Rikomagic has sent me a sample of their DS08 digital signage player for review. It’s based on a Rockchip RK3588 SoC paired with 8GB of RAM and a 128GB eMMC flash, and offers two HDMI 2.1 ports, gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 6, and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, as well as several USB ports, optical S/PDIF audio output, and more.

I was initially not sure I could receive a sample, as Thailand is pretty strict with licenses for this type of hardware, but Rikomagic told us that it would not be a problem when using DDP (delivered duty paid), and the courier handles all paperwork. And indeed we did receive the parcel without issue. Since Rockchip RK3588 is now a mature platform, we won’t run benchmarks in this review, but instead go through an unboxing and a teardown, and focus on digital signage features such as video playback, RTC support, and display orientation options.

Rikomagic DS08 unboxing

Since the DS08 is not a consumer device, it doesn’t need a fancy retail package, and we received the sample in a sturdy white box.

The package includes the DS08 player itself, two WiFi antennas, a 12V/2A (24W) power adapter, an “8K” HDMI cable, and a basic IR remote control.

The front panel features the IR receiver, a power LED, a microSD card slot, a 3.5mm audio jack, a USB 2.0 OTG Type-C port, and two USB 3.0 ports, while the rear panel features two SMA antenna connectors, an optical S/PDIF audio output, a USB 2.0 port, an 8K-capable HDMI port, a 4K-capable HDMI port, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and a 12V DC jack.

Strangely, my sample only had two screws on the front panel instead of four.

Rikomagic DS08 teardown

We have to loosen the screws on the front and rear panels to remove the SMA antenna connectors from the rear panel and slide the mainboard out of the metal case.

The mainboard features a Rockchip PMIC, a GL805G USB 2.0 hun control, and a RealTek RTL8211F Gigabit Ethernet transceiver. The Rockchip RK3588, RAM chips, and 128GB flash are all placed under a large heatsink. Other notable features include the four pads for the UART console, a Reset button placed behind the audio jack, an RTC battery, a WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 module (markings unreadable), and footprints for what should be the “optional 4G LTE module with SIM card slot” listed in the specifications.

There’s not much to see on the bottom side of the board, except passive components, and a thick thermal pad that should be in contact with the metal case for cooling.

Rikomagic DS08 first boot and system info

Let’s now reassemble the device and connect it to Ethernet and an HDMI monitor for testing.

It boots to a typical Android launcher. There’s no pre-installed digital signage app, and the customer can use whatever they’d like or develop their own. The resolution of the user interface (framebuffer) is 3840×2160 instead of the more common 1920×1080.

The Rikomagic DS08 runs Android 13 on top of Linux 5.10.157 kernel.

Only a few apps are pre-installed:

• Google Chrome – Web browsing or download apps.
• Explorer – A File manager
• Gallery to check images
• Music to play audio files
• Google Play Store – It didn’t work for me. I can launch it, but clicking on the Sign-in button does nothing.
• Power Manager – For scheduled power on/off and reboots
• Settings
• Video – Playback of local video files.

Some custom settings include the ability to hide the navigation bar (the down arrow icon can also be used), the power button, and the Screenrotate button (second icon highlighted in red).

Google Play didn’t work, even after checking that I had the latest firmware version and clearing all caches for the app. I tried with Ethernet and 5 GHz WiFi, but no luck in either case. Having said that, the company sent me a video showing Google Play working just fine on their sample, so it might be specific to my sample. Google Play support is probably not that important, albeit convenient, on this type of embedded hardware.

So instead, I installed APKPure to install tools I needed, such as CPU-Z. System information is mostly as expected with a Rockchip RK3588 octa-core CPU paired with 7916 MB RAM. However, the system only shows 53 GB of storage, which seems really low for a player that’s supposed to come with 128GB flash. After inquiry, Rikomagic told me I had been sent an early pilot run with 64GB flash, and mass production units come with 128GB flash. The system offers root access.

I  couldn’t use DRMInfo to check DRM licenses, as it requires Google Play. Checking the terminal implies Widewine L3 is enabled:

:/ $ getprop ro.widewine.level                                                 

:/ $ getprop drm.service.enabled                                               
true

I’m not sure DRM is that useful for a digital signage player either, although as usual, it depends on the use case. For example, broadcasting live sports or premium channels along with other content, such as scrolling text and images, may benefit from proper Widewine L3/L1 support.

Video playback

One of the most important features for a digital signage player is its video playback capabilities. I used the built-in Video app to play videos from a USB 3.0 hard drive, and also connected speakers to the 3.5mm audio jack since the CrowView HDMI display I’m using doesn’t include any.

I started with 4K videos:

• HD.Club-4K-Chimei-inn-60mbps.mp4 (H.264, 30 fps) – OK
• sintel-2010-4k.mkv (H.264, 24 fps, 4096×1744, AC-3 audio) – Video OK, no audio
• Beauty_3840x2160_120fps_420_8bit_HEVC_MP4.mp4 (H.265, no audio) – OK
• Bosphorus_3840x2160_120fps_420_8bit_HEVC_MP4.mp4 (H.265, no audio) – OK
• Jockey_3840x2160_120fps_420_8bit_HEVC_TS.ts (H.265) – OK
• MHD_2013_2160p_ShowReel_R_9000f_24fps_RMN_QP23_10b.mkv (10-bit HEVC, no audio) – OK
• phfx_4KHD_VP9TestFootage.webm (VP9, no audio) – OK
• BT.2020.20140602.ts (Rec.2020 compliant video; 36 Mbps; 59.97 Hz) – OK
• big_buck_bunny_4k_H264_30fps.mp4 – OK
• big_buck_bunny_4k_H264_60fps.mp4 – OK
• Fifa_WorldCup2014_Uruguay-Colombia_4K-x265.mp4 (4K, H.265, 60 fps) –
• Samsung_UHD_Dubai_10-bit_HEVC_51.4Mbps.ts (10-bit HEVC / MPEG-4 AAC) – OK
• 暗流涌动-4K.mp4 (10-bit H.264; 120 Mbps) – OK
• Ducks Take Off [2160p @ 243 Mbps].mkv (4K H.264 @ 29.97 fps; 243 Mbps; no audio) – OK
• tara-no9-vp9.webm (4K VP9 YouTube video @ 60 fps, Vorbis audio) – OK
• The.Curvature.of.Earth.4K.60FPS-YT-UceRgEyfSsc.VP9.3840×2160.OPUS.160K.webm (4K VP9 @ 60 fps + opus audio) – OK

Excellent here, except for the lack of support for AC3 audio in the Video app.

I carried on testing with a few 8K videos:

• 8K Sample Video _ Alpha 1 _ Sony _ α–ucUFBTUYLI.mkv (8K AV1 video @ 29.97 fps with Vorbis audio) – Starts with audio, but video is choppy. Normal due to RK3588 4Kp60 AV1 limitation.
• 2021-LG-8K-60-fps.mp4 (8K AV1 @ 59.94 fps, no audio) –  Choppy and playing in slow motion (the original is at normal speed). Normal due to RK3588 4Kp60 AV1 limitation.
• hevc_8k60P_bilibili_1.mp4 (8K H.265 @ 30 FPS, AAC LC audio) – OK
• First_8K_Video_from_Space_-_Ultra_HD_VP9.webm (8K VP9 @ 23.96 fps, Opus audio) – OK most of the time, but too many freezes, audio cuts at times.

It looked quite bad at first, until I realized that the Rockchip RK3588 SoC only supports hardware AV1 video decoding up to 4Kp60… So I found two more 8K videos with H.265 and VP9. The H.265 played just fine, but the VP9 video was not playing that well. I copied the file to the eMMC flash just in case, but it didn’t help either. The Rikomagic DS08 can be used as an 8K digital signage player, but if 8K videos are required as part of your media content, you may need to select specific formats and/or bitrates.

Digital signage players must often run continuously, so reliability is important. So I did a burnout test playing a single 4Kp60 video in repeat for well over 24 hours. The system didn’t crash, and the video was still playing smoothly, even though the test was performed at an ambient temperature of 28°C to 40°C.

Digital signage features

The DS08 has at least three features that are specifically useful to digital signage use cases: display orientation, RTC support, and watchdog timer.

Display orientation

By default, Android boots in landscape mode. We can easily change that by clicking the Screenrotate button. That’s after rotating the display by 90° (portrait mode)…

… 180 degrees (landscape mode with cables on the left) …

… and 270 degrees (portrait mode with cables on the bottom for my display). I also went to the Video app and started playing a video in that mode before taking a photo.

The selection also survives reboot and power cycles, as we’ll see further below.  We used to be able to switch between landscape and portrait mode with an app, but changes to Android OS have made that mode difficult, and it’s better when the feature is integrated into the device’s firmware.

RTC and power/reboot scheduling

If your digital signage player is designed to operate in a location such as a shopping center open between 10 am and 10 pm, you don’t exactly need to run it at all times. The Power Manager app offers options to schedule on/off and reboot times.

I tried the reboot time first, selecting it to reboot at 20;00, and no problem. The boot time and shutdown time can be set for every day or only workdays (Monday to Friday), and you can set the “boot time” and “shut time” for all enabled days, or configure each day independently. I tested that on Sunday to shut down at 20:15 and boot at 20:20 in portrait mode, and it worked as expected with correct timing and the same orientation.

Watchdog timer

This one was less obvious to test for me. I eventually connected through SSH (using an SSH server app) to generate a kernel panic:

:/ $ su
:/ # echo c > /proc/sysrq-trigger

The terminal window became unresponsive, and within a couple of seconds, the system automatically rebooted instead of being hung there forever. This is used to minimize downtime and make sure your signage quickly recovers when the system crashes or hangs.

I still asked the company about watchdog testing, and they told me to follow these steps instead:

1. Download and install Rockchip FactoryTool and DriverAssistant
2. Connect the DS08’s USB-C port with a Windows computer
3. Open the FlashTool flashing tool
4. Press and hold the recovery button (inside the audio jack, see teardown ) to enter recovery mode until the flash tool recognizes the device.
5. The system will reboot automatically after around 8 minutes.

So I did just that, as shown in the screenshot above. The DS08’s power LED and HDMI output turned off, and I could see a connection on Port[2]. I started at 10:24, and at 10:32, the digital signage rebooted into Android 13.

Dual-display support

Rikomagic DS08 offers two display interfaces: HDMI up to 8Kp60 and HDMI up to 4Kp60. So I’ve connected a 32-inch KTC A32Q8 4K monitor and a 14-inch CrowView Full HD portable monitor, and mirroring works fine, even when playing an 8K video.

Independent displays might be possible, for example, to show information or menus in different languages,  but it will probably require firmware modifications. The DS08 may need to be used in combination with a long fiber HDMI cable if the second display is far away (7-10+ meters at 4Kp60) and a traditional HDMI cable won’t do.

I had also planned to test the USB touchscreen function until I realized I had no working touchscreen displays with HDMI and USB-C, only one where USB-C carries both video and (touch) data, and the DS08/ only supports video output through HDMI.

WiFi 6 performance

I quickly tested Gigabit Ethernet using iperf3 (Magic iPerf on Android) and got 941/942 Mbps in either direction, so Gigabit Ethernet is not an issue, as on most machines. There can be more variation with WiFi 6, so I tested it again when connected at 5 GHz:

• Download
  

  devkit@UPX-i11:~$ iperf3 -t 60 -c 192.168.31.192 -i 10
  Connecting to host 192.168.31.192, port 5201
  [  5] local 192.168.31.12 port 34542 connected to 192.168.31.192 port 5201
  [ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate         Retr  Cwnd
  [  5]   0.00-10.01  sec   412 MBytes   345 Mbits/sec    8    648 KBytes       
  [  5]  10.01-20.01  sec   396 MBytes   333 Mbits/sec   10    399 KBytes       
  [  5]  20.01-30.01  sec   365 MBytes   306 Mbits/sec    8    499 KBytes       
  [  5]  30.01-40.01  sec   358 MBytes   300 Mbits/sec   12    583 KBytes       
  [  5]  40.01-50.01  sec   333 MBytes   279 Mbits/sec   19    321 KBytes       
  [  5]  50.01-60.00  sec   362 MBytes   304 Mbits/sec    9    337 KBytes       
  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
  [ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate         Retr
  [  5]   0.00-60.00  sec  2.18 GBytes   311 Mbits/sec   66             sender
  [  5]   0.00-60.00  sec  2.17 GBytes   311 Mbits/sec                  receiver

• Upload
  

  devkit@UPX-i11:~$ iperf3 -t 60 -c 192.168.31.192 -i 10 -R
  Connecting to host 192.168.31.192, port 5201
  Reverse mode, remote host 192.168.31.192 is sending
  [  5] local 192.168.31.12 port 46694 connected to 192.168.31.192 port 5201
  [ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate
  [  5]   0.00-10.01  sec   372 MBytes   312 Mbits/sec                  
  [  5]  10.01-20.01  sec   383 MBytes   321 Mbits/sec                  
  [  5]  20.01-30.00  sec   380 MBytes   319 Mbits/sec                  
  [  5]  30.00-40.00  sec   379 MBytes   318 Mbits/sec                  
  [  5]  40.00-50.01  sec   382 MBytes   320 Mbits/sec                  
  [  5]  50.01-60.01  sec   380 MBytes   319 Mbits/sec                  
  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
  [ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate
  [  5]   0.00-60.01  sec  2.22 GBytes   318 Mbits/sec                  sender
  [  5]   0.00-60.01  sec  2.22 GBytes   318 Mbits/sec                  receiver

311 Mbps downloads and 318 Mbps uploads are not amazing, considering I get over 1 Gbps using some other devices in this environment. At least it looks stable. However, if for some reason you need a higher network transfer speed, Gigabit Ethernet is recommended.

Power consumption

I used a wall power meter to measure consumption when connected to Ethernet, an HDMI display, and a USB RF dongle for a mouse and keyboard:

• Power off – 0.4W
• Standby – 2.5W
• Idle – 3W
• 8K video plaback – 4.9W to 5W

Power consumption is really low, but what will matter the most here is the power consumption of your selected display(s).

Conclusion

Rikomagic DS08 is an Android 13 media player designed for digital signage applications with features such as display orientation, scheduled reboots, and time on/off, and a watchdog timer to optimize uptime even in case of a system crash. It also offers two HDMI video outputs, which worked fine in mirror mode.

Powered by a Rockchip RK3588 SoC with 8GB of RAM, it performs well as a 4K digital signage player, and all samples I tried played smoothly. The only issue I had was with a video using AC3 audio, which was not supported by the built-in Video app. In theory, you can also support 8K video output and playback, but the results were mixed here. 8K AV1 videos are not supported, only 4Kp60 ones due to RK3588 VPU limitations, and while an 8K H.265 played just fine, another 8K VP9 video would freeze from time to time, and more rarely, I got audio cuts. This was tested on Full HD and 4K monitors, since I don’t own an 8K TV.

I’d like to thank Rikomagic for sending the DS08 digital signage player review. Production units with 8GB RAM and 128GB eMMC flash sell for around $300 on AliExpress before shipping and taxes. More details may also be found on the product page, where they mention OS customization for orders of 500+ pieces.

The post Review of Rikomagic DS08 Android 13 digital signage player appeared first on CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.

Microchip’s LAN878x 100BASE-T1 and LAN888x 1000BASE-T1 Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) PHY transceivers are designed for secure, scalable, and deterministic Ethernet connectivity for automotive, avionics, robotics, and industrial systems.

We first noticed Microchip SPE solutions in 2023 with the LAN8650/LAN8651 10BASE-T1S and LAN8770 100BASE-T1 transceivers, and they’ve launched other families since then, such as the LAN887x industrial Single Pair Gigabit Ethernet transceivers. The just-announced LAN878x/LAN88x parts introduce MACsec support, as well as Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) and FuSa (Functional Safety).

Microchip LAN878x and LAN888x key features and specifications:

• Standard and port speed
  • LAN878x – IEEE 802.3bw, 100BASE-T1
  • LAN888x – IEEE 802.3bp, 1000BASE-T1
• MACsec compliant to IEEE 802.1AE-2018 (M Version Only)
• Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) support
• Host interface (one or the other, depending on SKU)
  • SGMII (Serial Gigabit Media Independent Interface)
  • RGMII (Reduced Gigabit Media Independent Interface)
• OPEN Alliance TC10 support / wake-up support
• IEEE 802.1AS-2020, 802.1AS-2011
• ASIL B Functional Safety Ready with enhanced diagnostics
• Package – 40-pin (6 x 6 mm) VQFN package
• Temperature Range – -40 to +125°C (AEC-Q100 Automotive Grade 1 temperature range)

Six SKUs are available at this time: LAN8781, LAN8781, LAN8782, LAN8782, LAN8881, LAN8882, LAN8883, and LAN8884, whose differences are shown in the table below. Each comes with an M variant with support for MACsec security.

The LAN878x and LAN888x PHY transceivers are supported by hardware evaluation platforms, SGMII, USB, and PCIe plug-in boards, and Linux software drivers. This includes the LAN8781M EDS2 Daughter Card (EV25L23A) with 100BASE-T1 PHY and MACsec support, and the LAN8881M EDS2 Daughter Card (EV16A78A) with 1000BASE-T1 PHY and MACsec support.

The LAN878x and LAN888x families are now sampling, and the company has not released price information for the chips and daughter cards at this stage.  Additional information may be found on the product page and in the press release.

Thanks to TLS for the tip.

The post Microchip launches LAN878x and LAN888x Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) transceivers with MACSec, TSN, and FuSA appeared first on CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.

DFRobot has introduced a 6.67-inch flexible AMOLED display with a 2400×1080 resolution, designed for easy use with single-board computers such as Raspberry Pi and LattePanda.

While flexible displays are common in smartphones, they are difficult to interface with SBCs, so DFRobot added a dedicated MIPI-to-HDMI driver board for plug-and-play compatibility with a wider range of platforms. The panel is just 1.2mm thick and bendable, enabling curved and space-constrained designs, while delivering 450 cd/m² brightness and 16.7 million colors. Like typical OLEDs, it offers deep blacks and high contrast without requiring a backlight, making it suitable for applications ranging from wearables and robotics to industrial HMI systems.

DFRobot 6.67” flexible AMOLED Display specifications:

• Compatibility – Raspberry Pi, Banana Pi, Orange Pi, and most devices with an HDMI output.
• Display Panel
  • Screen Size – 6.67 inches
  • Screen Material – Flexible AMOLED
  • Resolution – 2400 x 1080 (SPR – Sub-Pixel Rendering)
  • Aspect Ratio – 20:9
  • Brightness – 450 cd/m² (Typical)
  • Refresh Rate – 50Hz
  • Viewing Angle – 85°
  • Color Depth – 16.7M colors
  • Active Display Area – 154.56 x 69.552 mm
• Interface – 40-pin MIPI DSI to standard HDMI (via ICNA3511A-based driver board)
• Power Supply – 3.3V – 5V (5V via the driver board for standard SBC integration)
• Dimensions – 162.56 x 74.46 x 1.2 mm
• Temperature – -20°C to 60°C

This display uses a two-board design to convert a standard HDMI signal into something a smartphone-grade AMOLED panel can understand. The main driver board handles the HDMI input, converts it to MIPI DSI, and supplies power, while the smaller “HDMI_USB_HID” adapter board simply bridges the connection to the panel’s tiny, high-density mezzanine connectors. That connector is a high-density board-to-board (B2B) snap connector, commonly used in smartphones to save space, but extremely difficult to work with directly. The adapter board exists mainly to solve this problem.

A few years ago, we noted the Royole RoKit that allowed developers to experiment with a 7.8-inch flexible display and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 board using a similar HDMI converter board. DFRobot says the display is suitable for industrial HMI panels, automotive curved consoles, robot facial displays, and wearable devices, where space and form factor are limited.

While searching for more information, I came across Panox Display, a company specializing in various display panels and driver boards. DFRobot’s display appears very similar to their 6.67inch Flexible AMOLED panel, although the driver board design is different, and it doesn’t come with an HDMI board. The company also showcases other products, including rollable OLED displays and a 7.8-inch flexible OLED designed for Raspberry Pi.

The 6.67-inch Raspberry Pi flexible AMOLED display is available on the DFRobot store for $199.00. Volume discounts are also available, dropping the price to $183.00 for orders of ten or more units. The two videos below showcase the 6.7-inch flexible OLED display and the rollable OLED placed around bottles and other accessories. Note that the display can be curved horizontally, but not vertically, as this could damage it.

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AAEON NIKY-2215-NX is a 21.5-inch Full HD AI Touch Panel PC powered by the NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX 8GB/16GB and designed for AI-enhanced HMI applications such as production line inspection systems and industrial monitoring dashboards.

The panel PC features two GbE RJ45 jacks, four USB 3.2 Type-A ports, CAN Bus, RS-232/422/485, and DIO DB-9/15 connectors, and three M.2 sockets for NVMe storage, WiFI/Bluetooth, and 4G LTE/5G cellular connectivity. It can operate in a -5°C to +55°C temperature range, offers vibration and shock tolerance, and takes 12V to 24V DC input.

AAEON NIKY-2215-NX specifications:

• SoM – NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX
  • Jetson Orin NX 16GB – 8-core Arm Cortex-A78AE CPU, 1024-core NVIDIA Ampere GPU, up to 157 TOPS, 16GB LPDDR5
  • Jetson Orin NX 8GB – 6-core Arm Cortex-A78AE CPU, 1024-core NVIDIA Ampere GPU, up to 117 TOPS, 8GB LPDDR5
• Storage – 128 GB (default) NVMe SSD via M.2 2280 M-Key socket
• Panel
  • Display Type – 21.5-inch TFT-LCD
  • Resolution – 1920 (H) x 1080 (V)
  • Max. Colors – 16.7M
  • Luminance – 350 cd/m² (Typ.)
  • Viewing Angle – 178° (H) ; 178° (V)
  • Projected capacitive multi-touch; light transmission >= 85%
  • Back Light LED
  • Back Light MTBF – 30,000 hours
• Networking
  • 2x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports
  • WiFi and Bluetooth via M.2 2230 E-Key socket
  • 4G LTE/5G cellular via M.2 3042/3052 B-Key socket
  • 6x antenna holes
• USB
  • 4x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports
  • 1x Micro USB port for OS Flash
• Serial
  • RS-232/422/485 via DB-9  connector
  • CAN Bus via DB-9 connector
• Expansion
  • M.2 2280 M-Key PCIe socket for NVMe SSD
  • M.2 2230 E-Key socket
  • M.2 2042/3052 B-key socket
  • 8-bit GPIO via DB-15 connector
• Misc
  • Power ON/OFF switch
  • Recovery pinhole
  • Mounting – VESA 100 / Panel Mount
• Power Supply – 12~24V DC via 2-pin screwable terminal
• Dimensions – 516.4 x 316.0 x 69.6 mm
• Weight (Gross) – 8.02 kg
• Construction – Aluminum Front Bezel + Metal Chassis
• Temperature Range – Operating: -5°C ~ 55°C, with 0.7 m/s airflow; storage: -20°C ~ 60°C
• Humidity – Storage: 90% @40°C, non-condensing
• Vibration – 1Grms / 5~ 500Hz / operation
• SHOCK – 15 G peak acceleration (11 msec. duration)
• EMC – CE/FCC Class A

The system supports Ubuntu 22.04 with the usual NVIDIA JetPack. The unit ships with a Phoenix power connector and screws by default, and an optional 60W (12V) power adapter and cord is also offered.

We’ve covered various industrial panel PCs over the years, and somehow the NIKY-2215-NX appears to be the very first based on an NVIDIA Jetson module to make it to CNX Software. Having said that, other Jetson Orin NX options exist, including Sintrones VPC-101RB2S with a 10.1-inch display and water-resistant ports, and the AAEON NIKY-2155-NX, which was introduced late last year with a 15.6-inch touch panel.

The price for the 21.5-inch NIKY-2215-NX panel PC is not available, but for reference, samples of the 15.6-inch NIKY-2155-NX model can be pre-ordered for $1,439.00 on the company’s eShop with an NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX 8GB module. Visit the product page for more details about the new 21.5-inch model.

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Arbor ARES-2100 fanless box PC is another industrial platform based on the new Intel Core Series 3 “Wildcat Lake” processor family, which specifically targets industrial automation, machine vision, and lightweight Edge AI applications.

The fanless computer supports up to 64GB DDR5 SO-DIMM memory, UFS 3.1 and/or M.2 NVMe/SATA storage, and offers up to three video outputs, up to three 2.5GbE ports, optional WiFi, Bluetooth, and 4G LTE via M.2 expansion slots, an RS232/RS485 RJ45 connector,  and two optional CAN Bus interfaces through a terminal block. As an industrial machine, it’s designed to operate in the -20 to +60°C temperature range, takes 9 to 36V DC input, and received MIL-STD-810H certification for shock and vibration.

Arbor ARES-2100 specifications:

• SoC – Intel Core Series 3 Wildcat Lake processors with five or six cores, Intel Xe3 Graphics, and up to  40 TOPS of combined AI performance. TDP: 15W
• System Memory – Up to 64GB DDR5 SO-DIMM memory
• Storage
  • M.2 M-key 2242 slot (PCIe Gen4 x2, SATA) for NVMe or SATA SSD
  • Optional UFS 3.1 flash, up to 256GB
• Video Output
  • 2x HDMI 2.0 ports
  • DisplayPort via USB-C
  • Up to 3x simultaneous displays
• Networking
  • 2x or 3x  2.5GbE RJ45 ports via Intel i226LM controllers
  • Optional WiFi/Bluetooth via M.2 E-Key slot
  • Optional 4G LTE via M.2 B-key slot and SIM slot
• USB
  • 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports
  • 1x USB 3.2 Type-C port with support for DP Alt. mode up to 4096 x 2304 @ 60 Hz, 10W power output (5V/2A)
• Serial
  • RS232/422/485 RJ45 connector
  • CAN Bus (ARES-2100-CAN only) – 2x 2kV isolated CAN FD via terminal block
• Expansion
  • M.2 E-key 2230 slot (PCIe Gen4 x1)
  • M.2 B-key 2242/3042 slot (PCIe x2, USB 3.0/USB 2.0) + SIM slot for 4G LTE
• Security – TPM 2.0 (fTPM/dTPM)
• Misc
  • Watchdog timer
  • Mounting
    • Wall-mount (standard)
    • DIN-rail (optional w/ CTOS bracket); CTOS = Configure to Order Service
    • VESA (optional w/ CTOS bracket)
• Power Supply -9~36V  DC  via 3-pin connector + remote switch
• Power Consumption – Up to 90 Watts (metal + aluminum enclosure)
• Dimensions – 188 x 120 x 44mm (1U form factor and chassis)
• Weight – 1.1 kg
• Temperature Range – Operating: -20°C to +60°C, ambient w/ air flow; storage: -40°C to +80°C
• Humidity – 10 ~ 95% @ 60°C, non-condensing
• Vibration – MIL-STD-810H, Method 514.8, Category 4, operating
• Shock & Crash – MIL-STD-810H, Method 516.8, Procedure I, functional shock=20g, operating
• Certifications – CE, FCC Class A

Arbor provides support for Windows 10, Windows 11, and Ubuntu.  Since Windows 10 is mentioned, it probably means an LTSC version. Two main SKUs are provided:

• ARES-2100-L3 – ARES-2100 with 3x LAN, 3x USB, 2x HDMI, 1x COM, 1x M.2 M-Key, 1x M.2 E-Key
• ARES-2100-CAN – ARES-2100 with 2x CAN Bus, 2x LAN, 3x USB, 2x HDMI, 1x COM, 1x M.2 M-Key, 1x M.2 E-Key

We’ve yet to see any consumer-grade Wildcat Lake hardware beyond the 70+ laptop designs claimed by Intel when they formally announced the Core Series 3 processors. But we’ve seen a few industrial-grade hardware platforms, including congatec’s conga-TC300 COM Express Type-6 Compact computer-on-module and Advantech’s  MIO-5356 3.5-inch SBC, and now an embedded system from Arbor.

As usual for this type of hardware, pricing is not public for the ARIES-2100 Wildcat Lake embedded box PC, especially since it’s still marked as “Coming Soon” on the product page. A few more details may also be found in the press release.

Thanks to TLS for the tip.

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Khadas has sent us the Mind Graphics 2 dock, Mind xPlay portable display and keyboard, as well as the Mind 2 mini PC for review. In the first part of the review, I’ll start by listing specifications, an unboxing of all three packages, a teardown of the graphics dock, and a first try of the xPlay and Mind Graphics 2 with the mini PC.

While the Mind 2 will be used for testing, I won’t go into details here since it’s quite similar to the Mind 2 AI Maker Kit we reviewed last year. Instead, in the next parts, I’ll do a review of the xPlay with it, the first-generation Mind, and maybe another platform with USB-C video output. I’ll follow that by detailed testing of the Khadas Mind 2, including graphics and AI performance with the built-in NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB card, and check all its features. I should also be able to complete the review of the Creality Sermon S1 3D scanner since the Mind 2 and Graphics 2 dock combo will meet, or even exceed, the high hardware requirements of the scanner for acceptable performance (frame rate).

Khadas Mind xPlay specifications

I previously mentioned the xPlay when the Mind mini PC was introduced, but never looked at it in detail. Let’s do that now.

xPlay specifications:

• Mind xPlay Portable Display
  • Display
    • 13-inch LCD with 2880 × 1920 resolution
    • Refresh Rate – 60Hz
    • Color Gamut – 100% sRGB
    • Brightness –  500 nit
  • Audio
    • Dual microphone with a pickup range of about 2 meters
    • Stereo speakers (2x 2W)
  • Camera – 2 MP webcam
  • USB
    • 1x USB-C input port
    • 1x USB-C output port
  • Expansion – Custom Mind Link interface for Khadas mini PCs
  • Misc
    • Power, Volume Up/Down buttons
    • Magnetic keyboard port
    • Adjustable Stand – 0°–120°
  • Battery & Power
    • Power Input: 20V/5A (max) via USB-C or Mind Link
    • Battery – Capacity: 4,150 mAh; energy: 47.94 Wh
  • Dimensions – 290.5 × 199.95 × 9.5 mm
  • Weight – 820 grams
• Mind xPlay Keyboard
  • Designed for the Mind xPlay Portable Display
  • Connection to xPlay – Magnetic attachment
  • Keyboard Layout – 79 keys; note: I can only see “Global” and “Korean” options
  • Touchpad – High-precision touchpad (polling rate > 120 Hz)
  • Key Functions – Copilot key and Custom key tos witch work modes, set key combinations, or launch files and apps
  • Dimensions – 293 × 215 × 6 mm
  • Weight – 340 grams

Khadas Mind Graphics 2 specifications

Just launched earlier this year, the Mind Graphics 2 dock is newer.

Mind Graphics 2 specifications:

• Graphics Card – NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Blackwell  GPU with 16GB GDDR7 VRAM, up to 180W power
• Storage – Full-size SD 4.0 card reader up to 200 MB/s
• Video Output
  • 2x HDMI 2.1b ports up to 4K @ 480Hz or 8K @ 165Hz
  • 1x DisplayPort 2.1b port  up to 4K @ 480Hz or 8K @ 165Hz
  • Multiple display support
    • Up to 3x independent displays at 4K 165Hz
    • Up to 2x independent displays at 4K 360Hz or 8K 100Hz
    • Up to 4x independent displays when including the Mind 2/2s mini PC’s HDMI port
• Audio
  • 3.5mm headphone jack
  • Dual microphone
  • Stereo speakers
• Networking – 2.5GbE RJ45 port
• USB
  • USB4 Type-C (40 Gbps) port; note: usable as Thunderbolt 3/4/USB4 eGPU port when the Mind 2 is not connected through the Link connector.
  • USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C (10 Gbps) port with PD output up to 5V/3A
  • 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 (10 Gbps) USB ports
• Expansion – Custom Mind Link (PCIe Gen4 x8) interface for Khadas mini PCs
• Misc
  • Fingerprint reader (press to mute)
  • Volume buttons
• Power  Supply – Integrated 350W GaN PSU
• Dimensions – 199 x 133 x 100 mm
• Weight – 3 kg

Khadas Mind xPlay, Mind Graphics 2, and Mind 2 unboxing

I received three packages for the Mind Graphics, Mind xPlay, and the Mind 2 mini PC.

Let’s have a quick look at the Mind 2 package. We’ll find the Mind 2 mini PC with two USB-C ports, HDMI video output, and two USB ports, a 65W USB PD power adapter, and a USB-C to USB-C cable for power.

The “K1018” computer/portable workstation features an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 16-core Meteor Lake processor paired with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD preloaded with Windows 11.

The Mind Link can be found on the bottom side, protected by a rubber cover. The Link connector is used to communicate with accessories such as the xPlay display or Mind Graphics 2 dock.

Let’s now check out the xPlay stored in a hard black foam box.

The package includes the xPlay portable display itself, a QWERTY (Global) keyboard with touchpad and magnetic attachment, user manuals, and a blue sheet telling users to upgrade the firmware of the Mind 1/2/2s to ensure compatibility. I didn’t have to do that with a brand new Mind 2, but I might have to with the Mind mini PC whose firmware I haven’t upgraded for a couple of years…

The keyboard is really thin (6mm).

The display is pretty slim as well (9.5mm), and one side features speaker holes and two USB-C ports (left: input port to connect to a host; right: output port to connect an additional USB-C display), and the other side only has holes for the second speaker.

The top of the display comes with volume -/+ buttons and the power button…

…while the bottom features the keyboard port.

The back of the display features the Khadas Mind connector (male) and a few internal magnets to connect and secure the Mind 2 mini PC. It’s protected by a rubber cover that’s pretty easy to lose…

Finally, let’s switch to the Mind Grraphics 2 eGPU module. The sticker on the back shows it features an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB graphics card and the model number is A1026.

Inside the package, we’ll find the dock itself (pretty heavy at 3kg), a power cord for your country (I selected EU), a user manual, and the same “update your firmware” sheet as found in the xPlay.

The Mind 2 mini PC will be placed on top of the dock, where we can find a male Mind Link connector.

The front panel features a 3.5mm audio jack, a 10 Gbps USB-C port, an RGB LED, and a full-size SD card reader.

The rear panel comes with the AC connector, a 2.5GbE port, a DisplayPort & two HDMI video outputs, a 40 Gbps USB-C port (to use the dock as an eGPU with any machine with a spare Thunderbolt/USB4 port), and two USB 3.2 ports, plus an Unlock button.

One of the side features the volume buttons and a fingerprint scanner that’s also used to mute the dock. Overall, the design feels very much “premium”.

Khadas Mind Graphics 2 teardown

The Mind Graphics 2 eGPU dock is not designed to be opened, and regular users should not attempt to open it. Some may want to change or retrieve the graphics card inside, but Khadas clearly states it cannot be replaced or upgraded. 

I started the teardown by removing the screws holding the rear panel plate.

That’s a start, but it doesn’t show much, so I removed six additional screws, and I was still unable to remove the internal hardware. At this point, I peeked under the rubber pads on the bottom and noticed two additional screws on each pad…

… and under each plastic part, one more screw.

Still no luck moving anything around, so I used a metal tool to remove the front cover, slightly damaged it in the process, but got access to more of the internals, including what looks like a speaker box.

I had to remove a few more screws before being able to access the internals. I first thought the two black boxes connected to the Mind Link PCB would be speakers, but upon further inspection, they are clearly not. We can see a custom cooling solution with two large fans and a heatsink.

We’ll also find the power supply on the other side. It’s a 350W-rated SOY-2001750 PSU from Shenzhen SOY Technology outputting 20A DC up to 17.5A from a 100-2401V 50/60Hz AC input.

The design is highly integrated and also feels premium on the inside. I’ll stop the teardown here before I break anything…. It’s clearly not made to be disassembled. I reassembled everything and managed to *only* lose one screw.

Getting started with the xPlay display/keyboard and Mind Graphics 2 dock

Let’s have a quick try to make sure everything (still) works. I’ll start with the xPlay portable display. I installed the Mind 2 on the back, adjusted the handle to my liking, and connected the 65W USB PD power adapter provided with the mini PC.

I then attached the keyboard through its magnetic attachment, and could boot Windows 11 after pressing the power button on the display (that part is important). I also heard the Windows 11 installation assistant voice through the built-in speakers. I played around with the touchpad and keyboard a bit, and everything worked so far. Note there’s no touchscreen function.

Finally, I moved the Mind 2 mini PC to the Graphics Mind 2 dock, and connected the xPlay to one of the USB-C ports on the Mind 2. Since the mini PC has a small built-in battery, there’s no need to turn it off and on when switching accessories. At first, the display was blank, and I thought something was wrong since nothing happened after pressing the button on the mini PC or dock. I eventually heard the voice of the Windows installation assistant through the dock’s speakers, and understood I had to press the power button on the display itself for this to work.

Most other USB-C displays I’ve tested so far just automatically turn on when connected to the host. But I understand why this may not be the case with the xPlay display since it’s also used to power on/off the Mind 2.

That will be all for today. This will keep me busy for a while, with three more parts for the review with the xPlay, dock, and 3D scanner.

I’d like to thank Khadas for sending the Mind 2 mini PC, xPlay portable display and keyboard, and the Mind Graphics 2 dock for review. You’ll find the mini PC for about $1,099.00 on AliExpress and the Khadas store in its Intel Core 7 155H/32GB/1TB configuration, the Mind xPlay kit goes for $399 on AliExpress/Khadas store, and the Mind Graphics 2 dock sells for $1349 (AliExpress or Khadas Store).

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Most USB-to-bus adapters, including tools like CANTact Pro or MeatPi’s Ollie V1 and V2, typically support either CAN or RS-485/RS-422 as fixed-function serial devices. In contrast, the FalCAN Probe by Anders B. Nielsen is a multi-protocol USB adapter based on the STM32F042 microcontroller.

The FalCAN Probe is a compact open-source USB Type-C board that connects a computer to CAN, RS-485, and full-duplex RS-422 networks. Instead of using a fixed USB bridge, it exposes the MCU’s native USB interface along with SWD and GPIOs, and can also be used as a small Arm Cortex-M0 development platform.

FalCAN Probe specifications:

• MCU – STMicro STM32F042C6Tx Arm Cortex-M0 microcontroller @ 48 MHz with 32KB flash, 6KB SRAM
• Host Interface – USB 2.0 Full Speed via USB Type-C port
• Interfaces (non-isolated)
  • CAN bus via Texas Instruments SN65HVD230 transceiver; enumerates as a GS_USB CAN device when jumper JP4 is open
  • RS485 and full-duplex RS422 via dual SP3485EN transceivers
• Expansion
  • 2x 17-pin GPIO expansion headers
  • Unpopulated female DE-9 (DSUB-9) footprint for CAN standard pinout
  • Exposed USART1 (PB6/PB7) for external USB-to-UART usage
  • Header pins for GPIOs, boot configuration, SWD debugging, and bus routing (JP3/JP4)
• Debug – Dedicated header for SWD programming
• Misc – Green and Red status LEDs
• Power – 5V via USB-C, regulated by an on-board MIC5504-3.3 LDO
• Dimensions – TBD (4-layer FR4 PCB ~1.6mm thickness)

What makes the FalCAN Probe different from similar tools like CANable or Candlelight adapters is its firmware. It uses a fork of the candleLight_fw that supports the mainline Linux gs_usb kernel module, meaning you can plug it into an Ubuntu or Raspberry Pi OS and use standard can-utils without installing any custom drivers. Note: The FalCAN Probe firmware further adds support for RS-485 and RS-422 mode switching on top of the standard CAN capabilities, and the hardware itself exposes the STM32 development pins.

Mode switching is handled using simple hardware jumpers checked at startup. If JP4 is left open during reset, the device shows up as a CAN interface (gs_usb). If JP4 is closed, it appears as a USB serial port (CDC) connected to USART1 for RS-485/RS-422 communication.

Anders notes that the board is essentially a simple STM32 development board with built-in industrial communication hardware, making it easy to reprogram. You can use it as a bus traffic generator, a CAN analyzer, or even turn it into an ST-Link–style programmer with custom firmware.

The hardware was designed in KiCad 9, and the complete design files (schematics, PCB layout, Gerbers, and BOM with LCSC part numbers) are available on GitHub under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license. The customized firmware is available in a separate GitHub repository.

The open-source FalCAN Probe with CAN and RS-485 is available for purchase on iMania.dk for 249.00 DKK (approximately $36 USD), with listed prices including 25% VAT for European buyers (VAT is removed at checkout for US/International buyers). It ships without the pin headers or the DE-9 connector soldered, though an unsoldered male DE-9 is included in the package so users can mount it on the bottom of the PCB to match the industry-standard TouCAN/PEAK CAN pinouts.

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The Ploopy Bean is a 3D-printed, open-source hardware pointing stick mouse that runs QMK open-source firmware on a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller to control four Omron D2LS-21 buttons and a friction nub.

Ploopy is a Canadian company known for its open-source hardware computer accessories. We first covered their headphones in 2023, but they’ve also made a trackball mouse, a trackpad, a USB knob, and other accessories since then. The Bean is just the latest addition.

Ploopy Bean specifications:

• Bean Pointing Stick PCB
  • Microcontroller Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU
  • USB – 1x USB-C port for power and data
  • Buttons – 4x Omron D2LS-21 buttons configured as left click, right click, middle click, and click-to-drag/scroll by default (but customizable)
  • Sensor – Texas Instruments TMAG5273 high-precision 3D hall effect sensor for the nub; up to 20,000 ksps sample rate, detects 3+ microns movements
• 3D-printed parts – Top, bottom, and spring for red nub
• Accessories
  • 1x screw
  • 1x magnet
  • 4x friction pads
  • 1x friction nub looking similar to the Lenovo TrackPoint
  • USB-A to USB-C cable
• Dimensions – 84 x 64 x 16mm
• Weight – 5.2 grams

While most people will likely buy a fully assembled unit, the Bean is fully open-source hardware, so you could also reproduce it by yourself. The Altium Designer hardware design files (schematics, PCB layout, Gerber…), STEP and STL files for 3D printable parts, UF2 firmware (binary), and documentation, including assembly instructions, can be found on GitHub.

The source code for the QML firmware can be found on the official repo. The company also notes that the Bean can be customized using “VIA” web application, and the users only need to add a config file to enable support, as explained in the documentation, before heading to the VIA web app with a web browser supporting WebHID, such as Microsoft Edge, Chrome, or Opera (but not Firefox). The QMK firmware is released under GPLv3, while the hardware design files are released under OHL CERN v2-S.

Ploopy offers the Bean pointing stick for pre-order for $69.99 CAD (about $51 US). It’s a bit higher than expected, but the product is rather unique and niche, and it funds open-source hardware development.

Via Liliputing

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The HAUI 3Gang Touch Display is a wall-mount smart home control dashboard designed specifically to run Home Assistant, OpenHAB, Domoticz, or any other web-based home automation dashboard.

Built around a Raspberry Pi 3B+ since it’s one of the cheapest options following Pi 4/5 price hikes, the HAUI (Home Assistant User Interface) replaces standard wall switches and fits into a standard single-gang electrical box, while its front panel spans roughly a three-gang footprint, hence the “3Gang” name. It runs a customized version of FullpageOS Linux distribution with a Chromium browser in kiosk mode and includes built-in MQTT integration along with SSH access for advanced users.

HAUI Touch Display specifications

• Main Controller – Raspberry Pi 3B+
• Display – 7-inch capacitive touchscreen
• Connectivity – Wi-Fi on Raspberry Pi (configured via initial setup wizard)
• Power
  • Input Voltage – 120 VAC ±10%
  • Maximum Current – 1 A
  • Internal USB charger module (Line/Neutral wiring, no ground required)
• Dimensions – TBD (minimal bezels designed to cover a 3-gang switch footprint)
• Temperature – Up to 35°C (95°F) ambient maximum
• Enclosure – Custom 3D-printed design with no screws, no visible gaps

Unlike a generic tablet, the HAUI boots directly into a dedicated Setup Wizard upon first power-up. Users are prompted to configure their Wi-Fi, assign a Hostname, set up an MQTT broker connection, and define the target dashboard URL. The device supports MQTT, which allows Home Assistant to control backlight brightness, dimming timeouts, and sleep behavior, while also reporting hardware diagnostics, such as undervoltage events, directly to the dashboard. If MQTT is not used, the system falls back to default settings for dimming and screen sleep to reduce power consumption and prevent burn-in.

Users can access the device’s web interface at http://[IP_ADDRESS]/controls/ to adjust settings or clear the Chromium cache if it gets stuck on the boot logo, and local SSH access is enabled by default with the username and password both set to “haui”. Once logged in via SSH, users can run standard Linux commands to check network status and monitor system logs. Backlight and sleep behavior are handled by a dedicated service, and helper scripts are available in the system directory (/home/haui/scripts), although modified systems are not covered by official support. More information about the device can be found in the online user manual and on the Home Assistant community forums.

To install the device, remove the existing light switch, connect the USB power module to Line and Neutral, place it in the electrical box, and attach the display via USB before securing it to the wall bracket.

The main competitor to the HAUI Touch Display is the SONOFF NSPanel Pro (including the Gen2 version), an all-in-one Android-based Zigbee panel with a smaller 3.95-inch display for European boxes, whereas the HAUI targets North American 3-gang installs with a larger 7-inch screen (and 120V AC input). Alternatively, we have ESP32-P4-based systems like the 7-inch Elecrow CrowPanel Advance, but that requires you to build your own enclosure, write custom ESPHome/LVGL firmware, and source your own power supply.

The HAUI 3Gang 7-inch wall-mount Home Assistant dashboard is available for $199 on Tindie. It ships with a 120 VAC USB power module, which means it’s primarily designed for the US market, but you might be able to replace it with a similarly-sized 240V unit to use it in other regions.

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MiixKey is a compact, offline ESP32-P4-based hardware security key and password manager that securely stores passwords, passkeys, NFC cards, and smart card credentials in a single portable device. It features a 2-inch touchscreen and is designed for users, developers, enterprises, government staff, and cybersecurity professionals who need secure offline credential management without relying on cloud services or smartphone apps.

Previously, we wrote about security keys like the YubiKey and Google Titan Security Key, which are great for FIDO2 and U2F login, but they don’t have a display or user interface, so managing passwords or switching credentials usually requires a phone or computer. MiixKey fixes this by adding a touchscreen and allowing the user to manage over 3,000 passwords fully offline.

MiixKey specifications:

• Main SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-P4
  • CPU
    • Dual-core 32-bit RISC-V HP (High-performance) CPU @ up to 400 MHz with AI instructions extension and single-precision FPU
    • Single-RISC-V LP (Low-power) MCU core @ up to 40 MHz with 8KB of zero-wait TCM RAM
  • Memory
    • 768 KB HP L2MEM (for dual-core CPU), 32 KB LP SRAM, 8 KB TCM (for LP MCU core)
    • 32MB PSRAM
  • Storage – 128 KB HP ROM, 16 KB LP ROM
  • GPU – 2D Pixel Processing Accelerator (PPA)
  • VPU – H.264 video encoder, JPEG codec
• Storage – 32MB external SPI NOR flash
• Wireless SoC – Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840
  • CPU – 32-bit Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller @ 64 MHz
  • Memory/Storage – 1 MB Flash, 256 KB RAM
  • Wireless – Bluetooth 5, Thread, ANT, Bluetooth Mesh, NFC, 802.15.4 (Zigbee), 2.4 GHz proprietary
• Display – 2-inch touchscreen, 480 x 640 resolution
• USB – USB Type-C port for power and connectivity
• Security features
  • Secure Boot v2 and Flash AES-256 Encryption
  • NVS + PIN HMAC Encryption
  • Dangerous Mode – A decoy vault triggered by a specific PIN that wipes real data
  • Emergency Mode – A time-locked vault (up to 64 hours delay) for sensitive handovers
• Misc – Power button
• Power
  • Does not specify an internal battery capacity.
  • Supports continuous power via USB for time-locked functions
• Dimensions – 60 x 40 x 10 mm
• Housing – CNC Aluminum Alloy with gold-plated brass buttons

Unlike typical security keys like Diabolic Parasite and Tillitis Tkey, which offer only a single slot, MiixKey comes with five independent slots, each functioning like its own security key with a separate PIN. Every slot supports FIDO2, PIV, and OpenPGP, and can hold up to 64 FIDO2 passkeys, for a total of 320 across the device. With the built-in screen, you can enter, search, and edit credentials directly on the device, so your data never has to touch an internet-connected system. It also supports importing passwords from KeePass or KeePassXC (KDBX files) for offline use and can act as an HID device over USB or Bluetooth to enable smooth auto-fill across different devices.

The device also supports custom scripts and BADUSB functionality, allowing it to emulate a keyboard and automate keystrokes or complex commands. It includes a built-in TOTP generator for 2FA, removing the need for smartphone apps, with all operations performed locally without cloud or online dependencies.

Since the device operates fully offline, there is no password recovery option, so you must have backups and redundancy in place. Best practice is to use multiple hardware keys registered to important accounts, keep a secure offline backup of the KeePass (KDBX) database, and store service-provided recovery codes. Without these precautions, losing the device will result in permanent loss of access to stored credentials.

The MiixKey is now available on Kickstarter, where it has already surpassed its 10,000 HKD (~$1,276 US) funding goal. Early Bird rewards start at approximately $99 US, with a “Kickstarter Special” price of $109. Shipping is estimated to begin in July 2026.

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Toradex Zinnia is an industrial IoT gateway based on the company’s Verdin system-on-module, powered by a choice of NXP or Texas Instruments SoC, with dual Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5, optional 4G LTE or 5G connectivity, a few USB ports, an I/O connectors, and a wide 9-36V power supply range.

The first model is based on an NXP i.M 8M Plus SoM with 4GB LPDDR5 and 32GB eMMC flash preloaded with the company’s Torizon OS Linux distribution. Other SoM available are based on TI AM62/AM62P, NXP i.MX 8M Mini, or NXP iMX 95. The gateway targets edge AI and industrial automation, smart cities, and energy infrastructure.

Toradex Zinnia specifications:

• SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Plus
  • CPU – Quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.6/1.8 GHz, Arm Cortex-M7 real-time core @ 800 MHz
  • GPU – Vivante GC7000UL OpenGL ES 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, OpenCL 1.2, Vulkan support
  • AI accelerator – 2.3 TOPS NPU
  • VPU
    • Encoder up to 1080p60 H.264, H.265
    • Decoder up to 1080p60 H.264, H.265
• Memory –  4GB LPDDR5
• Storage
  • 32 GB eMMC flash preloaded with Torizon OS
  • MicroSD card slot
• Networking
  • 2x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports
  • 2.4/5 GHz dual-band WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.3
  • Optional 4G LTE or 5G cellular connectivity via mPCIe socket plus Nano SIM card slot
  • 3x antenna holes
• USB
  • 2x USB 3.0 Type-A ports
  • USB 2.0 Type-C OTG port
  • USB Type-C port for console/debugging
• Expansion – Externally accessible I/O connector with I2C, RS232, RS485, 3x isolated I/Os, 2x analog inputs (0 – 25 mA), CAN Bus
• Misc
  • Reset and Recovery pinholes
  • RGB LED for power and status; 2x user RGB LEDs
  • Built-in heatsink (fanless design)
  • DIN-rail-compatible mounting
• Power Supply – 9 to 36V DC via 2-pin lockable connector
• Dimensions – 110 x 80 mm (thickness not mentioned…)
• Weight – 315 grams
• Temperature Range – -40 to +85°C
• Certifications – CE, FCC, and RoHS
• Shock and vibration – EN 60068-2-6/50g 20 ms

The Zinnia Gateway ships preloaded with Torizon OS embedded Linux distribution based on the Yocto Project and maintained by Toradex. It supports secure remote access, OTA updates, and fleet management, and the software stack is said to be EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA)-ready.

There are plenty of AIoT/IoT gateways on the market based on the NXP i.MX 8M Plus processor, including the Geniatech AP880 and Compulab IOT-DIN-IMX8PLUS, among others.  Toradex claims the Zinnia gateway requires fewer engineering efforts as a ready-to-deploy platform maintained by Toradex, as shown in the table below. The customers still handle the application level, for instance, PLC software like CODESYS, but the Swiss company takes care of everything else, including maintenance and certifications such as the European Union’s CRA. Flexibility is achieved through the choice of SoM as discussed in the introduction.

Samples of the Zinnia IoT gateway will be available in June 2026, and supply is guaranteed at least until 2036. Pricing has not been disclosed, and may never be, since it will likely depend on the software requirements beyond the usual hardware requirements. Additional information may be found on the product page.

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There’s a lot of hype around the Rust programming language, and I’m seeing it being adopted by various projects, not least the Linux kernel. However, so far it was unclear to me whether it was suitable for embedded firmware development since the hardware resources are limited on microcontrollers. A low memory and storage footprint is required, and optimal performance may also be important, for example, to lower the power consumption of battery-powered devices.

A research paper by STMicroelectronics, Inria, and the Freie Universität Berlin, entitled “Lessons from an Industrial Microcontroller Use Case with Ariel OS” published on ArXiv hosted by Cornell University, attempts to answer this question using embedded C and Rust, and the conclusion is that Rust is a viable option:

As Rust gains traction for developing safer systems software, a reality check for the microcontroller hardware segment becomes necessary. How ready is the Rust ecosystem for this segment? Can Rust compete with C in practice?

This paper reports on an IoT industrial case study that contributes to answering these questions. Two teams concurrently developing the same functionality (one in C, one in Rust) are analyzed over a period of several months. A comparative analysis of their approaches, results, and iterative efforts is provided. The analysis and measurements on hardware indicate no strong reason to prefer C over Rust for microcontroller firmware on the basis of memory footprint or execution speed.

Furthermore, Ariel OS is shown to provide an efficient and portable system runtime in Rust whose footprint is smaller than that of the state-of-the-art bare-metal C stack traditionally used in this context. It is concluded that Rust is a sound choice today for firmware development in this domain.

But let’s not take the conclusion for granted, and check out the research (PDF) to understand the method and results better.

The hardware used was the SensorTile.box Pro devkit with an STMicro STM32U585AI Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller, BLE and NFC connectivity (not used here), and a 6-axis LSM6DSV16X IMU3, and the ST AIoT Craft Edge AI Suite enabled AI processing of the captured sensor data.

The devkit runs the Vanilla Data Logger (VDL) firmware written in C or Rust and communicates with a PC running a GUI over the Vanilla Datalog Protocol (VDP) through a UART interface.

Each team worked independently for six weeks during Phase 1 of the implementation of the VDL firmware in C and Rust, and then collaborated for four more weeks to optimize each other’s work. The C implementation relies on STM32CubeMX, a Finite State Machine (FSM) written in bare-metal C, and the open-source Parson library for JSON de/serialization (note: uses dynamic memory allocation).

The Rust firmware relies on Ariel OS Rust RTOS for microcontrollers, and implements JSON serialization/deserialization using the serde crate, offering a serialization/deserialization framework, and the heapless crate for static memory allocation.

Since the architectures are fairly different, it’s not going to be a direct C vs Rust comparison, but here are the final results when it comes to memory and storage footprints.

Both VDL firmware binaries are quite small, but the C firmware is still smaller than the Rust firmware. It does not matter much here since the STM32U585AI comes with 2MB flash, but it may matter if we get close to the storage limit on even more resource-constrained MCUs, and either more optimization is required or switching to a different part may be needed. The RAM comparison is more complex due to dynamic memory allocation, which requires heap RAM for the C implementation.  The number shown is the max measured peak of heap. They also note that “there are less memory heavy options that do not require a heap at all” compared to the Parson library, since memory optimization was not the main goal.

Both Rust and C firmware ended up running at the same level of performance as measured by the Output Data Rate (ODR): 7,468 Hz. The chart below shows that whether you select C or Rust for your next embedded project, firmware won’t automagically be optimized for size and/or performance without serious work.

The Rust implementation was twice as fast as the C implementation during the first test, and C and Rust traded the top spot in turns following optimizations, which included trivial changes such as disabling logging (for debugging) and enabling I-Cache and flash prefetch to lower I2C latency. You’ll learn more about caveats and pitfalls in the full PDF.

What I found interesting is that in the second phase, each team helped the other build a better firmware by comparing C and Rust firmware. In theory, the best is to select both C and Rust for your next product, but in practice, it’s unlikely to work due to budget constraints. The source code for the project will eventually be published on STM32 Hotspot.

Via Adafruit.

The post Study compares Rust and C languages for embedded firmware development appeared first on CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.

Renesas WS125-V2HRDKREFZ is a Robotics Development Kit (RDK) powered by Renesas RZ/V2H Arm Cortex-A55/R8/M33 microprocessor and designed for high‑performance AI vision applications leveraging the MPU’s built-in 80 TOPS (sparse) AI accelerator.

The kit ships with 16GB LPDDR4, 64MB QSPI flash, a 64GB microSD card, and appears to be partially inspired by the Raspberry Pi 5 with a 40-pin Raspberry Pi GPIO header, a 16-pin PCIe Gen3 FFC connector, two MIPI CSI connectors, and a micro HDMI port. Other features include a Gigabit Ethernet port, two USB 3.2 ports, two CAN-FD interfaces, and a 12-24V DC input voltage range.

Renesas WS125-V2HRDKREFZ specifications:

• SoC – Renesas RZ/V2H
  • CPU/MCU cores
    • 4x Arm Cortex-A55 cores up to 1.8 GHz
    • 2x Cortex-R8 real-time cores up to 800 MHz
    • Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller core up to 200 MHz for system management
  • GPU – Arm Mali-G31 GPU
  • NPU – DRP-AI3 dynamically reconfigurable processor delivering up to 8 TOPS (INT8) or 80 TOPS (Sparse)
  • Package – 1368-pin FCBGA (R9A09G057H44GBG)
• System Memory – 16GB LPDDR4 @ 1600 MHz (2x 8GB)
• Storage
  • MicroSD card slot (the kit ships with a 64GB SanDisk microSD card)
  • 64MB QSPI flash
• Display I/F – Micro HDMI port
• Camera I/F – 2x 22-pin 4-lane MIPI CSI-2 camera connectors
• Networking
  • Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port
• USB
  • 2x USB 3.2 Type-A ports
  • 1x Micro USB port (SCIF)
• Debugging – 10-pin JTAG connector
• Expansion
  • 40-pin color-coded “Raspberry Pi” GPIO header
  • 16-pin PCIe Gen3 x1 FFC connector (same as the Raspberry Pi FFC connector)
  • 2x CAN-FD connector
• Power Supply – 12-24V up to 2A via DC jack
• Dimensions – 85 x 72 mm

Renesas provides board setup files based on Ubuntu 24.04 Server/Desktop and ROS2, and RZ MPU software packages, along with evaluation licenses and release notes. The board is also open-source hardware, with the Japanese company providing hardware design files, including the BOM, circuit schematics, and PCB layout. You’ll find some documentation on Github.io, although some documents and the SDK require a (free) registration on the Renesas website, and some code on GitHub.

The Renesas RZ/V2H MPU’s heterogeneous architecture features application cores (Cortex-A55), real-time cores (Cortex-R8), and an 8 TOPS (INT8) NPU, which makes it ideal for robotics and drones since a single chip can handle applications, motor control, and AI Vision with external MCU or accelerators.

One example is a demo running PX4 on the RZ/V2H Robotics Development Kit shown in the video above. It combines AI vision, real‑time motor and flight control, and power management on a single board.

Renesas has not provided pricing information for the RZ/V2K RDK (WS125-V2HRDKREFZ), but I suspect it may sell for around $400-$500 based on the specifications and target markets.  You’ll find more details, including some hardware and software documents, on the product page.

The post Renesas RZ/V2H Robotics Development Kit handles AI vision, motor control, and power management with a single board appeared first on CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.

congatec conga-TC300 is an entry-level edge AI COM Express Type-6 Compact module powered by 15W Intel Core Series 3 “Wildcat Lake” SoCs up to the Core 7 350 hexa-core processor.

The module supports up to 64GB DDR5 SO-DIMM memory and features optional on-board UFS 3.1 storage, an Intel i226 2.5GbE controller, and two standard 220-pin board-to-board connectors exposing I/Os such as SATA, DDI and LVDS or eDP display interfaces, USB4, USB 3.2, USB 2.0, PCIe Gen4/Gen3, and more.

congatec conga-TC300 specifications:

• Wildcat Lake SoC (one or the other)
  • Intel Core 3 305
    • 6-core CPU – 2x P-cores @ 1.5/4.3 GHz (Turbo) + 4x LPE-cores @  1.4/3.3 GHz (Turbo)
    • GPU – 1-core Intel Xe3 Graphics @ 2.3 GHz (9 TOPS)
    • NPU – N/A
  • Intel Core 5 320
    • 6-core CPU – 2x P-cores @ 1.5/4.6 GHz (Turbo) + 4x LPE-cores @ 1.4/3.4 GHz (Turbo)
    • GPU – 2-core Intel Xe3 Graphics @ 2.5 GHz (20 TOPS)
    • NPU – 16 TOPS
  • Intel Core 7 350
    • 6-core CPU – 2x P-cores @ 1.5/4.6 GHz (Turbo) + 4x LPE-cores @ 1.4/3.6 GHz (Turbo)
    • GPU – 2-core Intel Xe3 Graphics @ 2.6 GHz (21 TOPS)
    • NPU – 17 TOPS
  • Common features – 15W PBP, 6 MB Intel Smart Cache
• System Memory – Up to 64GB DDR5 @ 6400 MT/s via 1x SO-DIMM socket
• Storage – Optional UFS 3.1 flash on module
• Networking – Intel i226 2.5GbE controller with TSN support (on selected product variants)
• Host Interface – 2x 220-pin high-density connectors
  • Storage – 2x SATA (note: 4x SATA interfaces in total but multiplexed)
  • Video Interfaces
    • Up to 2x DDI (2x shared with USB4)
    • LVDS or eDP
  • Audio – HDA and Soundwire (optional)
  • Networking – 2.5 Gbps Ethernet
  • USB
    • Up to 2x USB4 (dedicated BIOS required)
    • 4x USB 3.2 Gen2
    • Up to 8x USB 2.0
  •  PCIe
    • 4x PCIe Gen4
    • Additional 4x PCIe Gen3 (optional via PCIe switch)
  • Low-speed I/Os
    • 2x UART
    • GPIOs
    • GPSPI
    • LPC or eSPI (optional)
    • SMB
    • I2C or I3C (optional)
• congatec Board Controller – Next Gen 6 congatec Board Controller
  • Multi-stage watchdog
  • Non-volatile user data storage
  • Manufacturing and board information
  • Board statistics I²C bus (fast mode, 400 kHz, multi-master)
  • Power Loss Control, Hardware Health Monitoring, POST Code
• Security – Trusted Platform Module (TPM 2.0)
• Misc – AMI Aptio UEFI firmware on 64MB serial SPI flash with congatec Embedded BIOS feature, OEM logo and defaults, LCD and backlight control, flash update
• Power Management – ACPI 6.0 with battery support
• Dimensions – 95 x 95 mm (PICMG COM Rev 3.1 Type 6 Compact size)
• Temperature Range – Operating: 0°C to 60°C; storage: -20°C to 80°C
• Humidity – Operating: 10 to 85% r. H. non cond; storage: 5 to 85% r. H. non cond.

Since Wildcat Lake processors are limited to six PCIe Gen4 lanes, it’s interesting to look at how congatec has been using them. Four lanes are directly routed to the B2B connectors, one lane is dedicated to the 2.5GbE controller, and the remaining lane is used for the SATA ports or a PCIe Gen4 to 4x PCIe Gen3 switch. As a side note, they also had to use a USB 3.2 hub to provide four USB 3.2 interfaces on the B2B connectors since the CPU only has two.

Congatec provides support for Microsoft Windows 11 IoT Enterprise and Windows 11, Ubuntu Pro Linux, and conga-zones Hypervisor. The company also mentions support for ctrlX OS and KontronOS operating systems. The conga-TEVAL/COMe 3.1 carrier board can be used for evaluation. Both active and passive cooling solutions are available for the modules.

The conga-TC300 module targets cost-sensitive edge AI applications such as robotics, industrial automation, medical equipment, transportation, smart cities, and retail/point-of-sale (POS). They are meant as an upgrade for embedded designs based on Intel Atom or Celeron platforms that now require dedicated AI capabilities.

While the conga-TC300 is the first Wildcat Lake COM Express module we’ve come across, it’s not the first industrial/edge hardware based on the new Intel SoCs, and we previously covered Advantech’s MIO-5356 3.5-inch SBC.

Congatec has not provided pricing or availability information for the COM Express module. A few more details may be found on the product page and the press release.

Via All About Circuits

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Hardware prototyping often starts with a simple idea, but quickly runs into a familiar problem: costs add up faster than expected. Small batch PCB orders, international shipping fees, and repeated iterations can easily slow down development before the first working prototype is even finished.

To make early-stage development easier, AIVON has launched a new user support program that significantly lowers the cost barrier for first-time orders.

New customers who register on AIVON and verify their email address will automatically receive $60 in welcome credits, which include:

• $30 Manufacturing Credit applied to the PCB portion of their first PCB or PCBA order (minimum order amount after credit: $1).
• $30 Shipping Credit for their first pure-PCB order (including stencil orders).

With these credits, most standard PCB prototype orders qualify for completely free shipping. For example:

• If your calculated PCB cost is $20 and shipping is $25, you would only pay $1 for the boards and nothing for shipping.
• If your PCB cost is $37 and shipping is $34, you pay only $7 for the boards and $4 shipping (total $11).

This makes your very first prototype extremely affordable — often just $1 for the boards with free shipping worldwide on qualifying orders.

Founded in 2013, AIVON is a professional PCB and PCBA manufacturer focused on fast and reliable prototyping. Standard turnaround times range from 24 to 72 hours, helping engineers move from design to testing much faster. Every order includes a free engineering review and a full Design for Manufacturability analysis to identify potential production issues early.

The platform supports a wide range of technologies, including standard FR-4, multilayer boards up to 32 layers, HDI, rigid-flex, aluminum, Rogers high-frequency materials, and more, making it suitable for everything from simple hobbyist projects and Raspberry Pi HATs to complex IoT sensors and industrial designs.

Whether you are iterating on a new embedded system, testing an ESP32-based prototype, or validating a custom single-board computer, AIVON’s fast turnaround and low entry cost help accelerate your development cycle without breaking the budget. It also provides a smooth path from prototype to small-to-medium volume production.

Ready to start your first order at almost no cost?

Register for a free account, verify your email, and claim your $60 welcome credits automatically. Get an instant quote, upload your Gerber files, and experience high-quality, fast-turn PCB prototyping today.

Sign up and claim your credits →

The post AIVON Offers $60 New User Credits for PCB Prototyping Starting from $1 (Sponsored) appeared first on CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.

We’ve come across an ESP32-P4 + ESP32-C5 board that looks similar to the Wireless Tag WTDKP4C5-S1 board, but is even more compact and features four MIPI connectors, including two whose pinout is compatible with Raspberry Pi camera modules and displays.

Maker Go calls it the “ESP32P4C5 core board” and features an “ESP32-P4-Module” with ESP32-P4 MCU with 32MB PSRAM, an ESP32-C5 dual-band WiFi 6 SoC, nd a 16MB NOR flash. Besides the MIPI connectors, the board features three USB ports, one for debugging, and two Type-C/A ports sharing a USB 2.0 data connection, a built-in MEMS microphone, a speaker connector, and two 34-pin headers for expansion.

ESP32P4C5 Core Board specifications:

• Main SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-P4
  • CPU
    • Dual-core 32-bit RISC-V HP (High-performance) CPU @ up to 400 MHz with AI instructions extension and single-precision FPU
    • Single-RISC-V LP (Low-power) MCU core @ up to 40 MHz with 8KB of zero-wait TCM RAM
  • Memory
    • 768 KB HP L2MEM (for dual-core CPU), 32 KB LP SRAM, 8 KB TCM (for LP MCU core)
    • 32MB PSRAM
  • Storage – 128 KB HP ROM, 16 KB LP ROM
  • GPU – 2D Pixel Processing Accelerator (PPA)
  • VPU – H.264 video encoder, JPEG codec
• Storage – 16MB external SPI NOR flash
• Wireless SoC – ESP32-C5
  • CPU – Dual-core 32-bit RISC-V CPU @ up to 240 MHz
  • Memory – 384 KB SRAM
  • Storage – 320 KB ROM
  • Wireless – Dual-band (2.4/5.0 GHz) 802.11ax WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, and 802.15.4 (Zigbee 3.0 and Thread 1.3)
  • IPEX antenna connector
• Display I/F
  • 30-pin MIPI DSI connector + SY72000 backlight boost chip; supports “YDP400BT001-V4” 4-inch touch screen display with 720×720 resolution from Osprey Optoelectronics
  • 15-pin MIPI DSI connector compatible with Raspberry Pi displays
• Camera I/F
  • 24-pin MIPI CSI connector
  • 15-pin MIPI CSI connector compatible with Raspberry Pi camera modules
• Audio
  • ES8311 audio connector
  • NS4150 audio amplifier
  • 2-pin speaker connector
  • Built-in LMA3729T421-OA1 microphone (apparently also known as “silicon wheat” in Chinglish)
• Networking
  • Wireless – Dual-band WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, and 802.15.4 (Zigbee 3.0 and Thread 1.3) via ESP32-C5
  • Wired – RMII signals (Ethernet) exposed via headers (External PHY required)
• USB
  • Multiplex USB 2.0 Type-A and Type-C ports
  • USB Type-C USB to TTL debug port via CH343 chip
• Expansion – 2x 34-pin GPIO headers for ESP32-P4/C5
  • ESP32-P4 – 55x GPIOs
  • ESP32-C5 – 9x GPIOs
  • Supports SPI, I2C, UART, ADC…
• Security – Secure boot, flash encryption, hardware TRNG…
• Misc
  • Reset and Boot buttons
  • P4/C5 switch for flash programming through RS2233 analog sitch
  • LED (unclear whether Power or User LED)
• Power Management
  • 5V input via USB Type-C
  • MT9700 low-voltage, single-channel P-MOSFET load switch
• Dimensions – 72 x 52 mm

There’s not a lot in the way of documentation except for a PDF file about the OspreyPi-P4C6-Module/OspreyPi-P4C5-Module board, where we learn that the manufacturer is  Osprey Optoelectronics. The documentation includes additional hardware details, and we’re told to program the board with the ESP-IDF framework, with no other information about software development.

I’d like to point out that adding 15-pin Raspberry Pi-compatible MIPI CSI/DSI connectors to the board doesn’t necessarily mean the official Raspberry Pi camera and display work with the board. From the information I have gathered, the ESP32-P4 only supports the original Raspberry Pi Camera Module (OV5647), but not the more recent Sony IMX-based modules, and the ESP-IDF framework does not seem to have native support for the Pi displays, but the ESP32-P4 MIPI DSI Support Hub repo adds support for the Raspberry Pi Touch 1/2 displays and others from DFRobot, Luckfox, etc…

The ESP32P4C5 Core board/OsprePi-P4C5-Module board is sold on AliExpress for $24.68 including shipping, but not taxes if any. It ships with two headers, an external antenna, a USB-A to USB-C cable, and MIPI cables. I could not find the 4-inch square display for sale, but you can check the company’s LCD website for more technical details or inquire with the company.

The post ESP32-P4 + ESP32-C5 board features Raspberry Pi-compatible MIPI connectors for official displays and camera modules appeared first on CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.

Back in April last year, Allwinner released the T536 SoC, and since then, we’ve seen MYiR Tech and Forlinx introduce SoM and SBC based on it. The latest to join the lineup is Boardcon, which has recently launched the PICOT536 SoM and EMT536 SBC for industrial HMI, machine vision, robotics, and other edge computing applications.

As a reminder, the Allwinner T536 SoC features a quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 CPU, XuanTie E907 and E902 RISC-V coprocessors, and a 2 TOPS NPU for edge AI. The module comes with up to 8GB LPDDR4/LPDDR4X memory, up to 64GB eMMC flash, an optional WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4 module, and a 314-pin MXM edge connector exposing I/Os such as MIPI DSI and LVDS, camera inputs, audio inputs and outputs, Gigabit Ethernet, PCIe, USB 3.0, and more.

PICOT536 System-on-Module

PICOT536 specifications:

• SoC – Allwinner T536
  • CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 at up to 1.6GHz, RISC-V XuanTie E907 at up to 600MHz, and RISC-V XuanTie E902 at up to 200MHz
  • VPU – Video decoding up to 4K (3840 x 2160) @ 15fps (MJPEG) or 1080p @ 60fps (JPEG); Video Encoding up to 4K @ 25fps (H.264)
  • NPU – 2 TOPS AI accelerator supporting INT8, UINT8, and INT16
• System Memory – 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB LPDDR4/LPDDR4X with inline ECC
• Storage – 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB eMMC flash
• Wireless – Optional on-module WiFi 6 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax) and Bluetooth 5.4 via the VS6621S80 module
• Board-to-board connector – 314-pin MXM 3.0 edge connector
  • Display – LVDS, MIPI DSI
  • Camera – 2x 4-lane or 4x 2-lane MIPI CSI
  • Networking – 2x EPHY
  • USB
    • 4x USB 2.0 Host
    • 1x USB 2.0 OTG
    • 1x USB 3.0/PCIe 2.1 interface
  • Other I/Os – 11x UART, 2x Debug, SD, 3x PWM, 3x I2C, SPI, Audio I/O, 17x GPADC, 1x LRADC
• Dimensions – 82 x 50 mm (8-layer PCB)
• Temperature Range – Commercial: 0°C to +70°C; Industrial: -40°C to +85°C

On the software side, Boardcon provides a Buildroot environment with Linux kernel 5.15.147 and U-Boot 2023.04 with boot from eMMC and firmware download via USB OTG. The company recommends using a development machine running Ubuntu 22.04, and provides a cross-compilation toolchain and tools such as SecureCRT, ADB, and PhoenixSuite for debugging. The software stack includes drivers for eMMC 5.1, USB, Ethernet, audio, display (LVDS/MIPI), and industrial interfaces like CAN, RS485, SPI, and ADC, along with support for peripherals such as WiFi and Bluetooth modules, 4G LTE via mPCIe, and NVMe SSD storage.

Boardcon EMT536 Development Board

EMT536 specifications:

• SoM – Boardcon PICOT536 as described above with Allwinner T536 SoC, up to 8GB RAM, and up to 64GB eMMC flash
• Storage
  • MicroSD card slot
  • M.2 socket for NVMe SSDs
• Display
  • LVDS up to 1920×1080 @ 60fps
  • MIPI DSI up to 1920×1200 @ 45fps
  • Only one can be used at a time
• Camera – Camera input supporting OV5640 sensor
• Audio
  • 3.5mm headset jack (input/output)
  • Speaker output header
• Networking
  • 2x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports
  • mPCIe slot and SIM card socket for 4G LTE cellular connectivity (multiplexed with USB 3.0 host)
  • 1T1R WiFi 6 & Bluetooth 5.4 (via SWT6621-based VS6621S80 module)
• USB
  • 1x USB 3.0 host (multiplexed with mPCIe slot)
  • 2x USB 2.0 host
  • 1x USB Type-C (for OTG/ADB, switchable to host mode)
• Serial – 9x UART header, 2x RS485, 2x CAN bus
• Expansion
  • M.2 M-Key socket for 2280, 2260, or 2242 NVMe SSDs
  • mPCIe slot for 4G LTE module
  • 2x GPIO headers
  • 1x ADC header
• Debugging – Standard Debug serial port and E902 Debug CPUS
• Misc
  • Power, Reset, and FEL buttons
  • RTC with coin cell battery
• Power – 12V/3A DC input via DC jack and box-type connector
• Dimensions – 180 x 120 mm
• Temperature Range – 0°C to +70°C

After checking the specifications, we can see that some features like USB 3.0, display interfaces, and PCIe are multiplexed, meaning only one can be used at a time. This is similar to the company’s previous SBCs, like the Boardcon EM3566 Linux SBC, but it uses a Rockchip SoC.

Availability and price information are not available, but you can find more details on the product page and the press release.

The post Boardcon PICOT536 SoM and EMT536 SBC feature Allwinner T536 Edge AI processor appeared first on CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.

The AMD Versal Prime VM2152 adaptive SoC is designed as a mid-range device for high-speed connectivity, with 112 Gbps transceivers and 600 GbE networking in a power-efficient package. It balances programmable logic with hardened IP blocks to simplify the design of high-throughput systems used in wired communications, aerospace, and test and measurement, without the higher power and complexity of high-end FPGAs.

Compared to the AMD Versal Prime VP1902, the VM2152 focuses more on I/O performance rather than raw logic density. While the VP1902 offers more logic cells, the VM2152 adds support for LPDDR5 memory up to 6400 Mb/s and includes a 400 Gbps High-Speed Crypto engine, making it suitable for faster, more secure data processing than Agilex 7.

AMD Versal Prime VM2152 specifications:

• Processor Subsystem
  • APU – Dual-core Arm Cortex-A72 with 48 KB / 32 KB L1 Cache (with parity & ECC) and 1 MB L2 Cache (with ECC)
  • Real-time Processing Unit (RPU) – Dual-core Arm Cortex-R5F with 32 KB / 32 KB L1 Cache and 256 KB TCM (with ECC)
  • On-Chip Memory – 256 KB with ECC
• Programmable Logic and DSP
  • System Logic Cells – 757K
  • LUTs – 346,112
  • DSP Engines – 1,704
  • Performance – 11.8 TOPS (INT8 Peak Performance)
• Memory
  • 4x DDR5 memory controllers up to 6400 Mb/s for LPDDR5 and 5600 Mb/s for DDR5
  • Block RAM – 27 Mbit
  • UltraRAM – 54 Mbit
  • PL Memory – 92 Mbit
• Display/Camera – Up to 10 Gb/s MIPI C-PHY and 4.5 Gb/s D-PHY for advanced sensor and camera module testing
• Networking
  • 2x Gigabit Ethernet
  • 2x 100 Gb/s Multirate Ethernet MAC
  • 1x 600 Gb/s Ethernet MAC
• USB – 1x USB 2.0
• Security – 400 Gb/s High-Speed Crypto (HSC) Hard IP (Full Duplex)
• Expansion
  • 2x PCIe Gen5x8 (with CPM5 DMA)
  • 2x PCIe Gen5x4 (PL PCIE5)
  • 2x UART, 2x SPI, 2x I2C, 2x CAN-FD
  • 8x GTYP Transceivers
  • 8x GTM Transceivers (58 Gb/s), supporting up to 4x 112 Gb/s connections when combined
• Packages
  • NFVD1024 – 31 x 31 mm, 0.92 mm ball pitch
  • NFVM1369 – 35 x 35 mm, 0.92 mm ball pitch
  • VSVD1760 – 40×40 mm, 0.92 mm ball pitch
  • VSVA2197 – 45×45 mm, 0.92 mm ball pitch
• Temperature
  • Industrial – -40°C to +100°C (-1MSI, -1MLI, -1LSI, -1LLI, -2MSI, -2MLI, -2LLI, -2HSI)
  • Extended – 0°C to +100°C (-1MSE, -1LSE, -2MSE, -2MLE, -2LSE, -2LLE)

The SoC is supported by the AMD Vivado Design Suite for hardware design and the AMD Vitis unified software platform for software development. You can run embedded Linux (PetaLinux) or bare-metal code on the Arm Cortex-A72 cores.

The programmable logic (FPGA fabric) and DSP blocks are used to create custom hardware accelerators, allowing you to offload compute-intensive tasks from the CPU and execute them directly in hardware. Using tools like AMD Vivado Design Suite and pre-built AMD IP cores, these blocks can be configured for high-speed, low-latency operations such as signal processing, data streaming, and networking workloads.

To simplify the development process, AMD has released the VMK180 Evaluation Kit based on the Versal Prime VM1802 adaptive SoC with 1.96M logic cells and 1,968 DSP engines. The kit also comes with 8GB DDR4 (removable) and 8GB LPDDR4 (soldered on the PCB) memory, PCIe Gen4 x8, FMC+ expansion connectors, and multiple networking interfaces, including RJ-45, SFP28, and QSFP28. It also features HDMI input/output, USB-to-UART, CAN-FD support, MicroSD storage, and a wide range of programmable clocks, along with bundled tools like Vivado and Vitis for hardware and software development.

Although it uses the VM1802, it shares the same architecture as the newer AMD Versal Prime VM2152 adaptive SoC, including Arm Cortex-A72/R5F cores, NoC, and support for Vivado and Vitis tools. This allows developers to prototype designs on the VMK180 and later move to the VM2152 for higher-speed features like 112 Gb/s transceivers, LPDDR5-6400, and 400 Gb/s crypto.

The AMD Versal Prime VM2152 adaptive SoC is now available on DigiKey, with pricing typically ranging from around $6,000 to $8,500+, depending on speed grade, package, and volume. The AMD Versal Prime Series VMK180 Evaluation Kit is also available from DigiKey for $10,316.40 or can be purchased directly from AMD for $9,345.00, with a minimum order quantity of 15 units. More information is available on the product page and press release.

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Banana Pi BPI-OM7 is an AI 3D depth camera that combines Banana Pi BPI-M7 low-profile Rockchip RK3588 SBC with an ORBBEC Gemini 2 depth camera, targeting applications in 3D vision, robotics, edge AI, and spatial perception.

The solution ships with 8GB of RAM and a 64GB eMMC flash by default, offers HDMI and USB-C video outputs, dual 2.5GbE networking, and a few USB ports. It’s mounted on a tripod for convenience.

Banana Pi BPI-OM7 specifications:

• SoC – Rockchip RK3588 octa-core processor with
  • CPU – 4x Cortex‑A76  cores @ up to 2.4 GHz, 4x Cortex‑A55 core @ 1.8 GHz
  • GPU – Arm Mali-G610 MP4 GPU
  • Video decoder – 8Kp60 H.265, VP9, AVS2, 8Kp30 H.264 AVC/MVC, 4Kp60 AV1, 1080p60 MPEG-2/-1, VC-1, VP8
  • Video encoder – 8Kp30 H.265/H.264 video encoder
  • AI accelerator – 6 TOPS NPU
• System Memory – 8GB (default), 16GB, or 32GB LPDDR4x
• Storage
  • 32GB, 64GB (default), or 128GB eMMC flash
  • M.2 Key-M 2280 (PCIe 3.0 x4) socket for NVMe SSD
  • Internal microSD card slot
• Video Output
  • HDMI 2.1 port up to 8Kp60
  • USB-C port with DisplayPort Alt mode up to 8Kp30
• Camera  – ORBBEC Gemini 2
  • ASIC – Orbbec MX6600 depth engine chip
  • RGB camera
    • Resolution/FPS – Up to 1920×1080 @ 30fps
    • FOV – H: 86°; V: 55°
  • 3D depth camera
    • Depth Technology – Active Stereo IR
    • Wavelength – 850nm
    • Range – 0.15 to 10m with ≤ 2% @ 2m precision
    • Resolution/FPS – Up to 1280×80 @ 30fps
    • FOV – H: 91°; V: 66°
  • Hardware D2C functionality (depth and RGB image pixel-by-pixel alignment)
  • Sensor – Built-in 6-axis IMU
• Audio
  • Audio output via HDMI or USB-C
  • Internal speaker connector
• Networking
  • 2x 2.5 GbE RJ45 ports
  • WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 via AP6275S module
• USB – 1x USB 3.0 (5 Gbps) port, 1x USB 2.0 port, 1x USB 3.1 Type-C port with DP 1.4 Alt. mode
• Expansion
  • M.2 Key-M 2280 (PCIe 3.0 x4) socket
  • Internal 40-pin Raspberry Pi-compatible header.
• Misc
  • 2x LEDs
  • RTC battery (TBC)
• Power Supply – Via USB-C PD port
• Dimensions – TBD

The documentation is all over the place as the company simply lists the specs of the SBC and camera separately, but the Getting Started Guide is the important part, where users are shown how to use a soon-to-be-released Ubuntu 24.04 OS (BPI-OM7-Ubuntu-24.04-preinstalled-desktop-arm64.img) with Docker to install the Orbbec SDK, the RKNPU/RKNN toolkit for the built-in NPU, and run various samples (YOLO5, Orbbec multi-stream demo) leveraging the combo.

It also works with the Orbbec Viewer, which we had tested with the Femto Mega 3D camera. Another location to look is the BPI-OM7-orbbec_reconstruction repo on GitHub. The “Orbbec Reconstruction Toolkit” is described as a “practical C++ point-cloud workflow for Orbbec capture, object extraction, denoising, registration, and visualization” tested on the BPI-OM7 AI 3D vision platform running the aforementioned Ubuntu 24.04 image. You can check a (somewhat unconvincing) demo in the video below.

Banana Pi sells the BPI-OM7 AI 3D camera on AliExpress for $739.36 plus shipping and potentially taxes. For reference, the NVIDIA Jetson Nano-based Orbbec Femto Mega sold for $649.99 when I reviewed it in 2023/2024, and still does, so the price range looks normal for this type of camera. Purchasing the Banana Pi BPI-OM7 SBC (8GB/64GB) and Gemini 2 camera separately would cost $327.66 plus $240 or $567.60, to which you’d still need to add a power supply, metal case, and tripod. Looking at it that way, the ~$740 price tag does not seem that attractive after all, and they should probably shave $100 off…

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Prunt Board 3 is a 3D printer control board with six TMC2240 stepper drivers, two 15A heater outputs, four fan outputs, four thermistor inputs, and four endstop inputs that is designed to offer smoother and quieter operation.

The hardware is said to offer better ESD protection than boards such as the Duet 3 Mini 5+ or BTT SKR 3 EZ and supports hardware-accelerated step generation, but the magic happens with the Prunt firmware and associated server, which enable a 31-phase velocity profile for smoother operation and higher-quality prints compared to boards running Klipper or Marlin firmware. Let’s have a look at the hardware first.

Prunt Board 3 specifications:

• 6x TMC2240 stepper drivers, all capable of running at 3A with minimal airflow
• 2x 15A heater outputs with short circuit protection (1.3 µs response time)
• Fan outputs
  • 4x fan outputs supporting 2, 3, and 4-pin fans, all up to 2A with short circuit protection
  • Individual current limit per output
  • Hardware counters for high-speed fan tachometers
• 4x thermistor inputs
  • Buffered to reduce noise and increase the maximum ADC sample rate
  • Support PT1000 and most common NTC thermistors with protection against shorts to other wires on both pins, including heaters
• 4x endstop inputs
  • Input OVP – Fully protected
  • Power OVP – Diode protection
  • Dedicated power rail
• Software or hardware-powered step generation for precise timings and step rates
• Host interface – Fully isolated USB Type-B port for connection to host
• Power Supply – TBD
• Dimensions – 144 x 117 mm

Prunt firmware and software relies on G4 motion profiles as opposed to G1 profiles, as explained by the developer:

Most popular 3D printer motion controllers (Klipper, Marlin, RepRapFirmware) top out at 3-phase G¹ tangential motion profiles: a trapezoidal velocity curve where acceleration is always either zero or the maximum allowed value. The problem is that real-world objects simply cannot change acceleration instantaneously. Forcing 3D printer motors to try results in vibrations, ringing artifacts in prints, and accelerated wear on components.

Some commercial and niche open-source controllers step things up with a trapezoidal acceleration curve, a 7-phase “s-curve,” which is meaningfully better but still describes motion that isn’t physically possible.

Prunt Board 3 goes two steps further. By making the 4th derivative of acceleration a rectangular wave, we arrive at a 31-phase velocity profile with significantly smoother motion. To make this concrete, we’ve plotted velocity and its first 4 derivatives for both 3-phase and 31-phase profiles. Every plot was generated in Prunt motion controller itself, because Prunt lets you set tangential limits for each derivative individually, meaning you can emulate other controllers by tweaking a few parameters in the GUI.

The Prunt motion controller also supports advanced corner blending using a degree-15 Bézier curve instead of relying on a brief period of infinite axial acceleration at every corner. Improved motion profiles and corner blending benefit not only print quality and speed, but also enable somewhat quieter printing, as demonstrated in the short video below.

You’ll find hardware and software documentation on the project’s website, where I also learned that the board can be switched into Klipper/Kalico mode by installing a jumper, so you can easily compare Prunt and Klipper on the same hardware. The STM32 firmware and server source code, both written with the Ada programming language, can be found on GitHub, along with binary releases. The server requires a Linux machine, and while Raspberry Pi 4/5 can be used, we’re told that they “may not be powerful enough to run the current version of the server software under all circumstances”, and they plan to tune the software in a future release to improve that part. I also found a version of the software for laser engravers, but it’s only intended to be used by professionals for safety reasons.

Prunt 3D has just launched the Prunt Board 3 on Crowd Supply with a $9,500 funding target. A $180 pledge is requested for the board, including free shipping to the US, but a $1 shipping fee is added for the rest of the world. Deliveries are scheduled to start by September 9, 2026.

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ESP-FLY DIY kit is a miniature DIY drone kit based on Seeed Studio’s XIAO ESP32-S3 board that was initially introduced as a DIY project on Instructables by Max Imagination, but is now available as a complete kit for $59.99 on Seeed Studio.

It’s certainly not the first ESP32 drone, but the ESP-FLY drone must be the smallest, as the miniature (67 x 67 x 31mm) quadcopter design allows users to store into any pocket or small boxes. It’s mainly designed for STEM education,  hobbyist DIY Projects, and indoor flight practice.

ESP-FLY drone kit key features and specifications:

• Main Controller – Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-S3 board
  • Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3R8
    • CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller @ 240 MHz
    • System Memory – 512KB SRAM, 8MB PSRAM
    • Wireless – Wi-Fi 4 & Bluetooth 5.0 dual-mode (Classic + BLE) connectivity
  • Storage – 8MB SPI flash
  • Antenna – External u.FL antenna
  • USB – USB Type-C port for power and programming
• Flight System
  • MPU6050 IMU sensor
  • 4x 615 Coreless Motors (70,000 RPM)
  • 4x 30mm propellers (CW & CCW)
• Connectivity
  • 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi (AP mode) and ESP-NOW
  • Control Range – About 50m via smartphone and 200m via ESP-NOW controller
• Power
  • 3.7V 250mAh 25C LiPo Battery
  • Flight Time – ~5 minutes
  • Charging – 5V via USB-C port on the XIAO board
• Dimensions – 67 x 67 x 31mm
• Weight – 25 grams with battery

The firmware is the same as for the Circuit Digest LiteWing DIY ESP32 drone, which you’ll find on GitHub, and relies on the ESP-Drone Android app for control from a smartphone, or you could use an ESP-NOW radio controller instead.

The cost of the list of parts is estimated at about $37 on Instructables, but that also includes ordering a custom PCB, printing the plastic parts, and ordering from various sources. The $59.99 ESP-DIY kit on Seeed Studio has everything you need to get started.

As we could have guessed from the product name “ESP-FLY kit”, the drone comes in a kit, and you’ll still need to do some assembly and soldering, as shown in the video below, but that’s part of the fun!

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Unitree has extended its R1 dual‑arm humanoid robot family with new R1-A5 and R1-A7 models, which can be fitted with 2-finger grippers or 3 or 5-finger dexterous hands, and attached to a fixed base or a wheeled base for indoor mobility.

The new robots appear based on the low-cost Unitree R1 platform launched last year, which can dance, walk, run, perform kung-fu moves, and chat with users, but is otherwise not overly useful since it lacks dexterous hands. The R1-A5 and R1-A7 won’t be able to dance, since they don’t come with legs, but the upper body comes with a head and two arms equipped with grippers or dexterous hands, which could perform useful tasks in combination with binocular vision.

Four new models are available with the following specifications:

They mostly share the same specifications, but the R1-A7 has longer arms and adds 4 degrees of freedom (2 extra per arm), while the -D variants feature a wheeled base with a LiDAR.

The binocular module provides an RGB and depth maps with 1280×720 @ 30 Hz and 544 x 488 @ 10 Hz resolution and frame rates, respectively. It appears five types of Dex actuators are available.

The base price of $4,290 is impressive. However, that should be for the R1-A5 without actuators and other options, and once you add hands, an optional NVIDIA Jetson  Orin module, and a fixed or wheeled base, the total cost will be quite higher.

It looks to be especially useful for factory and warehouse operations, and it’s still not targeted at home uses, so it won’t be your next robotic maid, but at least the new models have some use besides being an “intelligent companion”, as the R1 was advertised.

You’ll think Unitree would upload a video showing the capability of the robot they’ve just announced on X, but I could not find any, except for some very short demos with the grippers on Bilibili. Assuming the R1-A5/A7  robot can be fitted with the Dex5 dexterous hand introduced last year, the video embedded below may give an idea of what’s possible with this higher-end option.

The new R1-A5 and R1-A7 are not listed on the Unitree website just yet, but you can still check the earlier R1 humanoid robot which relies on the same electronics, and the capabilities of the various Dex dexterous hands offered by the company.

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Following the well-advertised Raspberry Pi 4/5 price hikes, we’ve just written an article about some SBCs quadrupling in price since 2024 due to RAM price increases, and another victim appears to be NVIDIA Jetson modules relying on LPDDR4 memory.

That’s according to a lifecycle update by Connect Tech that claims that “due to changes in global DRAM market dynamics, NVIDIA has indicated that supply and pricing for LPDDR4-based modules have become increasingly constrained. As a result, NVIDIA is accelerating End-of-Life (EOL) timelines for” specific modules.

Four families are impacted:

• NVIDIA Jetson TX2 NX (4GB and 8GB)
• NVIDIA Jetson TX2i (all SKUs)
• NVIDIA Jetson AGX Xavier (32GB and Industrial)
• NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX

All these modules were released in 2021 or before. The end-of-life timeline is as follows:

• Now – All new purchase orders for products integrating TX2 NX, TX2i, AGX Xavier, and Xavier NX modules are Non-Cancelable, Non-Returnable (NCNR)
• July 1, 2026 – CTI last time buy of TX2 NX, TX2i, AGX Xavier, and Xavier NX modules (final purchase orders accepted)
• July 15, 2026 – All existing purchase orders for products integrating TX2 NX, TX2i, AGX Xavier, and Xavier NX modules convert to NCNR
• July 15, 2027 – Last time ship for orders with products integrating TX2 NX, TX2i, AGX Xavier, and Xavier NX modules

Connect Tech carrier says their carrier board will continue to be supported, but long-term availability of LPDDR4-based NVIDIA Jetson modules will be challenging and depend on NVIDIA’s supply availability. They will also help customers migrate to NVIDIA Jetson Orin or other newer platforms:

We will define migration paths to next-generation platforms, including NVIDIA Jetson Orin and emerging architectures, aligned to your application and  lifecycle requirements. We will provide supporting collateral, guidance, and documentation to enable informed planning and execution of migration strategie

I’d expect other companies to issue similar end-of-life notices for products based on Jetson Xavier and TX2 NX/TX2i modules.

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Forlinx Embedded UP4 is a new family of pin-to-pin compatible system-on-modules currently offered with Rockchip RK3568J/RK3562J, NXP i.MX 9352, or Allwinner T527N/T536 processors.

The UP4 modules measure just 40×40 mm and expose 487 pins through a hybrid LCC (Leadless Chip Carrier) and LGA (Land Grid Array) design with 1.0mm contact pitch and 1.27mm ball pitch, respectively. This should allow companies to design a single carrier board for multiple CPU variants.

Forlinx UP4 specifications:

• SoC
  • FET-MX9352-UP4 – NXP i.MX 9352 with 2x Arm Cortex-A55 cores @ up to 1.7 GHz, Cortex-M33 real-time core @ 250 MHz, 2D GPU only, 0.5 TOPS Arm Ethos U65 microNPU
  • FET3568-UP4 – Rockchip RK3568B2/J with 4x Arm Cortex-A55 cores @ up to 2.0/1.8 GHz, Arm Mali-G52 MP2 3D GPU, 1 TOPS AI NPU
  • FET3562J-UP4 – Rockchip RK3562J with 4x Arm Cortex-A53 cores @ 1.8 GHz,  Arm Mali-G52-2EE 3D GPU, 1 TOPS NPU
  • FET527N-UP4 – Allwinner T527N with octa-core CPU (4x Arm Cortex-A55 cores @ 1.8GHz + 4x Arm Cortex-A55 cores @ 1.4GHz), 200 MHz RISC-V core, 600MHz HiFi4 DSP, Arm G57 MC1 3D GPU, and 2 TOPS NPU
  • FET536-UP4 – Allwinner T536 with 4x Arm Cortex-A55 cores @ up to 1.6GHz, 600 MHz RISC-V core, low-power RISC-V core, 2D GPU, 2 TOPS NPU
• System Memory / Storage
  • NXP – 1GB LPDDR4 + 8GB eMMC flash
  • Rockchip RK3568 – 4GB or 8GB LPDDR4X + 32GB or 64GB eMMC flash
  • Rockchip RK3562J – 1GB or 2GB LPDDR4 + 8GB or 16GB eMMC flash
  • Allwinner T527N – 2GB or4GB LPDDR4 + 16GB or 32GB eMMC flash
• LCC castellated holes and LGA pads
  • Storage
    • Up to 2x SD/SDIO
    • FSPI for serial NOR/NAND flash (Rockchip only)
    • Up to 3x SATA (Rockchip only)
  • Display
    • HDMI 2.0 up to 4096×2304 @ 60Hz  (Rockchip RK3568/Allwinner T527N)
    • 24-bit parallel RGB up to 1280 x 800 @ 60 Hz,  1366 x 768 @ 60 Hz, or 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz depending on SoC
    • LVDS up to 1280 x 800 @ 60 Hz, 1366 x 768 @ 60 Hz, or 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz depending on SoC
    • Up to 2x 4-lane MIPI DSI up to 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz or 2048 x 1080 @ 60Hz depending on SoC
    • eDP 1.3 up to 2560 x 1600 @ 60Hz (Rockchip RK3568) or 4K @ 30 Hz (Allwinner T527N)
  • Camera
    • Up to 4x MIPI CSI
    • Parallel CSI (Allwinner only)
  • Audio
    • Up to 3x  SAI or 4x I2S, depending on SoC
    • Up to 2x MQS (NXP only)
    • Up to 3x PDM, up to 2x 8-channel DMIC (Allwinner T527N)
    • Up to 1x S/PDIF (Rockchip RK3562)
    • Built-in audio codec (Rockchip RK3562/Allwinner T536)
    • Up to 1x single-wire audio (Allwinner only)
  • Networking – Up to 2x Gigabit Ethernet, one with optional TSN (NXP); RJ3562J: GbE + FE instead
  • USB
    • Up to 2x USB 2.0 Host/OTG
    • Up to 2x USB 3.0
  • PCIe – Up to 2x PCIe Gen3 x2 (RK3568) or 1x PCIe Gen2.1 x1 (RK3562/T527N/T536)
  • Low-speed I/Os
    • Up to 10x UART
    • Up to 3x CAN 2.0B
    • Up to 8x I2C, 2x I3C (NXP only)
    • Up to 8x SPI
    • Up to 28x ADC (the number of ADCs highly depends on the selected SoC; Allwinner T536 has the most)
    • Up to 34x PWM (the number of PWMs highly depends on the selected SoC; Allwinner T536has the most)
    • Up to 1x IR Tx, up to 4x Rx (Infrared on Allwinner only)
  • Debugging – JTAG (NXP only)
• Supply Voltage – 5V
• Dimensions – 40 x 40 x 1.2 mm
• Temperature Range – -40°C ~ +85°C

It’s not the first time we’ve seen a hybrid LCC + BGA design for system-on-modules, and earlier examples include the MYIR Tech MYC-YR3562 and Forlinx FET-MA35-S2. Here, the company provides various processor options for the same design, so it should be easier to evaluate various solutions during development. It offers an alternative to the OSM Size L standard (45x45mm with 662 contacts), with a smaller footprint, but offering fewer I/Os and not being an industry standard.

I  initially assumed it would allow easier switching between variants later on in case of unexpected technical or logistical issues, or simply to provide different variants of a specific product. But in practice, while all modules share the same footprint, they are only pin-to-pin compatible with a few common interfaces, such as dual Ethernet, USB 2.0, a few I2C, SPI, UART, and so on, and differ a lot in terms of I/O capabilities. Multimedia capabilities also vary, with some only equipped with a 2D GPU,  while others feature a 3D GPU.

The FET-MX9352-UP4 targets industrial applications, the FET3568-UP4 high-performance edge AI, the FET3562J-UP4 industrial AI and vision, the GET527N-UP4 high-performance edge computing, and the FET536-UP4 industrial AI and vision.

Software support also varies. Forlinx lists Linux 5.10.198 + Qt 5.15.8 for the T536 module, Linux 5.15.104 + Qt 5.12.5 for the T527N SoM, Linux 6.1.36 + Qt 6.5.0 for the NXP module, Linux 5.10.160 + Qt 5.15.8 for the RK3568 module, and Linux 5.10.198 + Qt 5.15 for the RK3562 SoM. Unsurprisingly, NXP has the most recent software package.

The company has yet to provide pricing or a product page for each of the modules, and instead, you can find an overview and product briefs on a dedicated page for the Forlinx UP4 system-on-module family.

The post Forlinx UP4 – A 40×40 mm LCC + LGA system-on-module family with Rockchip, NXP, and Allwinner CPU options appeared first on CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.

The kit is essentially a modular upgrade to the original Cardputer, where the base unit handles the UI via a 56-key keyboard and a 1.14-inch LCD. The added “Cap” module adds a Semtech SX1262 transceiver and an AT6668 GNSS module, allowing for off-grid text messaging and GPS location tracking without relying on cellular networks.

Cardputer Mesh Kit specifications:

• Core Controller (Cardputer-Adv):
  • Wireless MCU module – M5Stack M5Stamp S3A with
    • SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3FN8
      • CPU
        • Dual-core 32-bit Xtensa LX7 microcontroller with AI vector instructions up to 240MHz
        • RISC-V ULP co-processor
      • Memory – 512KB SRAM
      • Storage – 8MB flash
      • Wireless – 2.4GHz WiFi 4 (802.11b/g/n), Bluetooth 5.0 BLE + Mesh
    • 2.4GHz 3D antenna
    • USB – 1x USB Type-C port
    • Expansion connectors for I/Os such as SPI, I2C, UART, ADC, and more
  • Storage – MicroSD card socket
  • Display – 1.14-inch IPS LCD with 240×135 resolution using ST7789V2 driver
  • Audio
    • 1W speaker with NS4150B amplifier
    • High SNR (65dB) MEMS microphone
    • 3.5mm audio output jack
  • User input – 56-key keyboard (4x 14-key matrix); note: key actuation force reduced from 260 gf to 160 gf
  • Sensor – BMI270 6-axis motion sensor
  • Expansion
    • 4-pin Grove connector with I2C (5V)
    • 14-pin 2.54mm pitch expansion bus
  • Misc
    • Reset button, user button
    • On/Off switch
    • IR transmitter
    • Built-in magnet used for mounting, e.g. attached to a fridge or whiteboard
    • Compatible with LEGO hole extensions
    • Lanyard hole
  • Power Supply
    • Built-in 1750mAh Li-ion battery (instead of 1,400 mAh battery + 120 mAh battery)
    • Built-in battery charging and voltage regulation
    • Charging via USB-C port on the M5Stamp S3A module
• Communication Module (Cap LoRa-1262):
  • LoRa Radio – Semtech SX1262
    • Frequency – 868MHz to 923MHz
    • Sensitivity– -147 dBm (low data rate mode)
    • Transmit Power – +22 dBm
    • Modulation – LoRa, FSK, GFSK, MSK, OOK
    • Antenna – External SMA “rubber duck” antenna (internal thread, internal hole)
  • GNSS (Global Positioning) – ATGM336H-6N (based on AT6668)
    • Systems – GPS, BeiDou (BD2/BD3), GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS
    • Accuracy– <1.5m (CEP50)
    • Sensitivity – -162dBm (Tracking) / -148dBm (Cold Start)
    • Antenna – Built-in ceramic antenna
• Expansion
  • 2x 4-pin Grove ports (one on Cardputer, one on Cap)
  • 14-pin 2.54mm pitch expansion bus connecting the two units
• Mechanical – 84 x 54 x 34.8mm (combined, slightly bigger than the Cardputer-Adv)
• Mounting – LEGO-compatible mounting holes with magnetic back

On the software side, the kit comes pre-flashed with Meshtastic firmware. However, because it is based on the M5Stack ecosystem, it remains fully open for custom development. Users can program the device using the Arduino IDE, ESP-IDF, or UiFlow2. M5Stack has already provided the necessary libraries for RadioLib (LoRa) and TinyGPSPlus (GNSS) to simplify development.

The device is also supported by the Meshtastic Web Flasher, so you can easily install or update Meshtastic directly from your browser. Just select the device, pick the firmware, and click flash. No extra software needed. It competes against other similar products such as the Trail Mat off-grid communicator, the LILYGO T-LoRa Pager, and the LILYGO T-Deck Pro. 

The M5Stack Cardputer Mesh Kit is available now for $48.00 on Aliexpress and on the M5Stack store. In the box, you will receive the Cardputer-Adv, the LoRa/GNSS module, an antenna, and the M2 screws required for assembly. More technical documentation and schematics are available on the documentation website. For those who already have the Cardputer-Adv module, you can purchase the Cap LoRa-1262 separately for $14.50 on AliExpress or the M5Stack store.

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STMicroelectronics VD65G4 and VD55G4 are ultra-low-power 0.56-megapixel global shutter CMOS image sensors designed for battery-operated edge AI and always-on vision applications.

The main difference between the two sensors is that the VD65G4 features a color RGB Bayer pattern, while the VD55G4 is a monochrome sensor designed to capture visible to near-infrared (NIR) light. Both sensors use a compact 1/9-inch optical format and a 2.16 µm pixel pitch, utilizing Back Side Illuminated (BSI), CDTI, and 3D stacking technologies to achieve a tiny 2.73 x 2.16 mm bare-die footprint.

STMicro VD65G4 and VD55G4 specifications:

• Resolution – 0.56 MP (804 x 704)
• Chroma
  • VD65G4 – RGB Bayer (RGGB).
  • VD55G4  – Monochrome (Clear, Visible to NIR).
• Optical Characteristics – 1/9-inch (2.3mm) optical format with a 30° linear CRA and close to 1:1 aspect ratio.
• Pixel Technology – 2.16 µm x 2.16 µm pixel size utilizing global shutter, BSI, CDTI, and 3D stacking.
• Frame Rates – Up to 184 fps at full resolution, 271 fps at VGA, and 480 fps at QVGA.
• Dynamic Range – 68 dB.
• Output formats – RAW8, RAW10.
• Interfaces
  • Data – MIPI CSI-2 (1-lane), I3C, or SPI (1-lane)
  • Control – I2C (up to 1 MHz) or I3C (up to 12.5 MHz)
• Misc
  • Hardware autoexposure
  • Automatic dark calibration
  • Noise reduction
  • Defective pixel correction
  • Gamma correction
  • Background removal (image difference mode)
  • 4×4 programmable frame statistics
  • Context management (up to 4 contexts)
• Power
  • VCORE – 1.1 V
  • VDDIO – 1.2 V or 1.8 V
  • VANA – 2.8 V.
  • Consumption – 35 mW typical @ 60 fps, 1-2 mW in auto wake-up mode, 0.8 mW in standby
• Dimensions – 43-pin bare die in reconstructed wafer, 2.73 x 2.16 mm footprint.
• Temperature Range – -30°C to 85°C

The tiny, low-resolution sensors are optimized for wearables, AR/VR headsets, and smart home appliances. The sensors consume 35 mW typically at 60 fps, but more importantly, feature an “auto wake-up” mode that draws just 1 to 2 mW.

ST positions this as an ultra-low-power alternative to PIR sensors in smart IP cameras to reduce false alerts. In this sleepy mode, the sensor can autonomously detect motion, waking up the host MCU/SoC only when an event occurs. This allows the system to activate a primary, higher-resolution camera only when necessary, eliminating the need for inefficient 24/7 continuous video streaming.

To reduce the workload on the main processor, ST integrates several hardware features directly into the sensor via its 3D-stacked design, including autoexposure and noise reduction. The sensor can also handle tasks like generating 4×4 frame statistics, managing multiple settings (contexts), and removing background by comparing consecutive frames, all on-chip.

To simplify the development, the company is developing the CAM-65G4 and CAM-55G4 Promodule evaluation camera modules, as well as the VD65G4 and VD55G4 S-Boards, which it says will soon be available for online purchase.

The P-Board (STEVAL-CAM-M0I1) is a simple development kit that connects ST BrightSense camera modules. It features a MIPI CSI-2 output with I²C control and connects via an FFC cable for quick plug-and-play integration with systems like Raspberry Pi and STM32. The board supports interchangeable promodules with different sensors and lenses, making it easy to test multiple setups.

Additionally, the company offers the EVK Main (STEVAL-EVK-U0I1), a USB-based evaluation kit for testing the image sensors on a PC. It includes a main board with USB-C (USB 3.0) output and a mechanical holder. It also includes a quick plug-and-play setup with free STSW-IMG501 software for live streaming and testing. The kit supports both ready-to-use promodules and custom setups with M12 lenses via S-Boards, making it reusable across different development stages.

On the software side, ST is developing a full Software Development Kit (SDK) with drivers and dedicated evaluation software. Currently, the software is marked as “upcoming,” with only the hardware sensors and datasheets available. In the near future, developers can expect access to ready-to-use drivers for platforms like STM32 and Raspberry Pi, along with example code, open user manuals, and step-by-step tutorials designed to accelerate edge AI and embedded vision projects.

The VD55G4 and VD65G4 image sensors are currently listed in preview status and are not yet available through distributors. However, at the time of writing, the development boards are available for purchase, with the STEVAL-CAM-M0I1 P-Board priced at around $38.18 in small quantities, and the STEVAL-EVK-U0I1 EVK Main USB evaluation kit available for about $160.87. More details can be found on their respective product pages and in the press release.

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The MiciMike Home Mini Drop-In PCB is an open-source replacement mainboard designed to convert a 1st Gen Google Home Mini into a fully local, privacy-focused voice assistant running Home Assistant Voice. Built around an ESP32-S3 MCU and an XMOS XU316 audio processor, it removes cloud dependencies without any case modifications or soldering.

The board offers on-device wake word detection, echo cancellation, and noise suppression via two MEMS microphones, and comes pre-flashed with ESPHome for easy Home Assistant integration. The PCBA fully supports local voice processing, optional cloud LLM integration, media playback, and Snapcast. It’s released as open hardware under the CERN-OHL-S v2 license, with complete design files available, making it suitable for privacy-focused smart-home automation, DIY voice assistants, and hardware-reuse projects.

MiciMike Home Mini Drop-In PCB specifications:

• Compatibility – Google Home Mini 1st generation
• Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3
  • CPU –  Dual-core Xtensa LX7 microcontroller @ up to 240 MHz
  • System Memory – 8MB PSRAM
  • Storage – 16MB flash
  • Wireless – 2.4 GHz WiFi 4, and Bluetooth 5.0 LE
• Audio
  • XMOS XU316 dedicated audio processor featuring Echo Cancellation (AEC) and noise suppression
  • 2x on-board MEMS microphones (aligned to the original Google Home Mini positions)
  • Custom FPC connector to reuse the original internal speaker
• Misc – Native support for the original hardware mute switch (physically disconnects the microphones)
• Dimensions – 72 × 70 mm, 4-layer PCB (exact footprint of the original mainboard)

On the software side, the board ships with pre-flashed ESPHome firmware and integrates with the Home Assistant Voice Assistant (Assist) pipeline. It also supports Music Assistant and standard media playback. The hardware design is fully open-source under the CERN-OHL-S v2 license, with schematics, BOM, and PCB design files publicly available on GitHub, where you’ll also find a detailed step-by-step installation guide.

Previously, we saw Waveshare introduce the ESP32-S3-AUDIO-Board, an open-source speaker platform based on the ESP32-S3. A project even more closely related to the MiciMike is the Onju Voice v2, which provides a drop-in PCB for the Google Nest Mini (2nd gen) using the same ESP32-S3. It’s not available, but you can order the PCB and make it yourself.

The device is designed by MiciMike ReV Devices in Ireland, and the campaign has already surpassed its $8,000 funding goal. The MiciMike Home Mini Drop-In PCB is available on CrowdSupply for $85, and ships with the required JS05B-16P-050-4-8 FPC cable. Shipping is free within the US and $12 worldwide, with deliveries expected to begin around October 1, 2026.

The post MiciMike’s open-source drop-in PCB converts Google Home Mini into a local voice assistant (Crowdfunding) appeared first on CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.

SONOFF NSPanel Pro Gen2 is an 86-type Smart Home control panel featuring a 3.95-inch touch display, two relays supporting up to 10A, and dual-band WiFi 4, Bluetooth LE, and Zigbee 3.0 connectivity.

The device also integrates a 1.5W speaker and a microphone for voice interaction, light and proximity sensors, and runs Android on a Rockchip RK3326-S SoC paired with 2GB RAM and 32GB eMMC flash.

SONOFF NSPanel Pro Gen2 specifications:

• SoC – Rockchip RK3326-S
  • CPU – Quad-core Cortex-A35 processor @ 1.5 GHz
  • GPU – Arm Mali-G31 GPU
• System Memory – 2GB DDR3
• Storage – 32GB eMMC 5.1 flash
• Display – 3.95-inch capacitive touchscreen color TFT display with 480×480 resolution
• Audio – 1.5W speaker, digital microphone for two-way communication (intercom)
• Connectivity
  • Zigbee 3.0 support via EFR32MG24
  • Dual-band 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WiFi + Bluetooth
  • Matter support
• Relay – Dual-gang relay up to 5A per gang, or 10A in total (resistive load)
• Sensor
  • Light sensor for automatic brightness adjustments
  • Proximity sensor
• Power Input – 100-240V AC 50/60Hz
• Dimensions – 86 x 86 x 39.5mm; 49 x 49 x 25.5 mm for the section meant to be installed into the wall.

The NSPanel Pro Gen2 runs Android with F-Droip app store support. The device is designed for the eWelink app, but also works with Home Assistant, Google Home, Apple Home, and Amazon Alexa. It can act as a Zigbee Hub or a Zigbee Router, and features a built-in Matter bridge for Matter compatibility with SONOFF and third-party WiFi and Zigbee devices and Matter platforms.

SONOFF also highlights support for theme customization, the ability to visit websites, a home security mode (away or at home), integration with smart cameras to use it as a video doorbell, and integration with energy-monitoring solutions.

As one would expect, the NSPanel Pro Gen2 builds upon the NSPanel Pro. The main differences are the dual-channel relay, Rockchip RK3326-S processor instead of PX30, more storage (32GB vs 8GB), dual-band WiFi support, a more recent MG24 Zigbee 3.0 MCU instead of MG21, and a louder 1.5 Watts speaker. We reviewed the NSPanel Pro (86) in 2022 with Zigbee modules and the CAM Slim WiFi camera, and found it worked reasonably well with eWelink, although Suthinee encountered a few bugs, and some features (e.g., scenes) were yet to be implemented at the time. The Smart Home market has evolved quite a lot since then, with Home Assistant being more prominent, and Matter gaining traction.

The NSPanel Pro Gen2 is up for pre-order for $116.90 in white or dim gray, with shipping scheduled to start by June 15. If you don’t plan to use the relay, you may want to add the Desk Enclosure for $9.90 as an option. As usual, you can get a 10% discount with the coupon CNXSOFT, bringing the price down to $105.21 with free shipping.

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MoreSense MS-07 indoor air quality monitor is built around the Sensirion SEN66 multisensor, powered by an ESP32-S3 microcontroller, and features a 3.5-inch capacitive IPS touchscreen for local data visualization and control.

The MS-07 is a direct upgrade to the earlier MS-06, replacing the Sensirion SCD40 used for basic CO₂, temperature, and humidity measurement with the more advanced Sensirion SEN66 multisensor, which adds support for PM1.0, PM2.5, PM4.0, PM10, nitrogen oxides (NOx), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Like the previous model, it focuses on local operation and privacy, and supports integration with Home Assistant and Domoticz via MQTT autodiscovery, as well as Homey through the HomeyDuino app. It is typically used in homes, offices, and indoor environments to track air quality, comfort levels, and pollution metrics in real time.

MoreSense MS-07 specifications:

• Microcontroller – ESP32-S3 SoC, dual-core XTensa LX7 @ up to 240 MHz; 512KB SRAM; Integrated 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and BLE
• Storage – Included 512 MB microSD memory card for storing measurement data and audio files
• Display – 3.5-inch capacitive IPS touchscreen with a 480×320 resolution for real-time data visualization and UI navigation
• Audio – Built-in speaker for audio playback and alarms
• USB – USB Type-C port for power and programming
• Sensor – Sensirion SEN66
  • Temperature – -10°C to +60°C (±0.45°C accuracy)
  • Humidity – 0% to 100% RH (±4.5% accuracy)
  • Particulate Matter
    • PM1.0 & PM2.5 (0-1,000 µg/m³, ±5 µg/m³ accuracy)
    • PM4.0 & PM10 (0-1,000 µg/m³, ±25 µg/m³ accuracy)
  • CO₂ – 400 to 5,000 ppm (±40 ppm + 5% reading accuracy)
  • NOx Index – 1-500
  • VOC Index – 1-500
• Misc
  • Battery and Reset buttons
  • Main power toggle switch
  • Desktop or wall mount
  • 3D printed housing
• Power Supply
  • 5V via USB Type-C port (approx. ±1 Watt / ± 200 mA operating consumption)
  • Internal Panasonic NCR18650BD 3180 mAh rechargeable battery (10 hours operation)
• Dimensions – ~105 × 96 × 35 mm (with stand)

The Sensirion SEN66 multisensor in the device supports Automatic Self-Calibration (ASC), which tracks the lowest CO₂ level over a 6.5-day period and uses it as a 420 ppm fresh air baseline, with options for manual calibration using a custom reference value or outdoor air; the sensor is also rated for a lifespan of over 10 years.

The sensor also includes internal temperature compensation to maintain accurate ambient readings, which is important since the battery charging circuitry can generate up to around 2.5W of heat that would otherwise affect temperature measurements.

The microSD card logs data to a CSV file every 10 minutes. The file maxes out at 56,880 records, which equals exactly one year and 30 days before it auto-prunes.

The firmware running on the ESP32-S3 provides a built-in web server that allows users to access a dashboard from any browser on the local network to view live gauges, analyze up to a year of historical data, adjust settings, and perform OTA firmware updates. It also supports MQTT and MQTT(S) with TLS for secure messaging, as well as a REST API (HTTP GET) for direct data access, enabling integration with Home Assistant, Domoticz, and Homey without requiring any cloud services.

For automation, users can set custom warning (orange) and critical (red) thresholds for each measured parameter. When thresholds are exceeded, the device can trigger predefined HTTP GET commands, for example, to activate a Wi-Fi smart plug controlling a ventilation system, and can also play custom .wav audio alerts. The device includes a 3180 mAh battery for around 10 hours of operation, and an adjustable Eco-mode that puts the sensor into deep sleep, waking at set intervals to measure, log, and transmit data (e.g., via MQTT) before returning to low-power mode. Documentation is provided through a PDF user manual.

Previously, we have written about other air quality monitor devices, which include the Project Aura air quality monitor with the same Sensirion SEN66 multisensor, Novaduino Environmental Sensor Kit, and M5Stack Air Quality Kit v1.1, which includes a Sensirion SEN55 and SCD40 sensor for monitoring PM1.0, PM2.5, PM4, PM10 particulates, temperature, humidity, VOC, and CO2 concentration.

The MoreSense MS-07 is available on Tindie for $199.00 or Lectronz for about the same price. It ships from the Netherlands (with shipping starting at $15) and includes a 2-meter USB-A-to-USB-C cable. The device also comes with a 1-year warranty and a “no good, money back” guarantee.

The post MoreSense MS-07 – An ESP32-S3 indoor air quality monitor with SEN66 multisensor and Home Assistant support appeared first on CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.

Boardcon EM3326S is a single board computer powered by a Rockchip RK3326-S quad-core Cortex-A35 processor paired with up to 4GB LPDDR4 memory and 128GB eMMC flash.

With a 3.5mm audio jack and a speaker connector, Fast Ethernet, WiFi, and Bluetooth connectivity, the company says the board mainly targets smart audio applications. But it could certainly be used for a wider range of applications with RGB LCD and MIPI DSI display interfaces, MIPI CSI and DVP camera interfaces, an RS485 terminal block, a mini PCIe socket plus a SIM card slot for 4G LTE connectivity, and more.

Boardcon EM3326S specifications:

• SoC – Rockchip RK3326-S
  • CPU – Quad-core Cortex-A35 @ 1.5GHz with 512KB L2 cache
  • GPU – Arm Mali G31-2EE with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, DirectX 11 FL9_3, OpenCL 2.0, and Vulkan 1.0
  • VPU
    • Video Decoder – MPEG-4, H.264, H.265/HEVC, VP8, VC-1 up to 1080p60
    • Video Encoder – H.264 video encoder up to 1920×1080 @ 30 fps, or 2x 720p @ 30fps
• System Memory – 1GB, 2GB, or 4GB LPDDR4
• Storage
  • 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB,  or 128GB eMMC flash
  • MicroSD card slot (Multiplexed with Debug serial port)
• Display
  • 26-pin LVDS/MIPI-DSI header
  • 40-pin RGB LCD FPC connector
• Audio
  • 3.5mm Audio in/out jack
  • 2-pin speaker connector
• Camera
  • 24-pin 4-lane MIPI CSI FPC connector
  • 20-pin 8-bit DVP camera header
• Networking
  • 10/100 Mbps Ethernet RJ45 port via Realtek RTL8152B controller
  • 2.4GHz WiFi 4 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.2 + external WiFi antenna
  • Optional 4G LTE via mini PCIe socket and Nano SIM card slot
• USB
  • Micro USB 2.0 OTG port (Multiplexed with USB host/Ethernet/4G LTE)
  • 2x USB 2.0 host ports
• Serial
  • 3-pin RS485 terminal block
  • 3-pin serial port for debugging (multiplexed with SD card)
• Expansion
  • Recovery, Power, GPIO, and ADC expansion connector
  • 2x SPI connectors
  • GPIO and DVP header
• Misc
  • Recover, Power, and Reset buttons
  • RTC battery
  • IR recevier
• Power Supply
  • 5V/3A DC input jack
  • 4.2V Lithium-ion battery connector
• Dimensions
  • CPU module – 45 x 37 mm
  • Baseboard – 110 x 85mm
• Temperature Range –  0°C to +70°C

Boardcon provides support for Android 12 and Debian 11 for the board with fairly old Linux kernel versions: 4.19 and 5.10. It’s not exactly new since it was introduced in 2022, but I had never noticed the RK3326-S so far. I found it in another new product (article coming), so I decided to look into it.

The RK3326-S is an update to the RK3326 SoC found in products such as the ODROID-GO Advance. The main differences are the 512 KB unified L2 cache instead of 256 KB and support for LPDDR4 memory. The latter is probably why the packages are different, but likely pin compatible: the RK3326-S comes in a 14x14mm TFBGA418L package, while the older RK3326 is available in a 14x14mm TFBGA395L package. Check the datasheet for more details.

More details about the EM3326S SBC and the CM3326S system-on-module can be found on the product page.

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Waveshare ESP32-C5-WIFI6-KIT development kit looks similar to the official Espressif Systems ESP32-C5-DevkitC-1 board, but offers a wider range of options, including different PSRAM and flash capacities, and onboard or external antenna selection.

While the official devkit ships with 8MB PSRAM, 4MB SPI flash, and a PCB antenna, the Waveshare board is offered with up to 8MB PSRAM, 16MB or 32MB flash, and either a PCB and external antennas. It also adds battery support and can be ordered with or without pre-soldered headers.

Waveshare ESP32-C5-WIFI6-KIT specifications:

• Wireless module – ESP32-C5-WROOM-1 or ESP32-C5-WROOM-1U
  • SoC – ESP32-C5
    • CPU
      • Single-core 32-bit RISC-V processor @ up to 240 MHz
      • Low-power RISC-V core @ 40 MHz acting as the main processor for power-sensitive applications
    • Memory – 384 KB SRAM on-chip
    • Storage – 320 KB ROM
    • Connectivity
      • Dual-band (2.4GHz/5 GHz) 802.11ax WiFi 6, with 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 standard fallback
        • 20MHz bandwidth for the 802.11ax mode
        • 20/40MHz bandwidth for the 802.11b/g/n mode
        • OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) mechanism for both uplink and downlink
        • MU-MIMO capability for downlink
        • Target Wake Time (TWT) support
      • Bluetooth 5.0 Low Energy (LE)
      • 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee 3.0 and Thread 1.3
  • Memory – 8MB PSRAM
  • Storage – 16MB or 32MB SPI flash
  • Antenna option
    • ESP32-C5-WROOM-1 – PCB antenna
    • ESP32-C5-WROOM-1U – External antenna
• USB
  • USB Type-C port – USB 2.0 full speed up to 12 Mbps for power, programming, and JTAG debugging.
  • USB Type-C to UART port for power and firmware flashing; up to 3 Mbps baudrate.
• Expansion
  • 2x 16-pin GPIO headers compatible with ESP32-C5-DevkitC-1 headers
  • Option for soldered or unpopulated headers
• Misc
  • Charging and Power LEDs
  • RGB LED
  • Boot and Reset buttons
  • J5 jumper for current measurement
• Power Supply
  • 5V via either USB-C ports or 5V and GND pins
  • 3.3V via 3V3 and GND pins
  • 5V to 3.3V DC/DC switching regulator
  • 3.7V Lithium battery header + charging chip
• Dimensions – 61.4 x 25.4 mm

Waveshare provides instructions to get started with the ESP-IDF framework and the Arduino IDE on the documentation website, along with code samples (zip file) for WiFi, BLE, Zigbee, GPIOs, LVGL, and more, as well as hardware documentation (datasheet, schematics…). Since it’s basically an ESP32-C5-DevKitC-1 with more memory and flash, you can probably just use any code that works on the official devkit.

Waveshare sells the six variants of the ESP32-C5-WIFI6-KIT board on AliExpress for $10.79 to $15.29, on Amazon for $18.23 to $21.99, and on its own online store for $9.99 to $13.99.

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Looking back, 2024 feels like a golden year for single board computers, as the increasing price of RAM (and storage and other components) since late 2025 due to the AI demand has made those much less attractive, price/performance ratio-wise.

We’ve already documented Raspberry Pi SBC price hikes, and after several increases, the Raspberry Pi 5 16GB went from $120 to $305, or a 154% change in price. Yesterday, I noticed the Banana Pi BPI-M4 Zero had a new version with 4GB RAM and 32GB eMMC flash, and a reader was quick to point out the $181 price tag to Europe was painful, bearing in mind it also includes VAT and shipping. Looking at the original December 2023 article, the BPI-M4 Zero 2GB/8GB sold for $28.90 plus shipping, and it now shows up at $115 before taxes. That’s a 297% hike, or about four times the price from a little over two years ago.

So I thought it might be a good idea to check the price changes for several SBCs introduced in 2024, before all that craziness. I’ll use one Arm SBC from each major vendor, and also add a couple of x86 SBCs to see if they were impacted to the same extent.

Here are the candidates:

• Raspberry Pi 5 (reference) – Launched in September 2023 – Broadcom BCM2712 quad-core Cortex-A72 SBC with 4GB or 8GB LPDDR4X-4267, no default storage.
• Banana Pi BPI-M4 Zero – Launched in December 2023 – Raspberry Pi Zero-sized SBC with Allwinner H618 quad-core Cortex-A53 SoC, 2GB LPDDR4, 8GB eMMC flash.
• Orange Pi 5 Ultra – Launched in December 2024 – Rockchip RK3588 octa-core SBC with 4GB, 8GB, or 16GB LPDDR5, no default storage (except 16MB SPI flash)
• Radxa ROCK 5B+ – Launched in July 2024 – Rockchip RK3588 octa-core SBC with  4GB, 8GB, 16GB. 24GB, or 32GB LPDDR5, no default storage (except SPI  flash)
• Hardkernel ODROID-M2 – Launched in August 2024 – Rockchip RK3588S2 octa-core SBC with 8GB or 16GB 64-bit LPDDR5, 64GB eMMC flash
• FriendlyELEC NanoPi Zero2 – Launched in September 2024 – Entry-level Rockchip RK3528 SBC with 1GB or 2GB LPDDR4/LPDDR4X, no storage by default
• NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Super Developer Kit – Launched in December 2024 – Robotics/Edge AI SBC with a 6-core Arm Cortex-A78AE CPU, 8GB LPDDR5, no default storage. Note: subsidized hardware for developers.
• Radxa X4 – Launched in July 2024 – Entry-level x86 SBC with Intel N100 CPU, 4GB or 8GB LPDDR5, no storage by default (except SPI flash)
• UP Xtreme i14 – Launched in June 2024 – Higher end x86 SBC with Intel Core Ultra 5/7 Meteor Lake SoCs, up to 64GB LPDDR5, no storage by default

I’ll use the Raspberry Pi 5 8GB as a reference, so whenever possible, I’ll compare the pricing increase with 8GB variants of the boards. I used both ratio and percentage values for the price increases, depending on how you prefer to check price differences.

Some boards are out of stock, and vendors don’t rush to replenish stock for products they may not be able to sell at a profit. Talking about profit, several third-party sellers are trying to take advantage of the situation, and saw a Radxa Rock 5B+ with 8GB RAM on AliExpress for $450… Most of the prices don’t include shipping, and none integrate VAT or tariffs.

Only two products from the table didn’t see any price hike. The first is the NanoPi Zero2 1GB RAM, which is still sold for $18. The Raspberry Pi 4/5 with 1GB or 2GB RAM didn’t get price increases either, so it looks like lower capacity RAM chips are not impacted, or not too much. The second is the NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Super Developer Kit. I first thought it was because it was out of stock everywhere, but I eventually found it for the same $249 price tag on Amazon, which makes it a relatively good value.

The range of price changes from 0% to close to 300% is really amazing, so it pays off to shop around to find more affordable hardware matching your requirements.  Tinkering with SBCs in 2026 is not a low-cost hobby, and it may feel like the (AI-generated) illustration below… until things improve (next year?).

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