SBC News

ASUSTOR FLASHSTOR 6 and FLASHSTOR 12 are network access storage (NAS) devices powered by a quad-core Intel Celeron N5095 Jasper Lake processor and designed for respectively 4K audio and video content consumption for the former and 4K video editing for the latter. Both models come with 4 GB of DDR4-2933, two USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 ports, and HDMI 2.0b video output, but the FLASHSTOR 6 supports up to 6 M.2 NVMe SSDs and 2.5GbE networking, while the FLASHSTOR 12 can take up to 12 M.2 NVMe SSDs and handles 10GbE networking. ASUSTOR FLASHSTOR specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N5105 quad-core Jasper Lake processor @ 2.0 GHz / 2.9 GHz (Turbo) System Memory – 4GB SO-DIMM DDR4, expa…

The “Auspicious Machine” may look like a Blackberry phone, but it’s actually a handheld Linux PC with a built-in QWERTY keyboard and a 3.5-inch display that can be powered by a range of system-on-modules (SoM). The computer, whose name can also be translated as the “Auspicious Phone”, can be used as a Linux terminal with GPIO control, and for gaming with Linux distributions such as Batotera or RetroBat with the D-Pad and ABXY buttons found on the device. Auspicious Machine specifications: Supported SoMs Bigtreetech CB1 with Allwinner H616 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor and 1GB DDR4 Raspberry Pi CM4 with Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A73 processor, up to 8GB LPDDR4, …

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 …

AXERA AX620A is a high-performance, low-power AI SoC with a quad-core Arm Cortex-A7 processor and a 14.4TOPs @ INT4 or 3.6TOPs @ INT8’s NPU that is slightly inferior to the Amlogic A311D, and mainly used for AI vision applications. With high computing power and built-in image processing capabilities, the AX620A can support a wide range of AI workloads. It also offers low power consumption with low standby power and fast wake-up, so the chip can be integrated into battery-powered products. AXERA AX620A specifications: CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A7 @ 1.0 GHz with 32KB L1 I-cache + 32KB L1 D-cache per core, 256KB L2 cache, FPU and NEON NPU – 4 TOPS @ INT4, 3.6 TOPS @ INT8 wi…

Axera AX8860P is a new 16-core Cortex-A55 SoC with up to 128 TOPS/256 TOPS (FP4) NPU, 256-bit LPDDR5/5X memory, and PCIe 5.0 connectivity, aiming to power desktop AI solutions competing with NVIDIA DGX Spark at a fraction of the cost. Dr. Qiu Xiaoxin, founder and CEO of Axera, unveiled the new AX8860/AX8860P processor a few days ago at the China International Industrial Fair, along with upcoming products from Sipeed and Radxa. Axera AX8860P key features and specifications: CPU – 16x Arm Cortex-A55 processor AI – Up to 256 TOPS VPU – 64-channel decode, 16-channel encode Memory – Up to 128GB 256-bit LPDDR5x with 273GB/s bandwidth Interconnect – PCIe 5.0 + AXLink (C2C) casca…

Axiomtek AIE900-XNX is a fanless Edge AI computing system powered by NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX system-on-module designed for autonomous mobile robots (AMR), automated guided vehicles (AGV), and other computer vision applications. The system delivers up to 21 TOPS thanks to the 6-core NVIDIA Carmel ARM v8.2 (64-bit) processor, NVDLA accelerators, and 384-core NVIDIA Volta architecture GPU found in the Jetson Xavier NX module. The AIE900-XNX Edge AI computer also comes with a 5G module for high-speed cellular connectivity and supports SerDes, PoE, and MIPI CSI cameras for video processing. Axiomtek AIE900-XNX specifications: NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX system-on-module with CPU –…

Axiomtek iNA200 is a DIN-rail mountable cybersecurity gateway powered by a choice of Elkhart Lake Atom x6000E-series processor and designed for operational technology (OT) network security. The fanless gateway comes with up to 32GB RAM, supports SATA storage, offers 2.5GbE & Gigabit Ethernet (RJ45/SFP) networking, and as it is designed for industrial settings, can take input from two 9V to 36V power sources and operate in the -40°C to 70°C temperature range. Axiomtek iNA200 specifications: SoC – Intel Atom x6212RE/x6414RE dua-core or quad-core Elkhart Lake processor with 16 EU Intel UHD Graphics; TDP: x6212RE: 6W, x6414RE: 9W System Memory – Up to 32GB DDR4-3200 SO-DI…

Azume, a Munich-based startup, has designed the Azume One, a compact health tracker that attaches to the back of a regular wristwatch to track heart rate, sleep, stress, and daily activity without needing an additional smartwatch. The device measures 30mm in diameter, is 2.8mm thick, and weighs 5 grams. It features an optical PPG sensor and a motion sensor to track health and activity data, which it sends to an Android or iOS smartphone over Bluetooth 5.4. Other highlights include up to 48 hours of battery life, a removable nano-suction mounting system, and an included wristband for sleep tracking without wearing a watch. Azume One specifications: MCU / SoC – Not specifie…

rbaron’s b-parasite is an open-source hardware Bluetooth LE plant watering sensor that can measure soil moisture and ambient temperature/humidity/light and works with ESPHome, Home Assistant, or any macOS or Linux platforms including the Raspberry Pi boards. It is based nRF52840 multi-protocol wireless microcontroller, so stanvn decided to add Zigbee support to the b-parasite through the “Zigbee Plant Sensor” firmware based on the Nordic Semi nRF5 SDK for nRF52 series of SoCs and working with Zigbee2MQTT. Let’s have a look at b-parasite hardware specifications first: Wireless MCU – Nordic Semi nRF52840 Arm Cortex-M4F multi-protocol wireless microcontroller with Bluetooth …

Pimoroni Badger 2040 is a Raspberry Pi RP2040 board equipped with a 2.9-inch black and white E-Ink display with 296 x 128 resolution and programmable with C/C++, MicroPython, or CircuitPython. The board is not just an ePaper badge, as it also comes with five buttons, and expansion capability through a Qwiic/STEMMA QT connector plus some pads with UART, I2C, interrupt, and power signals. Badger RP2040 specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Arm Cortex M0+ running at up to 133Mhz with 264kB of SRAM Storage – 2MB QSPI flash Display – 2.9-inch B&W E Ink display with 296 x 128 pixels resolution, ultrawide viewing angles, ultra-low power consumption; Dot pitch –…

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+…

The Balthazar Personal Computing Device (BPCD) is an open-source hardware 13.3-inch laptop with a RISC-V, Arm, or FPGA module and designed to be upgradable, expandable, and sustainable. The developers say the laptop is based on a few concepts inspired by the EOMA68 project. The EOMA68 is a CPU module based on the PCMCIA form factor, and an Allwinner A20 EOMA68 module was showcased in a prototype of the Rhombus Tech 15.6-inch Libre Laptop but I don’t think the project was ever manufactured. Balthazar laptop features: SoM with RISC-V, FPGA, or Arm Cortex-A7x processor plus memory and flash Storage – SATA SSD, eSATA connector, microSD card socket Display – 13.3-inch non-glar…

3D printing can be time-consuming and challenging, and even today, it’s still not as easy as using a photocopier, but the team at Bambu Lab has taken it upon itself to make a better, easier-to-use 3D printer with the X1 color 3D printer combining LIDAR and AI technology to level the bed, calibrate the prints, and detect anomalies. The Bambu Lab X1 3D printer supports up to 16 colors, is making removing support easier with snap-away material or dissolvable filament, can handle PC and PA-CF filaments beyond the traditional PLA and PETG filaments, manage up to 500 mm/s prints, and provides better prints with features such as active vibration compensation. Oh, and you don’t n…

Banana BPI-Bit-S2 is a board for the education market that’s compatible with the BBC Micro:bit V2, but offers WiFi connectivity instead of Bluetooth LE through an Espressif Systems ESP32-S2 wireless microcontroller. The BPI-Bit-S2 succeeds the earlier Banana Pi BPI-Bit with ESP32 WiFi & BLE microcontroller that was a closer match to the original BBC Micro:bit than the new ESP32-S2 board for which I see little benefit, except for the slightly lower price tag. Banana BPI-Bit-S2 specifications: Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S2FN4R2 single core LX7 microcontroller with 320 kB SRAM, 2MB PSRAM, 4MB flash, 2.4 GHz WiFi connectivity LEDs – 25x RGB LED matrix USB – 1x…

Banana Pi BPI-P2 Pro is Rockchip RK3308 quad-core Cortex-A35 SBC for headless applications with a PoE-capable Ethernet port, WiFi 5, a USB port, an audio jack, and two GPIO headers for expansion. You may think the Banana Pi guys have gone crazy by calling such entry-level level SBC “Pro”, but that’s because the company previously released the BPI-P2 Zero and BPI-P2 Maker single board computers based on Allwinner H2+ quad-core Cortex-A7 processor, so the BPI-P2 Pro is indeed an improvement albeit with some caveats. Banana Pi BPI-P2 Pro specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3308 quad-core Arm Cortex-A35 processor @ up to 1.3 GHz with built-in VAD (Voice Activity Detector) System…

Banana Pi BPI-CM4 system-on-module powered by an Amlogic A311D hexa-core Cortex-A73/A53 processor and compatible with the Raspberry Pi CM4 module has now been launched for $95 and up. Banana Pi introduced the Raspberry Pi CM4 compatible module with Amlogic A311D CPU last May with some 3D renders and specifications, and we expected a launch in Q4 2022 or Q1 2023 at the time. The Banana Pi BPI-CM4 is now available together with a carrier board so let’s have another look. Banana Pi BPI-CM4 specifications: SoC – Amlogic A311D hexa-core processor with 4x Arm Cortex-A73 @ 2.0 GHz and 2x Arm Cortex-A53, Arm Mali-G52 MP4 (6EE) GPU, 5 TOPS NPU System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 RAM Stora…

Banana Pi is better known for its Arm Linux boards, but the company’s Banana Pi BPI-Leaf-S3 board features Espressif ESP32-S3 dual-core WiFi & BLE AI processor, with compatibility with ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1 minus a built-in USB to TTL chip, and added support for battery and an I2C connector. Banana Pi Leaf (BPI-Leaf-S3) specifications: Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3 dual-core Tensilica LX7 @ up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration, 512KB RAM, wireless connectivity Storage/Memory – 8MB flash, 2MB SPRAM Connectivity via ESP32-S3 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi 4 with 40 MHz bandwidth support Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 5.0 and Mesh connectivity with…

The Allwinner A40i and A60i industrial-grade quad-core and hexa-core Cortex-A7 processors were first introduced in 2018 with support for the wide -40°C to +85°C industrial temperature range, but so far I had not noticed any hardware making use of either processor. But Banana Pi is now offering the Banana Pi BPI-M2 Ultra SBC, which they launched in 2016 with the Allwinner R40 quad-core Cortex-A7 SoC, with the pin-to-pin and software-compatible Allwinner A40i industrial-grade processor. Banana Pi BPI-M2 Ultra specifications: SoC – Allwinner A40i quad-core Arm Cortex-A7 processor with Arm Mali-400MP2 GPU @ 500 MHz, 1080p60 H.264, MPEG-4, MPEG-1/2 video decoder, H.264 1080p45…

Banana Pi BPI-M6 is an upcoming credit-card single board computer based on SenaryTech SN3680 SoC comprised of a quad-core Arm Cortex-A73 processor, a Cortex-M3 real-time core, an Imagination GE9920 GPU, and an NPU delivering up to 6 .75 TOPS. The board will ship with 4GB LPDDR4 RAM and 16GB eMMC flash. Its layout is fairly similar to the one of the Raspberry Pi 4 with four USB ports, Gigabit Ethernet, a 40-pin GPIO header, a USB Type-C port for power, and two micro HDMI ports. However, only one of those is for HDMI output, as the second is for HDMI input, and there’s also an M.2 socket for expansion. Banana Pi BPI-M6 specifications: SoC – SenaryTech SN3680 with CPU – Quad…

Banana Pi BPI-M8 is a credit card-sized SBC powered by an Allwinner A733 octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 SoC that aims to offer an alternative to the Raspberry Pi 5. The BPI-M8 comes with 4GB LPDDR5, HDMI and MIPI DSI display interfaces, two MIPI CSI camera interfaces, Gigabit Ethernet, on-board WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0, four USB ports, a 16-pin FFC PCIe connector, and the usual 40-pin GPIO header. Two variants are offered: the BPI-M8A with 64GB eMMC flash, and the BPI-M8B with 16MB SPI NOR flash. Banana Pi BPI-M8 specifications: SoC – Allwinner A733 CPU Dual-core Arm Cortex-A76 @ up to 2.00 GHz Hexa-core Arm Cortex-A55 @ up to 1.80 GHz Single-core RISC-V E902 real-time core GPU…

Banana Pi BPI-Pico-RP2040 is basically a clone of the original Raspberry Pi Pico, but with the addition of an RGB LED and a 4-pin I2C connector, and the company replaced the micro USB port with a Type-C connector. The rest of the board, also called Banana Pi Pico, is exactly the same up to the through holes and castellated holes for the I/Os, and has a similar form factor as the Banana Pi BPI-PicoW-S3 that adds WiFi and Bluetooth through the ESP32-S3 wireless microcontroller. Banana Pi BPI-Pico-RP2040 specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ microcontroller @ up to 133 MHz with 264KB SRAM Storage – 2MB QSPI flash USB – 1x USB 1.1 Type-C port used for…

Banana Pi BPI-R3 Mini router board is powered by MediaTek MT7986 (Filogic 830) quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor with 2GB DDR4, an 8GB eMMC flash, two low-profile 2.5GbE ports, and WiFi 6 support. The BPI-R3 Mini is based on many of the same chips as found on the Banana Pi BPI-R3 board, but with a much more compact design that makes it suitable as a 2.5GbE firewall, wireless router or repeater, home security gateway, home automation gateway, NAS device, and more. Banana Pi BPI-R3 Mini specifications: SoC – MediaTek MT7986A (Filogic 830) quad-core Arm Cortex A53 processor with hardware acceleration engines for Wi-Fi offloading and networking System Memory – 2GB DDR4 RA…

I first noticed the MediaTek MT7986 WiFi router processor in Linux 5.17 changelog. MT7986 is the codename for MediaTek Filogic 830 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor designed for Wi-Fi 6/6E routers with up to 6 Gbps bandwidth, and two 2.5Gbps Ethernet interfaces. Banana Pi BPI-R3 is a router board based on Filogic 830/MT7986A that offers an upgrade to the company’s Banana Pi BPI-R2 board powered by a MediaTek MT7623A quad-core Cortex-A7 processor or even the Banana Pi BPI-R64 board based on a MediaTek MT7622 dual-core Arm Cortex-A53 SoC. Banana Pi BPI-R3 specifications: SoC – MediaTek MT7986A (Filogic 830) quad-core Arm Cortex A53 processor with hardware acceleration engines …

Banana Pi BPI-W3 is yet another upcoming Rockchip RK3588 SBC but with a different set of features, notably the presence of two Gigabit Ethernet ports, a PCIe x4 slot, and a SATA port, besides to more common dual HDMI output, HDMI input, USB 2.0/3.0 ports, etc… The board layout is somewhat similar to the company’s BPI-RK3588 SBC but with a system-on-module, and instead, the Rockchip RK3588 processor is soldered directly onto the board together with 8GB LPDDR4, and 32GB eMMC flash. Banana Pi BPI-W3 specifications (preliminary): SoC- Rockchip RK3588 octa-core processor with 4x Cortex-A76 cores @ up to 2.4 GHz (YMMV), 4x Cortex-A55 cores @ 1.8 GHz, an Arm Mali G610MC4 GPU, a …

Banana Pi BPI-W3 is another Rockchip RK3588 SBC (single board computer) with 8GB RAM, 32GB eMMC flash, an M.2 NVMe socket, 2.5GbE networking, two HDMI 2.1 output ports, one HDMI 2.0 input port, and other features. We first recovered the board last summer, but at the time the RK3588 SBC came with a PCIe x4 slot and dual Gigabit Ethernet, and the company has now redesigned the board without either using instead a Rockchip RK3588 system-on-module as part of the design and implemented 2.5GbE and M.2 NVMe SSD support with the available PCIe interfaces. Banana Pi BPI-W3 specifications: SoM – BPI-RK3588 core board SoC- Rockchip RK3588 octa-core processor with 4x Cortex-A76 cores…

BeagleBone AI-64 is a single board computer (SBC) powered by a Texas Instruments TDA4VM dual-core Cortex-A72 + hexa-core Cortex-R5F processor which also embeds an 8 TOPS AI accelerator, plus three DSP, as well as plenty of I/Os that makes it ideal for advanced AI industrial applications. It follows the BeagleBone-AI SBC launched in 2019, but with much higher specs including a 64-bit Arm processor, 4GB RAM, three USB 3.0 ports, an M.2 E-Key socket with PCIe, USB and SDIO, plus the usual expansion headers that keep compatibility with existing BeagleBone cape add-on boards. BeagleBone AI-64 specifications compare to BeagleBone-AI and BeagleBone Black boards: Another notabl…

BeagleBoard.org has introduced the BeagleConnect QuadESC, an open-source 4-channel BLDC motor controller/carrier board built around the BeagleConnect Torque SoM. The SoM features TI’s 200 MHz AM13E23019 Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller with a trigonometric math unit (TMU) and a TinyEngine neural-network accelerator for edge AI applications. The QuadESC carrier board supports four three-phase BLDC motor outputs, twelve current and twelve voltage sensing channels, four temperature sensors, and battery voltage monitoring. It also includes an eight-pin flight controller connector with DShot, telemetry, and current reporting signals, along with SWD debugging, a buzzer connector,…

The BeagleBoard.org Foundation has just launched their latest single board computer with the BeaglePlay SBC powered by a Texas Instruments AM625 Cortex-A53/M4/R5 processor with 16GB eMMC flash, 2GB DDR2, and a wide range of I/Os, wired and wireless communication options, and support for expansion module compatible with MikroBus, Grove, and Qwiic connectors. Two wired Ethernet are offered, namely a typical Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port, as well as a single-pair Ethernet RJ11 port limited to 10 Mbps but with a much longer range and power over data, and wireless connectivity includes dual-band WiFi 4, Bluetooth LE, and Sub-GHz. The board also features HDMI and MIPI DSI display …

SolidRun Bedrock V3000 Basic is an industrial fanless computer based on the new AMD Ryzen Embedded V3000 Zen3 processor family designed for storage and networking applications. More specifically, the embedded computer is based on the AMD Ryzen Embedded V3C48 octa-core/sixteen-thread processor with up to 64 GB DDR5 memory, support for up to three M.2 key-M 2280 NVMe SSDs, and impressive network connectivity options with two SFP+ cages capable of 10 Gbps speeds, four 2.5GbE RJ45 ports, and optional support for WiFi 6, 4G and/o 5G cellular connectivity. Bedrock V3000 Basic specifications: SoC – AMD Ryzen Embedded V3000 family with up to 8C/16T Zen3+ cores @ up to 3.8 GHz; TD…

Smart Bee Designs’ Bee Motion is an ESP32-S2 board with a PIR motion sensor, some GPIOs for expansion, and promising over a year of battery life under the right circumstances. If the name “Bee Motion” rings a bell, it’s because we covered the Bee Motion Mini board last month with an ESP32-C3 processor and a PIR sensor, but no USB port for programming and no expansion ability. It was just designed to be used as a battery-powered wireless PIR motion sensor. The Bee Motion expands the use cases of the solution, although it only features WiFi connectivity, and loses Bluetooth LE. Bee Motion specifications: Wireless module – Espressif ESP32-S2-MINI-1 module with Espressif ESP3…

The Bee Motion S3 is an ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth IoT board with a PIR motion sensor beside the more usual I/Os, Qwiic connector, USB-C port, and LiPo battery support. It is at least the third PIR motion wireless board from Smart Bee Designs, as the company previously introduced the ESP32-S2 powered Bee Motion board and the ultra-small Bee Motion Mini with an ESP32-C3 SoC. The new Bee Motion S3 adds a few more I/Os, a light sensor, and the ESP32-S3’s AI vector extensions could potentially be used for faster and/or lower-power TinyML processing. Bee Motion S3 specifications: Wireless module – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3-MINI-1 module (PDF datasheet) based on ESP32-S3 dual…

Smart Bee Designs’ Bee S3 is an ultra-low-power development board based on Espressif ESP32-S3 WiFi & Bluetooth microcontroller that consumes less than 20 uA in deep sleep mode allowing the board to theoretically last over 5 years under specific conditions. The board provides WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5 LE connectivity, features a battery voltage monitoring circuitry to check the battery charge level, a USB Type-C port for power and programming, plus 20 through holes for extensions such as connecting sensors, and so on. Bee S3 specifications: Wireless module – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3-MINI-1 module (PDF datasheet) with ESP32-S3 dual-core Xtensa LX7 processor with WiFi 4 a…

Beelink EQ12 is a mini PC powered by an Intel Processor N100 “Alder Lake-N” quad-core processor offered with 8GB or 16GB DDR5 memory, a 512GB NVMe SSD for storage, as well as two 2.5GbE ports, and a WiFi 6 & Bluetooth 5.2 wireless module. The actively cooled computer also comes with two 4K capable HDMI ports, three USB 3.2 ports, and a 10Gbps USB Type-C that also supports DisplayPort Alternate Mode enabling the EQ12 to drive up to three 4K displays. Beelink EQ12 specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N100 Alder Lake-N quad-core processor @ up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24 EU Intel HD graphics @ up to 750 MHz; TDP: 6W System Memory – 8GB or 16GB DDR5 4800 MHz RA…

Beelink GTR6 is a mini PC powered by a 45W AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX octa-core/16-thread processor @ up to 4.9 GHz with 12-core Radeon 680M graphics, taking up to 64GB DDR5, and M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 SSD storage. Once upon a time mini PCs were powered by low-power processors for fanless or near-silent operation, but in recent years, companies have started to integrate faster and faster powerful into the mini PC form factor. The Beelink GTR6 may be one of the most powerful mini PC so far thanks to the AMD Ryzen 9-6900HX CPU. Beelink GTR6 preliminary specifications: SoC – AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX octa-core/16-thread Zen 3+ processor @ up to 3.3 GHz / 4.9 GHz (Turbo) with 12-core Radeon …

The Beelink MINI S is a mini PC powered by an Intel Celeron N5095 quad-core Jasper Lake processor, and is offered with 8GB RAM plus either a 128GB or 256GB M.2 SATA SSD. Other highlights include dual HDMI 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet, a WiFi 5 & Bluetooth module, as well as four USB 3.0 ports, and support for 2.5-inch SATA SSD or HDD. Beelink MINI S specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N5095 quad-core Jasper Lake processor @ 2.0GHz / 2.9GHz (Turbo) with 4MB cache, 16EU Intel UHD Graphics; 15W TDP System MEmory – 8GB DDR4 Storage 128GB or 256GB M.2 SATA SSD (upgradeable up to 2TB) Support for 2.5-inch SATA drives (7mm thick max) Video Output – 2x HDMI 2.0 ports up to 4Kp60 A…

Whilst the first mini PCs were relatively simplistic using low-powered Intel Atom processors with minimal memory, storage, and ports, more recent mini PCs have become so advanced they can challenge SFF builds for both performance and functionality. However, such mini PCs come with prices to match. Beelink has now released the MINI S which is a mini PC that goes back to the basics and is based on a cut-down version of their earlier Beelink U59 mini PC and priced to match. Beelink kindly sent one for review and I’ve looked at performance running both Windows and Ubuntu and compared it directly against the U59. Beelink MINI S hardware overview The Beelink MINI S physically c…

The latest mini PC marketed in the ‘Pro’ range from Beelink is the SEi11 Pro and features one of last year’s Intel H-series processors typically used in gaming laptops. Beelink kindly sent one for review and I’ve looked at performance running both Windows 11 and Ubuntu 22.04. Beelink SEi11 Pro hardware overview The Beelink SEi11 Pro physically consists of a 126 x 113 x 40mm (4.96 x 4.45 x 1.57 inches) square metal case. As an actively cooled mini PC, it uses Intel’s ‘10 nm SuperFin’ Tiger Lake processor and the review model included an i5-11320H which is a quad-core 8-thread 3.20 GHz Core processor (at 35W TDP) boosting to 4.50 GHz with Intel’s Iris Xe Graphics. The front…

Beelink have launched their first Intel Alder Lake mini PC calling it the SEi12. Featuring a mobile 12th gen Core-i5-1235U processor it is also their first mini PC to incorporate a PCIe4 NVMe slot. Beelink kindly sent one for review and I’ve looked at the performance running both Windows 11 and Ubuntu 22.04. Beelink SEI12 hardware overview The Beelink SEi12 physically consists of a 126 x 113 x 42mm (4.96 x 4.45 x 1.65 inches) square metal case with a new and innovative waterproof fabric-covered top. As an actively cooled mini PC, it uses Intel’s Alder Lake Core i5-1235U processor which has a thread count of 12 with 2 ‘performance’ cores boosting to 4.40 GHz and 8 ‘efficie…

Beelink SEi12 mini PC is powered by an Intel Core i5-1235W Alder Lake U-Series 10-core hybrid processor with a 15W processor base power (PBP), making it one of the first 12th generation Alder Lake-U mini PCs. The computer ships with 16GB or 32GB dual-channel RAM, a 500GB PCIe 4.0 M.2 NVMe SSD, and provides two HDMI 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 6 & Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, as well as five USB ports for expansion. Beelink SEi12 i5-1235U specifications: SoC – Intel Core i5-1235U 10-core/12-thread hybrid Alder Lake U-Series processor with 2x Performance cores @ 1.3/4.4GHz, 8x Efficient cores @ 0.9/3.3GHz, 12 MB Intel Smart Cache, 80EU Iris Xe Graphics @ 800 MHz; B…

In the past, new mini PCs were released as a result of new processors coming to market. However, with the pandemic and its consequences on the supply chain, some Chinese manufacturers’ survival response has been to source old processors in order to continue presenting new devices. It could be argued that for this approach to be successful these alternative older processors should at least be comparable in performance terms to the latest processors that are currently, or theoretically potentially, now available. In terms of low-end Intel mini PC processor chronology which started with Bay Trail and then Cherry Trail followed by the Lakes of Apollo and Gemini, the current b…

Previously, I reviewed Beelink’s new SEi8 and SER3 mini PCs running Windows 11, so in this part, I will cover Ubuntu 22.04. Hardware Recap The SEi8 is an actively cooled Intel mini PC that physically consists of a 124 x 113 x 41 (4.88 x 4.45 x 1.61 inches) square metal case with a plastic top and uses Intel’s 14++ nm Coffee Lake Refresh Core i3-8109U processor from 2018 which is a dual-core 4-thread 3.00 GHz mobile processor boosting to 3.60 GHz with Intel’s Iris Plus Graphics 655. In comparison, the SER3 is an AMD mini PC and is physically very similar, consisting of a 126 x 113 x 40mm (4.96 x 4.45 x 1.57 inches) square metal case. It is also actively cooled and uses AMD…

New to arrive in the Beelink SER lineup is the SER5 marketed as a ‘SER PRO’ and features one of last year’s AMD Ryzen 5000 H-series processors typically used in high-performance productivity and gaming laptops. Beelink kindly sent one for review and I’ve looked at performance running both Windows 11 and Ubuntu 22.04. Beelink SER5 Hardware Overview The Beelink SER5 physically consists of a 126 x 113 x 42mm (4.96 x 4.45 x 1.65 inches) square metal case. As an actively cooled mini PC, it uses AMD’s 7 nm Zen 3 Ryzen 5 5600H Cezanne processor which is a six-core 12-thread 3.3 GHz mobile processor boosting to 4.2 GHz with Radeon Graphics. The front panel has an illuminated powe…

Previously I reviewed Beelink’s SER6 Pro mini PC when it was released with an AMD Ryzen 7 6800H processor, mentioning that a ‘refreshed’ model had since been released. Beelink have kindly sent me this updated model which now uses an AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS. Given this is virtually an identical processor with just a 50 MHz improvement to the boost frequency, this review will look at confirming that the Windows performance is just as good as before and also revisiting the issues faced previously with the USB4 port. Spoiler alert: the USB4 now works perfectly! Beelink SER6 Pro 7735S specification Beelink list the SER6 Pro 7735HS specifications as: with the only differences to the…

Beelink upgraded their earlier SER6, which used an AMD Ryzen 5 6600H processor with integrated AMD Radeon 660M graphics, and released the SER6 Pro which has a faster AMD Ryzen 7 6800H processor with much more powerful integrated AMD Radeon 680M graphics. Beelink kindly sent a SER6 Pro unit for review however since receiving the mini PC, Beelink have ‘refreshed’ the processor to use an AMD Ryzen 7 7735H also with AMD Radeon 680M graphics, and called it the SER6 Pro Refresh. As a result, this review looks at Windows performance which should be indicative for both versions, together with a quick look at running Ubuntu and also a more detailed look at the USB4 port which is a…

Beelink’s newly launched U59 Pro addresses the weak graphical performance offered by the original Beelink U59, which we also noticed in the Beelink MINI S, and was a direct result of the iGPU limitations. By simply upgrading the CPU from a ‘desktop’ to ‘mobile’ Celeron processor the iGPU received a fifty percent boost in execution units. Beelink kindly sent one for review and I’ve looked at performance running both Windows and Ubuntu. Beelink U59 Pro Hardware Overview The Beelink U59 Pro physically consists of a 124 x 113 x 42mm (4.88 x 4.45 x 1.65 inches) square plastic case. As before it is an actively cooled mini PC but now uses Intel’s 10 nm Jasper Lake N5105 processo…

DFRobot Beetle RP2040 joins other miniature Raspberry Pi RP2040 developments boards such as Pimoroni Tiny 2040 & Adafruit QT Py RP2040, but with only eight GPIOs accessible through larger pads that are easier to solder. The tiny 27 x 20 mm board comes with a USB Type-C port, BOOT and reset buttons, and twelves pads with a through hole each comprised of eight GPIOs, plus VCC, 3.3V, and GNS pads. The Beetle RP2040 is designed to be embedded into small devices or projects, and the company selected I/Os that can be configured as I2C, UART, SPI, GPIOs, analog input, etc… Beetle RP2040 specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ microcontroller@ up to 133…

Until now, I had only heard about Beken Bluetooth audio chips, but I’ve just been informed the company is also making WiFi chips such as the BK7256 that are notably found in some Tuya Smart Home modules. Beken offers both RISC-V and Arm WiFi and Bluetooth chips with features summarized as follows: BK7235 single-core RISC-V MCU up to 320 MHz with 2.4 GHz WiFi 6 802.11ax and Bluetooth 5.2 LE, 4MB flash, 512KB SRAM, optional 4MB PSRAM BK7236 dual-core Arm MCU up to 120 to 240 MHh with 2.4 GHz WiFi 6 802.11ax and Bluetooth 5.3 dual mode, 4MB flash, 512KB SRAM, optional 4MB PSRAM BK7237 dual-core RISC-V MCU up to 320 MHz with 2.4 GHz WiFi 6 802.11ax and Bluetooth 5.2 dual mode…

We wrote about the UP 4000 SBC with an Intel Apollo Lake processor and Raspberry Pi form factor yesterday. But today, I noticed the UP community had put up a benchmarks comparison between the UP 4000 board, the original UP board (Atom x5-8350), the Raspberry Pi 4, and NVIDIA Jetson Nano. They used several of the Phoronix Test Suite benchmarks running on Ubuntu 20.04 (x86) or Ubuntu 18.04 (Arm) on all four boards. The UP 4000 board used featured an Intel Celeron N3350 dual-core processor @ 2.40GHz, the 2GB RAM version of the UP Board, an RPi 4 with 4GB RAM, and a Jetson Nano developer kit with 4GB RAM. As one would have expected, the UP 4000 is ahead in most tests, even t…

Cheap ELM327 compatible OBD-II Bluetooth adapters that connect to your car for diagnostics and retrieve engine and other data are available all over the Internet. But today, we were reminded that many are fake with a partial implementation or not working at all. ELM32 was originally created by Elm Electronics – which recently decided to close shop – and based on Microchip PIC18F2480 microcontroller to provide the data through a UART interface, but copies have been around for years, and I myself bought a cheap ELM327 compatible ODB-II Bluetooth adapter back in 2013, but I never managed to make it work. Those were brought back to my attention today, as Jasbir bought two suc…

The BIGTREETECH CB1 core board is an Allwinner H616 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 system-on-module (SoM) that follows the Raspberry Pi CM4 form factor and was designed by BIGTREETECH, a company whose main business is related to 3D printer motherboards and their peripherals. The BIGTREETECH CB1 comes with 1GB RAM, an HDMI output interface, 2.4GHz WiFi, and 100Mbps Ethernet. The CB1 has better multimedia capability than the CM4 with support for 4Kp60 H.265/H.264 video decoding and 1080p60 H.264 video encoding, while the Broadcom BCM2711 processor on the CM4 can only handle 4Kp60 H.265 and 1080p60 H.264 video decoding, and 1080p30 H.264 video encoding. Some disadvantages include …

Yesterday, I wrote about the BBT Pi V1.2 Allwinner H616 SBC designed for 3D printers, but also mentioned I had received the Pad 7 from BIGTREETECH which is a software-compatible, but more complete solution with a 7-inch display and an Allwinner H616-powered CB1 system-on-module compatible with the Raspberry Pi CM4. The BIGTREETECH Pad 7 should be more convenient to use with its integrated 7-inch touchscreen display, and if you ever decided you didn’t need it to control your 3D printer anymore, it could always be used as a small Linux computer running Raspberry Pi OS or another operating system. BIGTREETECH Pad 7 specifications: Supported modules BIGTREETECH CB1 v2.2 (incl…

BIGTREETECH Pi v1.2, also known as the BBT Pi v1.2, is a Raspberry Pi-sized Allwinner H616 single board computer (SBC) specially designed for 3D printers with many of the same ports as the Raspberry Pi 3/4, but also features 12V-24V DC power input and connectors for the ADXL345 3-axis accelerometer, CAN Bus, and so on. The board is equipped with 1GB RAM, a microSD card slot to run the operating system (Debian 11 with Klipper), a 4K capable micro HDMI port, Fast Ethernet and WiFi 4 networking, four USB ports, and the usual 40-pin Raspberry Pi header. BTT Pi specifications: SoC – Allwinner H616 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 @ 1.5GHz with Arm Mali G31 MP2 with support for OpenGL …

BIOSTAR BIWCL-PAT is a 3.5-inch industrial SBC built around the Intel Core Series 3 “Wildcat Lake” SoC family, ranging from the Core 3 304 to the Core 7 360. The board supports up to 64GB DDR5-6400 memory, three independent displays, and dual 2.5GbE networking. It also features three M.2 slots for NVMe storage, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, and 4G/5G cellular connectivity, along with USB 3.2 ports, four serial interfaces, and an 8-bit digital I/O header. The compact 148 x 102mm form factor makes it suitable for industrial automation, edge computing, AIoT, human-machine interfaces (HMI), and POS/kiosk applications. BIOSTAR BIWCL-PAT specifications: Wildcat Lake SoC (one or the other) I…

BIOSTAR EdgeComp MS-U320 is a fanless industrial mini PC powered by an Intel Core 3 304 or Core 5 320 Wildcat Lake SoC with four COM ports, dual 2.5GbE, and 4G/5G cellular connectivity expansion. The mini PC supports up to 64GB DDR5, M.2 NVMe SSD storage, features 4K-capable HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 connectors, earphone and microphone jacks, and six USB ports. It supports a wide 9-24V DC input and can operate in the -20°C to +50°C temperature range for industrial automation, smart manufacturing, industrial IoT, smart retail, and smart infrastructure. BIOSTAR EdgeComp MS-U320 specifications: Wildcat Lake SoC Intel Core 3 304 5-core CPU – 1x P-cores @ 1.5/4.3 GHz (Turbo…

Russian company Prombit has unveiled the BITBLAZE Titan BM15 Arm Linux Laptop equipped with Baikal-M1 octa-core Arm Cortex-A57 processor manufactured by TSMC, up to 128GB RAM, SSD storage, and a 15.6-inch Full HD display. Baikal-M1, also called Baikal-M, was already found in desktop PCs and All-in-One Arm Linux computers launched last year for the Russian government and businesses, but I think it’s the first time it shows up in a laptop. BITBLAZE Titan BM15 specifications: SoC – Baikal M1 ((BE-M1000) octa-core Cortex-A57 processor @ up to 1.5 GHz with Arm Mali-T628 GPU; 28nm manufacturing process System Memory – 16GB RAM, upgradeable up to 128 GB thanks to the two SO-DIMM…

BLIKVM is an open-source KVM over IP software that helps you manage servers or workstations remotely regardless of the health of the target system, and currently working with Raspberry Pi CM4 hardware, a Raspberry Pi HAT, or a PCIe board, and a new model based on MangoPi’s Allwinner H616 CPU module is coming soon. We’ve previously written about the Raspberry Pi-based PiKVM DIY project, followed by the PiKVM v3 Raspberry Pi HAT from the same project, and now I can see there’s a CM4-based PiKVM V4 that was on Kickstarter last month and raised over $800,000… You’d think this kind of system would be rather a niche market, but there’s even demand to have a similar open-source …

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has just adopted the Bluetooth 5.4 Core Specification with features such as PAwR and EAD designed for Electronic Shelf Label (ESL) systems. The Bluetooth 5.3 Core Specification was adopted in August 2021 with various improvements, and Bluetooth 5.4 now follows with features that appear to be mainly interesting for large-scale Bluetooth networks with support for bi-directional communication with thousands of end nodes from a single access point, as would be the case for Electronic Shelf Label or Shelf Sensor systems. Four new features have been added to Bluetooth 5.4: Periodic Advertising with Responses (PAwR) – PAwR is a new Blue…

Multi-stream and broadcast audio features part of the Bluetooth LE Audio standard have been given a brand name by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). Meet Bluetooth Auracast broadcast audio, or simply Auracast for shorts. As a reminder, Bluetooth Audio LE broadcast enables an audio transmitter, be it a smartphone, laptop, television, or public address system to broadcast audio to an unlimited number of nearby Bluetooth audio receivers that could be speakers, earbuds, or even hearing devices. Auracast broadcast audio will let users invite others to listen to the same music without disturbing others around them, for example, a group of friends could listen to the mu…

So far, the popular Bluetooth wireless communication protocol would only rely on the 2.4 GHz frequency band, but this may change in the future, as the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has recently announced a new “specification development project” to add the 6 GHz frequency band to Bluetooth LE. Mark Powell, CEO of the Bluetooth SIG “explains” the move: The Bluetooth SIG community is constantly evolving the technology to meet ever expanding market demands for wireless communications. Expanding into the 6 GHz spectrum band will ensure the community can continue to make the enhancements necessary to pave the way for the next twenty years of Bluetooth innovation. I ge…

BMAX have relaunched their B3 Plus mini PC, aka MaxMini B3 Plus, with an upgraded Intel Celeron N5095 processor and a more distinctive design by having a novel way of accessing both the internal storage and memory together with being very lightweight in construction. BMAX kindly sent one for review and given the B3 Plus is similar to other mini PCs I’ve tested, I’m only going to take a cursory look at performance benchmarks and only whilst running Windows together with looking at the key features of this particular device. BMAX B3 Plus hardware overview The BMAX B3 Plus physically consists of a 125 x 112 x 44mm (4.92 x 4.41 x 1.73 inches) square plastic case. As an active…

Boufallo Lab BL616/BL618 is a 32-bit RISC-V wireless microcontroller with support for 2.4 GHz WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2 dual-mode, and an 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee, Thread, and Matter designed for IoT applications. We first spotted the BL616 RISC-V IoT MCU during the BL602/BL606 announcement in November 2020, but we had virtually no additional information about it so far. It appears both BL616 and BL618 will be launched next month with the main difference between the two being that BL616 has 19 GPIOs and BL618 comes with 35 GPIOs. Bouffalo Lab BL616 and BL618 specifications: MCU core – 32-bit RISC-V CPU (RV32GCP) @ up to 384 MHz (datasheet says 320 MHz) with FPU and DSP, 32KB…

So far, If I wanted to monitor my blood pressure monitor and overall fitness, I’d use a Bluetooth blood pressure monitor (Koogeek BP2) plus a fitness tracker/smartwatch such as Weloop Key S3. It does the job, but WearWiz has come up with something much more compact with the BP Doctor Pro 2-in-1 device that acts as both a smartwatch/fitness tracker and a blood pressure monitor, and at $299, offers a cheaper alternative to the $500 FDA-approved Omron Heartguide. The company sent a sample to CNX Software for review, so we’ll have a look at the device and accessories, the Android app, and features such as blood pressure monitoring, HRM, SpO2 level monitoring, and more. The re…

A few weeks ago, we noted that the Brainchip AKD1500 M.2 module could work with the Raspberry Pi 5 using a compatible M.2 HAT+ expansion card to evaluate the solution or develop applications using the company’s low-power, low-latency neuromorphic AI technology. To make things even easier, they’ve now introduced the AKD1500 Raspberry Pi 5 Dev Kit that packs a Raspberry Pi 5 8GB, an official M.2 HAT+, and an Akida AKD1500 M.2 B+M-Key card into a metal case. Most ports from the Raspberry Pi 5 are exposed, namely the Gigabit Ethernet port, the four USB connectors, the two HDMI video outputs, and the USB-C port for power. The Raspberry Pi 5 power button and an LED on the M.2 …

GL.inet Brume 2 is an OpenWrt router, or rather a “security gateway” as the company calls it, powered by a MediaTek MT7981B (Filogic 820) dual-core Cortex-A53 processor, and equipped with a 2.5GbE WAN port and a Gigabit Ethernet LAN port. The device also comes with a USB 3.0 port for storage and a USB Type-C port for power. It is offered with either a plastic enclosure (GL-MT2500 model) or an aluminum allow case (GL-MT2500A model), and with WireGuard and OpenVPN, is suitable to host a VPN server and “monitor, manage, and configure SD-WAN settings”. Brume 2 (GL-MT2500/GL-MT2500A) specifications: SoC – MediaTek MT7981B (Filogic 820) dual-core processor @ 1.3 GHz System Memo…

We started the review of GL.inet GL-MT2500A security gateway, aka Brume 2, with an unboxing and teardown, and I’ve now had time to test the router in more detail so I’ll report my experience using the router with OpenVPN and WireGuard VPN, Tor, Adguard Home, and more. In a nutshell, it’s super easy to use, unless your ISP causes troubles, which it did in this case. Brume 2 connection and initial setup I connected the WAN port of the Brume 2 router to 3BB’s modem router (3BB is an ISP in Thailand), the LAN port to my laptop, and finally the USB-C power supply (power draws is 2.3 Watts at idle). Let’s now go to the dashboard using the default IP (192.168.8.1). This will tak…

We’ve already written about the UP 4000 SBC as a more powerful x86 alternative to Raspberry Pi 4, but if it still does not cut it, AAEON de next-TGU8 or de next-V2K8 should as the business card-sized single board computers are equipped with respectively an Intel Tiger Lake processor up to a Core i7-1185G7E, or and AMD Ryzen Embedded V2000 SoC up to Ryzen Embedded V2516. But the comparison stops at the size, as both SBCs offer sets of features different from the usual Raspberry Pi form factor with notably up to 16GB RAM, SATA and NVMe storage, dual Ethernet (1x 2.5GbE, 1x Gigabit Ethernet), dual 4K display output via HDMI and eDP, some USB 3.2 ports, as well as serial and …

The can2040 project is a software CAN bus implementation for the Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller that leverages programmable I/Os (PIO) to achieve reading and writing CAN 2.0B data frames at rates up to 1Mbit per second. Kevin O’Connor, the developer of the project, further explains the implementation uses only one of the two RP2040 PIO hardware blocks, so it is possible for a single Raspberry Pi RP2040 chip to have two separate CAN bus interfaces. Some processing also happens on one of the Arm Cortex-M0+ cores of the microcontroller with the processing time dependent on the amount of bus traffic, and a fully saturated CAN bus at the fastest supported rate of 1Mbit/s …

Last summer, Canaan introduced the Kendryte K510 tri-core RISC-V AI processor, now also known as Canaan K510, as an updated version of the Kendryte K210 with a much higher 3 TOPS of performance, but at the time, there were no development board and SDK. But I’ve now just been informed of the availability of the Canaan Kendryte K510 CRB (customer reference platform) AI development kit with camera module and LCD display, as well as a software development kit with U-Boot, Linux, and AI tools which can be used to develop smart audio and computer vision applications. Kendryte K510 CRB-Kit development kit specifications: SoC – Canaan Kendryte K510 dual-core RISC-V64 CPU up to 80…

CANBed M4 development board based on Microchip SAM E51 Cortex-M4 microcontroller and MCP2542FD CAN transceiver provides a more powerful alternative to the CANBed RP2040 with a Raspberry Pi dual-core Cortex-M0+ microcontroller introduced last year. The board supports both CAN 2.0 and CAN FD with a 4-pin terminal block or a DB-9 connector, and offers expansion capabilities though two Grove connectors, and an 18-pin IO header. CANBed M4 specifications: MCU – Microchip ATSAME51G19A Arm Cortex M4 core @ up to 120 MHz with 512KB flash, 192KB RAM CAN Microchip MCP2542FD CAN transceiver with support for CAN 2.0 and CAN FD up to 2+ Mbps Input interface – DB-9 connector or terminal…

CANduino v3 is the third revision of MassiveButDynamic’s CAN bus board with Arduino Nano form factor based on Microchip ATmega168PA 8-bit AVR microcontroller, Microchip MCP2515 CAN controller with an SPI interface, and Microchip MCP2551 CAN transceiver suitable for 12V and 24V systems. The CANDuino v3 board is now slightly narrower in order to give access to two rows on each side when installed on a breadboard, comes with a USB Type-C port to reduce the number of cables needed, and the CAN bus function can be deactivated via a jumper in order to use the CANduino as a normal Arduino Nano. CANDuino v3 specifications: MCU – Microchip ATmega168PA 8-bit AVR microcontroller @ u…

Selecting an LPWAN IoT module usually means selecting a particular LPWAN standard, but Cavli Wireless C42GM global IoT module combines LTE Cat M1 and NB-IoT (NB1/NB2) cellular IoT connectivity with Sigfox for “use cases that need the hybrid LPWAN approach”. The module also comes with optional GNSS for asset tracking and/or time synchronization and there’s also a variant that adds CAN FD wired communication. The C42GM module can also be fitted with an eSIM (embedded SIM) pre-loaded global connectivity. C42GM module specifications: LPWAN Cellular (NB-IoT and eMTC) Bands Supported – LTE Bands: B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B8/B12/ B13/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B66 3GPP Release: LTE 3GPP E-UT…

When we first wrote about the 10-cent CH32V003 RISC-V MCU it was offered in a $7 development board and the closed-source MounRiver Studio IDE had to be used for programming. But things have improved since October 2022, and now, you can buy a CH32V003 board for as little as $1.5 plus shipping, and an open-source GCC toolchain and flasher/downloader are now available. Let’s have a look at the hardware first with the low-cost nanoCH32V003 development board featuring a 48 MHz CH32V003 RISC-V microcontroller with 2KB SRAM and 16KB flash, a USB Type-C port for power, a reset button, and two rows of headers for the GPIOs. MuseLab nanoCH32V003 specifications: MCU – WCH CH32V003F4…

The Challenger RP2040 UWB board features a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller combined with a DWM300 UWB (Ultra-Wide Band) module in the Adafruit Feather form factor and is designed for indoor positioning and ranging applications with an up to 10-centimeter accuracy, and data transfers up to 10 Mbps. The first Challenger RP2040 board was introduced in 2021 with an ESP8285 WiFi chip, iLabs (Invector Labs) shortly followed up with the Challenger RP2040 LoRa with an RFM95W LoRa module, and they also made models with NFC and cellular connectivity. The Swedish company has now just introduced their latest Challenger board with the Challenger RP2040 UWB leveraging UWB technolog…

CherryUSB is a lightweight open-source USB device/host stack for embedded systems with one or more USB interfaces. The stack implements various class drivers such as CDC, HID, MSC, audio, video, and so on. It’s apparently part of Boufalla Labs SDK (e.g. for BL702 MCU), and has been ported and tested with WCH CH32V307 RISC-V MCU, STMicro STM32F4, and Nuvoton NUC442 Cortex-M4 microcontroller, as well as a two Arm Cortex-M3 microcontrollers I’ve never heard of: EastSoft ES32F3 and MindMotion MM32L3xx. CherryUSB device stack highlights: Support for USB2.0 full and high speed Endpoint irq callback USB classes support Composite Device Communication Device Class (CDC) Human Inte…

CHIPSEA CST85F01 is an Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller clocked at up to 480 MHz and designed for IoT applications with dual-band (2.4/5.0 GHz) WiFi 6 with TWT (Target Wake Time) support, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, and a range of I/Os. Following the recent availability of 2.4 GHz WiFi 6 IoT chips such as Espressif Systems ESP32-C6 and Bouffalo Lab BL616, CHIPSEA CST85F01 offers an alternative with dual-band WiFi 6 connectivity while we are waiting for the launch of the ESP32-C5 RISC-V microcontroller. CST85F01 specifications: CPU core – Arm Cortex-M4F CPU with MPU and FPU @ up to 480 MHz Memory – 992 KB SRAM, SDR/DDR PSRAM interfaces Storage – 752 KB ROM, 8 Mbit to 128 Mbit flash Wi…

Chipsee AIO-CM4-156 is an industrial All-in-One computer powered by a Raspberry Pi CM4 module and equipped with a 15.6-inch capacitive touchscreen display with 1920×1080 resolution. The new panel PC builds upon the earlier AIO-CM4-101 model with a 10.1-inch touchscreen display and besides the larger and higher resolution 15.6-inch Full HD display, it also adds support for an optional 250GB Sandisk NVMe SSD and a 2mm protective “armoplated” Glass. Since as far as I know, “armoplated” is not a word, they may refer to armored/toughened glass instead. AIO-CM4-156 specifications: SoM – Raspberry Pi CM4 with Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 processor at 1.5 GHz, up to 8GB …

NewAE Technology’s ChipWhisperer-Husky is a compact tool designed for side-channel power analysis and fault injection with features such as a high-speed logic analyzer used to visualize glitches, real-time data streaming for attacking asymmetric algorithms, and support for JTAG/SWD programming. The security research company explains its device delivers a more stable and reliable experience compared to other off-the-shelf test gear such as oscilloscopes and function generators thanks to features such as synchronous sampling, which means the sample clock of your target device and the sample clock of ChipWhisperer-Husky can be perfectly aligned, or the ability to generate gl…

Google has launched the new Chromecast with Google TV (HD) powered by an Amlogic S805X2 quad-core Cortex-A35 CPU that offers a cheaper alternative to the Chromecast with Google TV (4K) that is limited to 1080p60 resolution, instead of the 4Kp60 video output supported by the Amlogic S905X3 model. While the processor is slower, the system comes with less memory (1.5GB vs 2GB), and only supports 1080p60, it supports the more efficient AV1 video decoding and as well as A/B partitions for seamless updates since the firmware does not need to be downloaded to the internal storage before the Chromecast with Google TV (HD) specifications: SoC – Amlogic S805X2 quad-core Cortex-A35 …

CINCOZE P1201 is a slim embedded computer based on an Atom x6000E Elkhart Lake processor and mostly designed for panel PC applications thanks to the company’s patented CDS (Convertible Display System) connector that allows the mini PC to slide into the back of a display for easy installation. Equipped with up to 32GB RAM, SATA and/or mSATA storage, the P1201 can also be used for generic embedded and industrial applications thanks to DisplayPort and VGA video interfaces, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, optional wireless modules for WiFi, Bluetooth, and cellular, terminal blocks for RS232, RS485, and digital I/Os, as well as support for a wide supply voltage up 48V, and a -40°C…

Toshiba and Mikroelektronika have launched the Clicker 4 for TMPM4K development board equipped with Toshiba M4K Arm Cortex-M4 microcontroller for motor control, as well as four mikroBUS sockets for MikroE Click expansion boards. The Clicker 4 for TMPM4K board is also fitted with an on-board CMSIS-DAP compliant Debug Unit based on Toshiba’s TMPM067 MCU, extension connectors, JTAG/SWD debug ports, LED indicators and push buttons, and works best with Clicker 4 Inverter Shield with six MOSFETs for motor driving, a 48V switching power supply, and a 5V regulated power source that can power the M4K board. Clicker 4 for TMPM4K specifications: MCU – Toshiba TMPM4KNFYAFG 32-bit Arm…

Cytron CM4 Maker Board is a carrier board for the Raspberry Pi CM4 or CM4 Lite system-on-module with plenty of I/Os, support for one M.2 NVMe SSD, and RTC backup battery, a buzzer, and various LEDs for GPIO status that makes the board especially well suited for the education market and prototyping. The carrier board also comes with the usual Gigabit Ethernet and full-size HDMI port, four USB 2.0 ports, five Grove connectors, one Maker port, the omnipresent 40-pin Raspberry Pi GPIO header, and support power input from 7V-18V DC jack or 5V via a USB Type-C connector. CM4 Maker Board specifications Cytron CM4 Maker Board specifications: Supported SoM – Raspberry Pi Compute M…

Cologone Chip GateMate A1 is an FPGA with 20,480 logic elements best suited for lower-power applications and programmable with an open-source toolchain based on nMigen, Yosys, and other open-source tools. The A1 FPGA also comes with 1,280 Kbit block SRAM, four PLLs, a quad SPI interface up to 100 MHz, a 5Gbps SerDes interface, and the company offers an evaluation board to get started with development. GateMate A1 specifications: CPE Architecture 20,480 programmable elements (CPE) for combinatorial and sequential logic 40,960 Latches / Flip-Flops within programmable elements CPE consists of LUT-tree with 8 inputs Each CPE is configurable as a 2-bit full-adder or 2×2-bit mu…

ADLINK has just announced the Express-RLP COM Express Type 6 and COM-HPC-cRLS COM-HPC size C modules based on the new Intel 13th generation Raptor Lake hybrid processors with Embedded and Industrial SKUs. The Express-RLP comes with an up to 14 cores, 20 threads Raptor Lake-P processor, 64GB DDR5 SO-DIMM, and PCIe Gen4, while the COM-HPC-cRLS offers up to a 24-core Rasptor Lake-S embedded processor, 128GB DDR5 SO-DIMM, PCIe Gen5, and 2x 2.5GbE LAN. Both modules support Intel TCC, and Time Sensitive Networking (TSN), and are suitable for hard real-time computing workloads required by applications such as industrial automation, autonomous driving, AI robots, and aviation. Ex…

KingNovy has introduced a small fanless firewall appliance powered by an Intel Celeron J4125 Gemini Lake Refresh processor, equipped with six 2.5GbE ports through Intel i225-V Rev 3 Ethernet controllers, and selling for as low as $230 for the barebone model. The system supports up to 32GB RAM, mSATA and 2.5-inch SATA storage, features HDMI output and four USB 3.0/2.0 ports, plus an RJ45 console port, and is said to work with pfSense 2.5.x, OPNsense 22.1, OpenWrt, ROS7, ESXI, Proxmox, CentOS, and more. Specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core Gemini Lake Refresh processor @ 2.0 / 2.7 GHz (Turbo) / 2.4 GHz (Turbo all cores) with Intel UHD Graphics 600 @ 250/750 M…

We’ve very recently written about Geniatech XPI-3566 SBC powered by Rockchip RK3566 CPU that somewhat follows the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B form factor. Boardcon Compact3566 offers similar features, but it appears to keep exactly the same port assignment as the Raspberry Pi SBC, so it should be compatible with more accessories. The Compact3566 SBC ships with up to 8GB LPDDR4 and 128GB eMMC flash, features Gigabit Ethernet & WiFi 5, four USB 3.0/2.0 ports, HDMI 2.0 output, MIPI DSI and CSI interfaces, the 40-pin GPIO header, as well as extra built-in features such as an M.2 socket for storage, RTC with battery, and a built-in microphone. Compact3566 specifications: SoC –…

Uptime Lab Compute Blade is yet another Raspberry Pi CM4 carrier board, but it’s kind of unique with its long design designed to be mounted in racks and the board features an M.2 socket for an NVMe SSD plus an Ethernet port with PoE+ support. The board is designed for high-density, low-power consumption, plug-and-play blade servers for home and data-center use and users can build Home labs, edge servers with lower latency than cloud services, and CI/CD systems (build farms) for testing and software development. Compute Blade specifications: SoM – Raspberry Pi CM4 support and potentially alternative system-on-modules such as Radxa CM3 and Pine64 SoQuartz Storage NVMe SSD s…

Conclusive Engineering WHLE-LS1 is a networking SBC powered by a choice of NXP Layerscape LS1xx8A Cortex-A72 or Cortex-A53 communication processors with four Gigabit Ethernet ports, two SFP+ cages capable of up to 10Gbps data rates. The board also features one SO-DIMM socket for up to 32GB DDR4, up to 64GB eMMC flash, M.2 PCIe sockets for NVMe SSDs, USB 3.0 host and USB 2.0 device ports, an RTC with backup battery, as well as serial and JTAG debug interfaces. WHLE-LS1 specifications: SoC (one or the other) WHLE-LS1026A – NXP Layerscape LS1026A 2x Arm Cortex-A72 @ 1.8GHz with DPAA package processing engine WHLE-LS1046A – NXP Layerscape LS1046A 4x Arm Cortex-A72 @ 1.8GHz wi…

Congatec conga-HPC/cRLS is a COM-HPC Client Size C module based on a 13th generation Intel Raptor Lake processor with support for up to 128GB DDR5 memory through four SO-DIMM sockets. The COM-HPC module also provides up to three DDI display interfaces, two 2.5GbE networking interfaces with TSN support, two SATA storage interfaces, and a range of PCIe Gen 3, 4, and 5 interfaces through the two 400-pin connectors defined in the COM-HPC standard. conga-HPC/cRLS specifications: Raptor Lake-S SoC (one or the other) Intel Core i3-13100E with 4x P-cores @ 3.3GHz / 4.4GHz, 12 MB cache, Intel UHD Graphics 730; PBP: 65W Intel Core i5-13400E with 6x P-cores @ 2.4GHz / 4.6GHz, 4x E-c…

congatec has just introduced the conga-HPC/uATX micro-ATX carrier board designed for COM-HPC Client modules size A, B, and C. The board is vendor independent since it is based on the COM-HPC and micro-ATX standards and designed for embedded long-term availability of at least seven years. That means the micro-ATX carrier board works congatec solutions such as the high-end conga-HPC/cALS COM-HPC Client Size C module with up to a 16-core Intel Core i9 Alder Lake-S processor or the more power-efficient conga-HPC/cALP COM-HPC Client Size A modules with Intel Celeron 7305E processor, as well as similar solutions from ADLINK Technology, Advantech, Portwell, and other vendors. co…

congatec conga-STDA4 is a SMARC Computer-on-Module (CoM) based on Texas Instruments TDA4VM or DRA829J Jacinto 7 processor with two Cortex-A72 cores, six real-time Cortex-R5 cores for functional safety, accelerated vision and AI processing capabilities, and plenty of interfaces. The first Texas Instruments-powered CoM from the company is designed for industrial mobile machinery requiring near-field analytics, such as automated guided vehicles and autonomous mobile robots, construction and agricultural machinery, as well as any industrial or medical solutions requiring energy-efficient computer vision at the edge. conga-STDA4 specifications: SoC – Texas Instruments Jacinto …

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/250…

Rack Robotics’ Powercore is an Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) kit that converts your existing 3D printer (or CNC router) into a machine capable of cutting high-precision and detailed metal parts. We’ve already seen 2-in-1 3D printers and laser engravers such as the Creality Ender 3 S1 Pro, but while this type of machine can usually cut plywood or engrave stainless steel, the laser is not powerful enough to cut through aluminum. The Powercore EDM kit changes that by enabling the cutting of aluminum parts up to 4mm thick, although aluminum sheets that are 1mm or thinner are recommended. But before we get into Powercore details, what is Electrical Discharge Machining e…

Cool Pi 4 Model B is a powerful alternative to Raspberry Pi 4 SBC with mostly the same form factor and interfaces but equipped with a Rockchip RK3588S octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 processor that will run circles around the Broadcom BCM2711 SoC found in the Raspberry Pi board. We’ve already reviewed Rockchip RK3588/RK3588S single board computers and mini PC such as Rock 5B, Khadas Edge2 Pro, and Mekotronics R58, and we were impressed by the performance, but if you prefer to have such a board in Raspberry Pi 4 form factor, then the Cool Pi 4 Model B might be for you. Cool Pi 4 Model B specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588S octa-core processor with 4x Cortex-A76 cores @ up to 2.…

Cool Pi CM5 is a system-on-module based on Rockchip RK3588 or RK3588J (industrial temperature range) octa-core Arm Cortex-A76/A55 processor with up to 32GB RAM, 256GB eMMC flash, offered with a development board with dual GbE, two 8K HDMI 2.1 ports, a PCIe 3.0 x2 slot, M.2 NVMe and SATA storage, and more… At the end of last year, we wrote about the Cool Pi 4 as a much faster alternative to Raspberry Pi 4 SBC, and the company has now launched a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 and Radxa CM5 alternative with the Cool Pi CM5 MXM 3.0 system-on-module that they offer along with a feature-rich evaluation board (EVB). Cool Pi CM5 EVB specifications: System-on-Module SoC – Rockchip …

Coral Dev Board Micro is the latest iteration of Google’s Edge AI devkit with an NXP i.MX RT1176 Cortex-M7/M4 crossover processor/microcontroller coupled with the company’s 4 TOPS Edge TPU, a camera, and a microphone in a board that’s about the size of a Raspberry Pi Zero SBC. The new board follows the original NXP i.MX 8M-based Coral Dev board that was introduced in 2019, and Coral Dev Board mini based on MediaTek MT8167S processor launched in 2020, and keeps with the trend of providing more compact solutions with lower-end host processors for edge AI. Coral Dev Board Micro specifications: MCU – NXP i.MX RT1176 processor with an Arm Cortex-M7 core @ up to 1 GHz, Cortex-M…

Corsair MP600 Mini is a high-performance M.2 2230 SSD based on the Phison E21T controller that delivers up to 4800MB/s sequential read and write performance and designed to be used in Valve’s Steam Deck, Microsoft’s Surface Pro 8 and 9, and other products that won’t take a M.2 2280 SSD. We are seeing more and more single board computers and other electronics products use M.2 sockets for storage, but the smaller boards won’t take the traditional M.2 2280 SSDs that usually deliver better performance than smaller M.2 2230/2242/2260 drives, and so performance may be impacted on this type of hardware. But the Corsair MP600 Mini changes that with high sequential and random read…

Hey, Karl here, and today we are going to review Creality’s CR-Scan Lizard. This device is a 3D scanner that uses the structured light process to 3D scan. Instead of visible light, it uses non-visible light. I have no idea where lizards come into play but here we are. I have been waiting for quite some time for a lower-cost consumer 3D scanner. I attempted a DIY structured light scanner a long time ago, with some success…..but the time it took was unacceptable. It took me hours to set up perfectly and many more cleaning up point clouds and aligning even for a small scan. Leading me to give up on the project. I search around the Internet periodically but have never found a…

Earlier this year, I received the Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro 2-in-1 3D printer & laser engraver and in the first part of the review, I showed the package content and how to assemble the system either to use it as a 3D printer or a laser engraver, but didn’t start it at the time. I’ve now had time to play with both laser engraving (less luck with cutting) and 3D printing, so I’ll report my experience in the second part of the review. Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro laser engraving Since in the last part of the review I had the 10W laser module installed on the 3D printer, I decided to start the testing with laser engraving and cutting. Contrary to the TwoTrees TS2 laser engraver …

Ukama is an open-source hardware solution enabling users to create their own private 4G LTE cellular data networking with a range of up to 1km, and compatible with the “Citizens Broadband Radio Service” (CBRS) radio band for private networks. The company provides both indoor and outdoor hardware based on a “TRX Module” powered by a Marvell Fusion CNF7130 4G LTE baseband processor, as well as the firmware and software to manage the network. All you need is a power source, for example, the mains or a solar panel, and an optional broadband connection if you do need to connect to the Internet. Ukama hardware Two nodes are offered with the Ukama Home Node (indoor) and the Towe…

PICMG has announced that the COM-HPC Mini form factor’s pinout and dimensions definitions were finalized, with the tiny credit card-sized modules able to handle PCIe Gen4 and Gen5 interfaces, of course, depending on whether the selected CPU supports those. The COM-HPC “High-Performance Computing” form factor was created a few years ago due to the lack of interfaces on the COM Express form factor with “only” 440-pins and potential issues to handle PCIe Gen 4 clock speeds and throughputs. So far, we had COM-HPC Client Type modules from 95 x 120mm (Size A) to 160 x 120mm (Size C) and Server Type modules with either 160 x 160mm (Size D) or 200 x 160mm (Size E) dimensions. The…