SBC News

Novoton NuMicro MA35D1 microprocessor features two Arm Cortex-A35 cores, one Arm Cortex-M4 real-time core, and two Ethernet interfaces for Linux-based edge IIoT gateway. The SoC also is offered in variants supporting external DDR memory or integrated up to 512MB RAM, 154 or 208 GPIOs, and an optional “Enhanced ADC”. The MA35D1 also comes with a TFT interface for up to 1920×1080 displays, several hardware security features, and the company says the microprocessor facilitates Tiny AI/ML for edge computing despite not integrating an AI accelerator. Nuvoton NuMicro MA35D1 key features and specifications: CPU sub-system 2x Cortex-A35 cores running at up to 800 MHz Cortex-M4 re…

The NVIDIA Jetpack 5.0.2 production release is out with Ubuntu 20.04, the Jetson Linux 35.1 BSP 1 with Linux Kernel 5.10, an UEFI-based bootloader, support for Jetson AGX Orin module and developer kit, as new as updated packages such as CUDA 11.4, TensorRT 8.4.1, cuDNN 8.4.1. NVIDIA Jetson modules and developer kits are nice little pieces of hardware for AI workloads, but the associated NVIDIA Jetpack SDK was based on the older Ubuntu 18.04 which was not suitable for some projects. But the good news is that Ubuntu 20.04 was being worked on and initially available through the Jetpack 5.0.0/5.0.1 developer previews, and NVIDIA Jetpack 5.0.2 SDK is the first production relea…

NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin 32GB production module is now in mass production and available, after the 12-core Cortex-A78E system-on-module was first announced in November 2021, and the Jetson AGX Orin developer kit was launched last March for close to $2,000. Capable of up to 200 TOPS of AI inference performance, or up to 6 times faster than the Jetson AGX, the NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin 32GB can be used for AI, IoT, embedded, and robotics deployments, and NVIDIA says nearly three dozen partners are offering commercially available products based on the new module. Here’s a reminder of NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin 32GB specifications: CPU – 12-core Arm Cortex-A78AE v8.2 64-bit processor …

ADLINK “AI Camera Dev Kit” is a pocket-sized NVIDIA Jetson Nano devkit with an 8MP image sensor, industrial digital inputs & outputs, and designed for rapid AI vision prototyping. The kit also features a Gigabit Ethernet port, a USB-C port for power, data, and video output up to 1080p30, a microSD card with Linux (Ubuntu 18.04), and a micro USB port to flash the firmware. As we’ll see further below it also comes with drivers and software to quickly get started with AI-accelerated computer vision applications. AI Camera Dev Kit specifications: System-on-Module – NVIDIA Jetson Nano with CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A57 processor GPU – NVIDIA Maxwell architecture with 128…

SmartCow, an AI engineering company specializing in video analytics, AIoT devices, and smart city solutions, and an NVIDIA Metropolis partner, has released a new version of the Ultron controller. Smartcow Ultron is an AI-enabled controller with sensor fusion capabilities that empowers industrial applications of vision AI at the edge. Powered by the NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX system-on-module and compatible with Jetson Orin NX, Ultron is suitable for smart traffic and manufacturing that can leverage its high computing power and low latency for vision AI applications in various configurations. It is also applicable in smart factories, smart cities, smart buildings, and smart a…

AAEON BOXER-8256AI is a fanless embedded box PC equipped with an NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX system-on-module, offering four HDMI input ports – two Full HD, two 4K capable -, as well as two HDMI outputs for smart healthcare equipment, digital signage, and entertainment. The embedded computer comes with 8GB RAM and a 16GB flash provided by the NVIDIA module, supports M.2 NVMe and SATA storage, Gigabit Ethernet, plus optional WiFI, 4G, and 5G cellular connectivity through M.2 sockets. BOXER-8256AI specifications: SoM – NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX with CPU – 6-core NVIDIA Carmel Armv8.2 64-bit CPU GPU – 384-core NVIDIA Volta GPU with 48 Tensor Cores AI accelerator – 2x NVDLA deep …

NVISEN FU01 fanless mini PC is offered with a choice of Intel Core i3/i5/i7 Tiger Lake processors, fitted with up to 16GB RAM (upgradeable to 64GB), a 256GB or 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD, and the highlight of the computer is its 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4 port with 8K video output support. The Tiger Lake system can drive up to three 4K displays with HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.2 connectors adding to the Thunderbolt 4 port, offers Gigabit Ethernet and WiFi 5 connectivity, plus six USB 3.0/2.0 Type-A ports for expansion. NVISEN FU01 specifications: SoC (one or the other) Intel Core i3-1115G4 dual-core processor @ 3.0GHz, up to 4.1GHz (Turbo) with Intel UHD graphics; 28W TDP Intel Core i5-…

NXP i.MX 95 is an upcoming Arm processor family for automotive, industrial, and IoT applications with up to six Cortex-A55 application cores, a Cortex-M33 safety core, a Cortex-M7 real-time core, and NXP eIQ Neutron Neural Network Accelerator (NPU). We’re just only starting to see NXP i.MX 93 modules from companies like iWave Systems and Forlinx, but NXP is already working on its second i.MX 9 processor family with the i.MX 95 application processor family equipped with a higher number of Cortex-A55 cores, an Arm Mali 3D GPU, NXP SafeAssure functional safety, 10GbE, support for TSN, and the company’s eIQ Neutron Neural Processing Unit (NPU) to enable machine learning appli…

NXP i.MX RT1180 is the latest member of the company’s i.MX RT Series crossover MCUss with application processor-like performance. The 800 MHz dual-core Arm Cortex-M7/M33 microcontroller is specifically designed for industrial IoT communication with a Gigabit Ethernet port supporting time-sensitive networking (TSN). NXP also highlights that it is the first crossover MCU to include an EdgeLock secure enclave that “eases the complexity of implementing robust, system-wide security intelligence for industrial IoT applications”, and the new processor aims to bridge the gap between existing industrial systems and Industry 4.0 system. NXP i.MX RT1180 key features and specificatio…

NXP has announced a new MCX general-purpose Arm Cortex-M MCU family designed for advanced industrial and IoT edge computing and integrating an NXP neural processing unit (NPU) capable of delivering over 30 times higher performance than running the AI inference tasks on an Arm Cortex-M33 core alone. The new MCX portfolio builds upon the earlier NXP LPC and Kinetis microcontroller families, but does not replace these, and aims to improve machine learning performance and security for a variety of applications including machine learning, wireless, voice, motor control, analog, and more. The new MCX family will be available in four series: MCX N Advanced series Designed for se…

There are plenty of carrier boards for Raspberry Pi CM4, but the Ochin looks a bit different, as it is specifically designed for drones and robots, and the compact carrier board exposes most interfaces through low-profile GHS connectors instead of standard ports or headers. About the size of the Raspberry Pi CM4 itself, the board also comes with a USB Type-C port to flash the eMMC flash, two MIPI CSI connectors and four USB 2.0 GHS connectors to add cameras to your robotics projects, and supports LiPo batteries. Ochin specifications: Supported modules – Raspberry Pi CM4 with Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 processor, up to 8GB RAM, up to 32GB eMMC flash (the CM4 Lit…

Hardkernel is working on the ODROID-Go Ultra (OGU), their latest portable gaming console and devkit, powered by the same Amlogic S922X hexa-core Cortex-A73/A53 processor found in the company’s ODROID-N2+ SBC. The new model also adds a 16GB eMMC flash for faster storage and increase the RAM to 2GB. The Korean company’s adventure with portable gaming consoles started with the ESP32-based ODROID-Go to celebrate its 10th birthday in 2018. At the time it looked like a side project, but the console was popular enough that they released their first Linux handheld game console with the ODROID-Go Advance (OGA) in 2019, and then the ODROID-Go Super (OGS) in 2020 with a larger 5-inc…

There are now not one but two alternatives to the discontinued ODROID-H2+ SBC with the ODROID-H3 and ODROID-H3+ single board computers powered respectively by an Intel Celeron N5105 and Pentium N6005 Jasper Lake processor. Both new SBCs support up to 64GB RAM, significantly faster Intel UHD graphics, an M.1 PCIe Gen 3 socket, and keep the same port assignment with two 2.5GbE ports, two SATA ports, as well as two USB 3.0 and two US 2.0 ports. ODROID-H3/H3+ specifications: SoC ODROID-H3 – Intel Celeron N5105 quad-core Jasper Lake processor @ 2.0GHz / 2.9GHz (Turbo) with 24EU Intel UHD graphics @ 450 / 800 MHz (Turbo); 10W TDP ODROID-H3+ – Intel Pentium N6005 quad-core Jaspe…

Hardkernel have added Intel Alder Lake mini PCs to their ODROID-H series and they are known as the ODROID-H3 and ODROID-H3+. Like the discontinued ODROID-H2/H2+, this new series also supports the Net Card which will add four extra 2.5 gigabit Ethernet ports. Hardkernel kindly sent an ODROID-H3+ together with a selection of accessories for review and I’m going to look at the effect on performance when changing the Power Limit values in the UEFI (BIOS) together with the network performance of the Net Card. ODROID-H3+ hardware overview The ODROID-H3+ physically consists of a 110 x 110 mm (4.33 x 4.33-inch) motherboard complete with an Intel Pentium Silver Jasper Lake mobile …

ODROID-N2L SBC is a smaller and cheaper version of the ODROID-N2+ single board computer powered by an Amlogic S922X hexa-core Cortex-A73/A53 processor and offered with 2GB or 4GB single-chip LPDDR4X memory. While the ODROID-N2+ is the most popular board from Hardkernel, it’s also fairly larger than most hobbyist SBCs on the market, and following requests from customers, the company designed the ODROID-N2L with a compact form factor that is smaller than Raspberry Pi Model B SBCs and sold at a lower price at the cost of missing some of the features of its big brother. ODROID-N2L specifications: SoC – Amlogic S922X hexa-core big.LITTLE processor with 4x Arm Cortex A73 cores …

Odyssey Blue mini PC based on the ODYSSEY-X86J4125 SBC is now offered as part of a bundle with Frigate open-source NVR platform with support for real-time local object detection, and an Coral USB AI accelerator. The Odyssey Blue mini PC is equipped with an Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core Gemini Lake Refresh processor, 8GB RAM, and a 128GB SSD preloaded with an unnamed Linux OS (probably Debian 11) and Frigate Docker container. The solution can run over object detection at 100+ FPS when equipped with a Coral USB accelerator. Since the hardware is not exactly new, and we’ve covered it in detail in the past, even reviewing the earlier generation SBC with Celeron J4105 processo…

We’ve already covered inexpensive offline voice recognition modules based on US516P6 or TW-ASR ONE microcontrollers that allow people to add smarts to their projects without a network connection for improved privacy and lower latency. Those are great in theory, but at the time (April 2022) documentation was lacking or only in Chinese, and they were fairly hard to use based on some of the comments in my earlier posts. But today, I’ve noticed DFRobot is now selling the “Gravity: Offline Voice Recognition Sensor – I2C & UART” module with support for Arduino programming, and it looks fairly easy to customize as we’ll see further below. Gravity Voice Recognition DF2301QG m…

Olimex has started to take pre-orders for the AgonLight2, a customized version of the Agon Light 8-bit open-source hardware computer based on the Z80 family and running BBC Basic. Bernardo Kastrup and Dean Belfield created the Agon light 8-bit retro computer with VGA and PS2 keyboard port and programmable with BASIC earlier this year and released all hardware design files, the firmware, and documentation on GitHub, and Dean uploaded a one-hour-long video on YouTube. It was designed with EasyEDA, but Olimex re-captured the design in KiCad after getting customer requests, and the new cost-optimized board named AgonLight2 will start shipping by the end of January 2023. AgonL…

Olimex has just launched the ESP32-C3-DevKit-Lipo board based on ESP32-C3 RISC-V wireless microcontroller offering WiFI 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, some I/Os, as well as USB and JTAG. As its name implies, the board can be powered by a LiPo battery and charged through a USB Type-C port. It offers up to 15 GPIO for expansion and comes with an ICSP connector in case you need to reflash or debug the bootloader through a JTAG interface. ESP32-C3-DevKit-Lipo specifications: Wireless module – Espressif Systems ESP32-C3-MINI-1-N4 module with: ESP32-C3 (ESP32-C3FN4) 32-bit RISC-V single-core processor up to 160 MHz with 4 MB embedded flash, 384 KB ROM, 400 KB SRAM (16 KB for…

OnLogic Helix 401 is a fanless industrial computer with a compact design powered by a choice of Alder Lake Embedded processors from Celeron 7305E to Core i7-1270PE designed for edge computing, Industry 4.0, Internet of Things (IoT), and more. The computer supports up to 64GB DDR5 memory, SATA or NVMe storage via two M.2 sockets, and offers up to four video outputs via DisplayPort and USB4 ports, dual Gigabit Ethernet, optional WiFi and/or 4G or 5G cellular connectivity, COM and CAN bus ports, and Digital Input/Output (DIO) connector. OnLogic Helix 401 (HX401) specifications: Alder Lake SoC Intel Celeron 7305E penta-core processor @ 3.10GHz / 4.20GHz (Turbo) with 48EU Inte…

OnLogic IGN800 is an industrial edge gateway based on the Raspberry Pi CM4 module pre-loaded with the Ignition Edge HMI, SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition), MES, and IIoT software platform from Inductive Automation. The hardware is not exactly new, as the Onlogic IGN800 is simply the OnLogic Factor 201 industrial PC introduced earlier this year, but that ships with Ignition Edge in order to provide a cost-effective solution for automation projects. OnLogic IGN800 specifications: SoM – Raspberry Pi CM4 with Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Arm Cortex-A72 processor @ up to 1.5 GHz, up to 8GB LPDDR4 RAM, up to 32GB eMMC flash Additional storage – Optional M.2 SATA SS…

Onyx BOOX Tab Ultra C is an Android 11 tablet with a 10.3-inch E-Ink Kaileo 3 color display with 2480 x 1860 black & white resolution, 1240 x 930 color resolution, a capacitive touchscreen and support for a stylus with 4096 levels of pressure. The tablet is an evolution of the BOOX Tab Ultra black-and-white tablet with a 4096-color E-Ink display using the latest Kaleido 3 screen that increases color saturation by 30 percent and reduces blue light reflections compared to earlier Kaleido Plus displays. BOOX Tab Ultra C specifications: SoC – Unnamed “Qualcomm Advanced” octa-core processor (likely the 2.0 GHz Snapdragon 662 octa-core Cortex-A73/A53 processor like in its b…

Open AI Lab EAIDK-610 is an embedded AI development kit powered by a Rockchip RK3399 processor, recently added to Linux 6.1 and described as “popularly used by university students” in the kernel changelog. But I had never heard about it, and it turns out it’s because it’s popular with students in China, and most documentation is written in Chinese. The development board is equipped with 4GB LPDDR3, a 16GB eMMC flash, HDMI video output, Gigabit Ethernet and WiFi 5, a few USB ports, a 40-pin GPIO header, and more. EAIDK-610 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399 System Memory – 4GB LPDDR3 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash and MicroSD card slot Video Output HDMI 2.0 up to 4Kp60 MIPI …

Developed by Zed (M-Abozaid), the esp32-c3-adblock is an open-source, Pi-hole-style DNS ad blocker that runs on a $2 ESP32-C3 microcontroller board/module without requiring PSRAM. It blocks ads and tracking domains across devices on a home or small office network by filtering DNS requests. Instead of storing domain strings in RAM, the project stores them as sorted 40-bit FNV-1a hashes in flash memory and uses binary search to check DNS requests. When a UDP DNS query comes in, the C++ firmware extracts the domain, hashes it (including parent suffixes), and performs a binary search against the flash hash table. If the domain is on the blocklist, the ESP32-C3 returns 0.0.0.0…

Gaurav Singh, acting as Circuit Valley, has designed an open-source hardware USB 3.0 Type-C industrial camera with three boards: one to capture data through a CMOS sensor, another based on a Lattice Crosslink NX FPGA to handle image processing, and finally, a board equipped with an Infineon FX3 USB 3.0 controller for sending the video data to the host. This design allows the DIY camera to be extremely flexible, as for instance, you could keep the FPGA and USB board, and simply change the sensor board for a better/different camera. A 3D printable enclosure is also provided, and the camera supports C-mount lenses, so the lens can also be easily changed as required. Here’s …

Tokyo-based Enactic OpenArm 2.0 is an open-source hardware 7-DOF robot arm designed for physical AI research, teleoperation, and contact-rich data collection. It uses quasi-direct-drive (QDD) backdrivable joints to support compliant motion and bilateral force-feedback control. The arm supports 4.1 kg nominal and 6 kg peak payload, features 1 kHz CAN-FD control, and a compact parallel gripper with an in-hand camera and replaceable fingers. It supports bilateral force-feedback teleoperation, gravity compensation, and compliant interaction, with an aluminum and stainless-steel structure and MISUMI-frame base. The ecosystem also includes the OpenArm Cell for standardized eval…

OpenEarable is an open-source hardware earable, sometimes also called hearable, that fits around your ear and is based on the same u-blox NINA-B306 module found in the Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense board. Besides the Nordic Semi nRF52840 Arm Cortex-M4-based Bluetooth LE module, the design also features a speaker and ultrasonic microphone, a 6-axis IMU and a pressure sensor, as well as the circuitry for the battery, two LEDs, and a push button. OpenEarable specifications: Wireless module – U-blox NINA-B306 module powered by a Nordic Semi nRF52840 Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller @ 64MHz with 1MB Flash, 256KB RAM, Bluetooth 5.0 LE connectivity Audio – Built-in speaker and ultraso…

HopeRun’s HiHope development board features a HiSilicon Hi3861V100 32-bit RISC-V microcontroller compatible with OpenHarmony OS and looks very much like the BBC Micro:bit educational board notably with its edge connector. The board is also designed for youth education (in China) and comes with similar sensors, but there are some differences such as a 0.96-inch OLED instead of an LED matrix and support for offline voice recognition. There’s no wireless connectivity apart from NFC support. HiHope board specifications: MCU – HiSilicon Hi3861 32-bit microcontroller @ up to 160 MHz with 352 KB SRAM and 288 KB ROM, 2 MB flash memory Display – 0.96-inch OLED display with 128×64 …

OpenPLC is an open-source, free-to-use Programmable Logic Controller Suite, compliant with the IEC 61131-3 standard, and working with a range of hardware platforms such as Arduino, ESP8266/ESP32, Raspberry Pi SBCs, as well as Windows and Linux machines. When Arduino unveiled the Arduino PLC IDE, we noted the languages defined by the IEC 61131-3 standard were licensed, and the PLC key for the Portenta Machine Control unit sold for $17.60. One reader complained about the high license cost per device, but Massimo Banzi, the co-founder of the Arduino project, replied it was cost-effective for smaller deployments: Actually it’s not that much money compared to the cost of other…

OpenWrt 22.03 open-source Linux operating system for routers and entry-level embedded devices has just been released with over 3800 commits since the release of OpenWrt 21.02 nearly exactly one year ago. The new version features Firewall4 based on nftables, switching from the earlier iptables-based Firewall3, and adds support for over 180 new devices for a total of more than 1,580 embedded devices, including 15 devices capable of WiFi 6 connectivity using the MediaTek MT7915 wifi chip. OpenWrt developers explain that Firewall4 keeps the same the UCI firewall configuration syntax and should work as a drop-in replacement with most common setups, just generating nftables rul…

code_saturne is a free, open-source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software developed primarily by EDF that can be useful to check and optimize the thermal design of your projects. From time to time, we come across hardware platforms that do not perform to their best due to overheating leading to CPU throttling, and over time it may also impact the lifetime of the device. I’ve heard about computational fluid dynamics (CFD) before, but I always assumed the software was prohibitively expensive and Formula 1 even has a cost cap for CFD testing. But it turns out there’s an open-source program to do just that: code_saturne. As a utility company, EDF designed the software t…

Shenzhen Xunlong Software has released a 10.1-inch LCD touchscreen for the company’s Orange Pi 4 single board computer powered by a Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core Cortex-A72/A53 processor. The MIPI DSI display is based on Ilitek ILI9881c panel controller supported in mainline Linux, offers 1280×800 resolution, and besides working with the original Orange Pi 4, it’s also compatible with Orange Pi 4B (with AI accelerator) and the more recent Orange Pi 4 LTS SBC launched earlier this year. 10.1-inch LCD touchscreen specifications: Display Controller – Ilitek ILI9881C (See PDF datasheet) 10.1-inch panel size 1280×800 resolution @ up to 60Hz, with 16.7 million colors Luminance – 25…

Orange Pi 5 (LTS) is an upcoming single board computer powered by Rockchip RK3588S cost-down octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 processor that should offer one of the best cost/performance ratios on the market once it is launched. The SBC is said to come with up to 32GB RAM, 32GB eMMC flash, offers HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 8K video outputs, up to two MIPI DSI display interfaces, three camera interfaces, Gigabit Ethernet, and WiFi 6 connectivity, and a few USB ports plus a GPIO header. Orange Pi 5 LTS specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588S octa-core processor with 4x Cortex-A76 cores @ up to 2.4 GHz, 4x Cortex-A55 cores @ up to 1.8 GHz, Arm Mali-G610 MP4 GPU, 6 TOPS AI accelerat…

Orange Pi 5 Plus is the first Rockchip RK3588 SBC from the company and succeeds the cheaper Rockchip RK3588S-based Orange Pi 5 and Orange Pi 5B single board computers that had a more limited number of high-end interfaces. Switching to the I/O rich RK3588 processor allowed Orange Pi to add two 2.5GbE networking interfaces, support for NVMe SSD storage up to 2,000 MB/s, up to four display interfaces with two HDMI 2.1 ports, MIPI DSI and USB-C with DisplayPort Alt. mode, as well as an extra M.2 socket for optional WiFi 6 and Bluetooth connectivity. Orange Pi 5 Plus specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588 CPU – Octa-core processor with 4x Cortex-A76 cores @ up to 2.4 GHz, 4x Co…

A few years ago I reviewed the ICE Tower CPU cooling fan for Raspberry Pi 4 which is an oversized heatsink with a cooling fan and some RGB LEDs that obviously does its job at cooling the board, but the main benefit is really its aesthetics. 52Pi has now designed another ICE Tower cooling fan for the Orange Pi 5 SBC, and the new Orange Pi 5B, with the same concept except for its low-profile design. It’s probably not needed for the Orange Pi 5 which should do fine with a heatsink, but it may help for the Orange Pi 5B due to the extra heat from the WiFi 6 module. A company representative for 52Pi told us that: I have seen this Orange Pi 5B motherboard posted on your site, th…

Orange Pi 5B is a variant of the Rockchip RK3588S powered Orange Pi 5 SBC with up to 256GB eMMC flash and a soldered-on wireless module offering WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, at the cost of losing the M.2 2242 socket and 16MB QSPI NOR flash found in the original board. The board still comes with HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4 (USB-C), and MIPI DSI display connectors, three camera connectors, a Gigabit Ethernet interface, a few USB ports, and a 26-pin GPIO header for expansion. Orange Pi 5B specifications with the new features highlighted in bold, and the missing ones as strikethrough text: SoC – Rockchip RK3588S octa-core processor with 4x Cortex-A76 cores @ up to 2.4…

There’s now a Raspberry Pi 400 alternative with the Orange Pi 800 Keyboard PC that offers a very similar design, but it is powered by a Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core Cortex-A72/A53 processor, Like the Raspberry Pi model, the Orange Pi 800 comes with 4GB RAM, Gigabit Ethernet, dual-band WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0, two USB 3.0 ports, and one USB 2.0 port, but it also adds 64GB on-board flash storage and features one full-size HDMI port capable for 4Kp60 resolution plus a VGA port, instead of two micro HDMI ports. Orange Pi 800 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core big.LITTLE processor with 2x Arm Cortex-A72 cores up to 1.8GHz, 4x Arm Cortex-A53 cores up to 1.4GHz, and a…

Single board computer manufacturer Orange Pi Ltd is working on a portable gaming console that will come with either a Rockchip RK3588S processor for Android/Linux gaming, or AMD Ryzen 7 7800U/6800U for Windows gaming. The industrial design looks to be the same for all models with a 7-inch touchscreen display, a D-Pad, two joysticks, XBOX-styled ABXY buttons, two customisable buttons on the back, two microphones, stereo speakers, three USB ports including one only for charging, The Orange Pi portable gaming console will be offered in three variants when it launches in China in October during Golden Week: AMD Ryzen 7 7840U processor with 16GB RAM, 512GB storage running Wi…

Shenzhen Xunlong Software, better known under the Orange Pi brand, has launched a 14-inch Full HD portable monitor for $59 plus shipping on Aliexpress, or a little more on Amazon. The company is better known for its low-cost Arm-based single board computers with Rockchip or Allwinner processors, but this time, they launched an accessory with a 14-inch display taking HDMI or USB Type-C input with up to 1920×1080 resolution. Orange Pi portable monitor specifications: Display 14-inch a-Si TFT LCD Resolution – 1920×1080 Refresh rate – 60 Hz Color – 262K, 45% NTSC Contrast – 700:1 Viewing angles – 85°, 85°, 85°, 85° typical Video inputs 1x HDMI port for video and audio 2x USB …

The manufacturer of Orange Pi boards, Shenzhen Xunlong Software, has formally announced the release of Orange Pi OS based on Android with a Windows 11-styled desktop that we are told can also be switched to macOS look and feel, and offering features typically found in desktop operating systems such as multi-window support. I understand the current release of the operating system works on Orange Pi 800 keyboard PC and the Orange Pi 5 SBC should also be supported once soon. We’re told Orange Pi OS is based on Android 12, but that may be an error since I’m not aware of an Android 12 SDK for the Rockchip RK3399 processor. The company plans to release an Arch Linux Arm version…

Orbbec Femto Mega is a programmable multi-mode 3D depth and RGB camera based on NVIDIA Jetson Nano system-on-module and based on Microsoft ToF technology found in Hololens and Azure Kinect DevKit. As an upgrade of the earlier Orbbec Femto, the camera is equipped with a 1MP depth camera with a 120 degrees field of view and a range of 0.25m to 5.5m as well as a 4K RGB camera, and enables real-time streaming of processed images over Ethernet or USB. Orbbec Femto Mega specifications: SoM – NVIDIA Jetson Nano system-on-module Cameras 1MP depth camera Precision: ≤17mm Accuracy: < 11 mm + 0.1% distance NFoV unbinned & binned：H 75°V 65° WFoV unbinned & binned：H 120°V 1…

We’ve written a couple of articles about Time-of-Flight (ToF) technology in recent weeks notably about ranging sensors such as VL53L8 dToF sensor and Toppan hybrid ToF sensor, but Orbbec has used the technology in their Femto camera line designed to capture 3D objects and scenes. The Femto 3D cameras support a depth-of-field (DoF) from 0.2 to 5 meters, multi-camera synchronization, can be used in complete darkness, and are equipped with a 6-Axis IMU tracking sensor for motion tracking. The ToF cameras should find their way into applications for healthcare, warehousing/shipping, autonomous robotics, augmented reality, and other sectors. Three models are available with the …

Orbbec Persee+ is a 3D depth camera running Linux with AI capabilities thanks to Amlogic A311D hexa-core processor equipped with a 5 TOPS NPU (Neural-network Processing Unit). The Persee+ is designed to help researchers, engineers, and hobbyists implement advanced uses for 3D imaging. Orbbec has been around for several years with the first product we covered here being the Orbbec Persee 3D depth camera running Ubuntu or Android on Rockchip RK3288 processor and unveiled in 2015. Last year, the company introduced the Zora P1 Amlogic A311D development board for Orbbec 3D cameras, so in a way, the Orbbec Persee+ is born from the work done on the Persee camera and Zora P1 over…

Karl here and I will keep this short for you. First I will share my experience installing an upgrade module for the Lasermaster 2 Pro, the Ortur LU2-10A. The LM2Pro came with a 5.5w laser module and this upgrade brings the power up to approximately 10w optical power. Spoiler, I am not happy with the kit. The Ortur LU2-10A kit comes with a very simple adapter board that appears to do two tasks. 1 is to adapt wiring, and 2, inject additional power for the higher power laser module. It looks like the board will adapt to a lot of different connection types. I followed the instructions and the first time I plugged everything in the laser came on full power for about a second. …

Octavo Systems OSD62x is a system-in-package (SiP) combining the Texas Instruments AM62x processor with LPDDR4 RAM, EEPROM, power management, oscillators, and passive components, plus optional features such as an RTC and an 8-channel ADC. At least that’s true for the OSD62x Max Integration SiP (22×22 mm BGA), but Octavo Systems also have a smaller 14x9mm package called the OSD62x Size Optimized with “just’ the AM62x processor, LPDDR4 memory, and passive components. OSD62x “Max Integration” specifications: SoC – Texas Instruments AM62x (AM623/AM625) CPU – Up to 4x Arm Cortex-A53 @ 1.4GHz MCU – Arm Cortex-M4F GPU – 3D graphics up to 2048×1080 @ 60 fps (AM625 only) Storage I…

ARIES Embedded MSMP1 OSM-compatible system-in-package (SiP) based on STM32MP1 CortexA7/M4 microcontroller for Industrial and IoT applications follows the company’s MSRZG2UL and MSRZFive OSM-compatible SiPs with Renesas Arm or RISC-V microprocessor introduced a few months ago. But instead of coming in the ultra-compact 30×30 mm OSM Size S form factor, the new MSMP1 complies with the larger 45x30mm OSM Size L form factor with a total of 476 contacts to allow for more I/Os. The SiP also integrates 512 MB to 4 GB DDR3L RAM, and 4 to 64 GB eMMC flash. MSMP1 SIP specifications: SoC – STMicro STM32MP1 single or dual-core Arm Cortex-A7 processor up to 800MHz, with Arm Cortex-M4 r…

German embedded systems company iesy’s ESP32 OSM-0F is an ESP32-based solder-on LGA system-on-module that complies with SGET OSM Size-0 (30x15mm) form factor, offers WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, and more. The SGET Open Standard Module (OSM) standard defines four module sizes, namely Size-0 (30x15mm), Size-S (30x30mm), Size-M (45x30mm), and Size-L (45x45mm), and all the modules we’ve covered so far were powered by a Linux-capable processor. But it’s more challenging, albeit not impossible, to design a Linux-capable OSM Size-0 module, and that form factor is better suited to microcontroller-class chips like ESP32. (Technically, ESP32 can run Linux, but it’s more for sho…

The Mali-G57 GPU part of the Valhall family, and found in several Arm processors such as MediaTek MT8192 and MT8195 SoC powering some Chromebooks, is now supported by the Panfrost open-source driver with a fully-conformant OpenGL ES 3.1 implementation. Last year, Collabora updated Panfrost with support for OpenGL ES 3.1 on Midgard (Mali T760 and newer) and Bifrost (Mali G31, G52, G76) GPUs, and also announced having started working on Valhall GPUs. One part of the work was done in the summer of 2021 with some reverse-engineering work on Mali-G78 GPU’s instruction set, and this has culminated with a fully-conformant OpenGL3.1 for Mali-G57 GPU. Interestingly, it’s not been …

Panthronics PTX30W is an NFC wireless charging listener chip that can receive up to 1W as per the NFC Wireless Charging (WLC) specification unveiled in 2020 and integrates a power management unit and a Li-Ion battery charger. Offered in a compact 3.2mm2 (1.78 x 1.78 mm) WL-CSP package, the PTX30W will enable small battery-powered products, such as smartwatches and other wearables, to be charged over NFC. The chip can operate in standalone mode or connected to a host microcontroller, and the company claims it is around four times smaller than existing designs based on multiple discrete components. PTX30W features and specifications: Integrated NFC Wireless Charging Listene…

We wrote about the low-cost T8-Pro Celeron N5095 mini PC with three HDMI outputs and two Gigabit Ethernet ports last week, but if you’d prefer a model with 2.5GbE networking instead, the Partaker J6412 might be a better, albeit costlier option, with still three displays support (2xDP, 1xHDMI), and three 2.5GbE ports. As its name implies, the fanless mini PC/network appliance is powered by an Intel Celeron J6412 Elkhart Lake processor, coupled with up to 16GB DDR4 memory and a 512GB SSD, and it features six USB ports, plus an RS232 COM port. Partaker J6412 specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron J6412 quad-core Elkhart Lake processor @ 2.0 GHz / 2.6GHz (Burst frequency) with 1…

Raspberry Pi Trading released a new version of Raspberry Pi OS last week with the highlight being the Picamera2 Python library for Raspberry Pi cameras, along with small changes such as the ability to search menu items, a new audio input control, The new Picamera2 library was first announced in mid February 2022 with a preview release, and it’s the first time the Python library is included by default in Raspberry Pi OS. It is now based on the libcamera open-source framework instead of the proprietary and closed camera APIs from Broadcom found in the original Picamera library. Some of the key features of the Picamera2 library include: The preview windows use OpenGL acceler…

iWave Sytems iW-RainboW-G50M is an NXP i.MX 93 OSM-L compliant LGA module with up to 2GB RAM, WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.2 module that is found in the company’s iW-RainboW-G50S Pico-ITX SBC designed for industrial applications. The NXP i.MX 93 single and dual-core Cortex-A55 processor with an Ethos U65 microNPU was announced in November 2021, but we had yet to see any hardware based on the new NXP i.MX 9 processor family. The iW-RainboW-G50M and iW-RainboW-G50S change that with a system-on-module and single board computer. iW-RainboW-G50M NXP i.MX 93 system-on-module Specifications: SoC (one or the other) NXP i.MX 9352 dual-core Cortex-A55 processor @ up to 1.7 GHz with Arm C…

AAEON PICO-V2K4 is a Pico-ITX board powered by an AMD Ryzen Embedded V2000 processor with up to 8 cores, AMD Radeon graphics, which should make it the world’s smallest Ryzen V2000 SBC on the market. The board comes with up to 32GB soldered-on memory and a 64GB NVMe flash, supports for SATA and M.2 NVMe storage, dual Gigabit Ethernet, up to four 4K display interfaces, four serial ports, and more. Use cases range from medical imaging (x-ray and MRI scan analysis) to casino gaming machines, and industrial automation. AAEON PICO-V2K4 specifications: AMD Ryzen Embedded V2000 processor (one or the other) Ryzen V2718 octa-core/16-thread processor @ up to 1.7-4.15 GHz (Turbo) wit…

PicoMQTT is a lightweight MQTT library for Arduino/PlatformIO optimized for ESP8266 and ESP32. It not only supports the MQTT Client mode like most existing solutions but also the MQTT Broker mode which transforms an ESP8266 or ESP32 board into an MQTT gateway replacing a Raspberry Pi board or an IoT gateway typically used for this task. The library follows MQTT 3.1.1 specification, supports the publishing and consuming of arbitrary-sized messages, can deliver thousands of messages per second, and supports easy integration with the ArduinoJson library to publish and consume JSON messages. MQTT Broker code example: [crayon-643e4a00948d8570550725/] There are some limitations…

Pico Technology has released PicoVNA 5 control software for their vector network analyzers for Windows x86 64-bit, Mac, Linux x86 64-bit, and Raspberry Pi 3 and greater single board computers, superseding the Windows-only PicoVNA 3 software. As a Ubuntu user, I hate it when some hardware tool forces me to install software on Windows when there’s no Linux alternative, so any company that provides cross-platform tools is making the right move. I’m also not quite sure what a “vector network analyzer” (VNA) is, so I’ll first look into the PicoVNA 106 and PicoVNA 108 6/8.5 GHz VNAs from the company. PicoVNA 106/108 vector network analyzers highlights and specifications: Freque…

PiEEG is an open-source hardware Raspberry Pi shield that measures electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), and electrocardiography (ECG) bio-signals and provides a brain-computer interface to applications or robots for gaming, entertainment, sports, health, etc… Ildar Rakhmatulin, a Research Associate at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, is passionate about open-source brain-computer interfaces and first created the IronBCI project based on ADS1299 and STM32 and published a research paper entitled “Low-cost brain computer interface for everyday use” about his work. But cost increases related to the semiconductors shortage of recent years meant the price f…

PikaScript is an ultra-lightweight Python engine that can run on microcontrollers with as little as 4KB of RAM and 32KB of Flash, while the more popular MicroPython requires at least 256kB of code space and 16kB of RAM. PikaScript was initially developed to run on STM32G030C8 and STM32F103C8 MCUs, meaning, for example, it works on the BluePill board, but it has also been ported to other platforms like WCH CH582 RISC-V MCU, WinnerMicro W806 C-Sky microcontroller, as well as other like Raspberry Pi RP2040, ESP32-C3, etc… but those are not quite as well supported with some features missing. PikaScript also permits the binding C function to a Python module through Pika Pre-co…

Pine64 Ox64 is an upcoming single board computer powered by Bouffalo Lab BL808 dual-core 64-bit/32-bit RISC-V processor with up to 64MB embedded RAM, multiple radios for WiFi 4, Bluetooth 5.0, and 802.15.4 (Zigbee), as well as an AI accelerator. The board also features up to 16MB XSPI NOR flash, a MicroSD card socket, a USB 2.0 OTG port, a 2-lane MIPI CSI connector, and a 26-pin GPIO header for expansion. It measures just 51 x 21mm, or in other words if even small than a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W. Pine64 Ox64 specifications: SoC – Bouffalo Lab BL808 with: CPU Alibaba T-head C906 64-bit RISC-V core @ 480MHz Alibaba T-head E907 32-bit RISC-V core @ 320MHz Memory – 64MB embedded…

Pine64 Star64 is an upcoming single board computer (SBC) powered by StarFive JH7110 quad-core 64-bit RISC-V processor equipped with an Imagination BXE-2-32 GPU, and in a form factor similar to the earlier Pin64 model B boards such as the Quartz64 Model A. The Star64 SBC will be offered with either 4GB or 8GB of RAM, an HDMI 2.0 video output connector, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, a WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 module, USB 3.0 ports, a PCIe slot, and a GPIO header for expansion. Star64 preliminary specifications: SoC – StarFive JH7110 quad-core 64-bit RISC-V (SiFive U74 – RV64GC) processor @ up to 1.5 GHz with Imagination BXE-2-32 GPU supporting OpenGL ES 3.2, OpenCL 1.2, Vulka…

Pine64 has just started taking orders for the PineBuds Pro ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) & TWS (True Wireless Sound) earbuds based on the Bestechnic BES2300-YP dual-core Arm Cortex-M4F Bluetooth audio microcontroller found in the PineSound development board. There are plenty of TWS earbuds on the market, but the PineBuds Pro earbuds are hackable thanks to an open-source firmware that could pave the way to interesting features, and potentially the development of open-source firmware transforming the earbuds into hearing aids. PineBuds Pro specifications: WiSoC – Bestechnic BES 2300YP dual-core Arm Cortex-M4F @ up to 300 MHz with HW DSP instruction, 992KB SRAM, 4MB fl…

It’s now possible to make use of the Pinecil V2 soldering iron‘s Bluetooth LE connectivity through a web-based interface used to monitor and/or set the temperature and power of the RISC-V soldering iron. When the Pinecil V2 soldering iron was launched with a Bouffalo Lab BL706 RISC-V Bluetooth microcontroller last summer, we were told there were main potential cases to make use of the Bluetooth LE features: OTA firmware upgrade and remote telemetry and control. The latter is now being taken care of by Joric who has written a web application to visualize telemetry data and even control the temperature of the soldering iron. To be able to use the Bluetooth features, you’ll…

PINE64 is about to launch the second generation Pinecil RISC-V soldering iron with the Pinecil V2 featuring a new Bouffalo Lab BL706 RISC-V microcontroller with Bluetooth LE connectivity, optimizations for higher power levels, as well as tentative support for the new USB PD EPR standard (Extended Power Range) working at up to 28V. I don’t solder every day, but when I do, I use my Pinecil soldering iron, as it’s heating super fast and does the job, and in my case, works quite better than the TS100 soldering iron. So it should come as no surprise that the Pincel is the most popular consumer hardware from the PINE64 community (after SOPine modules), and the new Pinecil V2 is…

The PineTab-V is a RISC-V tablet, or rather a tablet development kit, based on StarFive JH7110 quad-core RISC-V SoC, and with the same design as the upcoming Arm-based PineTab2 tablet that’s scheduled to launch on April 11. Pine64 just launched the Star64 single board computer to help with software development on Linux-capable RISC-V hardware, and they took the opportunity to lay out a tablet board based on the same JH7110 to replace the Rockchip RK3566 board found in the PineTab2, so eventually, a working sample should look like that… PineTab-V preliminary specifications: SoC – StarFive JH7110 with CPU – Quad-core 64-bit RISC-V (SiFive U74 – RV64GC) processor @ up to 1.5…

The PineTab2 is an upcoming 10.1-inch Linux tablet based on the 1.8 GHz Rockchip RK3566 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor and equipped with up to 8GB RAM and 128GB eMMC flash. The new model is a clear step-up compared to the Allwinner A64-based PineTab which did not survive the supply shortage and has also gone through a complete physical redesign with a modular metal chassis that is easy to disassemble for upgrades and change parts such as the eMMC module, camera module, battery, or even the display. PineTab2 preliminary specifications: SoC – SoC – Rockchip RK3566 quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 @ up to 1.8 GHz with ARM Mali-G52 2EE GPU supporting OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2. OpenCL 2.…

SunFounder Pironman is a Raspberry Pi 4 enclosure inspired by Michael Klement’s DIY Raspberry Pi 4 mini server with an OLED display and ICE Tower cooling solution, as well as some improvements such as an aluminum alloy and acrylic enclosure, support for an M.2 SATA SSD, a power button for safe shutdown, an IR receiver, and an RGB LED strip. The company sent me a Pironman kit without Raspberry Pi 4 for review. I’ll check the package content, go through the assembly, software installation, and testing of the unique features listed above. Pironman unboxing Some of the main specifications are listed on the side of the package. The enclosure comes fully disassembled with the …

PiTalk is a 4G cellular connectivity solution based on Quectel EG25-G LTE Cat 4 module intended for M2M and IoT applications, and available either as a Raspberry Pi HAT or as a USB dongle. There’s also a PiTalk 2G HAT, but we’ll focus on the 4G hardware in this article. PiTalk supports data rates up to 150 Mbps downlink and 50 Mbps uplink, integrates GNSS support, and as its name implies you can also make and receive calls, or send/receive SMS messages for the device provide you connect a display, speaker, and microphone to the Raspberry Pi or other host device. PiTalk 4G IoT HAT specifications: Quectel EG25-G 4G LTE cellular module: Cellular 3G and 4G LTE with 2G fallba…

PIX NII pocket-sized mini PC features an Intel Pentium N6005 Gemini Jasper Lake processor that should provide a nice upgrade to existing 2.4-inch mini PCs based on Gemini Lake processors such as Larkbox. The tiny computer is slightly larger (2.7×2.6 inch) than the previous 2.4-inch models, but ships with up to 16GB RAM, up to a 1TB NVMe SSD, and offers two 4K-capable HDMI 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet & WiFi 6 connectivity, as well as a few USB 3.2 ports, plus a 3.5mm audio jack. PIX NII specifications: SoC – Intel Pentium N6005 quad-core processor @ 2.0GHz / 3.3GHz (Turbo) with Intel UHD graphics; 10W TDP System Memory – 8GB or 16GB DDR4 RAM Storage SATA or NVMe SSD wi…

Pixel Pump is an open-source hardware vacuum pump that should be easier to use than a pair of tweezers to pick and place SMT components, and suitable for prototypes and small production runs. The system comes with a pen with five exchangeable stainless-steel nozzles to match the size of components, a foot pedal, and several tactile silicone buttons with RGB backlighting to control the unit. The button on the unit (customized parts bought from Alibaba) allows you to change operation modes, switch between high- and low-power settings, or activate reverse mode to clean your nozzle. It’s also possible to configure vacuum power and LED brightness with the buttons. The foot ped…

PlanetPC XR1/XR2 are Arm Linux mini PCs based on Rockchip RK3568 or RK3588 processor respectively with a unique design featuring an integrated touchscreen display for control. Planet Computers has designed several unique computing devices over the years such as the Cosmo Communicator 2-in-1 smartphone and computer or Astro Slide 5G transformer smartphone, and the British company has now come up with a mini PC preloaded with Ubuntu with a touchscreen screen interface, dual 4K/8K video output, dual Gigabit Ethernet and more. PlanetPC XR1/XR2 specifications: SoC PlanetPC XR1 – Rockchip RK3568 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor up to 2.0 GHz with Arm Mali-G52 2EE, 0.8 TOPS NPU P…

Pimoroni Plasma Stick 2040 W is a “Pico W Aboard” kit that adds a 5V RGB LED strip controller to the Raspberry Pi Pico W board, as well as a Reset button, and a Qwiic/STEMMA QT connector for expansion. Plasma Stick 2040 W specifications: Raspberry Pi Pico W MCU – Dual Arm Cortex M0+ running at up to 133Mhz with 264kB of SRAM Storage – 2MB of QSPI flash supporting XiP Connectivity – 2.4GHz wireless module with WiFi 4 and Bluetooth Classic + LE USB – 1x micro USB port for power and programming LED strip connector – 3-pin screw terminal block compatible with 5V WS2812/Neopixel/SK6812 LEDs Expansion – Qw/ST (Qwiic/STEMMA QT) I2C connector Misc – Reset button Power Supply – 5…

I don’t think I’ve ever written about open-source hardware headphones. But that’s precisely what Ploopy offers with an amplifier based on a Raspberry Pi RP2040, a Texas Instruments PCM3060 24-bit DAC, and an amplifier circuit, as well as 3D printed parts and open-source firmware written in C. As we’ll see further below the project is reasonably well documented, and you can either build it from scratch, purchase a fully-assembled kit, or something in the middle. I suppose you could even do some knitting since woven covers are part of the build just in case making your own PCBs and 3D printing parts are not your things. The electronics are comprised of two boards: The Gould…

We’ve previously seen it’s possible to connect an eGPU to a mini PC through a PCIe x16 to M.2 NVMe adapter or a Thunderbolt 3 port, but while it’s fine to install on your desk for gaming or develop AI applications, the eGPU being larger than most mini PCs, it’s a little too big to integrate into products, and potentially inconvenient to carry around. ADLINK Pocket AI portable eGPU changes that with an NVIDIA RTX A500 GPU housed in a 106 x 72 x 25mm box that’s about the size of a typical power bank and connects to a host through a Thunderbolt 3 connector. The company says the upcoming eGPU is mostly designed for AI developers, professional graphics users, and embedded indu…

Arduino Portenta C33 is the latest board from the Arduino Pro family which the company dubs a “high-performance, low-price” solution based on a 200 MHz Renesas RA6M5 Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller and equipped with a ESP32-C3 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy module. The new board provides a cost-effective alternative to the Portenta H7 and X8 boards, but still offers wireless connectivity, a secure element for industrial-grade security, and compatibility with Portenta, MKR, and Nicla components. Portenta C33 specifications: Microcontroller – Renesas R7FA6M5BH2CBG Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller @ up to 200 MHz with 512KB SRAM, 2MB Flash, Arm TrustZone, and Secure Crypto Engi…

Groupgets PureThermal 3 (PT3) is a hackable thermal webcam that ships with the low-cost FLIR Lepton FS module, and is compatible with FLIR Lepton (2.x – 3.x) LWIR camera core. The company explains the new model offers the same basic functionality as the PureThermal 2 but with a few changes and additional features, although the motivation for the new design was primarily to address component shortages. Some changes include the removal of pads to install an RF shield, and the Tag-Connect TC2030 programming connector is replaced by the Tag-Connect EC-10-IDC. PureThermal 3 specifications with changes highlighted in bold: Microcontroller – STMicro STM32F412 Arm Cortex-M4 MCU @…

Purism has just announced the Lapdock kit to turn their Librem 5 Linux smartphone into a laptop with a 13.3-inch touchscreen display thanks to the NexDock 360 laptop dock. I was a big believer in mobile desktop convergence around 10 years ago, expected to be soon able to use my phone as a computer or laptop with a dock, and it looked like it might have become a reality when Canonical launched the Ubuntu Edge smartphone crowdfunding campaign in 2013. But it turns out demand was not sufficient, and Canonical eventually ended their convergence efforts focusing on profitable IoT and cloud segments instead. But that does not mean there isn’t a niche market and Purism’s Lapdock…

ZeroWire Robotics Q8botOne is an open-source, palm-sized quadruped robot built around an ESP32-C3 MCU and ROBOTIS DYNAMIXEL smart actuators. Designed with a unique wire-free architecture, the robot integrates all components onto a central printed circuit board also used as the structural chassis. The robot is roughly the size of a smartphone and can jog, jump, and carry up to twice its 250-gram weight. The main PCB uses a dedicated 6V/16A step-down converter for motor power and includes a battery management system for two 14500 Li-ion cells. For control, the kit includes a separate ESP32-C3 controller PCB with an Adafruit Mini I2C Gamepad. Q8botOne specifications: Wireles…

QNAP has been teasing two potentially interesting NAS coming up soon: the TS-AI642 AI NAS leveraging the 6 TOPS NPU in Rockchip RK3588 Arm processor for image and facial recognition, and the TBS-574X NAS powered by an Intel Core i3-1220P Alder Lake CPU and taking up to five hot-swappable E1.S NVMe PCIe SSDs. Details are limited since neither device is available yet, but both NAS are equipped with relatively powerful Arm and Intel processors and offer some innovative features. QNAP TBS-574X NAS with Rockchip RK3588 Preliminary specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588 octa-core 64-bit Arm processor with 4x Cortex-A76 cores @ 2.2 GHz, 4x Cortex-A55 cores @ 1.8 GHz, 6 TOPS NPU S…

We’ve seen several hardware devices based on Rockchip RK3566 AIoT SoC that do not make use of the key features of the processor. But QNAP TS-133 1-bay NAS is different, since it relies on the native SATA and Gigabit Ethernet interfaces for network storage, and the built-in NPU is leveraged to accelerate object and face recognition by up to 6 times. The NAS comes with 2GB of RAM, 4GB of storage for QTS 5.0 Linux operating system, USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports, and the company promotes it as a “personal private cloud & home multimedia center”. QNAP TS-133 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3566 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ 1.8 GHz with Arm Mali-G52 EE GPU, 0.8 TOPS NPU/AI…

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 ava…

Qualcomm QCX216 is a new IoT-optimized LTE Cat1 bis modem with a data rate of up to 10 Mbps at ultra-low power and support for WiFi-based terrestrial positioning thanks to the company’s database of billions of geolocated beacons. LTE Cat1 bis is an update to LTE Cat1 that does not require software and hardware upgrades to the base stations, enables smaller, simpler, and cheaper designs with a single antenna, and delivers higher speeds than LTE Cat M1 typically used in IoT applications. Qualcomm QCX216 LTE IoT modem will be used in smart utility meters, trackers, e-mobility solutions, parking meters, home automation and security equipment, and other location-based solution…

We quickly mentioned the Qualcomm Robotics RB1 and RB2 development kits in our post about Lantronix Open-Q 2210RB and 4210RB SiPs mostly to complain about the lack of information at the time. But things have changed the Qualcomm Robotics RB1 and RB2 devkits for cheaper, smaller Linux-powered robots with lower power consumption are now available, and we have more details with three options: Core Kit, Vision Kit, and Full Kit. So let’s have a closer look. All kits are based on the Qualcomm Robotics RB1/RB2 Core Kit with the following (preliminary) specifications: System-on-module RB1 – Thundercomm TurboX C2210 SoC – Qualcomm QRB2210 CPU – Quad-core Cortex-A53 processor at …

Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 mobile platform just a few days ago, but Linaro has just announced that Linux was already upstreamed to the premium mobile SoC featuring a 3.2 GHz Arm Cortex-X3 “Prime” core, four performance cores at up to 2.8 GHz, and three Efficiency cores clocked at up to 2.0 GHz. Most of the work was done by Linaro Engineers Abel Vesa and Neil Armstrong with initial support posted on November 16th on the Linux kernel mailing list, and with the set of patches released so far, it is even possible to boot a minimal AOSP image on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 development kit shown below which should be manufactured by Lantronix, if history is any guide. Th…

You may soon be able to get true global coverage even in remote areas thanks to Qualcomm Snapdragon Satellite which will offer pole-to-pole coverage and two-way messaging for emergency use, SMS texting, and other messaging applications. Qualcomm made this possible through a partnership with Iridium to bring satellite-based connectivity to next-generation premium Android smartphones starting with devices based on Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform, while emergency messaging support was done in collaboration with Garmin. You’ll just need to point your phone to the sky to send and/or receive messages, and the connection should take place within a few seconds. Note it can onl…

It’s been a while since Qualcomm released a new platform for wearables. More exactly, the Snapdragon 4100 platform was announced a little over two years ago, and now Qualcomm has just introduced the Snapdragon W5+ and W5 Gen 1 platforms with up to 50% longer battery, twice the performance, and 30 percent smaller size. Just like the Snapdragon 4100, the Snapdragon W5 comes with four Arm Cortex-A53 processor (SW5100), but is clocked at 1.7 GHz and manufactured with a 4nm process, while the always-on (AON) co-processor is upgraded from a Cortex-M0 chip to the QCC5100 Cortex-M55 chip manufactured with a 22nm process. Snapdragon W5+/W5 specifications: W5100 SoC CPU – Quad-…

Only a few years ago, 5G was only found in premium smartphones, but with the launch of the Snapdragon X35, Qualcomm aims to bring 5G cellular connectivity to wearables, industrial IoT applications, and eXtended Reality (XR) glasses. The Snapdragon X35 specifically supports 5G NR-Light, aka RedCap, which is described as ” a new class of 5G” that “fills the gap in between high-speed mobile broadband devices and extremely low-bandwidth NB-IoT devices” and delivers link rates of up to 220 Mbps. Snapdragon X35 modem key features and specifications: Cellular Technology: 5G NR-Light, FDD, SA (standalone), TDD, sub-6 GHz, HD-FDD, LTE Multi-Mode NR – Sub-6 SA, LTE Cat 4 3GPP Relea…

Qualcomm has announced the Wi-Fi 7 capable Qualcomm Networking Pro Series Gen 3 family designed for routers and access points with a PHY rate up to 33 Gbps with the quad-band 16-stream Networking Pro 1620 platform and offers some competition to the recently announced Broadcom WiFi 7 access point chips. The company will also offer the tri-band 12-stream Networking Pro 1220 with up to 21.6 Gbps aggregated link rate, the quad-band 8-stream Networking Pro 820 capable of 16.5 Gbps PHY rate, and at the low-end of the scale, the Networking Pro 620 limited to 10.8 Gbps with three bands and six streams. Qualcomm Networking Pro 1620 (IPQ9574) platform specifications: CPU – Quad-cor…

Latronics has just unveiled two new System-in-Packages (SiP) with the entry-level Open-Q 2290CS SIP based on Qualcomm QCS2290 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor designed for industrial IoT applications and safety vehicle equipment control, and the pin-compatible, mid-range Open-Q 4290CS SIP based on Qualcomm QCS4290 octa-core Kryo 260 CPU for applications requiring artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities. The Open-Q 2290CS module comes with 2GB LPDDR4, 16GB eMMC flash, WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, while the Open-Q 4290CS module is equipped with up to 6GB LPDDR4, up to 256GB eMMC flash., and Wi-Fi 5 with some Wi-Fi 6 features (TWT & 8SS), and Bl…

While it may be hard to buy a Raspberry Pi these days, there are various alternatives with the Raspberry Pi 3/4 form factor, including Pine64’s Quartz64 Model B SBC powered by a Rockchip RK3566 processor that has just launched for $59.99 with 4GB RAM. The Quartz64 Model B is a smaller version of the Quartz64 Model A launched earlier this year, that comes with HDMI 2.0a and MIPI DSI display interfaces, a MIPI CSI camera interface, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0, as well as several USB 2.0/3.0 ports, and of course, a 40-pin Raspberry Pi compatible GPIO header. Quartz64 Model B specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3566 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor up to 1.8 GHz wit…

Queclink Wireless Solutions WR300FG is a dual SIM 5G industrial router with five Gigabit Ethernet ports, WiFi 6, GNSS, RS232 and RS485 interfaces designed for factory automation, smart energy infrastructure, and Internet of Vehicles (IoV). TheWR300FG is based on a Qualcomm IPQ8072 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 networking processor running OpenWrt, supports both 5G SA/NSA modes, backward-compatibility with 4G/3G, and its dual SIM features enabled automatic switchover for interrupted 5G connectivity. WR300FG specifications: SoC – Qualcomm IPQ8072 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 @ 2.2 GHz part of Qualcomm Networking Pro 1200 Platform System Memory – TBD Storage – 1GB flash (described …

Quectel SG560D is a 5G Sub-6GHz & WiFi 6E module for AIoT applications that runs Android 12 on a Qualcomm QCM6490 SoC with an octa-core Kryo 670 64-bit Arm CPU and a Qualcomm Adreno 643L GPU. The SG560D module is equipped with 4GB LPDDR4X RAM and 64GB UFS storage by default, supports up to 2520×1080 MIPI display at a refresh rate of 144Hz, and can deliver up to 14 TOPS for AI inference. Quectel SG560D key features and specifications: SoC – Qualcomm QCM6490 octa-core processor with one Kryo 670 Gold plus high-performance core up to 2.7 GHz, 3x Kryo Gold cores at 2.4 GHz, 4x Kryo Silver low-power cores @ 1.9 GHz, Adreno 643L GPU, 6th gen AI Engine delivering up to 14 TO…

Frore Systems Airjet Mini and Airjet Pro are active cooling chips that are just 2.8mm thick and quietly suck cool air in from the top of the chip before pushing it out the sides with the aim to replace traditional fan-based solutions in ultrabooks, or be integrated into VR headsets and smartphones for improved cooling. Yesterday we saw that cameras could clean themselves with micro-vibrations, and it happens that processors can be cooled with vibrations too as the Airjet chips are comprised of tiny membranes that vibrate at ultrasonic frequencies to generate a flow of air that enters through inlet vents in the top and transformed into high-velocity pulsating jets exiting …

Radair mini gateway is a multiple-purpose gateway with LoRaWAN, WiFi 6E, Bluetooth and Ethernet connectivity, a Quectel GNSS module, the ability to connect to the Helium network to mine HNT cryptocurrency, as well as a 4-in-1 Bosch environmental sensor to monitor temperature, humidity, pressure, and air quality. Radair mini gateway specifications: SoC – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 “crypto” CPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash, MicroSD card socket Connectivity WM1302 LoRa concentrator for LoRaWAN support Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port 802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 via Mediatek MT7921AU module Dual Antenna – Wi-Fi 6E, LoRa GPS – Quectel GNSS modul…

Radxa has been working on the ROCK 5 Compute Module (aka Radxa CM5) system-on-module compatible with Raspberry Pi CM4, but based on the more powerful Rockchip RK3588S octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 SoC. Just like the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4, it comes in a 55 x 40mm form factor, but instead of just two high-density 100-pin board-to-board connectors, the module includes three to cater for the additional I/Os from the Rockchip processor, just like they did for the Radxa CM3 equipped with a Rockchip RK3566 processor. Radxa CM5 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588S octa-core processor with 4x Cortex‑A76 cores @ up to 2.4GHz, 4x Cortex‑A55 core @ 1.8GHz Arm Mali-G610 MP4 “Odi…

Radxa E25 is a modular router with two 2.5GbE ports based on the Radxa CM3 Industrial (CM3I) system-on-module equipped with a Rockchip RK3568 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor, and optional support for WiFi 6 and 4G or 5G cellular connectivity. I got an early sample of the Radxa E25 carrier board in January, but the company has now refined the design with version 1.4 of the board and will launch the Radxa E25 as a complete router with an enclosure similar to NanoPi R5S and LinkStar H68K we’ve covered previously. Radxa E25 specifications: SoM – Radxa CM3I with Rockchip RK3568 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ 2.0 GHz with Arm Mali-G52, up to 8GB RAM, up to 128GB eMMC flash (25…

Radxa has just unveiled the ROCK 5A single board computer (SBC) following Raspberry Pi 4 form factor and powered by a Rockchip RK3588S octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 processor coupled with up to 16GB of RAM as a way to celebrate Chinese New Year 2023. The Radxa ROCK 5A (aka ROCK5 Model A) closely follows the Raspberry Pi 4 layout, including two micro HDMI ports, a 3.5mm AV port, a microSD card, a 40-pin GPIO header, four USB ports, and a Gigabit Ethernet port. The MIPI DSI connector is there too, and so is the MIPI CSI camera connector, but in a different location. Radxa also added some features such as an M.2 socket for a wireless module (since there’s none on board) and eMMC …

The Radxa Taco is a carrier board for Raspberry Pi CM4 and compatible system-on-modules that is designed for NAS applications with five SATA ports for 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch drives, 2.5GbE and GbE networking, M.2 sockets for expansion, and more. The new board is the successor of the Rock Pi SATA HAT designed for the Raspberry Pi 4 SBC or Raxda Rock Pi 4 single board computers and supports more SATA drives, M.2 NVMe storage, optional WiFi 6, built-in RTC support, and so on. Radxa Taco specifications: Supported SoMs Raspberry Pi CM4 or CM4 Lite Radxa CM3 based on Rockchip RK3566 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor Maybe others Storage 5x SATA interfaces for 2.5-inch HDD or SSD up …

RAKwireless RAK2560 WisNode Sensor Hub is a modular sensor gateway based on the RAK4630 WisDuo Stamp module with Nordic Semi nRF52840 Bluetooth 5.0 LE MCU and Semtech SX1262 LoRa/LoRaWAN transceiver and equipped with two sensor probe ports to connect a range of sensors. It ships with various sensors from a temperature and humidity sensor to a water level sensor, and is designed for outdoor operation with an IP66 design, waterproof probe connectors, and the ability to support a solar panel as the power source. RAK2560 WisNode Sensor Hub specifications: Core module – RAK4630 WisDuo Stamp Module with LoRa/LoRaWAN and BLE 5.0 connectivity through nRF52840 MCU and SX1262 radi…

Rakwireless Wisblock modular IoT prototyping system will get new modules about once every quarter and the latest Wisblock Summer 2022 event brings some RAK190xx base boards and power modules to support various power sources from solar panels to PoE, two IP65-rated “Unify” enclosures, as well as four new Wisblock sensor modules. Wisblock RAK190XX base boards and power modules The company has launched three base boards designed to take one of the five Wisblock power modules: RAK19009 – A small (47×30 mm) base board with only 2 sensor slots. RAK19010 – The “standard” base board with 4 sensor slots and 1 I/O slot RAK19011 – Version of the Dual IO base board with a power slot…

RAKwireless “All-in-One 5G” is a programmable 64-bit Ubuntu indoor device that integrates AGW (access gateway) through a Raspberry Pi CM4 as well as 5G and 4G LTE cellular and LoRaWAN connectivity. The device is powered through its 2.5GbE PoE++ port and designed for private 5G networks for industrial automation, public safety, and transportation, and RAKwireless says you can also “start earning cryptocurrency by providing LTE cellular and LoRa coverage”, but I could not find details about monetization at this time. RAKwireless “All-in-One 5G” specifications: SoM (AGW) – Raspberry Pi CM4 system-on-module with Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 processor with 4GB RAM and…

Iglia has done more work on the graphics driver for the VideoCore VI GPU found in Raspberry Pi 4 and other Broadcom BCM2711-based hardware with Vulkan 1.2 conformance, and Roman Stratiienko added Vulkan 3D graphics acceleration to Android, or more exactly LineageOS. Raspberry Pi and Iglia have been collaborating together since the launch of the Raspberry Pi 4 SBC to develop a Khronos conformant Mesa 3D graphics driver for the board, and that’s a long-term project that’s been going on for over two years, and not quite finished yet. Here’s a non-exhaustive timeline of the project so far: February 2020 – Raspberry Pi 4 V3DV driver gets OpenGL ES 3.1 conformance, work on Vulk…