Did you know Foxconn makes processors now? Well, they do, or at least can pretend they do to as we’ll see below. Foxconn FXN3102 24-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor is found in Vecow VAC-1000, a compact Edge AI computing system, that also features either an Hailo-8 AI accelerator or Gyrfalcon Lightspeeur 2801S NPU.
The Ubuntu 18.04 server system also comes with up to 16GB DDR4-2133 memory, optional NX Witness VMS (Video Management System) supported, and targets intelligent surveillance applications such as public surveillance or traffic monitoring, as well as smart retail, factory automation, and any other AIoT/Industry 4.0 applications.
Vecow VAC-1000 specifications:
- SoC – Foxconn FXN3102 24-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.0 GHz
- System Memory – 8GB or 16GB DDR4 2133MHz ECC SO-DIMM
- Storage
- 64GB eMMC flash, 512MB SPI Flash, up to 512KB EEPROM
- 1x SATA III port up to 6 Gbps
- 1x M.2 2280 Key M socket for NVNe SSD
- AI Accelerator
- Vecow VAC-1000 model – Lightspeeur 2801S Neural Accelerator, up to 5.6 TOPS
- Vecow VAC-1100 model – Hailo-8 AI accelerator up to 26 TOPS
- Networking
- 1x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port with IPMI (Note the IPMI standard will no longer be updated, and solutions like DMTF’s Redfish standard are recommended going forward)
- 1x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port
- USB – 2x USB 3.0 Type-A ports, 1x micro USB port for debug (external), 1x micro USB port for firmware update (internal)
- Misc – Power & SSD LED’s
- Power Input – DC 9V to 55V via 3-pin terminal block with V+, V-, Frame Ground
- Dimensions – 170 x 118 x 40mm
- Weight – 900 grams
- Mounting – – Wallmount by mounting bracket, optional DIN Rail mount
- Temperature – 0°C to 55°C
- Storage – -40°C to 85°C
- Humidity – 5% to 95% Humidity, non-condensing
- Relative humidity – 95% @55°C
- Shock
- IEC 60068-2-27
- SSD : 50G @wallmount, Half-sine, 11ms
- Vibration
- IEC 60068-2-64
- SSD : 5Grms, 5Hz to 500Hz, 3 Axis
- EMC – CE, FCC, EN50155, EN50121-3-2
The system runs Ubuntu Server 18.04 LTS with Linux 4.14 either booting from a flash drive or the eMMC flash. TensorFlow, Caffe, PyTorch are supported to leverage the AI accelerators, and the company mentions Python scripting language as well without details. As we previously mentioned in the introduced the system can optionally ship with NX Witness VMS as shown above.
But back to Foxconn FXN3102 processor. The only other 24-core Arm Cortex-A53 SoC that I know of is SocioNext SC2A11 unveiled in 2017. And indeed one website implies the Foxconn processor comes from SocioNext, meaning Foxconn FXN3102 is just a rebranded chip. We’ve previously seen SocioNext SC2A11 coupled with Hailo-8 in EdgeTuring dual-camera AI system designed for video analytics.
We still do not know pricing or when the system will become available. Additional details may be found on the press release and product page.
Via LinuxGizmos
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.
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Interesting looking device, would make a very nice router / firewall / nextcloud / pbx / vm box if they can price it in the 500-600 £$€ range without RAM or storage
512MB SPI Flash seems like a lot. Is it not 512Mb (64MB) SPI Flash?
Not sure about the SPI flash capacity. They write “MB” in the specs. 4Gbit SPI NAND flash devices exist, but don’t seem very common.