Olimex open-source hardware NXP i.MX 8M Plus industrial-grade SoM runs mainline Linux

Olimex has just announced the iMX8MP-SOM-4GB-IND industrial-grade, open-source hardware system-on-module based on NXP i.MX 8M Plus Arm AI SoC and 4GB LPDDR4 thar runs mainline Linux and operates in the -20°C to +85°C temperature range.

The CPU module also features a wide range of interfaces exposed through female headers including HDMI 2.0, MIPI-DSI, LVDS, dual MIPI CSI, dual Gigabit Ethernet, CAN FS and more. Olimex also designed the iMX8MP-SOM-EVB evaluation board for easy evaluation.

Olimex iMX8MP-SOM-4GB-IND system-on-module

Specifications:

SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Plus (MIMX8ML8CVNKZAB)
- CPU
  - Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.6 GHz
  - Arm Cortex-M7 real-time core @ 800 MHz
- Cache – 512KB
- GPU – Vivante GC7000UL 3D GPU, Vivante GC520L 2D GPU
- VPU – 1080p H.265/H.264 video decoder & encoder
- DSP HiFi 4 DSP
- AI accelerator – 2.3 TOPS Neural Processing Unit (NPU)
System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4
Storage – EEPROM for Linux configuration
Display and camera connectors
- 1x MIPI DSI connector
- 4/8-lane LVDS connector
- 2x MIPI-CSI camera connectors
5x 40-pin headers plus 1x 20-pin header (220-pin in total) with
- Storage – 3x SDIO eMMC 5.1
- Display interface – HDMI 2.0
- Audio – ASRC, SAI/I2S, HDMI eARC
- Camera – 1x ISP camera
- Networking 2 x Gigabit Ethernet (1 x TSN)
- USB – USB 3.0 with OTG
- PCIe – 1x PCIe 3.0
- Other I/Os
  - 2x CAN FD
  - 3x SPI, 5x I2C
  - 4x UART up to 5Mbps
  - 4x PWM
Power management – Onboard PCA9450 PMIC
Dimensions – 70 x 43 mm
Temperature Range – -20°C to +85°C

System-on-module companies will usually provide design files for the carrier board only but Olimex also released the KiCad files for the iMX8MP-SOM-4GB-IND under a CERN Open Hardware Licence Version 2 – Strongly Reciprocal on GitHub.

NXP i.MX 8M processors are either supported by the Linux BSP from the NXP with optional professional services for maintenance and security updates or mainline Linux where users get the latest version of the code but may need to do a bit more work to maintain it themselves. Olimex claims to run mainline Linux on their iMX8MP-SOM-4GB-IND CPU module, but right now, I find limited details about the software although they did release what looks like a minimal buildroot image and there’s some documentation on GitHub but not updated for NXP i.MX processors, at least for now.

iMX8MP-SOM-EVB evaluation board

Olimex EVS for the iMX8MP-SOM offers the following interfaces

Connectors for iMX8MP-SOM system-on-module described above
Storage
- M.2 2280 NVMe SSD socket
- eMMC / Flash module connector
- MicroSD card socket
Video Output – HDMI 2.0 connector
Audio – 3.5mm Line OUT jack, 3.5mm Line IN jack
Networking – Two Gigabit Ethernet connectors (LAN1 with TSN support)
USB – 2x USB 3.0 host ports
Serial – 2x CAN drivers and connectors
Expansion – UEXT connector, 2x GPIO headers
Misc – Reset and Power Buttons
Dimensions – 155×102 mm

Like the SoM, the i.MX 8M Plus EVB is open-source hardware with the KiCad design files released on GitHub along with a user manual.

Price and availability

Both are available now with the price of the iMX8MP-SOM-4GB-IND system-on-module starting at 70 Euros and decreasing to 64.40 Euros for 1K+ orders, and the iMX8MP-SOM-EVB evaluation board sells for 50 Euros.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

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.