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March 18, 2021December 19, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

ADLINK launches SMARC Short Size Module, Devkit with NXP i.MX 8M Plus

We had seen many i.MX 8M Plus modules with built-in AI accelerator announced at Embedded World 2021, including two SMARC modules from Congatec and iWave Systems. ADLINK has added another of i.MX 8M Plus module compliant with SMARC 2.1 “short” standard with LEC-IMX8MP system-on-module equipped with up to 8GB RAM, 128 GB eMMC flash, as well as a development kit called I-Pi SMARC IMX8M Plus prototyping platform. LEC-IMX8MP module specifications Specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX8M Plus with quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor, Vivante GC380 2D GPU and GC7000UL 3D GPU, 1080p60 video decoder & encoder, optional 2.3 TOPS Neural Processing Unit (NPU) System Memory – 2/4/8GB LPDDR4L-4266 Storage – 16, 32, 64, or 128GB eMMC flash (build option) Wireless – Optional 802.11 ac/a/b/g/n WiFi 5 2X2 MIMO and Bluetooth 5.0 module 314-pin MXM 3.0 edge connector Storage – 1x SDIO (4-bit) compatible with SD/SDIO standard, up to version 3.0 Display – […]

November 6, 2020November 8, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Kontron unveils RK3399K(Pro) SMARC 2.1 Module with up to 8GB RAM

Embedded systems companies tend to use processors from established firms like NXP Semiconductors or Texas Instruments, we’ve seen few systems-on-module based on processors from Amlogic, Rockchip, or Allwinner which are popular on this blog due to their value proposition. One of the reasons was/is software support, but this has improved over the years, and the other is the lack of wide temperature range parts plus potential concerns about long term supplies. I’m not aware of any industrial/extended temperature range part from Amlogic, but Allwinner provides A40i/A60i industrial temperature range processors, and Rockchip RK3399K supports an extended commercial temperature range between -20 to +85°C. Kontron selected the latter for their first-ever Rockchip powered system-on-module: the SMARC-fA3399 SMARC 2.1 module. SMARC-fA3399 SoM specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399K hexa-core processor with two Cortex A72 cores @ 1.8/2.0 GHz (wide temp vs commercial temp), four Cortex-A53 cores @ 1.4/1.6 GHz, Arm Mali-T860MP4 GPU System […]

September 28, 2020September 28, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

TQ Embedded Unveils Intel Elkhart Lake COM Express and SMARC 2.1 Computers-on-Module

German technology company TQ Embedded has unveiled the TQMxE40 computer-on-module families based on the Intel Atom x6000E series, as well as Intel Pentium and Celeron N and J “Elkhart Lake” processors that comply with COM Express Mini, COM Express Compact, and SMARC computer-on-module standards. The company’s TQMxE40M, TQMxE40S, and TQMxE40C1/C2 embedded modules are offered with all twelve Intel Elkhart Lake processors, up to 64GB RAM, and a -40°C to +85°C industrial temperature range. The computers-on-module are especially suited to industrial automation, medical technology, measurement technology, robotics as well as transport and logistics applications. TQMxE40M COM Express Mini Module Specifications: SoC – Intel Atom x6000E Series or Intel Pentium and Celeron N and J Series part of Elkhart Lake family with 4.5 W to 12 W TDP System Memory – 4, 8, 16 GB LPDDR4/4x with IBECC (In-band EEC) Storage – 8 to 256 GB eMMC flash, 32kbit EEPROM COM Express […]

September 24, 2020September 24, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Congatec Unveils Atom x6000E Elkhart Lake Powered Pico-ITX SBC, Qseven, SMARC, COM Express Modules

With the announcement of Intel Elkhart Lake IoT-optimized processors, we should expect embedded systems companies to unveil their own Atom x6000E and Celeron/Pentium Elkhart Lake powered products, and one of the first to do so is Congatec with the introduction of four different Elkhart Lake computers-on-module (CoM) following Qseven, SMARC, and COM Express standards, as well as a Pico-ITX SBC. conga-PA7 Atom x6000E SBC (with Celeron/Pentium J optional) Detailed specifications: SoC – Choice of eight different Elkhart Lake processors from the 6W Atom x6211E dual-core processor to the 10W Intel Pentium J6425 quad-core processor up to 3.0 GHz, all with 10th Gen Intel UHD graphics System Memory – Up to 16GB quad-channel onboard LPDDR4x Storage 32GB or 64GB UFS 2.0 flash (optional up to 512GB) M.2 SATA/PCIe SSD support (see expansion) 32 MB serial flash for AMI Aptio UEFI firmware Video DisplayPort DP++ video output up to 4Kp60 1x USB-C […]

May 7, 2020May 7, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

TQ Group Announces NXP i.MX 8X ARM Cortex-A35 Modules as the Processor Finally Becomes Available

TQ Group, headquartered in Germany, has launched two NXP i.MX 8X Cortex-A35 modules with TQMa8Xx and TQMa8XxS SoMs, with the latter being SMARC 2.1 compliant, and both targeting various applications ranging from medical devices, HMIs, industrial controllers and industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to gateways, building automation, transport, and robotics. The press release explains NXP will officially launch i.MX 8X CPUs on May 14, 2020. We first heard about i.MX 8X in 2016, before an official announcement in 2017, and we wrote about Toradex i.MX 8X SoM in 2018, plus 96Boards AI-ML SBC in 2019, so I naively believed the processor had been around for a couple of years, but the Toradex SoM product is still shown as an “early product announcement” [Update: the page has just been updated since it is now shipping as well], and AI-ML board has just launched with 26 units available on Arrow website. Some […]

April 14, 2020April 14, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

SGET SMARC 2.1 Hardware Specification Allows Up to 4 Cameras, 4 Ethernet Interfaces

There are plenty of standards for systems-on-module that are supposed to allow interoperability between vendors. For example vendor 1 may create a Qseven SoM that works with vendor 2’s Qseven compliant carrier board which should accept any Qseven compatible module, although in practice, there are always some small differences that may cause problems. Many of those standards are managed by SGET (Standardization Groups for Embedded Technologies) including SMARC (“Smart Mobility ARChitecture”), Qseven, and Embedded NUC. A recent post on ADLINK Technology alerted us of the publication of SMARC 2.1 hardware specification (PDF) with the following changes: Incorporated Errata 1.1 Rev. 2 (2/9/2017) Updated signal tables with pin number, power domain, termination information… Added details for eDP[0:1]_HPD Added SERDES as alternative function for PCIeC and PCIeD Added MDIO Interface Updated power domains and power sequencing Added two extra GPIOs PCIe Clock Request signals for PCIeA and PCIeBat at previous locations Changed […]

March 3, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Congatec conga-SMC1 3.5″ Carrier Board is Designed for NXP i.MX8 SMARC Modules

3.5-inch carrier board with NXP i.MX8 SMARC Module

Last year, Congatec introduced SMARC 2.0 compliant systems-on-modules based on NXP i.MX 8, i.MX 8M Mini and i.MX 8M Nano processors, together with Conga-SEVAL carrier board designed for evaluation and early software development, but is not suitable for deployment in the field. The company has now unveiled a standard 3.5″ carrier board – conga-SMC1 – that takes any of the company’s i.MX8 SMAC modules, in order to help their customers bring products faster to market thanks to a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) board. Congatec conga-SMC1/SMARC-ARM carrier board features and specifications: Supported SoM – conga-SMX8 (i.MX8), conga-SMX8-Mini (i.MX 8M Mini), or conga-SMX8-Nano (i.MX 8M Nano). Future SMARC 2.0 Arm-based modules should also be supported Storage – 1x SATA III (support of SATADOM VCC PIN 7 and PIN 8), 1x SATA power (+5V, +12V), MicroSD card socket, M.2 NVMe SSD support Display Interface 1x LVDS 18/24bit single/dual channel LVDS 2x optional eDP/DSI (dependent on […]

September 11, 2019September 11, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Congatec conga-SMX8-Mini is a SMARC 2.0 Module based on NXP i.MX 8M Mini Processor

NXP i.MX 8M Mini is the first i.MX processor from the company to be manufactured using a 14nm process, which enabled a higher 2.0 GHz frequency for the Cortex-A53 cores. While it was announced in 2018, the first systems-on-module were launched earlier this with products such as iWave System’ iW-RainboW-G34M-SM, TechNexion Axon Flex modules, F&S Elektronik Systems PicoCore-MX8MM, or CompuLab UCM-iMX8M-Mini among many others. So far, we had no covered any SMARC 2.0 compatible system-on-module based on the new NXP processor, but some companies had already launched such modules including Embedian and Avnet. Congatec has now joined them with the launch of conga-SMX8-Mini SMARC 2.0 system-on-module which builds on the company’s earlier conga-SMX8 i.MX 8 module. conga-SMX8-Mini SoM specifications: SoC (one or the other) NXP i.MX 8M Mini Quad with 4x Arm Cortex-A53 @ 1.8 GHz, 1x Arm Cortex-M4 @ 400MHz, GC NanoUltra 3D GPU, GC328 2D Graphics NXP i.MX […]