Luckfox has just launched a new development board with a form factor similar to the Raspberry Pi Zero, but based on the Rockchip RK3506B system-on-chip. The Lyra Zero W is designed to offer a low-cost, compact solution for embedded Linux development, priced at $16.99.

The Lyra Zero W uses the Rockchip RK3506B processor, which integrates a triple-core Arm Cortex-A7 running at 1.2 GHz alongside a Cortex-M0 coprocessor. This heterogeneous architecture supports both symmetric and asymmetric multiprocessing, allowing Linux applications to run alongside real-time tasks handled by the auxiliary core, according to the product page.

Lyra Zero W Top View
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While the Cortex-A7 cores are less powerful than the 64-bit Cortex-A53 cores used in the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, the presence of a dedicated Cortex-M0 provides additional flexibility for embedded control and low-latency operations.

The board comes with 512MB of DDR3L memory and 256MB of onboard SPI NAND Flash. Additional storage expansion is available via a MicroSD card slot. For display output, the Lyra Zero W includes a 2-lane MIPI DSI interface that supports resolutions up to 1280×1280 at 60Hz.

Lyra Zero W Bottom View
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Hardware features include a USB-C OTG port for power and programming, two USB 2.0 host ports via an onboard hub, a reset button, and a boot button for entering download mode. A 40-pin GPIO header provides peripheral connectivity and is compatible with select Raspberry Pi HATs. The board also integrates a 2.4GHz wireless module supporting Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and BLE, with support for switching between onboard and external antennas.

Rockchip Matrix I/O 
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A key feature of the Lyra Zero W is Rockchip’s Matrix IO design, which enables 98 function signals to be multiplexed across 28 GPIO pins. Supported functions include UART, SPI, I2C, I2S, PWM, CAN, PDM, SPDIF, PMU, and touch key inputs, allowing flexible configuration for peripheral integration and development.