Hi Everyone!

Just a few updates for today. The last two weeks were spent verifying our Rev 2 RT1062 PCBs (the correct ones we designed). Anyway, we finished testing everything and put all the changes into the our final revision (we hope). We also had to incorporate a bunch of manufacturing changes to the PCB design to make it easier to produce so that yield would not be compromised. That said, we feel confident that we should be able to go to production after we get these next prototypes back. The files have been sent to our CM so we hopefully will get them back in 2.5 weeks. Testing should go pretty quickly when we get them back as we have everything setup to verify them.

Impedance Scare

We used the EMIF06-1005M12 from ST to protect the SD card signal lines in our design. However, it has an internal 100-ohm series resistor inside that is different from the 50-ohm impedance of the signal traces on the PCB board. This miss-match shouldn't matter too much normally... and in fact many of the PCBs we built have working SDIO buses that run at 50 MHz even with this issue.

But - not all. We discovered that the SD card did not work reliably on the last rev of our boards even though nothing in the circuit had changed. It turns out we were at the edge of reliability. We are glad to have caught this now versus later. This issue can be fixed in software by increasing the drive strength of the clock and changing pull-ups/downs - but, this is not optimal as different settings may be required for different boards.

Enter the EMIF06-MSD02N16, which is a more integrated circuit for SD card interfacing. It includes the necessary pull-ups, transient voltage suppressors, and 50-ohm series resistors. By using it we are able to keep the signal lines at 50-ohms impedance throughout.

My Friend Brandon

Two weeks ago, Brandon Gilles, the founder of Luxonis and creator of the OpenCV AI Kit (OAK) passed away. He was suffering from Long - COVID which destroyed his health last year. This news hits especially hard as I was planning on visiting him next week for a week. I was literally just texting him... He was recovering from the illness, able to walk again, and generally super-pumped about life before his lungs gave out.

So, if you've ever used the OpenCV AI Kit (OAK) please consider my friend Lee Jackson's, the founder of Arducam, post below:

Brandon Gilles was a talented, passionate, and devoted engineer who dedicated his life to using technology and innovation to improve people's lives.
 
As the founder of Luxonis, his initial dream was to design an AI-powered product that would help bike enthusiasts avoid accidents on the road. He wanted to combine depth vision and neural network inference on a small embedded platform, enabling his device to perceive and understand the world like a human in real time. He then built a high-performance depth + AI inference product, OAK-D, using MyriadX chips, and made its software and hardware open-source, creating a community of development enthusiasts and making significant contributions to computer vision.
 
Currently, Luxonis, under his leadership, produces a series of products centered around OAK-D, which have been widely adopted not only in cycling but also in many other fields, including industrial, agricultural, healthcare, security systems, and robot autonomous navigation. His dream has truly changed the lives of many people.
 
However, in 2022, his health dramatically started to decline. He was diagnosed with Long - COVID / Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. He ultimately passed away in July 2023. During his struggle with the disease, he used his exceptional research spirit and learning talent to research and find treatment methods for himself and others. He selflessly shared hundreds of pages of treatment methods with all long-term COVID-19 patients.
 
His family is currently facing unprecedented difficulties.
 
Brandon Gilles was a very caring and dedicated person who used his technology and innovation to change many people's lives. Now we have the opportunity to repay his contributions and send them warmth and love. As a close friend and partner of Brandon Gilles, I would like to launch an every penny counts charity donation campaign to help him and his family through this difficult time.
 
We believe that every donation will bring hope and change to them. Let us work together to make a difference in their lives.
 
Should they eventually not need these funds, Briana (Brandon's Wife) would like to roll them into a charity or foundation of some kind, in his honor, to help others facing such tragic illness.
 
The recipients of the donation will be Brandon's wife, Briana, their four-year-old son, and their two-year-old daughter.
 
If interested please make your donation to either of the following accounts:
 
Account 1
WISE
Please click this WISE link to go on:
https://lnkd.in/eA-VcUNh
 
WISE:
Account Holder: Briana Gilles
Account Number: 822000730870
Wire routing number: 026073150
Bank code (SWIFT/BIC): CMFGUS33
Address:
Wise US Inc
30 W. 26th Street, Sixth Floor New York
10010
United States

Account 2
Venmo Account @Briana-Gilles