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Icarus IoT Board has GPS, accelerometer and LiPo charging

Posted on by Emmanuel Odunlade

More-powerful, low-power Icarus IoT Board sells at €99,50

Low-power, cost-effective Icarus IoT board built with the newest nRF91 modem from Nordic Semiconductor combines the latest technological features in the market and integrates the use of GPS and cellular data (LTE-M / NB-IoT) all in one to offer an endless range of possibilities. The new offering from Actinius delivers better specs at a relatively lower price. The board sells at €99,50 (exclusive of VAT) and comes with 3 months free LTE-M data for testing your prototype. With Icarus board, you can get your project online anywhere, anytime, monitor or keep track of any asset, fleet or cargo.

This 50.8mm X 22.8mm board can be used anywhere and anytime as it can be powered from any combination of battery, USB, or VIN (e.g. solar panel). It operates on a nominal operating input voltage of 4.35V – 10.2V and a maximum input voltage (safe rating) of 28V. The board is fully form-factor compatible with the Adafruit Featherwing, so you can install several extra components to the extension pins. It has an in-built over-voltage and under-voltage protection, with a USB-friendly Li/Ion/LiPolymer charger with MPPT, low-noise and incredibly low power consumption rate with power supply output up to 400mA.

Board Layout

The Icarius IoT board is a true IoT development board with several connectivity options including a Nano-SIM and Embedded SIM, support for LTE Cat-M1 and LTE Cat-NB1 aka NB-IoT providing Global coverage with PSM and eDRX being  supported. It also onboard supports security with several features including; the ARM® Trustzone®, the ARM® Cryptocell 310, SSL/TLS support, and it’s being supported by the OTAU Platform of Actinius for always secure and up-to-date firmware.

For sensors and on-board peripherals, the board uses RGB Led, GPS, reset and general-purpose buttons, battery voltage reader and a low power 3-axis accelerometer. Other great specs include:

  • 18x general-purpose IO
  • Up to 6x 12-bit, 200 ksps ADC with EasyDMA
  • 4x 12C master/slave with EasyDMA that can be mapped to any pin
  • 4x UART with EasyDMA
  • 4x pulse width modulator with EasyDMA
  • An Inter-IC sound Interface of 12S with EasyDMA
  • Digital microphone interface (PDM) with EasyDMA that can be mapped to any pin
  • 4x SPI master/salve with EasyDMA
  • Serial Wire Debug (SWD) on 6-pin
  • ARM Cortex M33 processor
  • 1MB Flash
  • 256 kb RAM
  • power-saving mode and an extended discontinuous reception

The board comes pre-programmed with a firmware application that initializes peripherals and starts at AT host. If you are just getting started with the Icarus IoT board, check out more information on https://www.actinius.com/icarus

LightSafer – Lets you know if somebody has been snooping around in your hotel safe

Posted on by mixos

Andy C @ burningimage.net build a tiny board that is able to monitor possible activity on your hotel’s safe, so to be sure that nobody has access to it. He writes:

I wanted a simple device that would tell me if somebody had been in my hotel safe whilst I was out on holiday, so I designed LightSafer. LightSafer is a tiny 33 x 21 mm (1.3 x 0.8 inch) gadget with PIN code entry that lets you know if somebody has been snooping around in your hotel safe (or sock drawer).

It’s completely silent. You just press the button to arm LightSafer, put it in your safe and if anybody opens the safe and fails to enter the correct PIN, the alarm LED lights. Once the alarm is triggered there is no way to turn it off. Even if the battery is removed, as soon as a new one is put in, the alarm LED lights straight back up.

Entering the correct PIN is the only way to disable the alarm.

LightSafer – Lets you know if somebody has been snooping around in your hotel safe – [Link]

Apollo Lake industrial computer is only 26mm tall

Posted on by mixos

Powered by Intel® Celeron® processor, the slim box computer NISE 51 featuring multiple I/O design and the capability to meet customers’ need is the key for M2M intelligent system as an intelligent IoT gateway.

Rich I/O Design in Slim Footprint

Flexible connectivity to communication devices is inevitable for the use of predictive maintenance applications. With slim size of 162mm (W) x 26mm (H) x 150mm (D), NISE 51 provides a variety of connectivity for customer to choose from. First, NISE 51 comes with 3 COM ports that allow legacy connectivity via RS232/RS422/RS485 for Modbus communication. Secondly, Ethernet-based LAN port is equipped to ensure device communication for management. NISE 51 also has wireless connectivity for IoT applications by supporting mini-PCIe and M.2 devices such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3.5G and 4G LTE module.

Instead of HDMI, NEXCOM NISE 51 supports DP display output to keep up with future trend. The DP connectivity also comes with lockable design on the cable side to assure image is securely displayed. Despites the I/O mentioned above, a SIM card slot and total of 4 USB ports are also included. With such rich I/O design, NISE 51 is capable of monitoring valuable assets accurately for customer and further performing predictive maintenance on equipments for smart factory.

Satisfy Diverse Needs

NISE 51 has the ability to meet various working conditions. It supports both 12V and 24V DC input with operating temperature from -5°C up to 55°C. It is also compatible to different operation systems, including Linux and windows 10. Not only that, NEXCOM understands system requirements vary from different usage of market applications as some are looking for an affordable box computer to decrease business budget. NISE 51 with the latest generation of Intel® Celeron® Apollo Lake processor is a price competitive model that suits cost-sensitive customer best. Additionally, TPM2.0 chip is built to support highest level of data encryption.

Capable of realizing security and connectivity, NISE 51 plays a vital role of the intelligent IoT gateway and can be widely used for a variety of factory automation applications, such as automated warehouse picking system, delivery service and manufacturing and processing systems.

Main Features

  • Onboard Intel® Celeron® processor N3350 Dual Core, 2.4GHz
  • 1 x DP display
  • 2 x Intel® I211AT GbE LAN ports; support WoL, teaming and PXE
  • 2 x USB 2.0
  • 2 x USB 3.0
  • 1 x mini-PCIe sockets for optional Wi-Fi/3.5G/LTE module
  • 2 x M.2 slot for Wi-Fi/Bluetooth and storage/LTE modules
  • 2 x RS232, 1 x RS422/485 with auto flow control
  • Support -5~55 degree C operating temperature
  • Support 12V and 24V DC input

Smart Factory Acceleration with IoT Studio

NEXCOM IoT Studio is a powerful web-based configuration tool for IoT applications. By delivering data extraction from intuitive user interface, NISE 51 together with IoT Studio helps shortening smart factory deployment by accelerating click-to-cloud service for both public and enterprise cloud.

more information: www.nexcom.com

Arduino HDMI Shield:  bridging the gap between small MCUs and Full HD Monitors

Posted on by Emmanuel Odunlade

With an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), creating HDMI video signals for full HD monitors or HDTVs using a typical modern MCU is difficult but it is not an impossible task. For a resolution as high as 1080p, Full HD Monitors or High Definition Televisions require a pixel clock of 148MHz. To think that such pixel clock can be possible from a simple microcontroller seems unimaginable, but not so for Techtoys who has created an Arduino shield that creates an HDMI output from an SPI control input.

The HDMI shield, an Arduino compatible development board, and two Integrated Circuits give us an insight into how it creates graphics at this level; the RA8876 TFT controller, a full graphics engine and the HDMI encoder CH7035B.  The TFT controller RA8876 produces digital RGB output in 8:8:8 format for the HDMI encoder CH7035B converts the RGB video to differential signals (TMDS), with its internal frame buffer that boosts the 8:8:8 RGB to full HD 1080P (1920 * 1080) at 60Hz max. This is particularly interesting because the RA8876 supports a variety of AP interfaces like 8080 16-bit, 4-wire SPI and I2C that should be able to talk to most microcontrollers. The RA8876 also makes it possible to avoid direct pixel rendering, writing simple commands (through the SPI) to define the window size and foreground color instead of writing individual pixels for the 1280 * 720 screen in 16 bit-per-pixel.

example : Ticket Display System

To display full-color pictures, the HDMI Shield uses a free conversion tool that exports binary files from jpeg/png/BMP images to a microSD card and later to the main window by 2D BitBlt in a flicker-free operation. The HDMI shield can also do more interesting things like font rendering from embedded characters, picture-in-picture, DMA transfer from Serial Flash to SDRAM and hardware-accelerated shape-draws.

As this board shows, the classic Arduino shield form factor, though may now be a little past its zenith, can still be relevant for some interesting new applications. However, it is important to note that the HDMI shield is a 3.3V system that stands the risk of being damaged if used with a 5V Arduino.

More information can be found on the shield’s GitHub project page.

Tesmo Kickstand: Truly invisible laptop stand that weighs nothing and takes up zero space

Posted on by Emmanuel Odunlade

Tesmo, a company dedicated to innovation and excellence, announces the launch of its laptop stand; The Tesmo Kickstand in September.

The Kickstand is an ultra-slim, portable and ergonomic laptop stand which can be used with any laptop type can be gently attached to your laptop to instantly transform it into an ergonomic and comfortable workstation wherever you are.  Speaking about the ideologies behind it, Mark Lin, Head of Product Design at Tesmo said;

“We all appreciate the freedom of working on a laptop; it’s easy to stay productive whether you’re at your desk. But when it comes to ergonomics, a laptop isn’t the greatest choice since you can’t adjust the height of the keyboard and screen separately. Most of the laptop stands on the market are heavy and bulky, Tesmo is constructed with a clever structural which instantly enhances the comfort of typing. With a lightweight and portable design, it can be used anywhere, anytime.”

 

The Tesmo Kickstand perfectly demonstrates the design philosophy of slim, compact and efficient with two tiny adhesive pads stay invisible when laid flat to blend in with your laptop. The compact nature of the pads design enables air to flow properly through the air vent of your laptop and its integrable design nature allows you to attach the pads to any corner of the laptop thereby fitting almost all laptop models.

Convenient to carry and adjustable on different surfaces. While the Tesmo Kickstand has a thickness of only 4.5mm and weighs just 17g/0.6 ounces, the unique triangular load-bearing structure of the kickstand allows it to hold up to 17.6lbs in weight. This means the kickstand could also support your slightly heavy laptops.

The Tesmo Kickstand uses a special, strong removable glue which lets it be attached and detached from your computer with ease and without leaving a scratch on the computer.  The adhesive ensures the kickstand can be used multiple times with the adhesive remaining as strong as always.  Whether in the office, at home, or in a café, Tesmo Kickstand will always provide you with the convenience of a portable laptop stand plus ergonomic comfort and its seamless integration with your laptop will ensure you are never troubled by forgetting to take a laptop stand when going out.

The highlight features of the Tesmo Kickstand includes;

  • lightweight & easy to use, no need to carry it alone, ideal for a mobile office
  • One size fits all: Applicable to almost all laptops on the market, comes with unique design won’t block the vent of your laptop
  • Strong Adhesive: Attach and detach without leaving a single mark
  • Move freely and enjoy ergonomic comfort anywhere

The Tesmo kickstand is currently only available in grey and will land on Kickstarter in September. During crowdfunding, users can get it for US$15 (MSRP US$29). Customers can also pre-order with their email address on Tesmo’s website with delivery expected to be in October.

Update 13/09/2019: The campaign is live on Kickstarter and has 27 days to go with pledges starting at $15.

Ant USB-C LiPo Charger on Tindie

Posted on by mixos

The USB-C has been around for quite a while, but there is still a lack of a miniature basic USB-C chargers for LiPo battery. I decided to make my own with as minimal footprint as possible, which resulted in being 13.5mm x 16mm.

A well known MCP73831T-2ATI/MC is used as a battery charger in DFN package, to minimize the risk of thermal throttling. A high quality USB-C connector is used from Amphenol (12401610E4#2A). The charging current is configured to 500mA. Battery wires are soldered directly to the board by a user. Two LEDs indicate whether a battery is charging or is charged.

The mounting cutouts are designed for M2.5 or M3 size screws.

Ant USB-C LiPo Charger on Tindie – [Link]

Advanced protoboard layout with 1.27mm pitch for smd parts

Posted on by mixos

Main Features

  • Plated through holes in standard 2.54mm raster like on traditional protoboard
  • Pads for smd parts in 1.27mm raster in between
  • SOIC parts can directly be used without adapters
  • SMD pads are not contacted to the other side:
    • Different tracks can either cross each other or connect
    • No wires to solder in like on non-plated-through protoboard
  • Allows for much more dense layout

You can build your own protoboard for SMD component using the production file on github.com

Slim Mini-ITX System with AMD Ryzen Embedded V1000 SoC

Posted on by mixos

IBASE Technology Inc. (TPEx: 8050), a world leader in the manufacture of industrial motherboard and embedded solutions, today announced the launch of the CMI300-988 slim Mini-ITX system with an onboard AMD RyzenTM Embedded V1807B processor that combines the processing power of the advanced AMD “Zen” CPU and “Vega” graphics architecture in a single chip. Measuring 200 x 200 x 62mm, the CMI300-988 is designed for retail, automation or smart office environments.

Aside from delivering new levels of graphics processing efficiency and superior compute performance, the CMI300-988 combines high-speed connectivity with flexible I/O and high reliability to perform a variety of tasks in 0°C to 45°C operating environments while ensuring silent operation. The embedded box pc adopts an IP30-rated aluminum and steel enclosure, and supports wall mounting as well VESA mounting for easy installation and maintenance. Rear I/O provides essential connections with an HDMI and DisplayPort, two Gigabit Ethernet, four USB 3.1, four serial ports, audio jacks and a 3-pin terminal block for 12V~24V DC input.

The standard system configuration contains 128GB of SSD storage, 4GB of DDR 4 memory, expandable to 32GB, and an 84W power adaptor. Expansion ports consist of a Mini PCI-E and an M.2 (M Key:2280) socket. Three reserved antenna holes are available for optional wireless connectivity.

CMI300-988 FEATURES:

  • AMD Ryzen™ Embedded V1807B on board
  • 2x DDR4 SO-DIMM, Max. 32GB
  • Supports HDMI & DisplayPort
  • 2x Gigabit Ethernet, 4x USB 3.1, 4x COM
  • Wall mount kit included, optional VESA mount kit
  • 1x Mini PCI-E socket, 1x M.2 (M-key)
  • Dimensions: 200(W) x 200(D) x 62(H)mm

No pricing or availability information was provided for the CMI300-988. More information may be found in Ibase’s CMI300-988 announcement and product page.

USB Auto MORSE Keyer

USB Morse Keyer is a microcontroller-based auto keyer with following features:

  • USB / straight key / iambic key inputs.
  • Support for both standalone and USB operating modes.
  • 64-character USB typeahead buffer and 6-character Morse key typeahead buffer.
  • Support 5, 10, 15 WPM.
  • 6-page message memory.
  • 1W audio output.
  • Audio and PTT output interfaces.
  • 32-character display.

The USB interface of this unit is designed to work with most of the operating systems. It emulates a virtual serial terminal to transfer keystrokes to the keyer. In most of the operating systems, this interface works without installing any additional device drivers. To submit keystrokes user can use any serial terminal software such as PuTTY, Hyper Terminal, Minicom, etc.

This keyer is designed to work with 7V to 16V DC input voltage. The most recommended working voltage is 9V.

Fig.1 – The top side of the finished Auto keyer PCB.

To reduce the dimension of the PCB this unit is designed with combining both through-hole and surface mount components. To facilitate future upgrades and modifications, the PIC16F886 MCU sticks with the standard 28-pin DIP package.

Fig.2 – The bottom side of the finished Auto keyer PCB.

This is a certified open-source hardware project. All the design files and firmware source code are available at the project repository on GitHub and on downloads below. The project documentation with all the details which including assembly details, firmware uploading, compilation, and usage instructions are available at the project repository’s wiki.

Makerdiary Releases Pitaya Go IoT Development Board Based on Nordic’s nRF52840 SoC

Posted on by Emmanuel Odunlade

Makerdiary one of the most innovative startups in the IoT devices space which are known for a series of development boards like the nRF53832-MDK V2 IoT module, and the nRF52840 MDK USB dongle, among others, recently launched a new addition to their impressive line of Nordic’s nRF528xx-series of SoCs based IoT devices, called; Pitaya Go IoT Development Board.

Pitaya Go IoT Development Board

The Pitaya Go combines the Nordic’s nRF52840 SoC with an Arm Cortex-M4 (256Kb of RAM/1Mb of Flash) with FPU, and a Microchip’s ATWINC1500B Wi-Fi controller, in a 60.96mm x 25.4mm x 7.6mm package. This combination brings in a wealth of features which drives the array of connectivity options and high performance associated with the Pitaya Go.

Some of the features of the Pitaya Go include;

  • Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 SoC
    • 64 MHz Arm® Cortex-M4 with FPU
    • 1 MB Flash + 256 KB RAM
    • Bluetooth 5, Bluetooth mesh, Thread, Zigbee, 802.15.4, ANT and 2.4 GHz proprietary
    • Arm TrustZone® Cryptocell 310 Security Subsystem
    • Integrated USB 2.0 Full-speed Controller
    • QSPI/SPI/TWI/I²S/PDM/QDEC/ADC support
    • Integrated NFC-A Tag
  • Microchip ATWINC1500B Wi-Fi Network Controller
    • Shipped with the latest firmware 19.6.1
    • IEEE 802.11 b/g/n 20 MHz (1×1) Solution
    • Extreme low power with Shutdown Control
    • On-Chip Network Stack to Offload MCU
    • Supports Soft-AP
    • Security protocols supported: WPA/WPA2 Personal, TLS/SSL
    • Enterprise Security with WPA/WPA2 (802.11x)
    • Network services: DHCP, DNS, TCP/IP (IPv4), UDP, HTTP, HTTPS, MQTT, etc.
  • 64Mbit ultra-low-power QSPI Flash Memory
  • Integrated Li-Po Battery Charger with Power Path Management
  • Additional NFC-A Tag PCB Antenna
  • User-programmable RGB LED and Buttons
  • Dual Wi-Fi/Bluetooth 2.4G Chip Antennas
  • Reversible USB-C Connector
  • Li-Po Battery Connector
  • Easily expandable dual 14-Pin Header Sockets
  • Measures 2.4″ x 1.0″ x 0.3″ (60.96mm x 25.4mm x 7.6mm)

Rounding out the Pitaya’s features are an integrated Li-Po battery charger (with power path management), additional NFC-A tag PCB antenna, programmable RGB LED and buttons, dual Wi-Fi/Bluetooth 2.4G chip antennas, USB-C port, Li-Po battery connector, and an expandable 14-pin header.

The Pitaya Go is sold for $34.90 on Makerdiary’s product page as a box which includes;

  • 1x Pitaya Go Board
  • 1x NFC PCB Antenna
  • 1x USB-C Cable

The board comes pre-programmed with an Open Bootloader for DFU (Device Firmware Update) and offers an SDW interface (via socket header) to easily program the board with Nordic’s nRF Connect for Desktop and nRF Util tools.

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