Crowdfunding can be fun, but also risky for backers, especially when backing projects from startups. There are many such examples of projects gone bad, and last year we noted TAIHE Gemini portable display was another crowdfunding campaign gone wrong despite raising over one million dollars. Today, I’d like to reiterate this warning with “Mi Mini PC“, a pocket-size Windows 10 Mobile PC that was introduced on Indiegogo and raised a cool 1.5 million dollars. Note that the “Mi” here is completely unrelated to Xiaomi, and the product was developed by a company with the now-unreachable mipcworld.com website. There were early red flags shorting after the launch of the campaign with the developer making unrealistic claims about a free upgrade from Atom x7 to Core M3-7Y30, and no pictures of an actual prototype. But somebody just left a comment on the CNX Software article that there was still nothing. So I […]
The 5 best Intel & AMD single board computers for makers
A few weeks ago, we wrote a list of what we consider to be the top 5 most powerful Arm SBC’s and development kits, and this time around we’ll cover x86 SBC’s powered by Intel or AMD processors. But this time around, instead of focusing on the most powerful x86 single board computers which would lead to unaffordable, industrial Xeon SBC’s, we’ll be looking into the 5 best boards designed for makers. That means affordable pricing, I/O headers, and community support. The list is in no particular order. Rock Pi X – x86 on the cheap If you ever wanted the cheapest possible x86 board, Atomic Pi SBC $35 price tag was hard to beat, but it was only cheap because it was sourced from a failed robotics project, and not very convenient to use. But now in 2021, the cheapest x86 SBC that can run Windows is clearly Rock […]
UP Squared Pro SBC gets more I/Os, 3x M.2 sockets, TPM 2.0 security chip
UP Squared Apollo Lake SBC was launched in 2016 via a crowdfunding campaign with a price starting at just 89 Euros for the model with 2GB RAM 16GB storage, and a dual-core Intel Celeron N3350 processor. AAEON has now announced an update simply called UP Squared Pro with many of the same features, but greater expandability and I/O features, for example, to add 5G modules and AI accelerators through one of the three M.2 sockets, as well as improved security via a TPM 2.0 chip. UP Squared Pro (UPN-APL01) specifications with highlights in bold or strikethrough in comparison to the UP Squared specifications (in 2016): SoC (one or the other) Intel Celeron N3350 dual-core “Apollo Lake” processor @ 1.1 GHz / 2.4 GHz with 12 EU Intel HD graphics 500 @ 200 MHz / 650 MHz (6W TDP) Intel Pentium N4200 quad-core “Apollo Lake” processor @ 1.1 GHz / 2.5 […]
This mini-computer is set to outperform NVIDIA Xavier by eight times
When it comes to high-end AI-edge computer boards, we have seen Hackboard 2 with support for Windows 10 operating system and optional 4G or 5G cellular connectivity. Fast Sense Studios is a Russian-based startup designing powerful on-board computers to bring edge AI capabilities to mobile robotics. At Embedded World 2021, the company has unveiled the Fast Sense X Robotics AI Platform that integrates the power of six computers into a single module. The company claims the newly launched edge AI computer outperforms the NVIDIA Xavier with over 8x higher performance in mobile robots thanks to the advanced DNN inference hardware. Apart from the Intel UHD GPU, the computer also integrates up to 3 Coral Edge TPU devices and up to 2 Myriad X devices allowing it to give optimum results even when on heavy workloads. “We believe in the future where reliable physical agents become relevant for routine tasks that […]
3.5-inch Atom x6000E embedded SBC features 3x GbE, 2x SATA, 6x USB, and more
Several Elkhart Lake SBC’s integrate two Ethernet ports including Avalue ECM-EHL 3.5-inch SBC or Congatec Conga-PA7 Pico-ITX board with the former equipped with 2.5GbE and GbE ports, and the latter two GbE ports. But if your industrial project requires more Ethernet ports, iBase IB836 3.5-inch Atom x6000E embedded SBC offers three Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports, as well as two SATA ports, six USB interfaces, plus various display options, as well as M.2 and mPCIe expansion sockets. iBase IB836 specifications: Elkhart Lake SoC (one of the other) Intel Atom x6425E quad-core processor @ 1.8GHz/3.0GHz, with 1.5MB cache, Intel UHD graphics; 12W TDP Intel Atom x6413E quad-core processor @ 1.5GHz/3.0GHz, with 1.5MB cache, Intel UHD graphics; 9W TDP Intel Atom x6211E dual-core processor @ 1.2GHz/3.0GHz, with 1.5MB cache, Intel UHD graphics; 6W TDP System Memory – Up to 32GB via DDR4-3200 SO-DIMM, with IBECC support Storage – 2x SATA ports, 1x mSATA […]
Advantech Elkhart Lake mini-ITX motherboard offers triple display support, dual LAN, eight USB and six COM ports
We’ve seen a fair amount of Intel Elkhart Lake platforms including modules, 3.5-inch SBCs, Pico-ITX boards, and embedded mini PCs, but so far, I had not noticed any Elkhart Lake mini-ITX motherboard. Advantech AIMB-218 motherboard offers a choice of low-power Atom, Celeron and Pentium Elkhart Processor, and thanks to the larger form factor plenty of I/Os including four display interfaces (DP++/HDMI/eDP/LVDS) supporting up to three display, eight USB port, six serial COM port, and dual Gigabit Ethernet. Advantech AIMB-218 specifications: SoC (one or the other) – Intel Atom x6413E quad-core processor @ 1.50 GHz / 3.0 GHz (Turbo) with 16EU Intel UHD graphics; 9W TDP Intel Celeron N6211 dual-core processor @ 1.20 GHz / 3.0 GHz with 16EU Intel UHD graphics; 6.5W TDP Intel Celeron J6413 quad-core processor @ 1.80 GHz / 3.0 GHz with 16EU Intel UHD graphics; 10W TDP Intel Pentium J6426 (new part) quad-core 2.0 GHz / […]
OnLogic Elkhart Lake fanless mini PC’s are made for IIoT applications
Intel Atom x6000E Series, Celeron and Pentium Elkhart Lake IoT Edge processors were introduced in September 2020, and we covered several Elkhart Lake modules and SBC’s. We’ve seen fewer full systems such as the Atom x6425RE based Vecow SPC-6000 Elkhart Lake mini PC for embedded & IoT applications. But OnLogic is more offering four more choices with Helix 300 and Karbon K400 Series of rugged fanless mini PCs, all equipped with Atom, Celeron, or Pentium Elkhart Lake processors, and designed for industrial IoT (IIoT) or Industry 4.0 applications Helix 300 Series Specifications The Helix 300 family is comprised of two models with Helix 310 and Helix 330 share most of the same specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N6211 dual-core processor or Pentium J6425 quad-core processor System Memory – Up to 32 GB DDR4 RAM Storage – M.2 Storage Video Output – 3x DisplayPort for triple independent display setups Audio – […]
Edge computing boards with new Intel Atom x6000E processors (Elkhart Lake) – Sponsored
A highly reliable performance boost for the edge The new Intel Atom® x6000E Series, Intel Celeron®, and Pentium® N & J processors (code name Elkhart Lake) impress with twice the graphics speed of their predecessors and 50% more multi-thread performance on up to 4 cores. congatec is now making these processors available on the 2.5-inch Pico-ITX form factor, leveraging their industrial quality for the most reliable performance boost possible. With growing digitization and the IoT trend, even the smallest edge computers are expected to meet high-reliability requirements today. Start-ups, makers, and spin-offs from big industrial companies increasingly deploy them in massively distributed applications to implement their new business models and IoT-supported services. They all face a similar challenge: Their apps are approaching market-readiness but their hardware platforms, which often originate from the maker board scene, lack reliability since they were not designed for large series and harsh environments. Industrial edge […]