AAEON RICO-MX8P fanless Pico-ITX Plus SBC is powered by NXP i.MX 8M Plus AI processor

AAEON has launched another Pico-ITX Plus SBC with the RICO-MX8P single board computer powered by an NXP i.MX 8M Plus SoC with a 2.3 TOPS AI accelerator and equipped with up to 8GB LPDDR4 and a 16GB eMMC flash.

The fanless 100x80mm board offers a range of interfaces such as HDMI 2.0 video output, gigabit Ethernet, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (one Type-C OTG, one Type-A), RS-232/422/485 DB9 connector, and a 40-pin FPC connector for optional daughter boards. All these features make the RICO-MX8P SBC suitable for digital signage, retail kiosks, and industrial control systems such as PLCs and telemetry.

AAEON RICO-MX8P specifications:

• SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Plus AI SoC
  • CPU
    • Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.6 GHz
    • Arm Cortex-M7 real-time core @ 800 MHz
  • GPU – Vivante GC7000UL 3D GPU, Vivante GC520L 2D GPU
  • VPU – 720p60 H.265/H.264 video decoder & encoder
  • Optional AI accelerator – 2.3 TOPS Neural Processing Unit (NPU)
• System Memory – 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB LPDDR4
• Storage
  • 16GB eMMC flash
  • MicroSD card socket
• Display interfaces
  • HDMI 2.0, up to 4K x 2K @ 60Hz
  • 4-lane/8-lane LVDS interface with LCD Backlight connector; JP2 jumper for 5V/12V backlight power selection, JP3 jumper for 3.3V/5V LVDS power selection
  • 4-lane MIPI DSI connector
• Camera I/F – 4-lane MIPI CSI connector
• Audio – 3.5mm microphone/ earphone jack
• Networking
  • Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port
  • Optional Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port via T650 or T668 daughter board
  • Optional WiFi and Bluetooth via M.2 2230 E-Key module
  • Optional 3G/4G LTE via mini PCIe socket  and push-push Nano-SIM slot with tray
• USB
  • 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 OTG Type-C port
  • 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port
  • 1x USB 2.0 Type-A port
• Serial
  • RS-232/422/485 DB9 connector; JP1 jumper for 5V/12V RS-232/422/485 voltage output selection
  • RS-232 pin header
  • Debug UART
• Expansion
  • Full-size mini-PCIe slot (USB)
  • M.2 2230 E-Key socket (PCIe 3.0 x1)
  • 8x GPIO via 2×7-pin Wafer
  • 40-pin FPC connector for daughter board with CAN Bus, 2x I2C, GMAC (Ethernet), etc…
• Misc – Watchdog Timer
• Power Supply
  • Input Voltage – +12V DC
  • Power Consumption – 0.93A @ 12V (full load)
• Dimensions – 100 x 80mm (Pico-ITX Plus form factor)
• Weight – About 200 grams
• Temperature Range
  • Operating  – Standard: 0°C to 60°C
  • Storage – -40°C to 80°C
• Operating Humidity – 0% ~ 90% relative humidity, non-condensing
• MTBF – 100,000 hours
• Certifications – CE/FCC

The only operating system provided for the board is Debian 11 with Linux 5.10 LTS. Documentation currently consists of a datasheet and a user manual, both of which are hardware-focused, so we don’t have that much public information about the software.

When we asked why AAEON released a new “standard” with the Pico-ITX Plus (100x80mm) larger than the more widely used Pico-ITX (100x72mm) form factor following the publication of our earlier article about the RICO-3568, the company explains to CNX Software that “there is no specific reason that 100mm x 80mm was chosen over the standard PICO form factor, but more a combinations of reasons that 80mm rather than 72mm allowed for the interface range we wanted alongside the RK3568”.

AAEON has yet to provide sample pricing information for the NXP i.MX 8M Plus-based RICO-MX8P Pico-ITX Plus SBC, but for reference, the earlier Rockchip RK3568-powered RICO-3568 goes for $163 with 2GB RAM and $173 with 8GB RAM. Further details may be found on the product page.

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