Firefly introduces Rockchip RK3576 SoM and All-in-One carrier board compatible with NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano and Orin NX modules

Firefly has released a Rockchip RK3576 SoM and development board called the Core-3576JD4 Core Board with a SO-DIMM edge connector and the AIO-3576JD4 carrier board respectively. The core board or the SoM is built around an octa-core 64-bit processor with a Mali G52 MC3 GPU and a 6 TOPS NPU, so it can handle demanding AI tasks while maintaining low power consumption.

The AIO-3576JD4 is a full-fledged carrier board with a wide range of on-board interfaces, like dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, MIPI-CSI, HDMI 2.1, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, USB Type-C, a Phoenix connector for serial, dual-row pin headers (SPI, I2C, Line in, and Line out), an M.2 socket for 5G, a mini PCIe for 4G LTE, an M.2 socket for WiFi 6/BT 5.2, and a third M.2 socket for SATA/PCIe NVMe SSD expansion.

RK3576 AI SoM and dev board specification

Core-3576JD4 specifications
- SoC – Rockchip RK3576
  - CPU – Octa-core CPU with 4x Cortex-A72 cores at 2.2GHz, 4x Cortex-A53 cores at 1.8GHz
  - GPU – Arm Mali-G52 MC3 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1, 2.0, and 3.2, OpenCL up to 2.0, and Vulkan 1.1
  - NPU – 6 TOPS (INT8) AI accelerator with support for INT4/INT8/INT16/BF16/TF32 mixed operations.
  - VPU
    - Video Decoder – H.264, H.265, VP9, AV1, and AVS2 up to 8Kp30 or 4Kp120, MPJEG decoding up to 4Kp60
    - Video Encoder – H.264, H.265, (M)JPEG up to 4Kp60
- System Memory – LPDDR4/LPDDR4x (4GB/8GB optional)
- Storage
  - 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB eMMC storage options,
  - UFS2.0 (Optional)
- Video Options
  - Video Input
    - 2x MIPI CSI DPHY (1×4 Lanes or 2×2 Lanes)
    - 1x MIPI D/CPHY (MIPI DPHY (1×4 Lanes or 2×2 Lanes) or MIPI CPHY (3 Lanes))
    - 1x DVP (8/10/12/16-bit, BT.601/BT.656 and BT.1120)
  - Video Output
    - HDMI 2.1 (4K@120fps) / eDP 1.3 (4K@60fps)
    - DP 1.4 (4K@120fps)
    - EBC (E-ink EPD support, 2560×1920)
- Audio
  - 2x SAI (4T/4R), 3 × SAI (1T/1R), I2S/TDM/PCM, up to 192KHz
  - 2x SPDIF TX & RX (8ch)
  - 2x PDM (Up to 8 channels, 16-24 bit, up to 192KHz)
- USB
  - USB 3.2 Gen1 OTG0 (multiplexed with DP1.4)
  - USB 3.2 Gen1 OTG1 (multiplexed with PCIe 2.1/SATA 3.1)
- Networking
  - Ethernet – 2x Gigabit Ethernet (2 onboard Ethernet ICs)
  - Wireless – Expandable with 2.4GHz/5GHz dual-band WiFi 6 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax) / Bluetooth 5.2
  - Cellular Power Expandable with 5G/4G LTE
- Other peripherals
  - PCIe/SATA
    - PCIe 2.1/SATA 3.1/USB 3.2 Gen1 Combo
    - PCIe 2.1/SATA 3.1 Combo
  - SDIO 3.0
  - 16x PWM
  - 2x I3C (SDR mode)
  - 10x I2C (7-bit and 10-bit addressing)
  - 12x UART (RS485 support)
  - 2x CAN FD
  - 7x SARADC + 1x SARADC (boot only), 12-bit, up to 1MS/s
- Misc – External watchdog (onboard IC)
- Power
  - Supply – 5.0V (± 5% tolerance)
  - Consumption – 7.0W Max (5V/1400mAh)
- Dimensions – 69.6 x 45 x 4.15mm
- Weight – About 16grams
- Temperature
  - Operating – -20°C to 60°C
  - Storage – -20°C to 70°C
- Humidity – 10% to 90% RH (non-condensing)
AIO-3576JD4 mainboard specifications
- Storage – SD Card reader
- Video
  - Output – HDMI 2.1 (4K@120fps)
  - Input – 2x MIPI CSI DPHY, 1x MIPI CSI D/C PHY
- Audio – 3.5mm audio jack (MIC, CTIA)
- USB
  - 2x USB 3.0 ports
  - 2x USB 2.0 ports
  - 1x USB Type-C port (OTG/flash)
- Networking
  - Ethernet – 2x RJ45 (1000Mbps)
  - Wireless – M.2 E-KEY (2230) socket for WiFi 6 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax) and Bluetooth 5.2
  - Cellular – Mini PCIe and M.2 sockets (multiplexed for 5G or 4G)
  - SIM card slot
- Serial – 1 × RS485, RS232 (via phoenix connector)
- Expansion
  - M.2 E-Key socket
  - Mini PCIe socket
  - M.2 socket for 5G module only in the back
  - GPIO
- Misc
  - Watchdog
  - 2x 10-pin header (2.0mm pitch): USB 2.0, SPI, I2C, Line in, Line out
  - FAN header(4Pin-1.25mm)
  - Work indicator
  - Power button
- Power
  - Supply – 12V DC supply via 5.5mm × 2.1mm DC jack
  - Consumption – 7.8W Max with 12V/650mAh
- Dimensions – 122.89 x 85.04 x 22.7mm
- Weight – 120 grams
- Temperature
  - Operating – -20°C to 60°C
  - Storage – -20°C to 70°C
- Humidity – 10% to 90% RH (non-condensing)

In terms of software, Firefly mentions that the SoM supports operating systems like Android 14 and Linux, as well as the Buildroot build system. The company also mentions that these boards are designed to handle the private deployment of ultra-large-scale parametric models based on the Transformer architecture. This includes notable LLMs like LLaMa2, ChatGLM, and Qwen. Furthermore, they offer support for traditional neural networks, like CNNs, RNNs, LSTMs, and popular frameworks like TensorFlow and PyTorch for diverse AI applications. The SoM also supports docker streamlines application deployment and management.

The company mentions that the AIO-3576JD4 carrier board uses a 260-pin standard SO-DIMM socket compatible with the Firefly Core-1688JD4, Core-3576JD4, or Core-3588JD4 modules, as well as NVIDIA SoMs such as Jetson Orin Nano and Jetson Orin NX.

iCore 3576Q Low Power Large Model Core Board — T-Firefly iCore-3576Q Low-Power Large-Model Core Board

T-Firefly also released another RK3576-based low-power SoM the iCore-3576Q which has a much more compact form factor (60.00 x 42.95 x 5.68 mm) and features PCIe 2.1, SATA 3.1, USB 3.0, MIPI-CSI, and more through board-to-board connectors instead of a SO-DIMM edge connector.

Previously we have written about various Rockchip RK3576 powered SBCs, SoM, and development boards such as the Banana Pi BPI-CM5 Pro, the Firefly EC-R3576PC FD, and Firefly EC-R3576PC FD. Feel free to check those out if you are interested in the topic.

The Firefly Core-3576JD4 SoM is priced at $119.00 in 4GB RAM+32GB flash configuration while the 8GB RAM+64GB flash model goes for $149.00. Both can be purchased from the Firefly store. The AIO-3576JD4 mainboard is priced at around $199 with the 4GB/32GB module. More information can be found on the product page and the wiki.

Debashis Das

Debashis Das is a technical content writer and embedded engineer with over five years of experience in the industry. With expertise in Embedded C, PCB Design, and SEO optimization, he effectively blends difficult technical topics with clear communication