ARES-500AI is another embedded box PC from AAEON, but instead of the usual Intel or NVIDIA Jetson accelerators, it integrates a Huawei Atlas 200 AI accelerator module based on the Ascent 310 chip delivering up to 22 TOPS of AI performance and is designed for the Chinese market.
The Linux computer supports up to 8GB RAM, SSD and MicroSD storage, and is equipped with four Gigabit Ethernet ports, some USB 3.0 ports, but somehow no video output port. Designed for industrial computer vision applications, the system supports a wide 9V to 36V power input.
ARES-500AI Specifications:
- AI module – Huawei Atlas 200 based on Ascend 310 with 22/16/8 TOPS INT8, 11/8/4 TFLOPS FP16
- System Memory – 4GB or 8GB LPDDR4X
- Storage – SSD and microSD card sockets
- Video decoding
- H.265 & H.264 up to 16 channels @ 1080p30, up to 2 channels @ 4Kp60
- JPEG decoding up to 1080p @ 256 fps
- PNG decoding up to 1080p @ 24 fps
- Video Encoding – H.265 or H.264 up to 1080p30 (one channel)
- Networking – 4x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports
- USB – 2x USB 3.0 Type-A port, 1x USB 3.0 Type-C OTG port for flashing the firmware
- Serial – 1x RS232/422/485
- Expansion
- 1x M.2 2280 / 2242 socket for SSD storage
- 1x M.2 3042/3052 socket + SIM card slot for 4G/5G cellular connectivity
- 1x M.2 2230 socket for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
- 4x DO, 4x DI
- Debugging – 1x Console port
- Power Supply – 9-36V DC in via 3-pin Phoenix terminal
- Dimensions – 151 x 108 x 64mm
The system is running Huawei EulerOS commercial Linux distribution. I could not find resources specific to the embedded box PC, but EulerOS documentation can be found in English, and so is the documentation for Ascend AI processors. We previously wrote an article about a self-riding bicycle based on the Huawei Ascend A310 AI processor that may provide additional insights about the solution.
AAEON only provides a product page in Chinese for the ARES-500AI embedded box PC, and a company representative told CNX Software that as the ARES-500AI uses a Huawei AI chip, it’s a localized product that they have targeted toward the China market only. I guess nobody wants to be sanctioned by the US for using a Huawei solution outside of China, and AAEON already has plenty of similar embedded computers based on NVIDIA Jetson or Intel + AI accelerators which may be easier to develop on for the rest of the world due to the language barrier.
The ARES-500AI was brought to my attention by Smartfly who resells the system on Aliexpress for close to $2,000. They also provide the ARES-500DK development board, pictured below, with the SBC used in the ARES-5000AI for $927. That’s a lot of money for something you won’t get any support from the company.
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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HiSilicon’s only claiming the 16TOPS slot there. Odd.
This is based on the HiSilicon hi3559c https://zeeis.com/hi3559c/
It has following CPU/GPU/NPU: Dual-core ARM Cortex A73 1.6GHz,
Dual-core ARM Cortex A53 1.2GHz, Single-core ARM Cortex A53 1.0GHz, and Dual-core ARM Mali G71 900MHz, and Dual-core NNIE 840MHz, plus a 700 MHz DSP.
Thanks. I was unable to find the details of the processor used in the module.
It looks similar to the Hi3559A https://www.cnx-software.com/2017/11/22/hisilicon-hi3559a-v100es-is-an-8k-camera-soc-with-a-neural-network-accelerator/
Not sure what the differences are between the A and C versions.
You summed it up best with the final statement.
“That’s a lot of money for something you won’t get any support from the company.”