SolidRun already offers NXP based solutions with AI accelerators through products such as SolidRun i.MX 8M Mini SoM with Gyrfalcon Lightspeeur 2803S AI accelerator, or Janux GS31 Edge AI server with NXP LX2160A networking SoC, various i.MX 8M SoCs and up to 128 Gyrfalcon accelerators.
All those solutions are based on one or more external Gyrfalcon AI chips, but earlier this year, NXP introduced i.MX 8M Plus SoC with a built-in 2.3 TOPS neural processing unit (NPU), and now SolidRun has just unveiled the SolidRun i.MX 8M Plus SoM with the processor together with development kits based on HummingBoard carrier boards.
Specifications:
- SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Plus Dual or Quad with dual or quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @1.6 GHz (industrial) / 1.8 GHz (commercial), with Arm Cortex-M7 up to 800MHz, Vivante GC7000UL 3G GPU (Vulkan, OpenGL ES 3.1, OpenCL 1.2), 2.3 TOPS NPU, 1080p60 H.264/H.265 video encoder, 1080p60 video decoder (H.265, H.264, VP9, VP8), Candence HiFi4 audio DSP
- System Memory – Up to 8GB 32-bit LPDDR4-4000 MT/s
- Storage – eMMC flash
- On-board video interfaces
- 1x 4-lane MIPI-CSI interface supporting Basler’s camera’s modules.
- LVDS connector supporting LCD and touch screen.
- Networking
- 2x Analog ADIN1300 Gigabit Ethernet transceivers
- Wireless module – Optional 802.11 ac/a/b/g/n WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0
- 3x Hirose DF40 board-to-board connectors with 250 pins in total:
- Storage I/F – NOR flash, SD/microSD
- Display I/F – HDMI 2.0 and MIPI DSI
- Audio – 18x I2S TDM, S/PDIF Tx + Rx, 8-ch PDM Mic input; DSD512, eARC and ASRC support
- Camera I/F – 1x MIPI CSI2 (for additional camera on carrier board up to 12MP)
- Networking – 2x 10/100/1000 Mbps, including one with TSN
- USB – 2x USB 3.0
- Serial – 2x (RTS/CTS/RX/TX) + 1x (TX/RX), 2x CAN FD buses
- PCIe – 1x PCIe Gen 3
- Low-speed I/Os – 3x I2C, 1x SPI, 1x QSPI, 4x PWM, 75 GPIO
- Debugging – JTAG test point header
- Power Supply
- 5V via header on module or board-to-board connector
- IO Voltage – 3.3V / 1.8V
- PMIC delivering 3.3V/1A to the SoM
- Dimensions – 47mm x 30mm
- Temperature Range – Commercial: 0°C to 70°C; industrial: -40°C to 85°C
- Humidity (non-condensing) – 10% – 90%
The company will provide Linux (Yocto and Debian) for the board, and Android 10/11 is coming soon. As we can see from the specifications and block diagram above this system-on-module is a little different as with a 5V in + UART header, a header for LVDS display, and a connector for Basler-compatible camera, SolidRun iMX 8M Plus SOM could be used in standalone mode without any carrier board for a system with display and camera. You’ll find fairly detailed documentation on SolidRun developer’s website.
The module is however also compatible with the earlier HummingBoard-M Pulse and Ripple, plus the new HummindBoard Mate carrier boards providing access to the two native Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports, and the additional MIPI CSI interface that can take an optional Basler camera.
You’ll find a quick overview of the solution in the short introduction video below.
SolidRun i.MX 8M CoMs start at a promotional price of $75, while Hummingboard based devkits sell for $135+ on the company’s online store with promotional prices remaining in effect until March 2021. More information may be found on the product page and announcement.
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Since nobody has mentioned it, it should be pointed out that although the article and video states 8GB RAM is supported by the i.MX8M Plus, the actual product only has 1GB.
Additionally, the $75 and $135 prices are for 1GB modules *without* wifi/bt.
Solid run products are very expensive in terms of equipment / price. 1GB Ram is a misconception at this price. I don’t think they’re interested in a retail client …
Yes, the products available from the online store are only with 1GB RAM, but if a company requests a version of the SOM with 8GB RAM, they can certainly do it, no?
My *guess* is that physical space would be the constraint. The SoM is quite small and appears to have a single chip RAM solution. Adding additional memory would not only require a larger capacity RAM chip, but presumably also PCB routing for the additional address bus lines. This may not be possible without moving to a higher layer count PCB.
Also noteworthy is that Wandboard offers 2GB/4GB SoMs. However, their PCB appears to be significantly larger.
TL;DR = The choice of 1GB may have more to do with ancillary costs than RAM chip costs. Probably best to ask the manufacturer.
At least RAM chips with 64Gb capacity at this size are available: https://egpu.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2020-m1-mac-mini-unboxing-logic-board-cooling-system.jpg