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Adafruit Releases ESP32-S2 TFT Feather Board with Wi-Fi And Built-in Native USB

Posted on 16 January, 2022 by Abhishek Jadhav

Adafruit feather boards have been successful in fulfilling the demands of the maker community. Yet another Adafruit ESP32-based TFT panel-mounted feather board with the support for CircuitPython or Arduino. Onboard IPS TFT color display gives you the flexibility to work on a 240 x 135 pixel density panel for mini gaming applications. In addition to the customizability of the hardware, it can be plugged on the breadboard, terminal block wing, and even Feather Doubler.

At the heart of the embedded hardware is the ESP32-S2 system-on-chip featuring a single-core processor running at 240 MHz but unfortunately no support for Bluetooth wireless communication. Of course, the chip won’t be as fast as ESP32’s dual-core processors, but the hardware is built for mini IoT projects with expandability through the massive community of Feather Wings. Low-power system-on-chip is designed to work on Wi-Fi with a native built-in USB and some exciting features like time-of-flight distance measurements.

Specifications of Adafruit ESP32-S2 TFT Feather

SoC: ESP32-S2 240MHz Tensilica processor clocked at 240 MHz frequency
Memory: 2 MB of PSRAM
Storage: 4 MB flash
Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi
Display: Color 1.14″ IPS TFT with 240×135 pixels
Power: USB type C or LiPoly battery
Battery support: LiPoly battery monitor
Sensors: Stemma QT connector for I2C devices
Debug: Serial debug output pin
Software: CircuitPython or Arduino

The embedded hardware comes with a Stemma QT connector for I2C devices to interface sensors for environmental applications. The TFT display onboard gives the option to highlight the environmental parameters fetched from the edge sensor devices. Don’t forget the native USB, which means that it can act like a keyboard or a disk drive.

Low-power usage for the Adafruit ESP32-S2 TFT Feather board has a second AP2112 regulator, which is controlled with a GPIO pin. This can power off the Stemma QT port as well as the TFT display. Also comes an independent power pin for the NeoPixels that can be used to disable it for even lower quiescent power.

Currently, the hardware is out of stock, but you can find more details on the $24.95 Adafruit ESP32-S2 TFT Feather Board on the official product page.

Wi-Fi Certification 6 Release 2 Offering Improved Uplink Performance And Power Management Features

Posted on 16 January, 202216 January, 2022 by Abhishek Jadhav

Wi-Fi Alliance recently announced Certification 6 Release 2 offering new features for advanced Wi-Fi communication-based applications. The adoption of Wi-Fi Certification 6 gives credibility to the manufacturer and due to the increasing demand, the Wi-Fi Alliance looks for revolutionizing the features for Wi-Fi use cases. The two new offerings deal with Wi-Fi uplink performance and power management.

Wi-Fi delivers advanced capabilities that have driven tremendous global innovation, paving the way for massive growth in Wi-Fi applications that users rely on every day,” said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO, Wi-Fi Alliance. “Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2 furthers Wi-Fi’s evolution to address today’s market needs, and supports more high-performance Wi-Fi scenarios with greater capacity, efficiency, and reliability.

The ever-increasing device density which demands bandwidth has, in turn, resulted in more uplink data in residential and enterprise surroundings. The new version supports uplink multi-user MIMO, which allows devices to upload content simultaneously to an access point. The uplink data has been increasing because the users have started uploading documents and videos to the cloud with the trend for cloud storage. IoT applications have surged over the last decade require edge devices to receive a huge volume of data and transmit it to the cloud via Wi-Fi, which again comes under uplink data consumption.

Multi-user MIMO aims to improve network performance and reduce latency for video conferencing, uploading documents, videos, and other applications requiring more uplink capacity. Wi-Fi 6 is seen in many embedded hardware and the adoption has significantly increased in public and private sectors, driving innovation in a wide range of applications that depend on Wi-Fi wireless communication technology.

The power management feature also brings improvements for IoT devices to the edge. Low-powered and advanced sleep modes including broadcast target wake time, extended sleep time, and dynamic multi-user spatial multiplexing power save have taken the innovation to a next level optimizing battery-powered devices. All these features enabled several devices to receive extended sleep periods and only wake-up times for transmitting data.

For more information on the new enhancements, head to the press release.

[Image Credits: Hackster]

Geniatech K3-3568 Development Board for Smart Display Devices

Posted on 16 January, 20222 August, 2024 by Abhishek Jadhav

Six months since the release of the Geniatech DB10 AI development board for smart automation applications, the manufacturer has come up with an RK3568-based K3 intelligent development board with high performance and stability. More than a year after the launch of RK3568, it is surprising to see Geniatech embed the system-on-chip in its newest development board. There are several reasons to choose this SoC over the recently introduced powerful and high-performance chips. Let us dive into what makes K3 so much RK3568.

Rockchip RK3568 is a general-purpose SoC made in 22nm process technology, designed for industrial control automation deployment. At the heart of the SoC is the Arm-based Cortex-A55 processor integrated alongside Mali G52 2EE graphics processor supporting 4K video decoding and 1080p video encoding. Recently, I came across some fascinating applications of this SoC while exploring BTC casino sites, which often leverage advanced technology for enhanced user experiences and security. With built-in NPUs and embedded Neon co-processors, Rockchip RK3568 can be utilized for lightweight AI workloads. Officially supporting Android 11 and Linux distros, Rockchip RK3568 makes it into the world of IoT gateways, industrial equipment, and vehicular subsystems.

Specifications of K3-3568 Development Board

CPU: Rockchip RK3568 Quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor, Neon co-processor and FPU
GPU: Mali G52 2EE supporting OpenGL ES 1.0, 1.2, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, Vulkan 1.1, and OpenCL 2.0
NPU: 0.8 TOPS for AI workloads
Storage: 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
Memory: 2GB, 4GB, 8GB LPDDR4 RAM
Wireless connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0 (optional), IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi (ax optional)
USB interface: 1x USB 3.0 and 1x USB 2.0
Camera connection: Integrated dual ISP with support for image sensor up to 18MP
Expansion: 1x UART, 1x Mic array, 1x speaker socket, MIPI DSI, HDMI IN, HDMI OUT, M.2 and Mini PCIe socket
Operating system: Android 11.0 and Debian 10
Power: 12V/2A
Dimensions: 142×118 mm

One of the interesting things about the Geniatech K3-3568 development board is the option to connect 4G LTE module via Mini PCIe socket and SIM card slot as well as the 5G module through M.2 socket. This gives you the flexibility to deploy the hardware for a smart display connected via 4G/5G or even Wi-Fi 6. As expected, the hardware supports Android 11.0 and Linux distro Debian 10.

Geniatech has not publicly disclosed the pricing or availability of the development board. If you are looking for bulk volume, the manufacturer seems interested in discussing potential pricing. For more details on the Geniatech K3-3568 development board, head to the official product page.

Radxa ROCK5 Model B With Embedded Rockchip RK3588 System-on-Chip

Posted on 16 January, 2022 by Abhishek Jadhav

Radxa announced a new Arm Desktop standard single board computer, ROCK 5 Model B based on the Rockchip RK3588 low-power and high-performance processor for edge computing. Radxa became one of the first manufacturers to embed an RK3588 system-on-chip showing the capabilities for digital multimedia applications.

At the heart of the Radxa ROCK5 Model B single-board computer is the RK3588 which comes with integrated quad-core Cortex-A76 and quad-core Cortex-A55 alongside a NEON co-processor. With several powerful hardware embedded inside the system-on-chip, the SBC is capable of supporting H.256 and VP9 video decoder at 8K 60fps and H.264 decoder at 8K 30fps. Along with this comes the embedded 3D GPU from Mali that supports OpenGLES 1.1, 2.0, and 3.0 with Vulkan 1.2. The SoC also introduces an image signal processor that can implement several algorithms accelerates like HDR, fisheye correction, and gamma correction.

Specifications of ROCK5 Model B:

Type: Pico-ITX form factor
SoC: RK3588 on 8nm manufacturing process
- Quad-core Arm Cortex-A76 processor @ 2.4GHz clock frequency
- Quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor @1.8GHz clock rate
- NEON co-processor
- Mali-G610 GPU
- 6 TOPS NPU
Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2
Memory: 4GB, 8GB and 16GB LPDDR4 RAM
Storage: 4x PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD, MicroSD card slot, and eMMC flash socket
Interfaces: 2.5G Ethernet with PoE support
Video output: 2x HDMI 2.1 up to 8K at 60fps and 1x USB Type-C with DisplayPort up to 8K at 30fps
Video input: HDMI IN support up to 4K at 60fps
Operating system: Linux kernel 5.10, Debian Buster/Android 12
GPIOs: 40-pin header
Dimensions: 100×72 mm

The ROCK5 Model B highlights three versions with different LPDDR4 RAM from the 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB options but lets you decide on flash memory through several interfaces. It does not fall behind when it comes to wireless connectivity of the single-board computer by supporting Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. Video input through HDMI IN supports up to 4K at 60 fps but better video output through HDMI 2.1 and USB Type-C ports.

The base variant of Radxa ROCK5 Model B is priced at $129 going up to $189 for 16GB memory. However, you can save up to $50 on any of your desired models using the R3 code for a discount. You can purchase the hardware through official distributors like Ameridroid and Allnetchina.

KiCad Version 6.0.0 with New Interface and Improved PCB Design Experience

Posted on 13 January, 202213 January, 2022 by Abhishek Jadhav

Many of you might be familiar with the Eagle PCB software suite for electronic design automation. Similar open-source software was introduced about 3 decades ago, KiCad EDA has released a new version with “substantial improvements”. If you are an embedded electronic hacker, KiCad is a famous EDA tool satisfying the needs of the ever-demanding maker community. Also, available to download for Windows, macOS and several Linux distros operating systems. Going back, this article will primarily focus on highlighting the improvements seen in KiCad version 6.0.0.

There have been many important changes that make this release a substantial improvement over the 5.x series and a worthwhile upgrade for users on all platforms. There are hundreds of new features and improvements, as well as hundreds of bugs that have been fixed. Below are some of the highlights of the new release.

In every new software version, the users are always looking for a refreshed graphical interface. Here comes the KiCad 6.0 offering a new user experience making it easier to switch between KiCad and other design automation tools. The barriers to entry for such software suites are very high but with this new update, KiCad aims to reduce the limitations for new users. Working across schematic and PCB will be easier than ever before with harmonized hotkeys and dialogue layouts.

Big upgrades to PCB design come with new options to navigate through complex designs. The KiCad 6.0 version features support for hiding certain nets from the ratsnest and controlling the opacity of zones, pads, vias and tracks. For the schematic window, the improvements include the ability to assign and control net classes while modifying the color and style for wires and buses independently. The visualization of your designed board can be done in several ways through the updated 3D viewer featuring ray-tracing lighting controls, highlighting of objects that are selected in the PCB window and many more.

For more details on KiCad version 6.0.0 release, proceed towards the official blog post.

Intel’s Loihi 2 – Next-Generation Neuromorphic Research Chip

Posted on 13 January, 202213 January, 2022 by Abhishek Jadhav

The shift from offline training using labeled datasets in parallel computing to learn on-the-fly through neuron firing rules in Neuromorphic Computing has significantly aided the ever-increasing demand for artificial intelligence in a range of applications. Intel’s first-generation Neuromorphic Loihi Chip was presented with self-learning capabilities, novel neuron models, and asynchronous spike-based communication.

After a series of discussions with customers and three years of intensive research on designing a next-gen Neuromorphic chip, Intel introduces the all-new Loihi 2. The new generation of neuromorphic computing architecture comes with 128 neuron cores per chip and twice the number of processors per chip as compared to the predecessor.

Investigators at Los Alamos National Laboratory have been using the Loihi Neuromorphic platform to investigate the trade-offs between quantum and Neuromorphic computing, as well as implementing learning processes on-chip,” said Dr. Gerd J. Kunde, staff scientist, Los Alamos National Laboratory. “This research has shown some exciting equivalences between spiking neural networks and quantum annealing approaches for solving hard optimization problems.

The Loihi 2, Neuromorphic computing architecture offers generalized event-based messaging, which allows spikes to carry integer-valued payloads at little cost in either performance or energy. With greater neuron model programmability, Loihi 2 can be modified supporting common arithmetic, comparison, and program control flow instructions. The programmability further enhances the performance without compromising the efficiency for a wide range of use cases.

When compared with their predecessors, the Loihi 2 is capable of achieving 2x higher synaptic density, which means that the new processor architecture has half the size of the neuron core for the same synaptic memory capacity. To optimally utilize the available memory, Loihi 2 offers advanced connectivity compression features by supporting sparse and dense synapse encoding. Major improvements are seen in the support for convolutional, factorized, and stochastic connections. With Loihi 2 there is an increase in the number of embedded processors per chip to 6 from 3 in the previous version.

A comprehensive comparison between the two versions is also made available by the manufacturer. For more details on Intel’s Loihi 2 Neuromorphic Chip, head to the product page.

ETH Zurich Researchers Introduces A New RISC-V based Processor Architecture

Posted on 13 January, 202213 January, 2022 by Abhishek Jadhav

For the growing demand for floating-point operations per second, a group of researchers at ETH Zurich (home for some significant RISC-V innovation) announced a new RISC-V-based processor architecture with substantial upgrades in performance and energy efficiency. The basic idea behind the innovation comes from the combination of a tiny 10kGE (kilo gate equivalent) control core, now known as Snitch, with a double-precision FPU. Since the traditional approach introduced a trade-off between the non-floating point unit area and floating-point utilization, which has been taken care of by the Snitch. This was done by enhancing the RISC-V instruction set architecture with “two minimally intrusive extensions”.

The decision to include stream semantic registers and a floating-point repetition instruction was the key to reaching the goal. These ISA extensions further reduced the pressure on the core and gave the opportunity to run other tasks which made Snitch and FPU a dual-issue at a minimal incremental cost of 3.2%. The proposed architectural modifications were carried out on an octa-core cluster of 22nm technology. The results show that the methodology achieved over 6x multi-core speed up and a 3.5x gain in energy efficiency.

The contributions made by the group of researchers include the design of a general-purpose, single-stage, single-issue core tuned for high energy efficiency which is aimed towards maximizing the compute per control ratio. The ISA extensions of the stream semantic register are meant to accelerate data oblivious problems by providing an efficient semantic to read and write from memory. An algorithm is called data-oblivious if its control flow and memory access pattern do not depend on its input data.

“We aim to maximize the control to compute ratio by providing a small and agile integer core that can make single-cycle control flow decisions and integer arithmetic and combine it with a large FPU,” the team explains. “The system offers an implementation of the RISC-V atomic extension (A) for efficient multicore programming and can be targeted with a standard RISC-V toolchain.”

The research was published in the journal IEEE Transactions on Computers under closed access terms.

[Image Credit: Hackster News]

Innodisk Releases the World’s First 10GbE LAN Module in M.2 Form Factor

Posted on 13 January, 202213 January, 2022 by mixos

Innodisk has announced its all-new EGPL-T101 M.2 2280 10GbE LAN module, the first 10GbE LAN designed in M.2 form factor, features flexible integration and excellent compatibility with existing network infrastructure for crucial backward compatibility

Looking into the booming markets and scenarios ranging from surveillance to gaming, networking, and industrial uses, the growing demand for high-speed LAN solutions is promising. Additionally, interference issues are also occurring more often as the size of the PCIe form factor cannot fit in the smaller design of IPC platforms nowadays. Being the leading global provider of industrial embedded flash and memory, Innodisk is introducing the first M.2 10GbE LAN module designed to meet the demand for increased speed and reduced size, high-speed LAN solutions.

Innodisk’s EGPL-T101 is the first M.2 2280-to-single 10GbE Base-T Ethernet module which is also the smallest 10GbE expansion solution available today and ten times faster than standard Ethernet. By supporting PCI Express Gen 3×2, the EGPL-T101 module can provide sufficient bandwidth for one 10GbE LAN port suitable for server and industrial applications’ high-speed network demands.

As an Innodisk high-speed LAN solution, EGPL-T101 boasts flexible integration. Its standard RJ45 LAN port on a tiny daughterboard provides an easy solution for upgrading to a 10GbE network using existing Cat6/6A copper cables. The EGPL-T101 also features excellent compatibility with its six network standards supported in 10/5/2.5/1Gbps and 100/10Mbps, providing excellent backward compatibility with existing network infrastructure. Lastly, the EGPL-T101 features high-performance computing (HPC) which is ten times faster than the widely used Gigabit Ethernet with low power consumption. EGPL-T101 is suitable for various high-speed scenarios, including:

Machine vision in industrial applications
High throughput network data transmission
High-resolution imaging for surveillance
Low-latency for gaming

Mass production of the EGPL-T101 is expected to begin in December 2021 to meet the growing demand for innovative high-speed LAN solutions.

floLIVE introduces a new iSIM providing regulatory-compliant global connectivity for connecting IoT devices at scale

Posted on 12 January, 2022 by mixos

floLIVE, a leading IoT connectivity provider of advanced 5G network solutions and a full suite of cloud-based global connectivity services, today announced it has collaborated with Kigen – a global leader in eSIM and iSIM security, and Sony Semiconductor Israel (Sony) – a leading Cellular IoT chipset provider.

The three vendors have successfully developed an advanced, state-of-the-art solution based on Sony’s Altair cellular IoT chipset ALT1250 with an integrated SIM (iSIM) powered by Kigen’s iSIM OS and embedded with floLIVE’s global connectivity. The new solution leverages the benefits brought by iSIM technology of lower size, cost, and efficient communications, combined with an advanced LPWA chipset for NB-IoT and CAT-M and local breakouts – all contributing to improving latency and extending battery life – key requirements for modern IoT use cases.

floNET is floLIVE’s global connectivity service; through a globally distributed array of core mobile network instances, it provides enterprise customers with localized connectivity that adheres to privacy and data sovereignty regulations (e.g., GDPR), and is permanent roaming safe.

“Our joint solution is a unique offering in the IoT space, and will be a model for other solutions in the market,” said Nir Shalom, CEO floLIVE. “We are proud to have the opportunity to partner with Sony and Kigen to leverage our highly-effective over-the-air multi-IMSI solution that is in line with Sony’s own target to extend battery life and optimize data usage, and Kigen’s advanced, highly-secure integrated SIM OS.”

This collaboration is a significant step in floLIVE’s growth as a global connectivity leader, and in the worldwide need for innovative, iSIM-based connectivity solutions that meet new business needs.

“Sony is at the forefront of the next generation of connected devices, and to make that happen, we collaborate with vendors who have new approaches to enabling IoT connectivity”, said Aviv Castro, VP Business Development at Sony Semiconductor Israel. “floLIVE offers broad global coverage in our target markets and can address local regulatory challenges. This not only encourages IoT adoption, but also supports specific customer requirements for privacy and scale.”

Having developed its own global software connectivity infrastructure, floLIVE can customize any element of the solution to meet specific customer requirements. The solution supports additional cellular technologies such as 5G, for future use cases.

“Kigen initiated the iSIM technology with a vision to simplify the manufacture of global IoT products and scale seamlessly,” said Vincent Korstanje, CEO at Kigen. “This collaboration with Sony and floLIVE combines the best of security through Kigen iSIM OS with out of the box LPWAN connectivity on proven iSIM chipset so OEMs can focus on meeting regulatory and local market needs.”

more information: https://flolive.net/flonet/

Vecow and MOV.AI Partner to Accelerate AMR Development for Enterprise Needs

Posted on 12 January, 202212 January, 2022 by mixos

Vecow Co., Ltd., a team of global embedded experts, and MOV.AI who is revolutionizing Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR) development, today announced they are collaborating to provide an integrated AMR solution containing the Vecow ECX-1000 Series Workstation-grade Fanless System and MOV.AI Robotics Engine Platform™. The demand for AMRs is growing rapidly – Interact Analysis predicts that 2.1 million mobile robots will be shipped by the end of 2025 including 860,000 in that year alone. AMRs are expected to perform a growing number of mission-critical tasks in dynamic industrial and logistics environments. The strategic technology partnership aims to help AMR manufacturers with an integrated computing and software platform that speeds up AMR development and deployment.

Powered by Intel Core i7 processor running with workstation-grade chipset, Vecow ECX-1000 provides outstanding system performance, always-on 5G/WiFi/4G/LTE/BT mobile availability, smart system manageability, smart power protection features optimized for autonomous operation. The MOV.AI ROS-based Robotics Engine Platform™ provides AMR manufacturers and automation integrators everything needed to easily develop enterprise grade robots. It includes a ROS-based IDE, off-the-shelf autonomous navigation algorithms, deployment tools, and operational tools such as fleet management, flexible interfaces with warehouse environments such as ERP and WMS, cyber-security, and APIs.

Vecow ECX-1000 is embedded with VHub ROS, a turnkey solution which covers AI computing systems, perception SDKs and software platform, and all-in-one integrated functions with versatile platform offerings to accelerate the requirements of AMR applications. With this collaboration, the MOV.AI Robotics Engine Platform is included in the VHub ROS solution and serves as a premium version of VHub ROS for AMR manufacturers.

“We are so glad for this win-win partnership with MOV.AI,” said Thomas Su, Vice President of Vecow. “Vecow ECX-1000 Series Fanless Workstation running with the MOV.AI Robotics Engine Platform™ delivers an enterprise-grade, easy to build, deploy and operate AMR solution to benefit not only our global partners but also Vecow and MOV.AI a competitive advantages and faster time-to-market.”

“We are excited about the partnership with Vecow and the benefit MOV.AI-powered IPCs deliver”, said Motti Kushnir, MOV.AI CEO. “This joint offering is in line with our mission to simplify collaborative robot development and to provide AMR manufacturers and integrators with everything they need to develop and operate great robots. MOV.AI Robotics Engine Platform running on top of Vecow Computing Engine creates a robust end-to-end Robotics infrastructure that powers, high-performance enterprise-grade robots.”

ECX-1000 : Intel® Xeon®/Core™ i7/i5/i3 Processor Workstation-grade Embedded System

VHub ROS Solution : A turnkey autonomous robot solution service to accelerate your AMR applications

MOV.AI Robotics Engine Platform : End-to-end visual ROS-Based robotics software platform and visual IDE