Newark has announced that LattePanda Mu compute module, carrier boards, and starter kit, the latest additions to the popular LattePanda range from DF Robot, are now available from stock.

LattePanda Mu is a micro x86 compute module that features an Intel N100 quad-core processor with 3.4GHz turbo frequency. This combination provides solid performance and multitasking capabilities for the majority of applications. Small, yet powerful, LattePanda Mu supports multiple operating systems, including Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux, and others with a wide range of flexible customisation options.

Its small, pocket-size dimensions enable the LattePanda Mu x86 compute module to be easily integrated into space-constrained devices, delivering powerful computation without taking up much space.

Romain Soreau, Global Program Manager, Single Board Computing at Newark, said, ”LattePanda Mu builds on the success of LattePanda - a complete single board computer that can do everything a regular PC can do including running powerful tools such as Visual Studio, NodeJS, Java, Processing, and much more. Its compute module, carrier boards, and starter kit comprise an attractive package of speed, power and flexibility.”

LattePanda Mu enables users to freely allocate the interfaces and form factors they need in the carrier board design, whether it be for an energy-saving or a high-performance, 10GbE network equipped, NAS.

The processing and encryption/decryption performance of the N100 processor included in the LattePanda Mu enables multiple network cards to be used to achieve the network functions required. Further functions can be added to the carrier board to build it into a highly integrated and versatile network infrastructure.

Joy Yang, Business Development Manager for DFRobot, said “The LattePanda Mu’s flexible ports and open-source carrier board files enable users to effortlessly design custom carrier boards to meet their unique requirements. It has been a very popular addition for DFRobot and will no doubt be equally successful with Newark’s customers.”

The LattePanda Mu is now available and shipping globally from Newark in North America,  Farnell in EMEA, and element14 in APAC.

A brand new range of industrial application kits from Arduino, is available exclusively from Newark and Avnet. These cutting-edge Arduino PRO industrial kits are crafted to cater to the needs of professionals and enthusiasts, empowering them to develop sophisticated projects with precision and ease.

The kits offer a wealth of tools, including advanced microcontrollers, sensors, and actuators, designed to unlock creativity and innovation in designing and implementing complex electronic systems. From smart cities to industrial automation, these versatile kits are set to revolutionize the way professionals and electronics enthusiasts approach their projects.

Focusing on performance, reliability, and scalability, Arduino's pro application kits are essential tools for engineers, researchers, and professionals in industrial automation, IoT (Internet of Things), robotics, and prototyping. These kits, with their robust hardware and user-friendly development environment, are perfect for those aiming to drive innovation in their projects.

The Arduino zero-touch programming experience enables effortless deployment and remote management of projects. Over-the-air firmware updates and a secure on-board element ensure applications remain up-to-date and secure.

The new Arduino Pro Kits include:    

• Arduino Pro Industrial Automation and Lighting Kit – the perfect way to learn and create solutions focused on a micro PLC programming environment, industrial communication protocols and control applications.
• Arduino Smart Industry OEM Condition Monitorin4g Kit – a simplified kit suitable for projects needing temperature measurements. It exploits the Portenta Machine Control’s capabilities with three temperature inputs for Thermocouples J/K and RTD PT100.
• Arduino Pro Edge AI/ML Vision and Speech Kit – a selection designed to empower developers to build intelligent projects with computer vision, image, and speech recognition. It leverages easy-to-use edge AI tools, all controllable remotely via Arduino Cloud using beginner-friendly Arduino C++ programming.
• Smart Industry Predictive Maintenance Kit – this kit enables beginners to implement automation systems capable of recognizing voice commands and sensing environmental data to trigger processes.  
• Pro Smart Industry Prototyping Kit – a hands-on kit which offers learners a unique opportunity to experience the world of industrial automation through a direct approach. It provides a platform to gain practical experience with industry-standard technologies such as Linux OS, LoRa® connectivity, and communication protocols used in factories and plants.  

All of the new Arduino Pro kits include advanced microcontrollers, sensors, actuators and other components, to empower the user to design and implement intricate electronic systems with precision and efficiency.

Romain Soreau, Head of Single Board Computing (SBC) category at Newark, says, ”The Arduino Pro Kits available exclusively from Newark and Avnet enable developers of all levels to accelerate innovation.

“With a variety of kits incorporating a range of Arduino technologies, our customers are able to find the right kit to support a range of applications. These user-friendly kits provide everything needed to explore specific industry applications, from smart factories to connected agriculture. By leveraging the vast library of Arduino software and seamless integration with third-party solutions for AI transformation, Pro Kits unlock a world of creative possibilities.”

Keith Jackson, Marketing Manager, Arduino, says “Our Arduino Pro kits showcase the best of our Arduino technologies in a suitable package for a range of application areas. We’re pleased to be working with renowned distributors Newark and Avnet to offer these kits to the market exclusively through them.”

The new Arduino PRO application kits will be available from Newark in North America, Farnell in EMEA and element14 in APAC. The kits are also available from Avnet globally.

Newark is offering customers the opportunity to pre-order BeagleY^®-AI, a new, open-source single board computer (SBC) from BeagleBoard.org that enables developers to jump straight into the creation of an expansive new range of AI applications.

BeagleY-AI is born from BeagleBoard's enthusiasm to expand the growth of the open-source hardware ecosystem, and in the past two years, they've unveiled six new boards that aim to make IoT and AI more accessible.

BeagleY^®-AI is designed to enable users to maximize AI performance in robotics, factory and building automation, test and measurement, medical technology, human-machine interfaces (HMIs), and intelligent vision. BeagleY^®-AI delivers the computing power required to develop tasks such as image classification, object detection, semantic segmentation, and many others.

Newark Head of Single Board Computing, Romain Soreau, said, “This is exciting news for all developers. With its competitive price and user-friendly design, BeagleY^®-AI provides a positive development experience using BeagleBoard's tried and tested custom Debian Linux image.”

BeagleY^®-AI features a powerful 64-bit, quad-core A53 processor, multiple powerful AI accelerators paired with C7x DSPs, integrated 50 GFLOP GPU supporting up to three concurrent display outputs and modern connectivity including USB3.1, PCIe Gen 3, WiFi6 and BLE 5.4.  The board is compatible with a wide range of existing accessories that expand the system functionality, such as Power Over Ethernet (PoE), NVMe storage, and 5G connectivity.

The complete range of new BeagleY^®-AI SBC features includes:

• Texas Instruments AM67A SoC: Quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A53 CPU, dual general-purpose DSP, Arm Cortex-R5 subsystem, GPU, video and vision accelerators.
• Memory: 4GB LPDDR4 ; microSD card socket; board identifier EEPROM.
• 3 simultaneous displays: microHDMI, OLDI (LVDS) with touchscreen support; MIPI-DSI with touchscreen support (mixed with MIPI-CSI).
• Debug: 3-pin JST-SH console UART; 10-pin TAG-CONNECT JTAG header
• Rich I/Os: PCI-Express® Gen3; USB-C device port, 40-pin expansion header

BeagleBoard.org’s CEO, Christine Long, said, “We are excited to launch Beagle®Y-AI as a an open-source board. This is an exciting step forward in BeagleBoard's mission to expand the open-source hardware ecosystem. By providing a platform that encourages collaboration and learning, BeagleY®-AI has the potential to empower individuals and professionals to develop open designs and contribute to the broader community.”

BeagleY^®-AI can be preordered online from Newark in North America, Farnell in EMEA and element14 in APAC from launch day on March 27^th onwards with shipping starting end of May.

The all-new Raspberry Pi 5 4GB and 8GB boards are now available to order for next-day delivery from Newark, Raspberry Pi’s exclusive global licensee.

The new board features a 2.4GHz quad-core, 64-bit Arm Cortex-A76 CPU, with 512KB L2 caches and a 2MB shared L3 cache, enabling a greatly expanded range of applications, and on-board dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 connectivity. The RP1 I/O controller chip, designed in-house at Raspberry Pi, delivers a step change in interfacing performance.

A number of new accessories are available to complement Raspberry Pi 5, including a case with integrated variable-speed fan. For those who need to use their Raspberry Pi 5 under heavy load without a case, an active cooler provides an alternative cooling solution. A new 27W USB-C PD power supply delivers up to 5A of current at 5.1V, enabling the Raspberry Pi 5 to power a wide range of peripherals.

Romain Soreau, SBC Global Lead, Newark, said, “Developers will be very impressed with the two-to-three times performance increase of Raspberry Pi 5 over Raspberry Pi 4, accompanied by equally impressive interfacing improvements for cameras, displays, and USB peripherals. This is a new benchmark in board performance, and we are delighted to now have them ready to order for rapid shipping, which is one of the multiple benefits of dealing with an exclusive global licensee.”

Eben Upton, CEO at Raspberry Pi said: “Raspberry Pi 5 is the single largest engineering program we’ve ever undertaken, spanning more than half a decade. We’re hugely excited by the performance of the completed product: a no-compromises Linux desktop computer from just $60. Newark has been a Raspberry Pi licensee since the launch of the original product in February 2012, and are now our sole licensee: we are delighted to be working with them to bring our latest and most powerful flagship product to a global audience.”

Key features of the new Raspberry Pi 5 include:

• 2.4GHz quad-core, 64-bit Arm Cortex-A76 CPU, with 512KB L2 caches and a 2MB shared L3 cache.
• VideoCore VII GPU.
• LPDDR4X-4267 SDRAM.
• 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz 802.11ac Wi-Fi.
• Bluetooth 5.0 / Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).
• Micro SD card slot, with support for high-speed SDR104 mode.
• 2 × USB 3.0 ports, supporting simultaneous 5Gbps operation and 2 × USB 2.0 ports.
• Gigabit Ethernet, with PoE+ support (requires PoE+ HAT).
• 2 × 4 lane MIPI camera/display transceivers.
• PCIe 2.0 x1 interface for fast peripherals.
• 5V/5A DC power (PD enabled).
• Raspberry Pi standard 40-pin header.
• Real-Time Clock (RTC), powered from external battery.
• On-board power button.

Raspberry Pi5 is now available for global shipping from Farnell in EMEA, Newark in North America and element14 in APAC. 

Newark is now offering customers two new Arduino UNO R4 boards, further expanding its portfolio of the iconic UNO family.

The Arduino UNO R4 comes in two versions: the UNO R4 Minima and UNO R4 Wi-Fi, both providing unprecedented performance and new possibilities for makers, including beginners and experienced developers alike, offering a cost-effective investment at every level.

Building on the advanced features of the UNO family, the UNO R4 introduces a 32-bit architecture with many new capabilities for makers. The UNO R4 is powered by Renesas RA4M1 32-bit Cortex®-M4 processor, which significantly boosts processing power, memory, and functionality. These enhancements are fully backwards compatible and do not compromise working with existing shields and accessories.

The UNO R4 Minima version provides high-end, powerful, and affordable technology for designers who want the power and speed of the latest microcontroller but have no need for additional features. Onboard SWD pins provide a simple way to connect third-party debugging probes that further ensure reliable system operation.

The UNO R4 Wi-Fi features an Espressif ESP32-S3-mini co-processor and offers Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, providing robust internet accessibility for IoT projects.

Key features common to the new Arduino UNO R4 models include:

• The Renesas RA4M1 (Arm Cortex®-M4) processor running at 48MHz, providing a 3x performance increase over the UNO R3.
• SRAM upgraded from 2kB to 32kB, and flash memory from 32kB to 256kB to support more complex projects.
• 12-bit analogue DAC
• On board OP Amp
• USB-C port
• Maximum power supply voltage of 24V with enhanced thermal design.
• CAN bus and an SPI port, enabling users to reduce wiring and perform parallel tasks by connecting multiple shields.
• HID device to emulate a mouse or keyboard

In addition to above, the UNO R4 Wi-Fi also includes:

• Low energy Bluetooth/Wi-Fi
• A fully addressable 12x8 LED matrix
• Qwic 12C connector for external I2C connectivity
• RTC with support for a buffer battery
• Runtime errors diagnostics

Romain Soreau, Head of Single Board Computing at Newark, said, “Regardless of where you are on the development scale, from beginner to highly experienced professional, the new UNO R4 board provides makers and designers with a substantial increase in performance and, as a result, the power to convert new application possibilities into realities.”

Keith Jackson, Arduino Marketing, said, “Expanding our available portfolio with Newark greatly extends our product availability to the right people, and makes it available to them at the right time. Our association continues to go from strength to strength to the ultimate benefit of designers and developers worldwide.”

Arduino is an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. Over the years, Arduino has been the brain of thousands of projects, from everyday objects to complex scientific instruments. A worldwide community of makers, including students, hobbyists, artists, programmers, and professionals, has gathered around this open-source platform. Their contributions have added up to an incredible amount of accessible knowledge that can greatly help novices and experts alike.

The new Arduino UNO R4 boards are available from Farnell in EMEA, Newark in North America and element14 in APAC.

Newark announces the addition of the newly launched Arduino Pro Portenta C33 system on module (SOM) to its line card. This cost-effective, high-performance, streamlined platform provides an accelerated route to IoT automation, complete with industrial-grade quality and guaranteed security.

The Portenta C33 offers the high performance that the successful Portenta family are known for at a lower price point. This is made possible by a range of optimizations and streamlined features, which enables it to be a prime choice for developing industrial, real-time applications. The Portenta C33 features the Arm^® Cortex^®-M33 microcontroller from global leader Renesas and supports MicroPython, as well as other high-level programming languages.

With onboard Wi-Fi and Bluetooth^® Low Energy connectivity, the Portenta C33 is the ideal solution for IoT gateways, remote control systems, fleet management and process tracking, while its secure element guarantees industrial-grade security at the hardware level. The Portenta C33 can also perform over-the-air firmware updates via Arduino Cloud or other third-party cloud hosting services.

The Portenta C33 offers users quick plug-and-play prototyping and provides a cost-effective solution for industrial-scale projects such as:

●        Industrial IoT gateways

●        Machine monitoring to track OEE/OPE

●        Inline quality control and assurance

●        Energy consumption monitoring

●        Appliances control systems

●        Ready-to-use IoT prototyping

Reliable, secure and with the renowned computational power inherent in the Portenta family, the Portenta C33 has been designed to provide companies of any size with the opportunity to access IoT and benefit from higher levels of efficiency and automation.

Key features include:

●        Ideal for low-cost IoT applications with Wi-Fi^®/Bluetooth^® LE connectivity

●        Supports MicroPython and other high-level programming languages

●        Offers industrial-grade security at the hardware level and secure OTA firmware updates

●        Leverages ready-to-use software libraries and Arduino sketches

●        Perfect for monitoring and displaying real-time data on Arduino IoT Cloud widget-based dashboards

●        Compatible with the Arduino Portenta and MKR families

●        Features castellated pins for automatic assembly lines

Romain Soreau, Head of Single Board Computing category at Newark, said, “We are thrilled to add this exciting new product to our Arduino portfolio. Customers will be able to quickly implement Portenta C33 in industrial projects, leveraging the vast amount of Arduino software libraries available and securely perform over-the-air firmware updates using the Arduino IoT Cloud.”

Keith Jackson, Arduino Marketing, “Newark’s knowledge of and access to professional developers throughout Europe and Asia, provides an ideal partner for launching this new system-on-module. It bridges the gap between prototyping and deployment at scale, and the cost-effective nature of this product unleashes a tremendous opportunity for Newark’s IoT customer base.”

Arduino is an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. Over the years Arduino has been the brain of thousands of projects, from everyday objects to complex scientific instruments. A worldwide community of makers - students, hobbyists, artists, programmers, and professionals - has gathered around this open-source platform. Their contributions have added to an incredible amount of accessible knowledge that can be of great help to novices and experts alike.

The new Portenta C33 from Arduino Pro is now available from Farnell in EMEA, Newark in North America and element14 in APAC.

Newark is now stocking the newly introduced BeagleV®-Ahead, the first professional, open-source mass production RISC-V single board computer (SBC) by Beagleboard.org^®.

BeagleV®-Ahead is in the same form factor and has the same P8 and P9 cape header pins as BeagleBone^® Black, enabling developers to stack their favorite BeagleBone cape on top to expand its capability. Featuring a powerful quad-core RISC-V processor, BeagleV®-Ahead is designed as an affordable RISC-V enabled pocket-size computer for anyone who wants to dive deep into the new RISC-V ISA.

BeagleV®-Ahead is built around T-Head TH1520 RISC-V SoC with a quad-core XuanTie C910 processor clocked at 1.85GHz with a 4 TOPS NPU, support for 64-bit DDR, and audio processing using a single core C906.

Other key features include:

·       DA9063 programmable PMIC.

·       4GB Low-Power Double Data Rate (LPDDR4) memory.

·       16GB Embedded Multi-Media Card (eMMC) memory.

·       AP6203BM Wi-Fi/Bluetooth connectivity, antennas 2.4GHz and 5GHz.

·       Realtek RTL8211F-VD-Cg Gigabit Ethernet with integrated magnetics and RJ-45 connector.

·       Micro-USB connectivity with On-the-Go adapter (OTG), Flash support.

·       5V power input.

·       HDMI TH1520 video output with mini-HDMI connector.

·       Other connectors - microSD, mikroBUS, CSI.

Romain Soreau, Head of Single Board Computing at Newark, said, “BeagleBoard.org has a strong track record of developing open-source hardware platforms and the launch of BeagleV®-Ahead reinforces Newark’s commitment to fostering innovation and collaboration within the technology community. By making the RISC-V architecture accessible to a broader audience, BeagleV®-Ahead empowers developers to explore new possibilities, accelerate their projects and contribute to the advancement of the RISC-V ecosystem.”

Jason Kridner, Co-Founder of BeagleBoard.org, comments, “We are extremely excited to introduce BeagleV®-Ahead to the world. RISC-V is rapidly gaining momentum as a transformative technology, and we believe that BeagleV®-Ahead will play a crucial role in its widespread adoption. Our goal is to provide a robust, open-source platform that empowers users to unleash their creativity and develop cutting-edge solutions."

BeagleBoard.org Foundation is a non-profit corporation based in Michigan, USA. Its main goal is to educate and collaborate with people who are interested in open-source software and hardware for embedded computing. The community of BeagleBoard.org provides a platform for owners and developers of open-source software and hardware to share their ideas, knowledge, and experience. They work together to develop physical computing solutions, such as robotics, 3D printers, laser cutters, and industrial and machine controls. The Beagleboard® SBCs are perfect for creating open-source hardware applications, including home and commercial automation systems and AI.

The new BeagleV®-Ahead SBC will be available from Farnell in EMEA, Newark in North America and element14 in APAC.

Newark has signed a global distribution agreement with Seeed Studio, a leading provider of innovative open-source hardware and software products. The entire Seeed product range has been added to Newark’s portfolio, offering customers access to cutting-edge technologies that will enable them to see their Internet of Things (IoT) ideas rapidly become productive real-world applications.

California-based Seeed Studio is an innovative IoT technology company that specializes in hardware research, production and sales for edge computing, network communication and smart sensing applications. Newark customers will benefit from flexible customization options and low minimum order quantity (MOQ) requirements, enabling them to tailor Seeed products to precisely match their specific requirements.

Seeed Studio is known for collaborating with its partners such as Raspberry Pi and Nvidia to offer innovative solutions to its customers. Newark customers will now have access to a wide array of ground-breaking products from Seeed Studio, including the Nvidia Jetson-powered reComputer; Raspberry Pi CM4 powered reTerminal; and Edgebox industrial controllers. Newark will also supply XIAO MCUs and the popular Grove range of modular, standardized connector prototyping systems, further expanding the choice and versatility available to their global customer base.

Key Seeed Studio products now available from Newark include:

• reComputer for Jetson series compact edge computers built with NVIDIA® Jetson™ advanced AI embedded systems with rich extension interfaces, thermal management, pre-installed Jetpack, all combined with decades of Seeed’s hardware expertise, helping to deliver seamless AI integration.
• Raspberry Pi CM4 powered reTerminal is a modular Human-Machine-Interface (HMI) facility, offering multiple interfaces and components. It is a hand-sized powerful, Raspberry Pi-based all-in-one board, helping designers to develop individual IoT and AI projects for use in industrial applications.
• Edgebox Industrial Controllers are a lightweight industrial edge controller series defined as an OT-IT Bridge in industrial automation scenarios, integrating PLC/PAC, IPC, IIOT gateway, OPC UA Server and HMI (Edgelogix-RPi-1000), functioning as one. Edge series devices can be used from compact industrial edge controllers to modular versions.
• Seeed Studio XIAO is a thumb-sized, yet powerful development board empowered by powerful and popular chips such as SAMD21, nRF52840, and ESP32C3 making it possible to address a wide range of applications. XIAO boards are compact with all SMD components placed on the same side of the board offering simple integration into customer’s designs and reducing time to market.
• The Grove System is a standardized modular connector prototyping system that simplifies the process of connecting, experimenting and building electronic projects by using standardized connectors and can be connected to platforms like Raspberry Pi or Arduino using a cable converter, providing a more accessible and convenient way to prototype and build real electronic systems.

Romain Soreau, Head of Single Board Computing at Newark, said, “This new partnership with Seeed Studio is an exciting milestone for Newark signalling the continued expansion of our product offering. Seeed is renowned for innovation, and we are thrilled to add their entire range to our product portfolio. This collaboration enables us to better serve our customers by increasing our inventory to provide them with a variety of the advanced tools they need to turn their innovative ideas into reality.”

Eric Pan, Founder and CEO at Seeed Studio, commented on the collaboration, “We’re excited to partner with Newark, a renowned leader in the electronics industry, to bring our advanced perception system to more industrial users. This collaboration aligns perfectly with Seeed Studio's mission to empower innovators with open technologies!"

Seeed supports global developers to employ IoT solutions in industrial settings for very diverse uses such as vineyards, packaging, retail, tea plantations, healthcare, husbandry, and research. 

The entire Seeed Studio product range is now available from stock at Farnell in EMEA, element14 in APAC and Newark in North America

Newark announces global, in-stock availability of two new BeagleBoard.org® development boards: BeagleConnect™ Freedom and BeaglePlay®.

BeaglePlay is an open-source Single Board Computer (SBC) designed to simplify the process of adding sensors, actuators, indicators, human interfaces, and connectivity to a reliable embedded system.

The interfaces and processing power of BeaglePlay make it ideal for supporting a variety of systems. It has built-in wired and wireless connectivity, including innovative single-pair Ethernet and Sub-GHz wireless options, enabling it to connect to a vast selection of sensor and prototyping systems with thousands of options. It is an excellent choice for early adopters who want a simplified Linux experience they can expand without needing to learn to read schematics.    

BeaglePlay can be used in various applications, including retail and POS automation, vision analytics, medical equipment, smart buildings and Edge AI, and many more.

Key features include:

• A powerful 64-bit, quad-core processor
• HDMI Type-A supporting up to Full-HD/1080P with 24-bit RGB
• Innovative connectivity options, including Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet, sub-GHz wireless, and single-pair Ethernet with power-over-data-line
• Compatibility with 1,000s of off-the-shelf add-ons and a customised Debian Linux image, Simple expansion and customisation with ribbon-cable connections included for cameras and touch-screen displays, and a socket for a battery-backed real-time-clock
• Ideal for human-machine (HMI) interface designs
• A competitive price and user-friendly design provide a positive development experience for users

BeaglePlay is also a useful development platform for creating Zephyr-based applications for BeagleConnect Freedom.

BeagleConnect Freedom is an open-hardware wireless platform developed by BeagleBoard.org built around the TI CC1352P7 microcontroller, which supports both 2.4-GHz and long-range, low-power Sub-1 GHz wireless protocols.

BeagleConnect Freedom includes:

• Rapid prototyping of IoT applications, accelerated by hardware compatibility with over 1,000 mikroBUS™ add-on sensors, actuators, indicators and includes additional connectivity and storage options
• Backed with software support utilising the Zephyr scalable and modular real-time operating system, allowing developers to tailor the solution to their specific needs
• Includes MSP430F5503 for USB-to-UART functionality, temperature and humidity sensor, light sensor, SPI flash, battery charger, buzzer, LEDs, and JTAG connections to make it a comprehensive solution for IoT development and prototyping
• The TI CC1352P7 microcontroller (MCU) includes a 48-MHz Arm Cortex-M4F processor, 704KB Flash memory, 256KB ROM, 8KB Cache SRAM, 144KB of ultra-low leakage SRAM, and over-the-air upgrades (OTA) capability. This MCU provides flexible support for many different protocols and bands making it suitable for many different communication requirements
• Rapid prototyping without wiring, utlising the mikroBUS standard which offers the flexibility to connect to almost any typical sensor or indicator with hundreds of devices available
• Full customisation is possible

BeagleConnect Freedom streamlines the rapid prototyping process by eliminating the need for users to develop microcontroller code or utilize userspace drivers. With BeaglePlay-hosted kernel drivers and collaborative support code, there's no need to cut and paste sensor interface examples     . The Linux kernel has the necessary intelligence to interact with various external devices, so users don't need to rely on extensive microcontroller code libraries. Users can integrate a large number of devices without writing any code, and even the automation code required can be simple. People can spend less time writing complicated code and more time testing their ideas.

Maintenance of BeagleConnect is simplified because the software code base is not tailored to any specific network-of-devices configuration. This implies that any improvements made to the code base can benefit all users. Moreover, the BeagleConnect firmware source code is submitted upstream to the Zephyr Project, increasing the user base and providing a better chance of detecting and resolving issues or bugs.

Romain Soreau, Head of Single Board Computing at Newark, said, “We are very pleased to announce our global in-stock availability of these two new boards from Beagleboard.org®. These boards are designed to be affordable and accessible, allowing hobbyists, educators, and professionals to experiment with and develop a wide range of electronics projects, from simple sensors and LED displays to complex robotics and Internet of Things (IoT) systems.”

Christine Long, BeagleBoard.org Executive Director, said, “These competitively priced introductions herald a new era in productivity for early adopters as well as experienced developers, both of whom will benefit from the speed and flexibility of BeagleConnect Freedom and BeaglePlay without having to write line-after-line of code.”

The new BeagleBoard.org BeagleConnect Freedom and BeaglePlay are now available from stock at Farnell in EMEA, Newark in North America and element14 in APAC.

Newark now stocks NVIDIA^® Jetson™, the world's leading platform for autonomous machines and other embedded applications.

The range of Jetson small form factor, high-performance computer modules now available from Newark include the Jetson Nano, Jetson AGX and Jetson Xavier NX. Each module is equipped with NVIDIA’s JetPack™ SDK for software acceleration, supported by a surrounding ecosystem of relevant sensors, SDKs, services and products to further speed development. The JetPack SDK provides a Linux environment, CUDA-X libraries, APIs, and tools for AI edge development and also supports higher-level SDKs like DeepStream and NVIDIA Isaac.

Each Jetson computer is a complete system-on-a-module (SoM) able to meet virtually every power, performance and form-factor need across multiple industries. This means that the modules include a GPU, CPU, memory, power management and relevant interfaces. This enables Jetson OEM and development partners in industries from manufacturing, retail and agriculture to healthcare, waste management and smart cities to fast-forward the launch of a new generation of AI edge devices, but at a significantly reduced development cost.

With the aid of powerful technology provided by the NVIDIA Jetson platform, autonomous machines that are increasingly operating at the edge for robotics, machine vision, the Internet of Things (IoT) and intelligent video analytics (IVA) can now use the full power of AI to address some of the world’s most pressing issues.

The NVIDIA Jetson modules and their associated development kits share a unified software architecture that makes it easier for developers to expand their product lines and maximise the benefits to be gained from their investment.

The platform also supports cloud-native technologies like containerization and orchestration, which enables quick and efficient development, deployment and updating of AI edge products, even for the billions of devices in the field that require frequent updates.

Romain Soreau, Head of Single Board Computing at Newark, said, “The Jetson range has truly been a game changer in the rapidly accelerating move to the AI and machine learning advances that underpin the new industrial age referred to as Industry 4.0. We are delighted to bring these NVIDIA modules to developers who need the most sophisticated tools for edge computing applications.”

The NVIDIA Jetson modules are now available from stock at Farnell in EMEA, Newark in North America and element14 in APAC.

 Farnell, an Avnet company and global distributor of electronic components, products and solutions, is now stocking the new DFRobot LattePanda 3 Delta single board computer (SBC). The new board is the latest addition to the LattePanda family and is a pocket-sized hackable computer, measuring 125mm x 78mm x 16mm. With headroom for exceptional creativity, the LattePanda 3 Delta supports Linux, Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Compared to other SBCs at the same price, the LattePanda 3 Delta offers the highest performance and features Intel’s 11th generation mobile 4-core processor, the N5105. With up to 8 GB RAM and 64 GB storage, LattePanda 3 Delta is the most cost-effective product DFRobot have ever made. It is an ideal solution for artificial intelligence and Internet of Things applications, smart city, edge computing, smart home, face detection and recognition, artificial intelligence server, intelligent monitoring, voice recognition, cloud machine learning and more.

Romain Soreau, Head of Single Board Computing, Farnell, says: “LattePanda 3 Delta is poised to define a new era of computing and will be a driving force behind new levels of creativity for developers, tech enthusiasts and industry innovators. Designed as the world's most compact SBC, LattePanda 3 Delta is an exceptional board for space constrained applications which require high performance such as AI localisation, robotics, smart factory, home automation, gaming and handheld devices.”

Key features of the LattePanda 3 Delta board, now available for fast delivery from Farnell, include:

• Supports 4K IPS touch display: Ultra-high resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels and HDR feature as well as two USB Type C and one mini-HDMI port.
• Faster Processor: The CPU of LattePanda 3 Delta is up to 2x faster than the previous version while the GPU is up to 3x faster to support usage including playing 4K HDR video and running processor intensive games.
• Supports Wi-Fi 6: With a transfer speed up to 2.4Gb/s, the LattePanda 3 Delta is 2.7x times faster than Wi-Fi 5. It is also equipped with a USB 3.2 gen2 port that has an ultra-high bandwidth, delivering up to 10Gb/s of throughput which is twice as fast as USB3.2 gen1 (previously known as USB3.0). Bluetooth 5.2 is included as standard.
• Gigabit Ethernet: The onboard port provides extremely high-speed internet connectivity.
• 42 expandable interfaces: The expandable interfaces guarantee true hackability and rich playability.
• Faster memory and increased storage: The board enables abundant creativity supported by 2933MHz high-frequency LPDDR4 RAM up to 8GB for smooth, superfast performance. Storage has been doubled, up to 64GB, for installing more software and data.
• Watch Dog and auto power on: Simplifies unattended operation.
• New cooling fan: Sustains the LattePanda 3 Delta’s high performance.

The LattePanda 3 Delta is also available with a Windows 10 license from Farnell.

Developers can achieve a significant performance boost by upgrading from the Celeron N4100 of the LattePanda Delta to the Intel 11th-generation Celeron N5105 processor with up to 2.9GHz burst frequency. The processor maintains almost the same pinout and layout as the previous version to allow for effortless system migration or upgrading by replacement.

Sandy Zhang, CMO of LattePanda Team says: “LattePanda Team is very proud to cooperate with Farnell on this launch. It delivers an exciting message to our customers that they can immediately acquire our high-performance and hackable LattePanda 3 Delta anywhere in the world. Our collaboration ensures we can provide even higher levels of customer service.”

DFRobot emerged from a local maker community in 2008 and was among the first to embrace open-source hardware. The company creates innovative, user-friendly hardware and software products that become the building blocks in all kinds of electronic projects, fostering a strong community of learners around it. DFRobot has expanded from open-source hardware to STEM education, manufacturing and other industries. The company’s production lines range from gadgets for Arduino, LattePanda, Raspberry Pi, micro:bit, to comprehensive learning kits for K12 students such as Boson kit, micro:Maqueen series and Mind Plus.

As a global distributor, Farnell can provide customers with fast access to easy-to-use products for project design. Customers can also benefit from 24/5 technical support alongside free access to valuable online resources on the Farnell website, and, element14 community.

DFRobot’s new LattePanda 3 Delta is now in stock and available for fast delivery from Farnell in Europe, element14 in APAC and Newark in North America.

Farnell, an Avnet company and global distributor of electronic components, products and solutions, is now selling from stock the new BeagleBone^® AI-64 SBC board. This is the first 64-bit open hardware single board computer designed for building performance-optimised embedded applications and brings a complete artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning system to developers.

“We believe this board will capture the imaginations of designers and empower them to build complete and powerful AI systems,” said Christine Long, CEO of the BeagleBoard.org^® Foundation. “At an extremely competitive price point, we are excited about the new applications that BeagleBone® AI-64 will enable for new and experienced users.”

BeagleBone® AI-64 SBC provides the convenience and expandability of the BeagleBone platform with all of the on-board peripherals required to start learning and building applications. The familiar BeagleBone cape headers provide industry-leading expansion possibilities with hundreds of open-source hardware examples and dozens of readily available off-the-shelf embedded expansion options. A simple web browser, power source and network connection are all that are needed to start building performance-optimised embedded applications.

“BeagleBone® AI-64 represents a major milestone for BeagleBoard.org, satisfying some of the most requested features from our developer community,” said Jason Kridner, BeagleBoard.org Foundation Board President. “With multiple SuperSpeed USB ports, familiar BeagleBone cape expansion headers, and desktop-capable performance, the general-purpose embedded applications for this board are endless, with eight TOPS neural-network performance accessible through familiar Python libraries to boot.”

BeagleBone® AI-64 builds on more than a decade of success in open hardware single board Linux computers. Harnessing the power of the Texas Instruments™ TDA4VM SoC with dual Arm Cortex-A72 cores, a programmable C7x DSP core, and deep learning, vision and multimedia accelerators, developers have access to faster analytics, more data storage options, more high-speed interfaces. This gives developers a vast amount of computing power in an easy-to-use platform and includes connectors to create applications such as autonomous robots and drones; smart buildings and factories; home security; retail automation; media servers; machine learning; machine vision and computer vision.

The new BeagleBone® AI-64 board feature set includes:

• Expandability - BeagleBone‘s cape header compatibility for expansion with existing add-on boards and ikroBUS™ Shuttle header provides access to hundreds of existing Click™ sensors and actuators.
• Memory - 4GB LPDDR4, 6GB eMMC flash with high-speed interface and a MicroSD card.
• High Speed Interfaces - M.2 E-key PCIe connector to interface with WiFi/Bluetooth adapters, USB 3.0 Type-C SuperSpeed interface for power input and data, two USB 3.0 Type-A SuperSpeed interface and Gigabit Ethernet.
• Camera and Display Connectors - Mini DisplayPort interface, 2* 4-Lane CSI connector for camera options, and a 4-Lane DSI connector for popular display types.
• User Interfaces – Boot, Reset and Power buttons, Power indication LED and five User LEDs. A 5V DC input power, UART and JTAG 10pin Tag-Connect™ for debug is also included.
• TDA4VM Dual 64-bit Arm Cortex-A72, 2.0GHz processor - Featuring aC7x floating point, vector DSP, 80 GFLOPS, 256 GOPS, deep-learning MMA and up to 8 TOPS (8b) up to 1.0 GHz.
• Vision Processing Accelerators (VPAC) - With Image Signal Processor (ISP) and multiple vision assist accelerators
• Vision Assist Accelerators – DMPAC, Dual 64-bit Arm Cortex-A72 microprocessor subsystem at up to 2.0 GHz, six Arm Cortex-R5F MCUs at up to 1.0 GHz, memory subsystem with up to 8MB of on-chip L3 RAM with ECC and coherency and 12 multichannel audio serial port modules.

Romain Soreau, Head of Single Board Computing, Farnell said: “We are very pleased to announce our global in-stock availability of the new BeagleBone® AI-64 SBC board. Engineers and hobbyists alike can now eliminate barriers from prototype to production with this revolutionary board, which has been built on open-source Linux from BeagleBoard.org. BeagleBone® AI-64 board places a massive amount of computing power in the hands of developers in an easy-to-use, single-board computer.”

As a global distributor, Farnell provides customers with fast access to easy-to-use products for professional use with a broad range of core SBC platforms and toolkits from leading brands including Raspberry Pi, Intel (NUC range), Industrial Shields and more. Technical support is offered 24/5 to ensure engineers can take advantage of the latest technology innovations for experiments and new product design.

Farnell can support customers as they take ideas from specification through to production with end-to-end product development solutions offered via the Avnet ecosystem. Customers also benefit from free access to valuable online resources on the Farnell website, and engineering and maker community, element14.

The new BeagleBone® AI-64 SBC board is now available to order from stock at Farnell in EMEA, Newark in North America and element14 in APAC.

Farnell, an Avnet Company and global distributor of electronic components, products and solutions, is today celebrating its 10-year manufacturing and distribution partnership with Raspberry Pi Ltd with the launch of a competition to find the longest serving Raspberry Pi application currently in use.

To mark this significant milestone, Farnell is giving away 10 major prize packages consisting of 10 Raspberry Pi Picos and a Pi NoIR 8MP Camera to professional design engineers, hobbyists, makers, educators or students who can demonstrate the longest serving Raspberry Pi application. To enter the competition, participants must submit an entry via the element14 Community, including a brief description about the application and a photograph to evidence their Raspberry Pi in action. 

The global competition is now open and participants can submit entries until Saturday, April 30. Ten major prize packages will be awarded to the most successful applications in May 2022. The prizes can be claimed by the winners or donated to a local school, coding club or college in the winner’s country of residence. Terms & Conditions apply and the judge’s decision is final.

Farnell has been the longest serving strategic business partner Raspberry Pi Ltd and has helped the Raspberry Pi become a global phenomenon, with tens of millions of units sold around the world.

Romain Soreau, Head of Single Board Computing at Farnell, said: “We are pleased to have been instrumental in the huge growth and impact that the Raspberry Pi has had across the globe, helping further education of younger generations and drive the development of innovative SBC applications. The rapid adoption of the Raspberry Pi has made it the UK’s best-selling personal computer of all time. Raspberry Pi is now the world’s third most popular general-purpose computing platform, after the PC and Mac, and is used internationally by millions of young people, academics, hobbyists and industrial businesses.”

Products featured in major prize

Farnell is giving away 10 major prize packages which includes the following products:

·       Raspberry Pi Pico – A flexible, high performance and low-cost development platform that can be deployed directly into end products. The Raspberry Pi Pico features 2MB of on-board QSPI Flash, 26 multifunction GPIO pins (of which three can be used in analogue inputs), and an onboard buck-boost regulator. User-friendly developer tools are available including simple drag and drop programming via micro-USB, 3-pin Serial Wire Debug (SWD) for interactive debugging, a comprehensive C SDK and a mature MicroPython port. With castellated pads, Raspberry Pi Pico is designed for integration into a range of professional microcontroller applications.

·       Pi NoIR 8MP Camera – The infrared camera module features the same 8MP image sensor as the standard Raspberry Pi camera without an infrared cut-off filter to increase IR light sensitivity. The Pi NoIR is compatible with all Raspberry Pi models and provides high definition, high sensitivity, low crosstalk and low noise image capture in an ultra-small and lightweight design. The camera module connects to the Raspberry Pi board via the CSI connector which is capable of processing high data rates.

Raspberry Pi application examples

Farnell is seeking examples of embedded designs and other Raspberry Pi-based systems that have been in operation for a significant period of time since the original product line launched in 2012. Legacy systems that have made a significant impact on innovative technology and deployments demonstrating longstanding use are of also interest to the judging panel.

Some innovative applications showcasing how the Raspberry Pi is being used around the world, include:

·       Robotic “otter” for tracking fish - The Norwegian University of Science and Technology Fish Otter project employs four Raspberry Pi 4 controlled autonomous catamarans designed to perform persistent tracking of locations of fish. Using tiny sound-emitting devices attached to fish researchers and conservationists can locate fish populations beneath the water’s surface.

·       Foot pressure sensors detect Parkinson’s disease - A team from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University has developed a foot-pressure-sensing insole to detect Parkinson’s disease. Signals from sensors in the insoles of a user’s shoes are sent to a wearable Raspberry Pi 3 to measure their gait as they go about their day. An abnormal gait can suggest a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and early detection gives people a better chance of a good quality of life for as long as possible.

·       Orchards saved from pests with Raspberry Pi – Researchers from the University of Trento have developed a Raspberry Pi-powered device that automatically detects pests in fruit orchards allowing early preventative action to be taken. An embedded system uses machine learning to process images captured inside pheromone traps and the Raspberry Pi computer manages the sensor, processes the captured images and transmits them for classification. When this task is done manually, farmers typically check codling moth traps twice a week, this automated system checks the pheromone traps twice every day, making it much more likely to detect an infestation before it causes damage.

Farnell is the longest standing Raspberry Pi Ltd partner and stocks the complete range of Raspberry Pi single board computers (SBCs), enabling customers to build a wide range of devices for professional, commercial, education or home use. A diverse ecosystem of accessories is available including cases, power supplies, micro-HDMI cables and the Raspberry Pi High Resolution Camera.

Farnell can offer support with provision and bundling of equipment for bespoke large-scale programmes. Customers can also benefit from 24/5 technical support alongside free access to valuable online resources on the Farnell website, and engineering and maker community, element14.

Find out more information and enter the competition at: Farnell, Newark and element14.

Farnell, an Avnet Company and global distributor of electronic components, products and solutions has today announced the launch of its new Industrial Embedded Computers online hub. This dedicated online resource will provide design engineers with the latest information on cutting-edge industrial single board computers (SBCs) used in today’s most demanding industrial Internet of the Things (IoT) and edge computing environments.

Farnell’s new Industrial Embedded Computers online hub features a comprehensive range of technical resources, including articles, application notes, guides, projects and training modules, videos and eBooks. Visitors can also access Farnell’s innovative range of online calculators, conversion charts and component selection tools available from the Technical Resource Centre.

For easy navigation, the hub includes pages to highlight market-leading products from featured suppliers including Raspberry Pi, Intel, Xilinx, NXP, Arduino, Beagleboard, Industrial Shields, KUNBUS and Wittra. Visitors can easily peruse key product features and view the full range. The complementary application pages enable design engineers to drill deeper into specific areas covering industrial automation and control, and the IoT through to agriculture, automotive, maintenance, edge computing and more.

A recent global survey from Farnell illustrates the widespread adoption of low-cost SBCs by engineers working in IoT and industrial environments, with about 50 per cent of respondents using SBCs in these two categories. According to the survey, SBCs are now a valuable building block used in all stages of product development and production from proof of concept and prototyping to production and test rigs.

Romain Soreau, Head of Single Board Computing at Farnell said: “Today’s industrial embedded computers offer a powerful combination of high performance, versatility, features and accessories. Combined with their low cost, and large active user community, these development platforms are very attractive to engineers looking to develop and deploy a broad range of industrial applications in the shortest possible time. Our new Industrial Embedded Computers online hub will help our customers keep pace with new technological advancements. It is a simple and easy to use platform which brings together all our best-selling products, technical resources and application examples in one place so engineers can focus on innovation and easily overcome design challenges.”

As a global distributor, Farnell provides customers with fast access to easy-to-use products for professional use with a broad range of core SBC platforms and toolkits from leading brands including Raspberry Pi, Intel (NUC range), Industrial Shields, KUNBUS and more. Technical support is offered 24/5 to ensure engineers can take advantage of the latest technology innovations for experiments and new product design.

Farnell can support customers as they take ideas from specification through to production with end-to-end product development solutions offered via the Avnet ecosystem. Customers also benefit from free access to valuable online resources on the Farnell website, and engineering and maker community, element14.

The new Industrial Embedded Computers online hub is available from Farnell in EMEA, element14 in APAC and Newark in North America.

Farnell, an Avnet Company and global distributor of electronic components, products and solutions, has today announced availability of the game-changing Raspberry Pi Build HAT and power supply, further increasing its range of Raspberry Pi products. The Raspberry Pi Build HAT enables Raspberry Pi computers to be integrated into the LEGO® building system, offering students, teachers, novice electronics enthusiasts and makers greater flexibility and affordability when designing new projects.

The Build HAT and the LEGO® building system can be used to create robots, cars, games, a smart house and even an egg-laying chicken. The Raspberry Pi Build HAT is the second Raspberry Pi product to be based on the RP2040 microcontroller. The LEGO® Maker Plate is available separately from LEGO® retailers and allows users to easily integrate the Raspberry Pi computers into the LEGO® building system. Users who are comfortable working with Raspberry Pi and LEGO® will delight in these two brands combining to enable a fun and creative learning experience.

Farnell will be shipping the Raspberry Pi Build HAT and power supply from stock in October. Key product features include:

• Raspberry Pi Build HAT combines the power of Raspberry Pi computing with hands-on learning experience of LEGO® to create a fun and interactive learning experience for students, teachers and makers. The Build HAT is compatible with the most recent generation of LEGO® Technic™ motors, and with sensors included in the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime portfolio. The Build HAT is easy to use from Python on the Raspberry Pi.

• Raspberry Pi 48W Build HAT Power Supply is the official power supply for use with the Raspberry Pi Build HAT. Key specifications include a 110-240V AC input and a 8V DC, 6A output. The product features a 1.5m connecting cable.

Romain Soreau, Head of Single Board Computing at Farnell, said: “Raspberry Pi Build HAT brings together world leading innovators Raspberry Pi and LEGO® by combining the Raspberry Pi computer range with the LEGO® building system. We are delighted to help inspire future creators by providing an expanded range of Raspberry Pi products which provide an introduction into electronic project design.”

The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a UK-based charity that works to put the power of computing and digital making into the hands of people all over the world. Its goal is to provide an easy-to-use maker experience for beginners, which is flexible enough for advanced users. Raspberry Pi provides and affordable SBC system for education and to develop industrial automation and control, and personal computing products.

Farnell is the longest standing Raspberry Pi partner and has sold more than 15 million units to date. Farnell stocks the complete range of Raspberry Pi single board computers including the recently launched Raspberry Pi Pico, enabling customers to build a wide range of devices for professional, commercial, education or home use. A diverse ecosystem of accessories is available including cases, power supplies, micro-HDMI cables and the Raspberry Pi High Resolution Camera.

Farnell stocks a broad range of education devices that can be supplied in classes, schools and multiple-school quantities and has worked with multiple educational organisations and governments to support strategic rollouts of STEM learning solutions into the classroom. Farnell can offer support with provision and bundling of equipment for bespoke large-scale programmes. Customers can also benefit from 24/5 technical support alongside free access to valuable online resources on the Farnell website, and engineering and maker community, element14.

The Raspberry Pi Build HAT and power supply will be shipping in October from Farnell in Europe, element14 in APAC and Newark in North America.

Farnell, an Avnet Company and global distributor of electronic components, products and solutions, has expanded its range of educational devices from DFRobot. DF Robot’s user-friendly open-source hardware and software tools are designed to inspire future creators by offering an introduction to electronic project design.

Farnell now stocks more than 140 products from DFRobot including a series of robotics kits and the popular Boson Starter Kit for micro:bit, which was awarded Five Stars in the 2018 Teach Primary Resource Awards:

• Robotics kits: DFRobot’s kits introduce users to robotics and programming by simulating real-world equipment and applications. The Max:Bot is a programmable entry-level DIY robot featuring motors, speakers and sensors that teaches junior students how to build a robot with direct programming and remote control operation. The Maqueen Mechanic Kit provides a hands-on introduction to functional machinery through the assembly of a robotic bulldozer and loading machine that can complete real-world tasks such as loading objects and sorting goods. For more advanced students, the 4-Soldering Light Chaser Beam Robot Kit and Insectbot Hexa teach enthusiasts how to solder electronic components while developing a basic understanding of circuits and programming to enable smart motion and obstacle avoidance.

• Boson Kits: Based on a set of easy-to-use modularised plug-and-play electronic building blocks, these kits include tutorials, course materials and free coding software that can be easily integrated with micro:bit and Arduino. The Boson Starter Kit for micro:bit is designed to teach first-time users about coding and electronics using sound and light sensors. The Boson Inventor Kit is an ideal tool for teaching STEM in schools and breaks down complicated circuits into simple, functional modules that are easy to understand. Requiring no coding or soldering, the kit also includes 12 activity cards for building interactive electronics projects with LEGO blocks. The Boson Science Kit is a set of digitalised scientific exploration tools for young scientists to build hands-on projects, The kit includes the eight scientific sensors widely used in modern Internet of Things (IoT) applications, allowing exploration of physics, chemistry and biology.

Romain Soreau, Head of SBC at Farnell, said: “DFRobot is a world leading innovator in the development of accessible and easy-to-use hardware and software tools for STEM education. Their learning kit range delivers hands-on tools that enable students to learn about new technologies in a highly creative and collaborative way. These are great additions to Farnell’s broad education offering and will help to further inspire the next generation of engineers.”

Farnell stocks a broad range of education devices that can be supplied in classes, schools and multiple-school quantities and has worked with multiple educational organisations and governments to support strategic rollouts of STEM learning solutions into the classroom. Farnell can also offer support with provision and bundling of equipment for bespoke large-scale programmes.

The DFRobot range is available from Farnell in EMEA, Newark in North America and element14 in APAC.