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CM3-PANEL – A Panel PC based on the Raspberry Compute Module 3

Posted on by Ayo Ayibiowu

Early last year, the Raspberry Pi Foundation launched the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3, a board designed to provide firms with low-cost computer hardware to build into products. The Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 (CM3) packs the same 1.2GHz, quad-core Broadcom BCM2837 processor and 1GB memory used on the Pi 3 onto a slimmer and smaller board. The CM3’s compact design, the same size as a DDR2 small outline dual in-line memory module, is suited to be built into electronic appliances. The Compute Module already sees some adoption in commercial applications and Acme Systems is an organization building on it with their latest release of the CM3-PANEL.

Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 Device
Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3

The latest product to leverage Raspberry Pi CM3L SoM is made by Italy based company Acme Systems, and designed for Panel PCs and tablets. Acme Systems isn’t new to developing products based on the Raspberry Pi; they launched the Acme CM3-Home last year, a Raspberry Pi 3 Compatible Board designed for Home Automation.

CM3-Panel
CM3-Panel is a 7-inch thin touch-panel PC based on Raspberry Pi 3 industrial module deemed to be integrated on the front panel of your devices. The device comes with a socket for attaching the Raspberry Compute Module 3 and featuers a MIPI connector for the Raspberry Pi Camera. It extends out 24 GPIO lines from the Raspberry Pi where some are used for; Lcd backlight control (1 GPIO), Camera led and camera shutdown control (2 GPIO), SPI bus (5 GPIO), Hardware PWM lines (2 GPIO), Serial line (2 GPIO), PCM line (4 GPIO), and I2C bus (2 GPIO). The CM3-Panel can operate in temperature range of -20°C to +70° C and is less than 22mm thick.
The device comes in four different models, including two with modules that support Acme’s open source 868MHz Yarm RF radio module spec:
  • CM3-Panel-U — USB 2.0 port — 95 Euros ($113)
    • No WiFi module
    • USB Host port
    • No Yarm radio module
  • CM3-Panel-W — 2.4GHz WiFi — 99 Euros ($118)
    • WiFi @ 2.4GHz
    • No USB Port
    • No Yarm radio module
  • CM3-Panel-UY — USB and 868MHz Yarm ISM — 115 Euros ($137)
  • CM3-Panel-WY — 2.4GHz WiFi and 868MHz Yarm ISM– 119 Euros ($142)

Yarm is a smart and cost-effective solution for system integrators to build their own RF applications at 868 MHz avoiding all the hardware design costs requested to start a new custom RF project. Yarm integrates a low power MCU (35 µA/MHz in active mode and 200nA in sleep mode) and a high sensitivity transceiver.

The 868MHz Yarm module is compatible with Acme’s ISM 868MHz Energy Harvesting radio nodes. The module is equipped with a Cortex-M0+ based, 22 x 14mm Microchip ATA8510 ISM transceiver. The CM3-Panel has a separate array of Yarm GPIO in addition to the main Raspberry Pi GPIO. The optional RaLink RT5370N 2.4GHz WiFi module is based on USB 2.0 and is fully supported by the latest Kernel Linux versions.

CM3-Panel appears to be an open source product because ACME systems have published it’s schematic, mechanical drawing, and a 3D stem model for 3D printing. The product is available for purchase and can be bought online from the product page.

Materials that will bring better Aluminium batteries

Posted on by Ayo Ayibiowu

Giant Strides have been moving towards research and production of aluminum batteries. Different teams are working hard to ensure the production of sustainable Aluminium batteries. Recently, Standford University scientists released the first high-performance aluminum battery that can last for a long period, charges very fast and is not expensive. The battery makes use of graphite electrodes. However, life is dynamic, and a team of Switzerland scientists who work at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich has identified two major materials that can be used in Aluminium ion batteries. The first is Titanium Nitride also know as Tinite, corrosion-resistant material and the second is an electrically conducting polymer called polyprene.

TITANIUM NITRIDE

Tinite (TiN) is a tough ceramic material used for coating substances like Titanium alloys, Steel, Carbide, and Aluminium to improve their surface properties. It also has high corrosive resistance. Titanium Nitride is needed in the production of Aluminium batteries because the electrolyte needs to make an aluminum battery is exceptionally corrosive, it is dangerous to steel and other materials that can be found in the battery. Since Titanium Nitride can coat aluminum components, it was tested alongside other materials and was discovered to be the only material with the capability to survive prolonged contact with the electrolyte.

Another advantage of Titanium Nitride is that it can be produced anytime without glitches or complaints about lack of materials for production as the elements; Titanium and Nitrogen which are needed to produce it are easily accessible.

POLYPRENE

Another aspect the team took into consideration during their research was energy storage. They knew safety they should be their number one priority and they dealt with that by coating the super corrosive electrolyte with Titanium Nitride. However, the team knew that people not only wanted but also needed long-lasting batteries, so they decided to search for new electrodes. The result of their research was polyprene; an electrically conducting polymer formed from pyrene.

Polyprene can be used to replace graphite as the positive electrode because it has higher energy storage capabilities. Also, the space in polyprene’s molecular chains allows the large ions of the electrolyte to pass through the electrode material easily. Another feature of polyprene that places it above graphite is the ability to control the material’s porosity which can be optimized for specific applications.

Titanium Nitride and Polyprene will increase the production of low cost but high-performance batteries and also ensure the creation of better aluminum batteries.

Newport GW6400/GW6404 SBC features 4x Mini-PCIe Sockets, 5x GbE and USB 3.0

Posted on by mixos

Gateworks is proud to announce the release of the Newport GW6400 single board computer, featuring the Cavium Octeon TX® Dual/Quad Core ARM processor running up to 1.5GHz. The GW6400 is the latest Newport family member with an extensive list of features, including five Gigabit Ethernet ports and two SFP fiber ports.

The GW6400/04 are members of the Gateworks 6th generation Newport family of single board computers targeted for a wide range of indoor and outdoor networking applications. The single board computers feature the Cavium OcteonTX™ ARMv8 SoC processor, five Gigabit Ethernet ports, and four Mini-PCIe expansion sockets for supporting 802.11abgn/ac wireless radios, LTE/4G/3G CDMA/GSM cellular modems, mSATA drives and other PCI Express peripherals. A wide-range DC input power supply provides up to 15W to the Mini-PCIe sockets for supporting the latest high-power radios and up to 10W to the USB 2.0/3.0 ports for powering external devices. Power is applied through a barrel jack or an Ethernet port with either 802.3at or Passive Power over Ethernet.

GW6400 Highlights:

  • Cavium OcteonTX ARMv8 64-bit
  • Dual/Quad CPU up to 1.5GHz
  • DDR4 DRAM up to 4GB
  • eMMC Flash up to 64GB
  • 5x GbE Ethernet Ports (optional SFP fiber ports available)
  • 4x Mini-PCIe Sites
  • 2x USB 3.0
  • PCIe 3.0
  • Optional Maxim DS28C22 Secure Authentication and Encryption
  • Optional Ublox ZOE-MQ8 GNSS GPS Receiver with PPS
  • Optional Microchip MCP25625 2.0B CAN Bus Controller

The GW6400 comes in two standard stocking models, the Dual Core GW6400 and the fully loaded Quad Core GW6404.

WellPCB – A Low Cost PCB Prototyping and PCB Assembly Service

Posted on by Ayo Ayibiowu

The dream of every maker and innovator out there is to make a product that will be usable by potential users. For hardware-based products and devices, the first step in achieving this is to develop a prototype and then move from there. The prototype will involve making a circuit diagram on a breadboard and then commence to make a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) for the circuit under construction. After checking the PCB quality, PCB Assembly can begin for large-scale manufacturing.

Many makers and engineers want to fabricate PCBs for a custom, prototype, or one of a kind project, but they often can not afford to have them manufactured in volume. WellPCB is a company that offers very “affordable” Printed Circuit Board Fabrication and PCB Assembly Turnkey Services. WellPCB not only offer PCB manufacturing in large scale, but they also offer PCB prototyping starting from $3.99 for a 1 – 2 layers board, unlike most PCB makers that have pricing starting at $5 and above. Continue reading “WellPCB – A Low Cost PCB Prototyping and PCB Assembly Service”

BeagleWire is an Open Source FPGA Board With BeagleBone Compatibility

Posted on by Ayo Ayibiowu

Beaglebone boards are low power open source single board computers created to teach open source hardware and software to makers. However, BeagleWire is a development platform designed for use with Beaglebone board. BeagleWire is a Beaglebone compatible shield based on the Lattice iCE40HX FPGA and is also an open source FPGA development board, a rare feature for FPGA boards. The BeagleWire’s hardware, software, and FPGA toolchain are completely open source.

 

At the heart of BeagleWire is the Lattice Semiconductor Lattice iCE40Hx FPGA which affords individuals the opportunity to make changes and reprogram. BeagleWire does not require external tools (JTAG), and the whole software stack is Open Source. BeagleWire can be easily expanded by adding external modules such as, modules for high-speed data acquisition, software-defined radio, or advanced control applications. Using common connectors like Pmod and Grove makes it possible to connect various interesting external modules which are widely available in stores. This makes prototyping new imaginative digital designs easier.

Lattice iCEv40Hx is from the Lattice iCE40 family. The latter is simply a family of FPGAs which have a regular structure, and are created to support cheap, high volume system and consumer applications. iCE40 is an energy saving device that enables work with small batteries.

BeagleWire has special features and advantages which are FPGA: Lattice iCE40HX4K – TQFP 144 Package, GPMC port access from the BeagleBone, SPI programming port from the BeagleBone, does not require external tools (JTAG), minimalistic architecture and very regular structure, has an energy saving device which allows it to work with small batteries, it is cheap and easy to use for application development, fully open-source toolchain and many more.

BeagleWire software support is still developing. Some of the useful examples and ready to use answers can be found there. For communication between FPGA and ARM, GPMC can be used. Programming is done by SPI interface. BeagleWire uses second BeagleBone SPI port. SPI frequency should be between 1Mhz and 25Mhz. Also, BeagleWire software repository contains a simple SDRAM controller written in Verilog which supports communication between SDRAM and iCE40.

The following are the specifications of BeagleWire:

  • FPGA: Lattice iCE40HX4K – TQFP 144 Package
  • Memory:
    • 32 MB SDRAM
    • 4 MB SPI Flash for FPGA self-configuration
  • Clock: 100 MHz onboard external clock
  • Extensibility:
    • 4 x Pmod connector
    • 4 x Grove connector
    • GPIO
  • User Interfaces:
    • 4 x LED
    • 2 x push button(with hardware noise debouncing)
    • 2 x DIP switch
  • Compatibility: access via GPMC port and SPI
    • BeagleBone Black
    • BeagleBone Black Wireless
    • element14 BeagleBone Black Industrial
  • Operating Voltage: 3.3 V
  • Input Voltage: 5 V from BeagleBone
  • Fully Open Source:
  • Dimensions: 90 mm x 68 mm x 18 mm
  • Weight: 42.5 g

The BeagleWire puts up a strong comparison with similar FPGA-like boards.

Comparison

Communication between BeagleWire and BeagleBone Black is over the GPMC port. This is a simple and efficient solution. The GPMC port has 16 lines width, and its maximum clock frequency is 100 Mhz. BeagleWire is going to be compatible with BeagleBone Black, BeagleBone Black Wireless, SeeedStudio BeagleBone Green, SeeedStudio BeagleBone Green Wireless, SanCloud BeagleBone Enhanced, and element14 BeagleBone Black Industrial.

BeagleWire is available for pre-order now and is expected to ship by May 31, 2018. BeagleWire goes for $85 for pre-order, and the BeagleWire Deluxe Kit is also available for pre-order for $160 all on CrowdSupply

IR Remote Wand based on ATtiny85

Posted on by mixos

David Johnson-Davies published another great project. It’s an IR remote that supports the most popular control protocols.

The IR Remote Wand is a universal remote control that you can program with up to five codes to control a variety of different products:

It supports some of the most popular IR remote control protocols: Philips RC-5, NEC, Samsung, and Sony. It’s based on an ATtiny85, and the circuit goes to sleep when you’re not using it, to avoid the need for an on-off switch and to prolong the battery life. You can use my earlier IR Remote Control Detective [Updated] to discover the codes for the functions you want to support.

IR Remote Wand based on ATtiny85 – [Link]

LoRa module in DIL form

Posted on by mixos

Mare writes:

Murata produces LoRa module CMWX1ZZABZ-xxx based on SX1276 transceiver and STM32L072CZ microcontroller. The soldering of the LGA module is not very hobby-friendly. I constructed small breakout PCB for this module with additional buck/boost switcher and place for SMA connector. The transceiver features the LoRa®long-range modem, providing ultra-long-range spread spectrum communication and high interference immunity, minimizing current consumption. Since CMWX1ZZABZ-091 is an “open” module, it is possible to access all STM32L072 peripherals such as ADC, 16-bit timer, LP-UART, I2C, SPI and USB 2.0 FS (supporting BCD and LPM), which are not used internally by SX1276.

LoRa module in DIL form – [Link]

Giada AP23 – A Compact Apollo Lake Series board

Posted on by Ayo Ayibiowu

Giada, the Chinese based company and a provider of embedded PCs, embedded motherboards, server and storage appliances, has recently announced a new AP23 series Pico boards based around the Intel® Apollo Lake platform. The Intel Apollo platform is based on the Intel Atom® processor E3900 series, Intel® Celeron® processor N3350, and the Intel® Pentium® processor N4200 platform. These processors are based on the Goldmont architecture, utilizing Intel’s industry-leading 14 nm process technology. These processors can execute a wide array of applications, from manufacturing robots and machinery to radar and sensors on ships, planes, trains, and automobiles, to in-vehicle experiences and video systems.

The new Giada AP23 motherboards which measure 100mm x 72mm include two models in the series. The two models are:

  • AP23-E3930
  • AP23-N3350

The AP23-E3930 is a small form factor industrial control motherboard that is powered by the Intel Atom x5-E3930 CPU. The AP23-E3930 supports an HDMI Port and an LVDS port (1920 x 1080 pixels). The Atom x5-E3930 CPU allows the AP23-E3930 to handle an extremely wide operating temperature range of -20° C to 60° C (approximately -4° F to 140° F), with appropriate airflow. The board comes equipped with a 100mm x 72mm heat sink making the motherboard to find applications in the outdoor environment where a requirement for wide-range temperatures is needed. Giada’s board design further enhances reliability and durability by using the accessible Phoenix DC-IN connector for a more stable and sturdy power connection.

The AP23-N3350 from its name is built around the Celeron N3350 processors and supports an HDMI or a VGA port. Unlike the E3930 version that supports extended temperature range down to -20° C, the AP23-N3350 supports temperature range of 0℃ ~ 60℃ ( 32 ℉ ~ 140 ℉ ) at 0.7m/s Air Flow. The AP23-N3350 is very suitable for digital signage, such as shelf displays in retail environments and other indoor based applications.

The boards support an HDMI port (up to 3840 x 2160 pixels @30Hz) or dual channel LVDS ports (1920 x 1080 pixels @60Hz). I/O and storage features include Gigabit Ethernet, 3 USB ports (2x USB 3.0), SATA and mSATA, M.2 (2230) for WiFi, and two RS232 headers. To fulfill expansion needs, AP23 incorporates a proprietary customizable Board Input/Output interface (BIO) that supports access to the low pin count (LPC) Super I/O, Trusted Platform Module (TPM), network controllers, and a mix of USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports, ensuring the AP23’s flexibility and connectivity in field applications.

Information about availability or price is not available unless your contact Giada directly. More details on the AP23-E3930 can be found here, and AP23-N3350 can be found here.

Kontron’s Latest COM Express Features Intel’s 8th Gen Coffee Lake Processors

Posted on by Rik

Kontron, a Germany based company has published its first product based on Intel’s 8th Gen “Coffee Lake” processors. The COMe-bCL6 joins other “Coffee Lake” based COM Express Basic Type 6 modules including the Congatec Conga-TS370 and Seco COMe-C08-BT6, which were announced early this month.

COMe-bCL6
COMe-bCL6

The COMe-bCL6 feature set is very related to all these products, with Coffee Lake enabled features like additional PCIe interfaces, support for three simultaneous 4K displays, and multiple USB 3.1 ports with up to 10Gbps transfer speed. The new COMe-bCL6 of dimension 125 x 95mm stands out with its options. The user can double the number of DDR4 memory slots to up to 64GB instead of the standard maximum of 32GB. Other special options include an onboard 1TB NVMe SSD, and the COMe-bCL6 supports Intel Octane memory.

The COMe-bCL6 provides optional –40°C to 85°C support in addition to the standard 0 to 60°C, and it also offers an extended -25°C to 75°C option. Another special R E2S version is available that includes the -40°C to 85°C support, as well as ECC memory and “integrated rapid shutdown”.

The COMe-bCL6 runs Linux, Windows 10, or VxWorks on the following Coffee Lake H- and M-series chips:

  • Intel Core i7-8850H(6x 12-thread 14nm Coffee Lake cores @ 2.6GHz/4.3GHz)
    • 9MB Cache, 45W TDP (35W cTDP)
    • Intel HD Graphics 630
    • QM370 chipset
  • Intel Core i5-8400H(4x 8-thread 14nm Coffee Lake cores @ 2.5GHz/4.2GHz)
    • 8MB Cache, 45W TDP (35W cTDP)
    • Intel HD Graphics 630
    • QM370 chipset
  • 3. Intel Xeon E-2176M, 8850H (6x 12-thread 14nm Coffee Lake cores @ 2.7GHz/4.4GHz)
    • 9MB Cache, 45W TDP (35W cTDP)
    • Intel HD Graphics P630
    • CM246 chipset

The COMe-bCL6 offers a GbE controller and houses 4x SATA III, 4x USB 3.1, 4x USB 2.0, and 2x RX/TX serial ports. Like its rivals, it includes a single PEG x16 and 8x PCIe x1 connections that support Intel Optane. The COMe-bCL6 is further enhanced with SPI, LPC, SMB, “Fast” I2C, a watchdog, and an RTC, There’s an 8-20V wide-range power input and ACPI 6.0 power management.

Pricing or availability information was not provided for the COMe-bCL6. More information may be found on Kontron’s COMe-bCL6 product page.

Solid State Li-ion Batteries – High Energy-Dense Batteries Are Closer Than Before

Posted on by Ayo Ayibiowu

The Interuniversity MicroElectronicss Centre (IMEC) is an independent research center which deals with nanoelectronics and digital technologies. Their headquarters are situated in Leuven, Belgium. Recently IMEC began to research and prototype Solid State Lithium-ion batteries. Solid State batteries are batteries which make use of solid electrodes and electrolytes. There have been a lot of research about Solid – State batteries, however, IMEC has moved from research to producing its first prototype.

Prototype Battery

The battery produced has an energy density of two hundred Wh/L, can be charged within two hours and can accept a charge of 0.5 C. This was achieved through the use of Solid State electrolyte. Nanocomposite electrolyte with high conductivity features was used. The electrolyte starts out as a fluid before solidifying. Unlike liquid electrolyte-based batteries, batteries based on Solid State electrolytes have “inherent safe operating characteristics.” Here’s a scenario: Throwing a normal battery against the wall might cause it to burn due to the liquid electrolyte which is flammable, however Solid State Lithium-ion batteries don’t have anything to burn because lithium is not flammable in its solid state.

ADVANTAGES OF SOLID STATE ELECTROLYTES OVER FLUID ELECTROLYTES

A Solid State electrolyte has almost no degradation reaction left. Therefore it can last through ” hundreds of thousands of cycles.” Secondly, solid-state electrolytes are compatible with metal like lithium anodes thereby affording it the opportunity to obtain very high energy densities targets. This means that higher energy densities can be derived from Solid State electrolytes. Furthermore, fluid electrolytes based Lithium-ion batteries cannot perform well in extreme cold. Solid State electrolytes are capable of working under really low temperatures.

Another advantage is that the dense ceramic electrolyte prevents Li-dendrite shorting and overcomes thermal stability issues of currently used organic liquid electrolytes. The all-solid-state structure provides revolutionary dimensional tolerance and mechanical strength, decreasing packaging requirements and system weight.

Some of the potential applications of this will be :

  • portable electronics (such as laptops or cameras).
  • electric cars.
  • home storage systems for the smart grid.
  • future smart household appliances and autonomous robots.
MORE INFORMATION

IMEC hopes to achieve the development of a battery with an energy density of 1000Wh/L and charging time of 30 minutes (2C). The quest for solid-state batteries isn’t stopping with IMEC alone – MIT is in partnership with Samsung, and they have formed a team to work on Solid State batteries and electrolytes. The University of Maryland is also currently working on their own Solid State Lithium-ion battery. With the way things are going, it will not be long before liquid Lithium chemistry is completely replaced by Solid State electrolytes.

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