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M5Stack collaborates with Waylay to quicken digital transformation

Posted on by Rakesh Kumar, Ph.D.

M5Stack is proud to announce that the company has teamed up with Waylay, a leading low-code automation platform that helps companies get up and running faster and see more success. The partnership with Waylay will allow users to build applications quickly so they can reach their digital transformation goals. At its core, the partnership is about building innovative digital solutions that bring faster speed to market and a compelling experience for our clients. More than ever before, businesses today are putting digital first. Low-code development is becoming more popular everywhere in the world. Waylay is working with M5Stack to help customers who need IoT use cases and automation to use low-code to meet the growing demand for cloud-native applications. PoCs can be built in days, and they can be put into production in weeks.

M5Stack Use Case, which incorporates Waylay IO (built by Zalmotek)

Air Quality Monitoring – Waylay IO

When things are as they should be, you don’t pay much attention to the air quality. However, when it gets too bad, especially for sensitive people like children, people with cardiopulmonary diseases, and people with other respiratory illnesses, you become very aware of it. To solve this problem, they came up with a way to collect data on air quality using an IoT device, store it in the cloud, and show it in a dashboard that is easy to read. Based on the PMSA003 Digital laser dust sensor, they chose the M5Stack Air Quality Kit for this application. Based on the ESP32 SoC, the M5Stack ecosystem is beautifully put together and has a big enough screen for a User Interface. With this beautifully integrated big user interface and continuous monitoring of data, you’ll know when air pollution gets too bad. To find out more about the project, clickhere.

Health monitor – Waylay IO

M5Stack Ecosystem lets build a system without special tools for prototyping, like a soldering iron or prototyping cables. The M5Core2 IoT development kit, which is based on the ESP32 microcontroller, is the “heart” of this project. This ecosystem lets you connect the provided modules to the M5Core2 through a GROVE port, making it easy to set up hardware quickly. Using an IoT device, health parameters like body temperature, heart rate, fluid balance, and blood oxygen saturation can be collected, stored in the cloud, and shown on a dashboard in a clear way. To find out more about the project, click here.

AutomaticIndoor Garden-Waylay IO

Keeping the right environment for our green ecosystem friends is very important for their health. Keeping the soil and air at the right humidity, temperature, and light intensity not only helps plants grow faster but also makes them less likely to get sick and less stressed out. In this tutorial, you get to know on how to build a simple indoor garden that takes care of itself. The system will automatically water itself and keep track of data about the environment, which we’ll be able to see on a cool dashboard. The M5Core2 IoT development kit, which is based on the ESP32 microcontroller, is the brain of this project. This development kit comes with modules that you can connect to a GROVE port, and it also has a touchscreen that you can use to run commands and find bugs. To find out more about the project, click here.

Pet Feeding–Waylay IO

We love our pets. When you’re at home, you can easily tell what they want, but when you’re away, it’s a different story. To feed them, you will need to ask neighbors or close friends. Enough already! Let’s make a smart pet feeder that will dispense food at set times, keep track of how often the pet eats, and teach the pet to press a button to get food. The main goal of this tutorial is to show you how to use the Waylay IO low-code platform to get started with IoT development. The pet feeder is controlled by the M5Core2, which is an Internet of Things (IoT) development kit based on the ESP32 microcontroller. Through a GROVE port, you can connect the modules that come with this ecosystem to the M5Core2. This makes it easy to set up hardware quickly. To find out more about the project, click here.

About M5Stack

M5Stack is a technology company with headquarters in Shenzhen, China. Its main focus is on designing, developing, and making IoT development toolkits and solutions. With the mission “Quick and Easy IoT Development,” we are committed to providing fully functional, customizable, and cost-effective open-source IoT development toolkits and the graphic programming platform “UIFlow,” as well as IoT solutions for the smart factory, smart agriculture, smart retail, robotics, and STEM education.

About Waylay

Waylay is a leading enterprise IoT digital unification software company that offers software solutions for orchestration, automation, and analytics that don’t require a lot of coding. Waylay is very interested in helping communities of citizen developers and making sure that all user data is put to work for developers, data scientists, and domain experts. Waylay makes the transition to digital easy and lets you go from an idea to a working use case in just a few hours.

A Peek into the ESP32-S3 module-powered Industrial Edge Controller

Posted on by Rakesh Kumar, Ph.D.

EdgeBox-ESP-100 is an industrial-grade controller with a rugged architecture. It features an ESP32-S3 SoC. SeeedStudio’s latest release includes features for communicating with Fieldbus solutions, including CAN Bus, RS485, Ethernet LAN port, and other isolated peripherals. The EdgeBox-ESP-100 differs from previous SeeedStudio Edge Series products (such as the EdgeBox-RPi-200/1000) in that it incorporates the ESP32 SoC described below.

  • It has an Xtensa 32-bit LX7 dual-core (up to 240MHz), along with 512KB + 8MB RAM, 16 MB Flash storage, and 2.4GHz Wi-Fi/BLE 5.0.

ESP32-S3 SoC block diagram

The datasheet says that this device already has a 4G LTE cellular module installed (A7670G SIMCom). The EdgeBox-ESP-100 can be changed to support LoRaWAN, but this will mean that the 4G LTE module will have to be removed.

EdgeBox-ESP-100 block diagram

As you can see in the picture below, the EdgeBox-ESP-100 has a phoenix connector that gives you access to isolated I/Os like 4x digital inputs, 4x analog inputs, 6x digital outputs, and 2x analog outputs.

Phoenix connector pinout

The EdgeBox-ESP-100 can take power from 10.8V to 36V. Also, the EdgeBox-ESP-100 can work at temperatures between -20°C and 60°C. Since it is based on an ESP32 module, this industrial-embedded device can also be programmed with ESP-IDF. The STM32H747XI Dual ARM Cortex processor runs the  Arduino Opta Wi-Fi, which came out a few months ago and has similar features.

EdgeBox-ESP-100 DIN rail mounting

SeeedStudio seems to offer a 2-year warranty, and they said this product is compliant with RoHS, CE, FCC, UKCA, and TELEC. The product is not yet compliant with IEC 61131-3; for now, its status is “under development.”

The EdgeBox-ESP-100 can be bought on SeeedStudio.com for $179.00. Read the SeeedStudio blog post to find out more about the EdgeBox-ESP-100 and other Edge Series products.

M5Stack and Qubitro Join Hands for an Exciting Partnership

Posted on by Rakesh Kumar, Ph.D.

M5Stack is excited to work with Qubitro, the leading provider of an IoT application development platform, to provide customers with comprehensive, high-quality services. Through their new collaboration with Qubitro, they will be able to bring to market cutting-edge, data-driven products and services and help more companies reap the IoT’s efficiency, productivity, and sustainability benefits.

“Together with Qubitro to provide services to a wide range of customers that require low-code, easy-to-use and many other industrial solutions,” expressed Jimmy Lai, the CEO of M5Stack. “Connecting Qubitro platform via M5Stack’s UIFlow IDE, allows developers to proactively identify issues and resolve them all from one cohesive interface, and to get sensor data showing up perfectly for fast deployments, significantly reducing the time and cost, improve workflows, and increase overall customer satisfaction.”

The connection, performance, and functionalities made available by Qubitro and UIFlow make it possible to implement a wide variety of apps using M5Stack Cores based on ESP32. Qubitro’s debugging, and monitoring platform offers a great deal more than simply managed storage, the ability to visualize and comprehend metrics, and the capability to help customers correlate behaviors more accurately with the state of their devices in order to reproduce an issue and find a solution more quickly.

Tutorials that show you how to integrate M5Stack Core2 with the Qubitro platform using the UIFlow IDE in a matter of minutes!

There is additional information available at this link: https://blog.qubitro.com/qubitro-with-uiflow/.

About M5Stack

M5Stack is a technology company with headquarters in Shenzhen, China. Its main focus is on designing, developing, and making IoT development toolkits and solutions. They are committed to providing fully functional, customizable, and cost-effective open-source IoT development toolkits, an easy-to-use programming platform called “UIFlow,” and AIoT solutions for smart cities, smart agriculture, commercial purposes, industry 4.0, robotics, and STEAM education.

About Qubitro

Qubitro is a platform for building Internet of Things (IoT) applications. It lets you build IoT solutions without having to worry about infrastructure management and scaling. It is the fastest way to build IoT apps, with prices you can count on, features that are easy for developers to use, and scalability you’ll love. Qubitro offers a no-code Portal and APIs to cut costs and shorten the time it takes to get a product on the market while also making developers more productive.

Meet the new Arduboy Mini, the size of a coin pocket

Posted on by Rakesh Kumar, Ph.D.

The Arduboy Mini is a brand-new handheld gaming system that can be backed on Kickstarter. It is designed to fit into the coin pocket of your jeans, and it is available for purchase there. The layout of the Game Boy served as inspiration for the design of this diminutive gaming console, which serves as a sequel to the original Arduboy. A system that was initially introduced in 2016 by its designer, Kevin Bates, in a somewhat expanded version. Despite its little size, this handheld gaming device has many of the same advantages as the bigger Arduboy, such as an OLED display, hundreds of open-source games, and an exposed design that invites users to explore hardware hacking and coding.

A tiny OLED display and an Arduino board are used in the construction of the Arduboy Mini, just like their predecessor. In addition, there are buttons for controlling the games, and a charging port may be found on the underside of the console. A portable battery that is linked to the Arduboy Mini’s USB-C connector can be used to provide power to the device. Having said that, it is most certainly not a fully functioning console as a result of the fact that it does not contain a few of the components that one would anticipate discovering on a mobile gaming system. However, that is not necessarily a negative thing at all. And the way that it was constructed was done so for a specific reason.

The Mini has a monochromatic OLED display with 128 by 64 pixels, a 16MHz ATmega32u4 processor, and a total of six buttons, four of which are arranged on the front left side of the device like a directional pad, two of which are located on the right side and can be used as action buttons while playing games. A seventh button that may be used to reset the console can be found on the back of the device, where it is likewise situated. The tiny console comes with a library of over 300 games inspired by the 8-bit era of video games, all of which are open-source and were developed by a community of committed game developers.

To keep the gadget powered, you will only need to insert a cable that uses the USB-C standard. It comes preloaded with more than 300 games, all of which may be played on the OLED display, which has a resolution of 128 by 64 pixels with a total of six physical buttons located on the front panel for use in managing controls. The controls consist of two action buttons and four that are arranged in the shape of a pad.

In addition, there is a button on the back that can be used to reset the system. This appears to be essential in order to participate in a different game. Because the Arduboy Mini only supports 8-bit games, the gameplay mechanics of such games should be expected to be rather straightforward. If you are a fan of classic video games, this fact should not deter you from enjoying the excitement that may fit in your pocket. On the Kickstarter page for the device, you will see the option to purchase an Arduboy Mini for the price of $29. It is anticipated that units will begin shipping in June of 2023.

ArduCam Mega is a High-Quality Camera Module for all Microcontrollers with an SPI interface

Posted on by Saumitra Jagdale

There is an increase in demand for devices that perform applications like machine vision, surveillance, and robotics. ArduCam Mega is the solution that will fulfill these increasing demands of the market. The camera module with a high resolution, a small form factor, and a wide field of view. This module works with all microcontrollers with the SPI interface. Serial peripheral interface (SPI) is one of the most widely used interfaces between microcontrollers and peripheral ICs thus, there are various options for ArduCam Mega. There are two variants of the product, the 3MP model is a fixed-focus camera, and the 5MP variant supports autofocus.

Technical Specifications

  • The camera module features Arduchip, which is a camera control processor. The Arduchip is based upon ATmega328p which is a high-performance microcontroller.
  • Atmega328p is packed with 32KB ISP flash memory, 2KB SRAM and 1024B EEPROM for good data retention and durability.
  • The still resolutions of Arducam Mega are 320×240, 640×480, 1280×720 x 1600 x1200x 1920 x 1080 with a maximum resolution of 3MP and 5MP cameras 2048×1536 and 2592×1944 respectively.
  • Both variants feature a focal length of 3.3mm and a viewing angle of 68.74 degrees(diagonal). Output formats are RGB, YUV and JPEG which are some of the most widely used formats.

Wake-up time is the amount of time it takes for a camera module to be fully operational after being in a low-power state. The ArduCam mega has a rapid wake-up time of 42ms for the 3MP model, whereas it is 94ms for the 5MP variant. It is also ten times faster than the previous version of the camera.

Connectivity Features of ArduCam Mega

Arducam Mega is one camera solution for all the needs of users. This module connects with any microcontroller with an SPI interface which includes 8-bit,16-bit or 32-bit, ARM, RISC-V, and many more. The module requires only six pins to connect. The ArduCam Mega does not need memory for register settings or frame buffers. The product is fully compatible with Arduino, STM8/STM32, ESP8266/ESP32, MSP430, Nordic, Renesas, and countless more. The module needs a power supply of 3.3V and has a working power consumption of 585mW for the 3MP model and 650mW for the 5MP variant.

ArduCam offers a C/C++ SDK for Raspberry Pi RP2040, Arduino 8-bit AVR, STM32, MSP430, ESP32, ESP8266, etc.

The ArduCam Mega has a variety of applications like surveillance, environment monitoring, IoT, scientific imaging, VR, and much more. In the surveillance sector, users can capture high-resolution images or videos of a room or area with the Arducam and send them to a computer or smartphone for monitoring. It is possible to use multiple camera modules with the Arducam for monitoring wildlife or collecting data on the weather or air quality.

ArduCam Mega has raised over $12,000 on Kickstarter. The 3MP variant costs $16 and the 5MP model costs $22. For more information visit the product page.

M5Stick T-Lite Wi-Fi thermal camera powered by ESP32 microcontroller

Posted on by Saumitra Jagdale

Specialized imaging devices called thermal cameras are devices that make use of infrared radiation to detect and measure the temperatures of objects. The advantage of such cameras is that they can detect temperature differences that are not visible to the naked eye. The M5stick T-Lite is a small, lightweight, and portable thermal camera that is based on the ESP32-PICO-D4 microcontroller. The device has a built-in 1.14-inch colour LCD display for observing the output on the device itself, and a 160mAh battery backs it up. T-Lite is designed to be used as a development platform for creating Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

camera module

Technical Specifications

  • ESP-PICO-D4 systems-in-package is based upon ESP32 dual-core processor. It features a 4Mb SPI flash, 448Kb ROM combined with 520KB SRAM.
  • With an on-module 40MHz crystal clock the module has a hall sensor & a temperature sensor that can handle a diverse range of temperatures varying from -40°C to +85°C.
  • The M5stick T-lite is very compact, measuring just 35.5mm x 17.5mm x 10.5mm, and weighs only 5.5 grams.
  • The display is a 1.14-inch color TFT LCD display with a 240 x 135 resolution. The TFT technology allows for high-resolution displays with good color accuracy and fast refresh rates.

The module uses a 2 MegaPixel thermal camera which uses Melexis MLX90640 infrared sensor. It has a field of view of 110°×75° and can read temperatures from -40°C to +300°C. The sensor can handle a temperature range of -40 to +85°C which ensures that the sensor can be used in difficult industrial environments.

Connectivity Features

The ESP32-PICO-D4 has Wi-Fi 4 and Bluetooth 4.2 which enables the M5stick T-Lite to connect to various devices like smartphones, laptops, etc. The T-Lite has a built-in Lithium Polymer Battery which has a capacity of 160mAh. A 5V supply at 0.5A via a USB type-C port powers this battery, and the PMU used is AXP192. The type-C port helps charge the device faster and more efficiently.

The device is programmable with UIFlow, MIcroPython, and Arduino IDE.

This module can be used to build smart home devices such as smart thermostats, thermal security cameras, and housekeeping robots. Its Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity helps in smart home automation projects. Military drones and robots can use the camera for surveillance purposes. Environment sensing robots also have a vast application of M5stick T-Lite. The M5stick’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity and its ability to communicate with other devices using various protocols make it a good choice for building IoT projects such as smart home appliances and industrial automation systems.

The company also launched a new programmable controller based on ESP32-S3. It features an integrated Wi-Fi function and 0.85 inch IPS screen. Such modules have extensive applications in areas such as IoT nodes, the microcontroller sector, and wearable devices.

The product is sold for $79 plus shipping charges, and the AtomS3 is available at $15.50.

SparkFun Releases Miniature Barometer and Accelerometer with Enhanced Accuracy

Posted on by Saumitra Jagdale

In today’s world due to global warming and climate change, it is essential to monitor the earth’s environment. Also, there is a market for fitness bands which are devices that track the physical activities of users and their sleep cycle. SparkFun has launched a pair of new boards in the market which will fulfill demands for the environment and fitness monitoring. One of the two boards is an Absolute Digital Barometer board which is developed around STMicro’s LPS28DFW. The other board is a Triple Axis Accelerometer which uses the Bosch Sensortech BMA400 sensor. Users have some options in case space issues are a concern, as Sparkfun offers both standard-size and micro-size versions of the barometer and accelerometer.

Technical Specifications of Barometer and Accelerometer

  • The LPS28DFW is a piezoresistive absolute pressure sensor that functions as a digital output barometer in a small form factor.
  • The device comprises a sensing element and an IC interface communicating over the I²C or MIPI I3CSM interface from the sensing element to the application. The Devices incorporate I²C, a bus interface connection protocol, for serial communication
  • Bosch Sensortec´s triaxial BMA400 is the first ultra-low power acceleration sensor. Wearable devices, which need long-lasting battery life, are especially suited for the BMA400.
  • The BMA400 offers a full-scale acceleration range of ±2/±4/±8/±16g with a claimed sub-14.5µA power draw at its highest-performance setting. The supply voltage is 1.72-3.6V, and the digital resolution is 12bit.

The LPS28DFW provides lower power consumption, achieving lower pressure noise than its predecessor. It is guaranteed to operate over a temperature range extending from -40 °C to +85 °C. The standard-size version offers a 0.1”-spaced PTH pin connected to the sensor’s communication interface. The micro-size version does offer such, but the board does route an interrupt and ground pin to a through-hole connection.

Connectivity features

SparkFun’s Qwiic Connect System uses 4-pin JST connectors to quickly interface development boards with sensors, LCDs, relays, and more. This system does not require soldering as Qwiic cables (4-pin JST) plug easily from development boards to sensors, shields, accessory boards, and more, All Qwiic cables have the following color scheme and arrangement where Black represents Ground, Red shows the 3.3V source, Blue shows the SDA pin, and Yellow is for the SCL pin.

Environmental monitoring and movement projects are the intended use for both boards. The boards come with Qwiic connectors. While talking about the barometer, the company claims, “It is the perfect board for pressure measurement applications where the sensor is exposed to or even submerged in water”. The SparkFun Qwiic BMA400 Triple Axis Accelerometer Breakouts offer 3-axis acceleration sensors perfect for ultra-low-power applications. These boards are best for wearable devices like smartwatches, heart rate monitoring devices, etc.

The standard-sized barometer costs $24.95 and the micro-sized variant costs $25.95.  The price for the standard-sized accelerometer is $8.95, and the micro variant is $9.95 For more information visit the product page.

Mekotronics R58X-4G computer – ARM-based PC and Edge Computing Device with PoE support and 4G LTE connectivity

Posted on by Emmanuel Odunlade

The R58X-4G RK3588 device from China-based electronic company, Mekotronics, is a small form factor computer powered by a Rockchip RK3588 processor and equipped with support for 4G LTE connectivity as well as Power over Ethernet (PoE). The R58X-4G is an upgrade to the company’s original R58X RK3588 mini PC.

The low-power, high-performance Rockchip RK3588 processor is designed for use in various types of devices, including mini PCs, embedded systems, and IoT devices. It is based on an octa-core ARM Cortex-A76 CPU architecture and has a Mali-G610 MP4 GPU for graphics processing. It is also capable of handling 8K video resolution and other demanding tasks. Because of its high-end performance, many PCs powered by the Rockchip RK3588 processor may be suitable for a range of applications including home entertainment, digital signage, and light gaming. They may also be used as a compact and portable desktop computers for work or study.

The inclusion of the 4G LTE connectivity in the mini PC allows the device to connect to mobile networks for internet access, making it a good choice for places where wired internet is not available or reliable. The PoE support allows the mini PC to be powered with the same Ethernet cable that is used for data connectivity. This eliminates the need for a separate power source thus making certain installations convenient for you.

The Mekotronics R58X-4G mini PC is also equipped with up to 16GB of LPDDR4 RAM and up to 128GB eMMC storage as well as support for dual-band WiFi 6 support and Bluetooth 5.2. Some other notable features include HDMI and VGA outputs, two gigabit Ethernet ports, SATA and NVME storage, two 8K-capable HDMI and DisplayPort video outputs, one 4K HDMI input and multiple USB ports, and, OS support such as Linux, Android and Windows. Overall, the Mekotronics R58X-4G mini PC is a versatile and powerful mini PC that is well-suited for a wide range of applications, including home entertainment, digital signage, and remote work.

Specifications:

  • Rockchip RK3588 octa-core processor with:
    • 4x Cortex-A76 cores at 2.4/2.6 GHz, 4x Cortex-A55 cores at 1.8GHz
    • Arm Mali-G610 MP4 GPU with support for OpenGL ES3.2 and Vulkan 1.0
    • 6TOPS NPU
    • 8K 10-bit decoder, 8K encoder
    • Support for various connectivity options, including WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1
  • 4GB/8GB/16GB RAM
  • 32GB/64GB/128GB eMMC 5.1
  • M.2 2280 (PCIe 3.0) slot for NVMe SSD
  • SATA 3.0 connector
  • Video Output: 1x 8K-capable HDMI 2.1 port, 1x 8K-capable DP 1.4
  • Video Input: 1x HDMI 2.0, internal 2-lane MIPI CSI connector
  • Video Encoder: Real time H.265/264 video encoding up to 8K 30Hz
  • Video Decoder:
    • 8K 60Hz H.265 VP9, AVS2
    • 8K 30Hz H.264 AVC/MVC
    • 4K 60Hz AV1
    • 1080p60 MPEG-2, MPEG-1, VC-1, VP8
  • 3.5mm audio jack for microphone and headphones
  • 2x GbE RJ45 port
  • Dual-band WiFi 6
  • 4G LTE plus GPS mini PCIe modem plus NanoSIM card slot
  • 4x antennas for WiFi, Bluetooth and cellular connectivity
  • 1x USB 3.0
  • 2x USB 2.0
  • 1x USB Type-C
  • M.2 M-Key PCIe
  • Mini PCIe socket
  • RS232, RS485, 12V power output
  • Internal headers with GPIO, I2C
  • 4x LEDs, 1x Power button and RTC plus CR2032 battery
  • Power Supply: 12V 2Ah via DC jack or header, 4-pin PoE header
  • Dimension: TBD
  • OS: Android 12, Debian 11, Ubuntu 20.04, Buildroot

The company is offering the mini R58X-4G RK3588 computer at different prices: $225 (4GB RAM/32GB eMMC flash) or $259 (8GB RAM/ 64GB eMMC flash), $295 (16GB RAM/64GB eMMC flash), and $329 (16GB RAM/128GB eMMC flash).

More details on the device including the specific capabilities or use cases can be found on the product page.

Top 10 IoT development boards of 2022

Posted on by Rakesh Kumar, Ph.D.

Engineers and makers can use and test new technologies for IoT projects quickly using development boards. The best SBCs are those that can be used for any project, including Internet of Things (IoT) projects. This means that a powerful board with the fastest technology might not be the best choice for remote monitoring. On the other hand, a low-power platform with good sensors is more than enough to handle the load. Still, too much performance has never slowed down project development, and “future-proofing” is a great reason to go overboard with the latest hardware, no matter what the application. This roundup will look at the best development boards for Internet of Things (IoT) applications, or any applications, that have come out in the last year or two and are used by engineers and makers alike.

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B

The Raspberry Pi, 4 Model B, is still the flagship board of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. It has been the central component of a wide variety of applications, ranging from robotics to automation systems, and it continues to be the case today. The Raspberry Pi has established itself as the board that most people think of first in terms of the flexibility of projects, the price, and the performance. The Raspberry Pi, 4 Model B, includes a system-on-a-chip (SoC) manufactured by Broadcom with four 1.5-GHz Cortex-A72 cores, a Broadcom VideoCore VI graphics processing unit, and up to 8 gigabytes of DDR4 RAM. There is a large selection of available connectivity choices, some of which are Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 5.0, Bluetooth Low Energy, and dual-band 802.11ac/b/g/n Wi-Fi. Ports and connectors include the typical 40-pin GPIO header, two micro-HDMI 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, a 3.5-mm audio/video jack, CSI, and DSI. Additionally, there are two USB 3.0 ports.

Arduino Uno Mini Limited Edition

Because of its adaptability and user-friendliness, the Arduino Uno has quickly become a board of choice among engineers and makers. The Arduino Uno Mini Limited, which is based on the ATmega328P (2-KB SRAM, 32-KB flash, and 1-KB EEPROM) microcontroller and offers a footprint of just 34.2 mm 26.7 mm 8 mm, was recently announced by Arduino as a miniature-form–factor variant. The GPIO on the Mini is identical to that found on the Uno, with 14 digital pins, six analog pins, six power pins, and LED pins. In addition to that, it has a ceramic resonator operating at 16 MHz, a reset button, and a USB-C connector. The Arduino Uno Mini Limited Edition is a commemorative product released to mark the sale of more than 10 million Uno boards. It is individually numbered and packaged in a special collector’s box.

Asus Tinker Board 2

The Tinker Board 2 was made to compete with the Raspberry Pi 4 in terms of raw hardware performance, but it costs more than the Pi 4, which can be found for as little as $30. (depending on the model). Asus gave the Tinker Board 2 a Rockchip RK3399 SoC with a dual-core ARM Cortex-A72, quad-core ARM Cortex-A53, and Mali-T860 MP4 GPU, along with up to 4 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage. Like the Pi, the Tinker Board 2 has a 40-pin header for connecting a variety of add-ons. It also has an HDMI port, a USB Type-C port, and a 22-pin MIPI DSI header for connecting cameras. RTL8211F-CG GbE LAN and an M.2 slot for 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac wireless and BT 5.0 connectivity options (2T2R). Asus has also added a number of ports for connecting accessories, such as three USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports and one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port.

Raspberry Pi Zero W

As a drop-in replacement for the original Zero W, the Raspberry Pi Zero W maintains its position as one of the most affordably priced ($15) SBCs available. A Broadcom BCM2710A1 chip with 512 MB of LPDDR2 SDRAM and an RP3A0 SiP with a quad-core 64-bit ARM Cortex-A53 CPU is installed on the board. Furthermore, it features a microSD card slot, a CSI-2 camera connector, a USB On-The-Go port, and an unpopulated footprint for a HAT-compatible 40-pin GPIO header. Options for wireless connectivity include a 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n wireless LAN, Bluetooth 4.2, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) compatibility, and modular compliance certification.

PocketBeagle

The PocketBeagle from BeagleBoard is an SBC with all the features of the BeagleBone but in a more portable form factor. To make the PocketBeagle as tiny as possible, the board was stripped of practically everything save the processor, GPIO, and power-regulation circuitry. The board uses the OSD3358 System-on-a-Chip (SoC) from Octavo Systems, which incorporates an ARM Cortex-A8 AM335x processor, 512 MB of DDR3 RAM, a power management IC from Texas Instruments (TPS65217C), a low-dropout voltage regulator from Texas Instruments (TL5209), and 4 KB of EEPROM into a 21 mm ball grid array. In addition to its dual 32-bit/200 MHz PRUs, 72-pin GPIO headers, micro-USB connection, and micro-SD slot, the PocketBeagle offer plenty of room for growth.

ODROID-C4

Hardkernel’s ODROID-C4 is better than the now-defunct C2 in terms of performance. It is smaller and has the same layout as the Raspberry Pi 4. The board has a quad-core Cortex-A55 Amlogic S905X3 chip, 4 GB of DDR4 RAM, and a Mali-G31 GPU. The C4 is strange in that it doesn’t have wireless, but it does have Ethernet, HDMI 2.0 (4K/60 Hz output), and 4 x USB 3.0 ports. Hardkernel kept the standard 40-pin header that works with the Pi, but it didn’t connect the DSI and CSI pins. The board does have an eMMC slot and a micro-SD slot, though, so you can add more storage.

Banana Pi RK3588 BPI-R2 Pro

Banana Pi has given more information about a new board in the BPI-R2 Pro line that looks like the Compute Module 3 for the Raspberry Pi. To use all of the platform’s features, you need a carrier board. It has a Rockchip RK3588 SoC with four ARM Cortex-A76 cores and four Cortex-A55 cores running at 1.8 GHz in ARM’s new DynamIQ configuration. The board also has an ARM Mali-G610 MP4 GPU, 128 GB of eMMC, and up to 8 GB of LPDDR4C RAM. PCI 3.0, SATA 3.0, 2 USB 3.1 Type-C, 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports, 3 USB Type-A ports, a micro-SD slot, and 3.5-mm jack and ribbon connectors are all options for adding to the computer. The new board also supports Caffe, TensorFlow, TFLite, ONNX PyTorch, Keras, and Darknet. It can encode 8K video at 30 frames per second in H.265, VP9, AVS2, and H.264 codecs, as well as VP9, AVS2, and H.264 at 30 frames per second.

LattePanda 3 Delta

The LattePanda 3 Delta combines the best parts of a full-fledged PC and a development board. The board has an ATmega32u4 co-processor and an Intel N5105 quad-core Celeron processor. It can run Windows 10/11 and Linux distributions. It comes with 8 GB of LPDDR4 RAM, 64 GB of eMMC, and an Intel UHD GPU that can run 4K HDR video at 60 frames per second. Wi-Fi 6, Gigabit Ethernet, and 4G/5G with add-on modules are all ways to connect. There are also many ports on the LattePanda 3 Delta, such as HDMI 2.0b, eDP (display port), DP 1.4 (via USB Type C), and a 3.5-mm jack. It also has a USB Type-C port, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port, and an extra USB 2.0 header.

Seeed Odyseey (X86J4125800)

Odyssey (X86J4125800) from Seeed Studio is another great board that can use Windows 10 and the Grove ecosystem to make more applications. The main processor is an Intel Celeron J4125, and the co-processor is a Microchip ATSAMD21G18. It has an Intel UHD 600 GPU and 8 GB of LPDDR4 RAM, but it doesn’t come with any eMMC. You can buy 8 GB of eMMC separately, though. The Odyssey, on the other hand, has two M.2 PCI-e slots, a micro-SD slot, dual-band Wi-Fi, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, and BLE 5.0. There are also HDMI 2.0, two USB 2.0 ports, a USB 3.1 port, a USB 3.1 Type-C port, and a 40-pin GPIO header for more ways to connect.

UDOO Bolt V8

Udoo’s Bolt V8 is another board that blurs the lines between PC and SBC. The onboard processing power can even run AAA video games. The V8 has an AMD Ryzen V1605B processor with a Microchip ATmega32U4 co-processor and an AMD Radeon Vega 8 graphics processing unit (GPU). It also has two SO-DIMM slots that can hold up to 32 GB of dual-channel DDR4 RAM and 32 GB of eMMC storage. Two M.2 slots, Gigabit Ethernet, a Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module, two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 3.1 Type-C ports, two HDMI 1.4 ports, and two DisplayPort ports are among the other features (alternate mode via USB Type-C).

Developing an open-source air quality monitor and a sensor network for the community

Posted on by Rakesh Kumar, Ph.D.

The OpenAirMonitor is an outdoor air quality monitor that is powered by solar energy and sends data over LoRaWAN and Bluetooth LE. It measures the amount of dust (PM1, PM2.5, and PM10), as well as the temperature and humidity. The monitor has a STEMMA QT connector, which means that it can be connected to external sensors. Espruino is used to program the monitor in JavaScript over Bluetooth LE using Espruino. On a single chip, Espruino has everything it needs. This makes it cheap, reliable, and efficient with power, so it can run for years on a battery. Espruino boards can connect to your computer via USB or Bluetooth LE. There are no drivers or special programs. Just start writing code by opening a terminal app.

The PCB is able to accommodate the following components: a PMS7003 particulate matter sensor, an 868MHz (EU/UK) SMA antenna, a 6V solar panel, a 3.7V LiPo battery, such as this 6600mAh battery, and an SHT40 temperature and humidity sensor that uses a STEMMA QT connector. The SHT40 sensor represents the fourth generation of the SHT family (which began with the SHT10 and has now reached the pinnacle!). The SHT40 offers a remarkable accuracy of 1.8% typical relative humidity from 25 to 75% and 0.2°C typical accuracies from 0 to 75°C across the whole temperature range. This sensor, in contrast to other early SHT sensors, has a complete I2C interface, which makes it possible to connect with it using only two wires (plus power and ground!). The voltage regulator and level shifting circuitry that Adafruit has placed on the breakout are both reasons for this. Additionally, it is 3V or 5V compliant, which means that any microcontroller or microcomputer can be used to supply power to it and communicate with it.

Regarding hardware, you can view the schematic, PCB layout, and Bill of Materials for this OSHWLab project. You may purchase the LoRa-E5 module from Seeed Studio’s webshop, or you can get it assembled on a PCB through their Fusion PCB Assembly Service. Due to the fact that this module was developed using industry standards, it is exceptionally well-suited to be utilized in the design of industrial IoT products. It has a wide working temperature range, ranging from -40 degrees Celsius to 85 degrees Celsius. Seeed Technology Co., Ltd. developed this Long Range Module, and it features a low price, ultra-low power consumption, incredibly compact size, and outstanding performance. It is the superior option that gives you the most satisfying possible interaction with the product. For the Software, use Espruino to upload main.js to the MDBT42Q module so it can communicate over Bluetooth LE.

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