognition Up to 9.6 GMACS (16×16) of compute Internal Memory 4MB shared embedded SRAM …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Rockchip RV1108 Visual Processor is Designed for 1080p & 2K Camera Applications

Rockchip RV1108 Visual Processor is Designed for 1080p & 2K Camera Applications

Rockchip has joined other companies in developing camera SoCs with their RV1108 Visual Platform based on a single Cortex A7 core, a CEVA XM4 visual processing DSP, and capable of H.264 video encoding up to 1440p30 / 1080p60. Rockchip RV1108 main features and specifications: CPU – ARM Cortex A7 @ up to 1.0 GHz DSP – embedded CEVA XM4 vision processor up to 600MHz Video Encoder – 2K/H.264, high definition & low bit rate Camera – MIPI CSI and DVP interfaces Image processing – Low-light-level night vision imaging: 8MP professional image processing unit Audio Processing – Audio Codec supporting up to 8-way MIC array, 3A? phonetic algorithms, such as echo cancellation, noise suppression; Video Out/Input – HDMI OUT, CVBS OUT, MIPI DSI, CVBS IN Networking – 10/100 Ethernet PHY The processor is expected to be used in drones, IP cameras, car dashcams, sports/action cameras, as well as other applications such as panoramic cameras, computer vision applications, or real-time WiFi video …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Rockchip RV1108 Cortex A7 + DSP SoC is Made for Audio & Video Conference and Recording Applications

Rockchip RV1108 Cortex A7 + DSP SoC is Made for Audio & Video Conference and Recording Applications

[Update May 2017: Rockchip has renamed RK1108 to RV1108.] Rockchip has introduced RV1108 ARM Cortex A7 SoC with a 600 MHz DSP targeting visual communication, consumer electronics, automotive DVR, and security applications thanks to its 8-channel I2S audio codec and 1440p H.264 video encoder and decoder. Detailed specifications can be found on the official Rockchip Wiki: CPU – Single-core ARM Cortex-A7 Core processor with NEON and FPU,  32KB/32KB L1 I-Cache/D-Cache, Unified 128KB L2 Cache, and Trustzone Video/Image DSP – Up to 600 MHz, 32KB I-TCM and 32KB I-cache, 128KB D-TCM Memory 12KB internal SRAM DDR3/DDR3L interface – 16 Bits data width, 1 ranks (chip selects), up to 512 MB RAM NAND Flash Interface – 8-bit async NAND flash, 16-bit hardware ECC eMMC Interface – Compatible with standard iNAND interface, eMMC 4.51 standard. SD/MMC Interface – Compatible with SD 3.0, MMC 4.41 System Component 2x 64-bit timers with interrupt-based operation 8x PWMs with interrupt-based operation WatchDog timer Video Video decoder of …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Promises Twice the Performance & Power Efficiency of Snapdragon 810

Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Promises Twice the Performance & Power Efficiency of Snapdragon 810

Qualcomm has provided more details about Snapdragon 820 processor featuring custom-designed 64-bit ARM Kryo cores, an Adreno 530 GPU and an Hexagan 680 DSP, with claims that it should be twice as fast and consume half the power of Snapdragon 810 processor with Cortex A57 and A53 cores. Based on the chart below, it will also be faster than Snapdragon 620 with Cortex A72 and A53 cores. Snapdragon 820 will feature four Kryo cores (succeeding Krait cores) clocked at up to 2.2 GHz and be manufactured using 14nm FinFET process technology. Adreno 530 GPU is expected to deliver over 40% performance improvement over Adreno 430 GPU while also keeping power consumption 40% lower, a new Spectra camera dual ISP will support 14-bit sensors, and Hexagon 680 DSP adds a separate low power DSP for always-on sensor processing, and support for HVX (Hexagon Vector eXtensions) to be used for advanced imaging and computer vision. This will for example greatly accelerate low …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on ARM Unveils Embedded Systems Education Kit Based on NXP LPC4088 Cortex M4 MCU

ARM Unveils Embedded Systems Education Kit Based on NXP LPC4088 Cortex M4 MCU

Following up on their first “Lab-In-a-Box” initiative based on Micro STM32F4-Discovery board and Wolfson audio card, ARM launched another low-cost toolkit, based on Embedded Artists LPC4088 QuickStart and Experiment boards, and called “Embedded Systems Education Kit”, to help university educators teach embedded systems design and programming concepts. The kit includes the following hardware, software tools, and teaching materials: Embedded Artists LPC4088 QuickStart Board and LPC4088 Experiment Base Board ARM Keil MDK-ARM Pro microcontroller development suite software licences Complete teaching materials including lecture note slides, demonstration code and hands-on lab manuals with solutions in source for four embedded system courses: ‘Efficient embedded systems design and programming’ teaches microcontroller fundamentals using NXP’s 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 based LPC4088 microcontroller. ‘Rapid embedded system design and programming’ delivers embedded systems design training for the high-level ARM mbed API ‘OS design’ uses the royalty-free ARM Keil RTX RTOS to show how to design, program and optimize RTOS-based applications ‘DSP’ teaches students about digital signal processing techniques …

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