This Credit Card-Sized Linux Box Has a Keyboard, Camera, and AI Capability
This Credit Card-Sized Linux Box Has a Keyboard, Camera, and AI Capability
https://itsfoss.com/news/cardputerzero-crowdfunding/
Publish Date: 2026-06-01 06:02:00
Source Domain: itsfoss.com
The Espressif-backed M5Stack has been keeping its Cardputer product line alive since 2023 by continuously updating it.
The original ran on an ESP32-S3, and the follow-up, the Cardputer-Adv, stuck with the same ESP32-S3 but brought in better audio, a larger battery, a 6-axis IMU, and more expansion options.
Both were decent microcontroller-powered devices, but neither ran a real Linux environment.
The CardputerZero is where that changes. It trades the ESP32 for a Raspberry Pi Compute Module Zero (CM0), and with that, the Cardputer platform goes from embedded tinkering territory into something you can do proper computing on.
📝 CardputerZero: Key Specifications
The horsepower is provided by a Broadcom BCM2837 inside the CM0, equipped with a quad-core Cortex-A53 at 1GHz with 512MB of LPDDR2 RAM and a VideoCore-IV GPU for graphics and hardware video codec.
The device itself measures 84 × 54 × 23.1 mm (W×H×D), small enough to fit in your pocket, with the display being a 1.9-inch ST7789v3 LCD with HDMI output up to 1080p at 30fps, which is paired with a 46-key matrix keyboard and a 1,500mAh LiPo battery.
Here are the rest of the specs:
- RAM: 512MB LPDDR2
- Storage: microSD card slot
- Camera: Sony IMX219, 8MP (3280×2464), CSI 4-Lane (standard model only)
- Wireless: 2.4GHz Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2/BLE
- USB: 2× USB Type-C, 1× USB-A (both USB 2.0)
- Networking: 10/100M Ethernet
- Audio: ES8389 codec, MEMS mic, 1W speaker, 3.5mm TRS out
- Video: H.264/MPEG-4 decode at 1080p 30fps, H.264 encode at 1080p 30fps.
- Sensors: BMI270 + BMM150 IMU (gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer), RX8130CE RTC
- Expansion: Grove HY2.0-4P port (I2C/UART switchable), 2.54-14P bus (SPI, UART, I2C, USB, GPIO, 5V).
- IR: Infrared TX/RX
Depictions of some of the above-mentioned specs.
There are a few other things to know before you get yours, though. The screen is not a touchscreen, and the magnetic attachment found on…
