The Ox64 single-board computer from the company Pine64 is a RISC-V based SBC powered by Bouffalo Lab’s BL808 64-bit RISC-V CPU. With the embedded 64 MB PSRAM memory and integrated radios (Wi-Fi, BT, Zigbee), the device is a powerhouse for embedded applications. It provides a breadboard friendly form factor (same as the Raspberry Pi Pico), a MicroSD Card slot, USB 2.0, and many other peripheral interfaces for makers to integrate with sensors and other devices.
Figure 1. Pine64 Ox64 SBC.
The brain of the board, the BL808, tends to blur the lines between MCUs and SoCs. The device has an asymmetrical dual-core architecture (similar to the Arduino Portenta H7) with a 64-bit core clocked at 480 MHz and a 32-bit core clocked at 320 MHz.
The two RISC V processor cores used in the design are the C906 and E907 from the company T-Head. These cores are supported by 728 kB of SRAM and 64 MB of pSRAM. Thanks to the onboard memory management unit and the generous amount of RAM, this SoC is able to run a Linux kernel. Finally, a neural networks accelerator capable of 0,1 TOPS is embedded for AI and ML smarts.
Figure 2. Block diagram of the BL808 SoC.
The MCU is equipped with four I2C controllers, two SPI controllers, four UARTs, and a CAN interface. An ADC, DAC, touch controller, PWM units and the usual GPIO pins are also included, providing freedom to use the SoC as the maker sees fit, without limitations.
Even though it exists on the small Pine Ox64 SBC and includes RISC V processing cores, it sits somewhere between the Raspberry Pi Pico and the Raspberry Pi 4 in terms of processing capabilities, making it an interesting option for small projects requiring a reasonable amount of processing power.
Read more...Full sensor to cloud solution CST Electronics
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
NeoCortec has demonstrated the seamless and rapid development of full sensor-to-cloud solutions using NeoMesh Click boards from MikroE and the IoTConnect cloud solution from Avnet.
Read more...The 8-bit survival syndrome – Part 2
DSP, Micros & Memory
Just like the 4-bit pre-microcontroller, the 8-bit MCU has been finding ways to stick around. Their features and speeds have been improving, offering competitive reasons to work with them.
Read more...Enhanced code protection for USB µC portfolio Future Electronics
DSP, Micros & Memory
To help easily incorporate USB power and communication functionality into embedded systems, Microchip Technology has launched the AVR DU family of microcontrollers.
Read more...General-purpose MCU with RISC-V architecture EBV Electrolink
DSP, Micros & Memory
Renesas has released a general-purpose MCU to enhance its existing RISC-V portfolio, and this is its first MCU using a RISC-V core developed internally at the company.
Read more...8-bit MCU with I3C support Avnet Silica
DSP, Micros & Memory
The PIC18-Q20 8-bit microcontrollers from Microchip easily interface with devices operating in multiple voltage domains, and the built-in I3C interface supports higher-speed and lower-power data transfers than I2C.
Read more...Banana Pi with NPU CST Electronics
AI & ML
The latest Banana Pi SBC, the BPI-M7, is powered by Rockchip’s latest flagship RK3588 octa-core 64-bit processor, with a maximum frequency of 2,4 GHz.
Read more...An evolutionary step in customisable logic Altron Arrow
DSP, Micros & Memory
Microchip Technology is offering a tailored hardware solution with the launch of its PIC16F13145 family of microcontrollers, which are outfitted with a new Configurable Logic Block module.
Read more...MCU for battery-powered applications Altron Arrow
DSP, Micros & Memory
Included in ST’s family of devices is the STM32U031, an ultra-low-power MCU featuring an ARM Cortex-M0+ 32-bit core running at up to 56 MHz.