AWS IoT EduKit leverages M5Stack Core2 ESP32 hardware

AWS IoT EduKit

M5Stack Core2 is a neatly packed ESP32 IoT development kit with a 2-inch touchscreen display, motion sensor, a microphone., and a built-in battery that was launched last September. The hardware has been selected by Amazon Web Services and gone through some small modifications including the addition of a secure element, and a yellow paint job giving birth the the “AWS IoT EduKit” hardware and software solution designed to “learn how to build IoT applications using AWS services through a prescriptive learning program”. M5Stack Core2 for AWS IoT EduKit specifications are pretty similar, but with a few tweaks here and there: SoC – Espressif ESP32-D0WDQ6-V3 dual-core Xtensa LX6 processor clocked at up to 240MHz with 520KB SRAM, Wi-Fi, and dual-mode Bluetooth connectivity External Memory – 8MB PSRAM Storage – 16MB flash storage, MicroSD card slot up to 16GB Display – 2-inch IPS LCD screen with 320×240 resolution (ILI9342C driver), and touchscreen […]

Embedded Artists Unveils iMX RT1064 uCOM with WiFi 5 & Bluetooth 5.1 Module

NXP iMX RT1064 uCOM System-on-Module

Embedded Artists have recently introduced iMX RT1064 uCOM system-on-module powered by NXP i.MX RT1064 Cortex-M7 crossover MCU clocked at 600 MHz with 1MB SRAM and 4GB flash on-chip, as well as 32MB SDRAM, and equipped with an optional WiFI 5 and Bluetooth 5.1 module from Murata. iMX RT1064 uCOM technical specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX RT1064 Arm Cortex-M7 @ up to 600 MHz with 1MB SRAM, 4MB on-chip QSPI flash, 2D graphics acceleration engine System Memory – 32 MB SDRAM Storage – Optional additional 4GB to 32GB eMMC flash and/or SQPI flash Wireless – Optional Murata Type 1ZM dual-band 802.11b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.1 module based on NXP 88W8987 2x DF40C-100 board-to-board connectors: Storage – 2x USDHC Display I/F – 24-bit parallel RGB up to 1366 x 768 pixels Camera – Parallel CSI Audio – 3x SAI, SPDIF Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet (requires PHY on carrier board) USB – […]

TechNexion Unveils EDM and AXON SoM’s Powered by NXP i.MX8M Plus SoC

AXON-E-IMX8M-PLUS

A few days ago we wrote about Variscite’s NXP i.MX 8M Plus-powered AI systems-on-modules and devkits, and now it’s TechNexion’s turn to introduce its own SoM’s for artificial intelligence applications. Just like variscite, the company has two variants with EDM-G-IMX8M-PLUS following the EDM standard with a 260-pin edge connector, and AXON-E-IMX8M-PLUS part of the AXON family with board-to-board connectors better suited to vibration-prone applications. Besides the form factor and different default storage  capacities, both SoM’s share the same specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX8M Plus quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.8 GHz with Cortex-M7 real-time core @ 400 MHz, Vivante GC520L 2D GPU, Vivante GC7000UL 3D GPU, 1080p60 hardware decoder (HEVC, H.264, VP9, and VP8) and encode (H.265/H.264), and 2.3 TOPS NPU System Memory – Up to 8 GB LPDDR4 Storage AXON-E-IMX8M-PLUS – 32 GB eMMC flash by default EDM-G-IMX8M-PLUS – 16 GB eMMC flash by default Networking Chips Qualcomm […]

PicoCore RT1 System-on-Module Runs FreeRTOS on NXP i.MX RT1050 Crossover Processor

PicoCore RT1 i.MX RT1050 SoM

F&S Elektronik Systeme PicoCore RT1 is a System-on-Module powered by NXP i.MX RT1050 crossover processor designed to offer the real-time capabilities of microcontrollers and the performance of application processors thanks to an Arm Cortex-M7 core clocked at up to 600 MHz. The 40×35 mm module is also equipped with 32MB SDRAM, 256MB “high-reliability QSPI NOR flash, and 16KB EEPROM, and offers various interfaces including Ethernet, RGB LCD, and USB via board-to-board connectors. PicoCore RT1 (V1) SoM specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX RT1050 Arm Cortex-M7 processor @ up to 600 MHz with 32KB L2 cache, 2D graphics accelerator System Memory – 32MB SDRAM Storage – 256MB QSPI Flash, 16KB EEPROM; optional NAND flash 2x 80-pin board-to-board connector with Storage – SD Card Display – 16-bit RG interface, analog resistive and PCAP touch via I2C Networking – 1x 10/100M Ethernet Audio – Line-In, Line-Out, microphone, headphone, I2S USB – 1x USB 2.0 […]

PolarFire SoC Icicle 64-bit RISC-V and FPGA Development Board Runs Linux or FreeBSD (Crowdfunding)

PolarFire SoC Icicle Kit

We got some more details about PolarFire RISC-V FPGA SoC late last year, and we were promised a Linux capable 64-bit RISC-V & FPGA development board with PolarFire SoC Icicle kit in Q3 of 2020. We are already in July 2020. So where is the board? Oh, look! It’s right here on Crowd Supply where it is offered for $499, and shipping is expected to start in mid-September. PolarFire SoC Icicle specifications: SoC FPGA – PolarFire SoC MPFS250T-FCVG484EES penta–core RISC-V CPU subsystem (1xRV64IMAC, 4xRV64GC) with 254K LE non-volatile fabric, 784 18 × 18 math blocks, secure boot, 4x 12.7 Gbps SERDES, FCVG484 package (19 × 19 mm, 0.8 mm pitch) System Memory – 2GB LPDDR4 x32 Storage – 1 GBit QSPI Flash, 8GB eMMC Flash or SD card slot (multiplexed) Video Output – HDMI 2.0 (removed from final board) Connectivity – 2x Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth USB – 1x […]

RFCat N32 Long Range nRF52832 Bluetooth Board Delivers 30x the Transmission Power with an Amplifier

RFCat N32 Long Range Bluetooth Board

Bluetooth 5.0 has two main new features: high speed (2Mbps) and long-range. But as we’ve seen in our nRF52840 vs nRF52832 vs nRF52810 comparison is that only nRF52840 supports Bluetooth 5.x long range. Bluetooth 5 long range is achieved with two new lower bit rates of 500 kbps and 125 kbps. So what do you do if you’d like a longer range and keep using the higher bit rates? You add a power amplifier and LNA to your board, and that’s exactly what Nikolaj (RFCat) did with RFCat N32 board based on Nordic Semi nRF52832 wireless SoC. RFCat N32 board specifications: Wireless module – Meshtek-H52 Smart Mesh Module with integrated PCB antenna based on Nordic Semi nRF52832 Arm Cortex-M4F Bluetooth 5-ready SoC (See datasheet) Skyworks RFX2401C PA &LNA with 18.9dBm TX gain and 11dBm RX gain USB – 1x USB-C port for power, programming and debugging via CP2102N USB to […]

QuickFeather Board is Powered by QuickLogic EOS S3 Cortex-M4F MCU with embedded FPGA (Crowdfunding)

QuickLogic EOS S3 Development Board

Yesterday, I wrote about what I felt what a pretty unique board: Evo M51 board following Adafruit Feather form factor, and equipped with an Atmel SAMD51 Cortex-M4F MCU and an Intel MAX 10 FPGA. But less than 24 hours later, I’ve come across another Adafruit Feather-sized Cortex-M4F board with FPGA fabric. But instead of using a two-chip solution, QuickLogic QuickFeather board leverages the company’s EOS S3 SoC with a low-power Cortex-M4F core and embedded FPGA fabric. QuickFeather board QuickFeather specifications: SoC – QuickLogic EOS S3 with Arm Cortex-M4F Microcontroller @ up to 80 MHz and 512 Kb SRAM, plus an embedded FPGA (eFPGA) with 2400 effective logic cells and 64Kb RAM Storage – 16Mbit SPI NOR flash USB – Micro USB  port with data signals tied to eFPGA programmable logic Sensors – Accelerometer, pressure sensor, built-in PDM microphone Expansion I/Os – Breadboard-compatible 0.1″ (2.54 mm) pitch headers including 20 Feather-defined […]

PicoCore MX8MN is a Tiny NXP i.MX 8M Nano Computer-on-Module

The PicoCore MX8MN Nano carries the NXP i.MX 8M Nano F&S Elektronik Systeme has announced the development of the smallest i.MX 8M based CoM yet: the PicoCore MX8MN Nano. Previously we had reported on the Congatec Conga-SMX8 Nano which was a fairly small CoM compliant with SMARC 2.0 standard. The PicoCore MX8MN is based on the NXP i.MX 8M Nano CPU with 1 to 4 Arm Cortex-A53 cores and a Cortex-M7 real-time core. The Nano is set to carry up to 8GB RAM and 32 GB eMMC, with optional WiFI/BT and support for -40º C to 85º C temperature ranges. Similar to Predecessor The PicoCore MX8MN Nano is very similar in structure to the PicoCore MX8MM Mini CoM, but with a different i.MX 8M Mini processor featuring the same Arm Cortex-A53 cores, but the Cortex M4 real-time core is changed to a more powerful Cortex-M7 core in the MX8MN Nano. […]

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