Rockchip RK3568 SBC takes up to four AHD cameras, two SATA drives

Boardcon EM3568-AV CAM SBC is powered by a Rockchip RK3568 SoC and comes with four AHD (analog high-definition) camera connectors and two SATA 3.0 ports to store video data on hard drives.

The SBC is also equipped with up to 8GB RAM, up to 128GB eMMC flash, supports MIPI DSI, LVDS, and eDP displays, and features a video composite output, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, WIFi 4 connectivity, an optional 4G LTE module, a few USB ports, and several connectors for expansion.

Boardcon EM3568-AV CAM specifications:

• SoC – Rockchip RK3568
  • CPU – Quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ up to 2.0 GHz
  • GPU – Arm Mali-G52 2EE GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.0, Vulkan 1.1
  • AI accelerator – 1 TOPS NPU (probably rounded up from 0.8 TOPS)
  • VPU – 4Kp60 H.265/H.264/VP9 video decoding, and 1080p60 H.265/H.264 video encoding
• System Memory – 2GB (up to 8GB)
• Storage
  • 8GB eMMC flash (up to 128GB) for the OS
  • 2x SATA 3.0 ports
  • microSD card slot
• Display
  • 40-pin header for MIPI DSI/LVDS up to 1080p60
  • 30-pin header for eDP 1.3 up to 2560×1600 @ 60Hz
  • CVBS (HDMI to CVBS) with support for NTSC and PAL
• Camera – 4x AHD camera BNC coaxial ports that look to be connected to the Rockchip RK3568 SoC through a 4-channel analog camera to MIPI CSI chip such as the Renesas ISL79987. I suppose it’s a Chinese chip, but the image resolution is too low for me to figure out which one it is.
  
• Audio – 3.5mm audio jack (headphones+mic), 2-pin speaker connector
• Networking
  • 2x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports via Realtek RTL8211F-CG controllers
  • 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 (802.11b/g/n) and Bluetooth 4.2
  • Optional 4G LTE connectivity via mPCIe socket with Nano SIM card slot
• USB
  • 1x USB 3.0 port
  • 1x USB 2.0 OTG port
  • 3x USB 2.0 Host ports (USB-A or 4-pin connector)
• Serial
  • 2x 4-pin UART connectors
  • 1x 3-pin RS485 connector
  • 1x CAN Bus connector
  • 3-pin debug header
• Expansion
  • GPIO and SPI connectors
  • mPCIe socket for 4G LTE module
• Misc
  • Recovery, Reset, and Power buttons
  • Key connector with PWM3_IR, Reset, Recovery, Power
  • RTC with battery connector;
• Power Supply – 12V/3A via DC jack
• Dimensions – 135 x 113.2 mm

The company provides a Debian 11 image with Linux version 5.10.160 and an unnamed “embedded GUI”, as well as an “Ubuntu 20.04 cross-compiler environment” which usually means a virtual machine image with the toolchain and code samples to get started. Boardcon only lists the software details and supported drivers, but none of that is available publicly. They share the datasheets for the main chips and the CM3568 system-on-module soldered on the board.

But what are analog HD (AHD) cameras used for? And in which case they should be used over digital cameras? All vendors seem to recommend IP cameras over analog cameras with much better quality, less wiring, improved security, less subject to interference, and better analytics, but Belgium-based vendor Black Box says analog cameras may perform better in low light conditions and typically costs less than digital camera, although it’s not always the case depending on cabling requirements.

The SOWZE SW-MA1024HP hemispherical camera recommended for the EM3568-AV CAM board is designed to be vehicle-mounted so the cost of cabling should not be an issue, and the SBC can also support several IP cameras with its two Gigabit Ethernet ports.

Boardcon does not provide public pricing for the EM3568-AV CAM SBC and asks people to send an email to get a quote instead… Further information can be found on the product page.

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