SolidRun Announces i.MX 8M Industrial Systems-on-Module, Cubox Pulse Mini PC and HummingBoard Pulse Board

Solidrun has several products based on NXP i.MX6 processors including i.MX6 SoMs, Cubox-i mini PCs, and HummingBoard Edge development board, which were launched between 2013 and 2015, and still sold to this day.

But the company has now launched refreshes for all those products based on the new i.MX 8M 64-bit Arm processors with i.MX 8M industrial systems-on-module, Cubox Pulse mini PC, and HummingBoard Pulse SBC.

Solidrun i.MX 8M SoM

Three different modules – which differ only by their processor and max memory capacity – are available with the following specifications:

SoC
- SOM i.MX8 Dual – NXP i.MX 8M Dual core ARM A53 @ 1.3 GHz (up to 1.5 GHz), Arm Cortex-M4, and Vivante GC7000 Lite GPU
- SOM i.MX8 Quad Lite – NXP i.MX 8M QuadLite quad core ARM A53 @ 1.3 GHz (up to 1.5 GHz), Arm Cortex-M4, and Vivante GC7000 Lite GPU
- SOM i.MX8 Quad – NXP i.MX 8M Quad quad core ARM A53 @ 1.3 GHz (up to 1.5 GHz), Arm Cortex-M4, and Vivante GC7000 Lite GPU
System Memory
- SOM i.MX8 Dual – Up to 3GB LPDDR4-3200
- SOM i.MX8 Quad Lite/Quad – Up to 4GB LPDDR4-3200
Storage – optional eMMC flash & QSPI NOR flash; external storage: NOR flash, 2x SD/microSD, PCIe SSD
Connectivity – 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet, optional dual band 802.11 ac/a/b/g/n WiFi, optional Bluetooth 5
Other I/Os via Hirose DF40 board-to-board connectors:
- Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz, MIPI DSI interface; dual independent display support
- USB – 3x USB 3.0 port (1+2 via USB Hub), 1x USB OTG port
- Serial – 2x (RTS/CTS/RX/TX) + 1 (TX/RX)
- Digital Audio – 20 channels; 32bits @384khz; DSD512; SPDIF TX & RX; HDMI ARC; Dolby
- Camera – 2x MIPI-CSI2 (4 Lane each)
- 2x PCIe 2.0
- 2x I2C, 1x SPI, 4x PWM
- 75x GPIO
Debugging – JTAG via test point header
Misc – RTC
Supply Voltage – Main: 5V; I/Os: 3.3V
Dimensions – 47mm x 30mm
Temperature Range – Industrial (-40 to +85°C)

The modules can support Linux and Android, and eventually all documentation and software links should be on the i.MX8 page on Solidrun Wiki (empty at the time of writing).

Solidrun HummingBoard Pulse

Usually, a carrier board is provided with the module to quickly get started with development, and that’s what you can use HummingBoard Pulse for.

Specifications:

SoM Model – SOM i.MX8 Dual | Quad Lite | Quad with up to 4GB RAM, optional eMMC flash.
Storage – Micro SD slot
Video Output – HDMI 2.0a port
Audio – Output via HDMI, 3.5 audio jack
Connectivity – Dual Gigabit Ethernet
USB – 1x USB type C, 2x USB 3.0 ports
Expansion – Mini PCIe slot, M.2 slot, SIM card slot, MikroBUS click interface
Misc – 1x reset button, 1x configurable push button, Indication LEDs, RTC, IR receiver
Power Supply – 7V – 36V wide range; PoE sink support
Dimensions – 102mm x 69mm

An optional metal enclosure can also be provided.

Cubox Pulse mini PC

Another way to make use of Solidrun i.MX 8M system-on-module is their Cubox Pulse mini PC.

Specifications:

SoM Model – SOM i.MX8 Dual | Quad Lite | Quad with up to 4GB LPDDR4, 8GB eMMC flash
Storage – MicroSD slot
Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz
Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet (RF45)
USB – 2x USB 3.0
Misc – Power on button, Indication LEDs, RTC, IR receiver
Power Supply – 12V input DC jack; PoE sink support
Dimensions – 5 x 5 x 5cm (cubic plastic enclosure)

The mini PC runs Linux based on kernel 4.4x, or Android.

Bear in mind that documentation is really limited at this stage, but all three boards/devices are available:

SOM i.MX8 – 6 different models starting at $80 (i.MX 8M Dual, 1GB RAM) and up to $160 (i.MX 8M Quad, WiFi/Bluetooth, 2GB RAM, 8GB eMMC)
HummingBoard Pulse – 4 versions starting at $160 (i.MX 8M Dual, 1GB RAM), and going up to $240 (i.MX 8M Quad, WiFi, Bleutooth, 2GB RAM, 8GB eMMC).
Cubox Pulse – 2 models: $170 for dual core with 1GB RAM, 8GB flash; $190 for quad core with 2GB RAM, 8GB flash

Note that while the SoM are industrial temperature grade, the boards and mini PCs are only certified for commercial temperature range (0 to 70°C). The power supply is not included by default, and adds another $10.

You may find a few more details on the product pages for the SoMs, HummingBoard Pulse, and Cubox Pulse.

Thanks to Willy for the tip.

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.