Hardware: SeeedStudio, Raspberry Pi, and More

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Sep 14, 2025

• CNX Software ☛ XIAO Smart IR Mate Review – A compact smart infrared remote control hub for Home Assistant

  SeeedStudio sent us a tiny Smart IR Remote hub for review: XIAO Smart IR Mate, or XIAO IR Mate for short. At first glance, it looks like any other WiFi IR blasters, but what makes it interesting is that the device is built on an open architecture using the XIAO ESP32C3 module and runs on ESPHome, working natively with the Home Assistant open-source home automation platform. As usual, SeeedStudio gives access to the source code, so it’s super convenient if you want to tweak the functions yourself to fit various needs. For those who are new to Smart IR, it’s a device that acts as an infrared (IR) control hub.

• Linux Gizmos ☛ Luckfox PicoKVM Lightweight IP KVM Remote Management Tool

  The device is powered by a Rockchip RV1106G3 processor featuring a single ARM Cortex-A7 core running at 1.2 GHz. It includes 256 MB of DDR3 memory and 8 GB of onboard eMMC storage, with additional expansion available through a MicroSD card slot.

• Old VCR ☛ Refurb weekend: Silicon Graphics Indigo² IMPACT 10000

  It's one of my periodic downsizing cycles, which means checking the hardware inventory (and, intermittently, discovering things that were not on the hardware inventory) and deciding if I want to use it, store it or junk it. And so we come to this machine, which has been sitting in the lab as a practical objet d'art when I picked it up from a fellow collector for the cost of take-it-away almost exactly a decade ago.

• CNX Software ☛ M5Stack Air Quality Kit v1.1 features Sensirion SEN55 environmental sensor and SCD40 CO2 sensor

  M5Stack Air Quality Kit v1.1 is an ESP32-S3-based air quality monitor equipped with Sensirion SEN55 and SCD40 sensors capable of monitoring PM1.0, PM2.5, PM4, PM10 particulates, temperature, humidity, VOC, and CO2 concentration in the air. The first version was introduced in January 2024, but M5Stack just introduced the v1.1 model with Stamp-S3A master control, power consumption optimizations, an improved Wi-Fi antenna design, and a larger button for a “better feel”.

• peppe8o ☛ Use your Hey Hi (AI) Model with Raspberry PI and PyTorch for Image Classification

  This tutorial will show you how to use Artificial Intelligence on Raspberry PI with PyTorch to perform image classification tasks.

• Bunnie Huang ☛ Use the Force (Feedback) to Solder Small Things

  Here’s a quick tip for people learning how to solder small components: don’t rely on your eyes. Instead, solder by touch: use the force-feedback available through your fingertips. Human fingers can reliably detect bumps on the order of microns in size – much finer than the resolution of sight, even with the assistance of a decent microscope.