We’ve previously seen compact Rockchip RK3399 powered single board computer with support for dual displays with the likes of Rock Pi 4 and NanoPi M4B thanks to HDMI and MIPI DSI interfaces.
Novasom M9 is another compact RK3399 SBC with both HDMI and MIPI DSI, as well as DisplayPort or embedded DisplayPort (eDP) for a wider choice of display interfaces, although as I understand it is still limited to dual independent display configurations. Another differentiating feature is the option for a wider -20 to +85°C operating temperature meaning it can be equipped with Rockchip RK3399K processor instead of RK3399, and the board also happens to come with an M.2 socket for NVMe SSDs just like Rock Pi 4 board.
SBC-M9 board specifications:
- SoC – Rockchip RK3399 or RK3399K hexa-core processor with two Cortex A72 cores, four Cortex-A53 core, Arm Mali-T860MP4 GPU
- System Memory – LPDDR3 up to 4GB @ 64bit
- Storage – Up to 128 GB eMMC flash, MicroSD card slot, M.2 socket for NVMe SSD
- Video Output
- HDMI
- DisplayPort 1.2 or eDP 1.3
- MIPI DSI
- I2C connector for capacitive touchscreen
- Audio – 2.5mm audio jack
- Camera I/F – 2x MIPI CSI
- Connectivity
- Gigabit Ethernet port
- WIFI 4 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac with PCB antenna , BLE 4.1
- USB – 2x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0 (One Type-A port, and the other via expansion headers)
- Expansion – Headers with up to 26x GPIOs (3.3V), I2C, SPI,
- Debugging – RS232 header for serial console
- Misc – Reset button, User LED, RTC with external battery
- Power Supply – 12V (6.5 – 18V protected); “UPS manager” (battery not included)
- Power Consumption – 2.5W typ.
- Dimensions – 105 x 56 mm
- Temperature Range – 0 to 80°C (RK3399) or -20 to 85°C (RK3399K)
The company can provide Android and Linux BSP for the board. There’s limited public information about the software, but M9 should be compatible with other “RASPMOOD” boards from the company that come with an SDK that makes software development similar to what you’d do with Raspberry Pi OS.
Novasom M9 is designed for multi-media applications requiring multiple display interfaces, protected power supply, and potentially a wider temperature range such as outdoor or on-vehicle digital signage. Pricing and availability information has not been disclosed, and more details may be found on Novasom M-Line products page.
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.
Support CNX Software! Donate via cryptocurrencies, become a Patron on Patreon, or purchase goods on Amazon or Aliexpress
The form factor is interesting to make compact storage nodes. Just put a 1 TB M2 SSD, add a GbE cable and connect the 12V PSU and you get a fast networked storage node. Multiply this by as many as you want and in a small 1.5U rack you can have 10s of TB and 10s of GbE. The battery backup option could be perfectly suitable to such a use case.