Variscite DART-MX91 SoM offers dual GbE, WiFi 6, 15 years support

The Variscite DART-MX91 system-on-module (SoM) is a compact, cost-effective NXP i.MX 91 Arm Cortex-A55 module which is part of the DART Pin2Pin family already includes the DART-MX93 and DART-MX8M-PLUS among others.

The SoM supports up to 2GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 8 to 128 GB of EMMC storage along with dual CAN-FD, dual Gigabit Ethernet, and dual USB interfaces. Wireless options include certified Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, and optional 802.15.4 for low-power wireless communication. Additionally, it supports three I2S audio interfaces, S/PDIF, and support for both digital and analog stereo mics along with 8-bit parallel camera interfaces and display with a capacitive touch controller.

Variscite DART-MX91 SoM Specifications

• SoC – NXP i.MX91 single-core Cortex-A55 processor clocked at 1.4 GHz with 32 KB I-cache and D-cache, 256KB L2 cache (no 3D GPU)
• System Memory – Up to 2GB LPDDR4
• Storage – 8 to 128GB eMMC flash
• Networking
  • Qualcomm Atheros AR8033 Gigabit Ethernet PHY
  • Certified dual-band Wi-Fi 6  802.11ax/ac/a/b/g/n and BT/BLE5.4 module with optional 802.15.4 (Laird Sterling-LWB5 based on high-resolution photos, but that module is reaching EOL)
• Audio codec – Cirrus Logic WM8904 ultra-low power stereo codec
• 3x board-to-board connectors
  • Storage I/F – 2x SD/MMC
  • Display – Parallel RGB interface for 60Hz 1366×768 or 1280×800 display with capacitive touch
  • Camera Interfaces – 8-bit parallel interface
  • Networking – 2x 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet
  • Audio
    • 3x I2S(SAI), S/PDIF RX/TX, 4CH PDM,
    • Line In/Out
    • Digital and Analog stereo Mic
  • USB – 2x USB 2.0 OTG
  • Serial – 8x UART up to 5 Mbps
  • I/O
    • 7x I2C, 2x I3C, 7x SPI
    • 2x CAN bus
    • 4x ADC
• Misc – RTC on carrier
• Debugging – JTAG
• Supply Voltage – 3.3V or 3.4V to 5V DC (via USB type-C on carrier)
• Dimensions – 55 x 30mm
• Temperature range
  • Commercial – 0 to 70°C
  • Extended – -25 to 85°C
  • Industrial – -40 to 85°C
• Humidity – 5% to 95%
• Product Longevity – 2039

The company mentions that the SoM is compatible with the DART Pin2Pin family which means it shares the same pinout configuration as other SoMs in the DART series. it allows developers to swap different DART SoMs within the same carrier board easily. This enables easy migration to different processors or feature sets without needing to redesign the entire board, saving time and development costs.

The DART-MX91 SoM is designed to be compatible with other modules in the ‘DART Pin2Pin’ family, meaning it should work with any Pin2Pin-compatible development kit. However, at the time of writing, the company does not offer a specific Evaluation Kit for the MX91 module, unlike what is available for the DART-MX95 modules. In terms of software support the company mentions that it will support both Yocto and Debian, other than that not much information is present at the time of writing.

The Variscite DART-MX91 SoM has a starting price of $35, which is probably the price of the base variant, and the company promises at least 15 years of support/availability until 2039. More information about other variants can be found on the product page, and some additional information can be found on the company’s press release page.

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