📟 ESP32 board with 150Mbps 4G LTE modem also supports RS485, CAN Bus, and relay expansion

LILYGO has designed another ESP32 board with a 4G LTE modem delivering up to 150 Mbps download and 50 Mbps upload speeds.

The board also supports GPS, includes a 18650 battery holder, and features I/O expansion headers that support an add-on board with RS485 and CAN bus interfaces, but no cellular connectivity.

Board specifications:
▫️ ESP32-WROVER-E module based on ESP32 dual-core processor @ 240 MHz with 4MB flash, 8MB PSRAM, 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 4.2/5.x connectivity, PCB antenna
▫️ Nano-SIM card socket, 1x external 4G LTE antenna (but 2x u.FL antenna connectors)
▫️ Expansion – 2x 16-pin headers with GPIOs, ADC, DAC, touch interface, UART, I2C, SPI, VN/VP, Reset, VBUS, VBAT, 3.3V, GND

More information...

#boards #esp32

📃 5 ways to improve embedded developer efficiency

▫️ Spend Less Time Debugging
A few ideas to help your team spend less time debugging include: Embracing Test-Driven Development techniques, Develop off target as much as possible, Master debugging strategies.

▫️ Prioritize product features
If those features that are required to launch the product have not been implemented yet, then there is no reason developers should be working on the frosting or the cherry on top!

▫️ Invest in training and education
First, company can provide access to online learning resources in their industry. Secondly, it focuses on continuous education, such as training courses. Courses can focus on technical job aspects, but even time management and self-improvement can help make a difference.

▫️ Strategically automate
For example, if days or weeks are spent on manual testing, then automating the testing could be a helpful prescription.

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#articles

🎬 Top 5 Library Additions in C++23

This survey presentation provides students with a broad overview of the changes and a deep dive on a few facilities. The first part of the talk will be an outline of all the C++23 library facilities - in 23 minutes or less. From there we'll dive deep into 5 libraries as chosen by audience participation with approximately 13 minutes per topic.

High probability topics based on prior presentations are:
▫️ std::format and std::print and range formatting
▫️ some presentation of range algos and range view topics
▫️ std::expected
▫️ standard modules

The tutorial will be up to date with the latest working draft will include pointers to current implementations as well as the state of compiler support.

https://youtu.be/ZSbLute3IUU

#video #programming #cpp

📟 ESP32 powers IoT Geiger counter

Since the war in Ukraine, the discussion about nuclear weapons raised and people got into thinking about radioactive exposure again. While there is no real fear, there is still some awareness and interest in the normal radiation levels you have around you all the time.

The main sensor is represented by Soviet-era SBM-20 Geiger–Müller tube. That meant coming up with a new high-voltage power supply capable of providing the tube with the necessary 400 V, which from the sound of things, took a few attempts to complete. The final result is perhaps the smallest and cleanest looking board we’ve ever seen play host to this particular tube.

To run the show, author selected the ESP32-PICO-D4. It reads the impulses from the SBM-20 tube and publish them via MQTT.

More information...

#projects #esp32

📃 How to quickly deploy TinyML on MCUs?

This article will provide you with an introduction to ML on microcontrollers. This topic is also known as tiny machine learning (TinyML). Get ready for losing against an ESP-EYE at rock, paper, scissors.

You will learn about:
▫️ data collection and processing
▫️ how to design and train an AI
▫️ how to get it running on the MCU

This example provides you with all you need to do your own TinyML project, from start to end.

More information...

#articles #machine_learning #programming #python

🎬 10 Tips On Learning Embedded Systems

In this video, embedded systems consultant Martin Schroder outlines ten steps on self learning embedded systems.

Learning and understanding embedded systems require a broad skillset. According to Schroder, they include programming skills in C, knowing operating systems, a knowledge of electronics. and more. As many aspects of embedded systems are not taught in engineering colleges, self learning is important, which is why Schroder titled the video “10 Steps To Self Learn Embedded Systems”.

https://youtu.be/XhO-SwIsr44

#video

📃 How to Design and 3D Print Custom Cases for Your Devices

Design your own products with free software and 3D printers

In this tutorial, we’re going to learn how to custom design and 3D print a case by creating one for the Pimoroni Tufty2040, an RP2040-powered badge with a 2.4-inch LED screen.

Designing your own product for 3D printing is relatively straightforward. We just need to apply an iterative methodology to the design and fabrication process.

The process will differ slightly depending on what you are creating a case for. However, in following the steps for the Tufty2040, we’ll learn the basic steps for creating and 3D printing a custom case.

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#articles #3d_modeling

🎬 Message Handling in Embedded: a Declarative, Modern C++ Approach

In embedded systems, messages usually arrive asynchronously and need to be efficiently parsed. Often the structure and semantics of a message packet depend on the value of a series of bits within the message. In event driven designs, messages are filtered and routed to proper handlers.

This talk will dive into a declarative approach to solving common problems with message handling: bit mapping fields, filtering, and dispatching to handlers. The solution is sensitive to small footprint embedded targets yet fairly flexible.

https://youtu.be/LdPgNFR7OL8

#video #cpp

📟 Build your own IoT platform using node.js and ESP8266

In this article, you will learn how to build your own IoT minimal platform, that works over the internet. The platform will have three parts:

▫️ The User Interface (frontend)
▫️ Server (backend)
▫️ Hardware

And all three parts of the application should be able to communicate with each other in real-time by using WebSocket. WebSocket is a computer communications protocol, providing full-duplex communication channels over a single TCP connection.

More information...

#esp32 #IoT

🎬 Making PCBs with 3D printed stencil and UV paint

How to use an UV-curable soldermask as an actual etching mask. This process is pretty quick and doesn't require chemicals to develop the etching mask, just UV light and some heat.

Pros:
▫️ no chemicals besides the soldermask, isopropyl alcohol and etchant are required
▫️ the stencil completely blocks UV, making it hard to overexpose the board; it also completly passes the UV in uncovered areas, making the exposure faster than with a plastic film
▫️ the stencil is reusable

Cons:
▫️ not suitable for fine-pitch components
▫️ requires adding "bridges" to the stencil to keep it from falling apart

https://youtu.be/QdvfGcdTSuA

#video #electronics

📃 The curious case of the Raspberry Pi in the network closet

A short story about how author found, analyzed and in the end caught the culprit of a malicious device in their network.

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#articles #security

📟 ArduinoJSON: Efficient JSON serialization for embedded C++

ArduinoJson is not limited to Arduino; it works with any C++ project. Moreover, it’s compatible with C++98, so it doesn’t require a modern C++ compiler, which means you can use it with your old vendor toolchain.

Compared to the “official” Arduino_JSON library:
▫️ ArduinoJson is twice smaller,
▫️ ArduinoJson runs almost 10% faster,
▫️ ArduinoJson consumes roughly 10% less RAM.

Finally, ArduinoJson is open-source and uses one of the most permissive licenses so you can use it on any project.

More information...

#arduino #libraries #cpp

📰 Artificial Synapses 10,000x Faster Than Real Thing

New artificial versions of the neurons and synapses in the human brain are up to 1,000 times smaller than neurons and at least 10,000 times faster than biological synapses, a study now finds.

These new devices may help improve the speed at which the increasingly common and powerful artificial intelligence systems known as deep neural networks learn, researchers say.

Just as transistors are the core elements of digital computers, so too are neuron- and synapse-like components the key building blocks in analog deep learning. In the new study, researchers experimented with artificial synapses called programmable resistors.

In experiments, the scientists found their protonic programmable resistors could perform at least 10,000 times faster than biological synapses at room temperature. Onen says: "Previously the operation timescales were around milliseconds, whereas in this work we achieved nanoseconds."

#news #artificial_intelligence