- Robert’s experience with Zephyr RTOS
- libcsp, a library for the Cubesat Space Protocol that’s available as a Zephyr module
- New Biometrics driver class
- Benjamin’s presentation about Cyber Resilience Act Readiness for Embedded Product Makers
- External GPU support for LVGL
- Snenseo BLE coffee machine
- Zephyr Tech Talk next week! A Visual Approach to Devicetree Configuration. YouTube / LinkedIn
- Ai-Thinker M61-32S
- M5Stack NanoC6
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Episode Summary
In Episode 15 of the Zephyr Podcast, hosts Benjamin and Fabio catch up on recent travels—from discussions on the Cyber Resilience Act in Paris to retro gaming in Italy. They dive into new hardware projects, the latest biometrics RFC, and the implications of European security regulations for the Zephyr ecosystem.
Custom Hardware & Firmware Projects
- The “0xC0FFEE” Hack: Simon Weiss showcased a weekend project hacking a Senseo coffee machine using an ESP32-C3, allowing for remote control over Bluetooth Low Energy.
- Zephyr-Powered Gaming: Fabio shared his experience building a custom 4-key “WASD” mechanical gaming keypad using the STM32C0. Notably, he opted for a custom Zephyr-based firmware over ZMK to stay on the main branch for testing new features like the latest input drivers.
- Regulator API Extensions: Fabio discussed a new board he built featuring the TI TPS55287 power supply. The discussion highlighted the challenge of handling device-specific features—like cable drop compensation—and whether to expand the generic Regulator API or use driver-specific extensions.
The Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) & Zephyr LTS
Benjamin shared insights from the Open Source Experience conference in Paris regarding the Cyber Resilience Act. Key takeaways for the Zephyr community include:
- Security Requirements: Manufacturers must provide software bill of materials (SBOMs) and security updates for a minimum of five years.
- Zephyr as a Solution: Zephyr’s LTS (Long Term Support) releases are now maintained for five years, aligning perfectly with CRA requirements. Tooling like
westalso simplifies generating the necessary SBOMs for compliance.
New Driver Classes & Protocols
- Biometrics RFC: There is a major ongoing RFC for a new Biometrics driver class. Initially focused on fingerprint sensors, the Architecture Working Group is debating naming conventions (Biometrics vs. Authentication) to eventually include facial recognition.
- CubeSat Space Protocol (CSP): The libcsp library, a high-performance communication protocol for satellites, now has a Zephyr-based implementation and has been added to the “Awesome Zephyr” list.
Ecosystem News & Tech Talks
- Visual Devicetree Tooling: An upcoming Zephyr Tech Talk will feature new visual tools for navigating complex Device Tree fragments, building upon the existing Language Server Protocol (LSP) support.
- LVGL 9.1 & GPU Acceleration: LVGL recently demonstrated support for external graphical accelerators (like FTDI chips) via SPI. This has sparked renewed interest in a unified graphics acceleration subsystem within Zephyr.
New Boards in Zephyr
- AEI Tinker M6132S: A RISC-V board featuring the Bouffalo Lab BL616 with Wi-Fi 6 and BLE.
- M5Stack NanoC6: An incredibly small (2.5g) ESP32-C6 IoT dev kit, ideal for compact Wi-Fi/Matter gateways.