Boundary Devices Nitrogen7 Single Board Computer is Powered by NXP i.MX7 Processor

While several system-on-modules based on Freescale/NXP i.MX7 processor have been announced such as Compulab CL-SOM-iMX7, or TechNexion PICO-IMX7-EMMC, I had not seen many single board computers or development boards based on the new processor, apart from Freescale i.MX7 96Boards by Arrow Electronics which was scheduled for Q4 2015, but has yet to launch. Boundary Devices Nitrogen7 board is another option that’s available now (in limited quantities) with NXP i.MX7 Cortex A7+Cortex M4 processor, 1GB RAM, 4 to 64GB eMMC, wired and wireless connectivity, and expansion headers.

Nitrogen7 board specifications:

SoC – Freescale i.MX7 single or dual ARM Cortex-A7 processor @ up to 1GHz + ARM Cortex-M4 MCU + 2D graphics engine
System Memory – 1GB DDR3L
Storage – 4GB eMMC flash (expandable to 64GB), 2MB Serial NOR Flash, SD card slot
Connectivity – 1x 10/100/1Gb Ethernet, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1 (TiWi-BLE combo module)
Display – 24-bit RGB (via expansion connector)
Camera – 1x MIPI-CSI interface
Audio – Headphone jack, analog microphone, 2W audio amplifier
USB – 1x USB 2.0 host port, 1x micro USB OTG port
Expansion
- PCIe Gen 2.0 + SIM card slot
- Headers and connectors with 2x I2C, 1x SPI, 2x RS-232, 1x RS-485, 1x CAN
Debugging – JTAG
Misc – RTC + battery slot
Power Supply – TBD
Dimensions – 135mm x 79mm
Temperature Range – Commercial : 0 to 70C; industrial: -40C to +85C

The company provides Linux support for the board via the Yocto Project or Buildroot. Schematics and 3D files can be downloaded after website registration. A 7″ touchscreen will also be offered as option, and Boundary Devices has a Linux + Qt demo running on the board.

You can get more information and/or purchase the board for $180 on Boundary Devices Nitrogen7 product page. You’ll also find the board showcased at Embedded World 2016, together with the i.MX6 Quad Plus version. One more NXP i.MX7 SBC is coming according to a blog post on NXP.com with phyBOARD-i.MX7 Zeta single board computer, and Warp7 weareable platform based on i.MX7 Solo processor will be showcased at Embedded World too.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.