Radxa ROCK 3B Rockchip RK3568 SBC combines Pico-ITX and Raspberry Pi form factors

Radxa ROCK 3 Model B, or ROCK 3B for shorts, is a “PI-CO ITX” SBC powered by a Rockchip RK3568 SoC that combines the benefits of Pico-ITX and Raspberry Pi form factors in the sense that the 100x72mm board features all main ports on the rear side and supports expansion through a 40-pin Raspberry Pi-compatible GPIO header and several M.2 sockets for storage and wireless modules. The ROCK 3B is the younger, but bigger brother of the ROCK 3A business card-sized SBC introduced in 2021, still with an RK3568 CPU and up to 8GB LPDDR4, but the board features two gigabit Ethernet ports, an M.2 B Key socket for 4G LTE/5G cellular modules, an M.2 PCIe 3.0 x1 socket for an M.2 2280 SSD not necessitating an expansion board, besides the M.2 Key-E socket for WiFi 6. ROCK 3B specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3568(J) CPU – Quad-core Cortex A55 processor […]

Review of Youyeetoo Rockchip RK3568 SBC with Lubuntu 20.04 and the RKNPU2 AI SDK

We’ve already reviewed the Rockchip RK3568-power Youyeetoo YY3568 SBC with Android 11 – and listed the specifications and checked out the hardware kit –  in the first part of the review. We now had time to switch to Lubuntu 20.04, perform some basic tests, and also have a closer look at the RKNPU2 AI SDK for the built-in 0.8 TOPS AI accelerator found in the Rockchip RK3568 SoC. Installing Ubuntu or Debian on YY3568 SBC The company provides both Debian and Ubuntu images for the YY3568 SBC with different images depending on the boot device (SD card or eMMC flash) and video interface used (DSI, eDP, HDMI). Our YY3568 “Bundle 5” kit comes with an 11.6-inch eDP display so we’ll select the “Ubuntu 20” image with edp in the file name. The RKDevTool program is used to flash Linux images and it’s the same procedure as we used with Android […]

ArmSoM CM5 - Raspberry Pi CM4 alternative with Rockchip RK3576 SoC

Rockchip RK3568 SBC takes up to four AHD cameras, two SATA drives

Boardcon EM3568-AV CAM SBC is powered by a Rockchip RK3568 SoC and comes with four AHD (analog high-definition) camera connectors and two SATA 3.0 ports to store video data on hard drives. The SBC is also equipped with up to 8GB RAM, up to 128GB eMMC flash, supports MIPI DSI, LVDS, and eDP displays, and features a video composite output, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, WIFi 4 connectivity, an optional 4G LTE module, a few USB ports, and several connectors for expansion. Boardcon EM3568-AV CAM specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3568 CPU – Quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ up to 2.0 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G52 2EE GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.0, Vulkan 1.1 AI accelerator – 1 TOPS NPU (probably rounded up from 0.8 TOPS) VPU – 4Kp60 H.265/H.264/VP9 video decoding, and 1080p60 H.265/H.264 video encoding System Memory – 2GB (up to 8GB) Storage 8GB eMMC flash (up […]

Banana Pi BPI-CM2 – A Raspberry Pi CM4-compatible Rockchip RK3568 SoM with extra I/Os

Banana Pi BPI-CM2 is another Raspberry Pi CM4-compatible system-on-module, this time based on a Rockchip RK3568 quad-core Cortex-A55 SoC and with a twist as besides the two 100-pin high-density connectors, the module adds two 70-pin high-density connectors for the extra I/Os provided by the Rockchip processor such as PCIe 3.0, USB 3.0, eDP, MIPI DSI, and an additional Gigabit Ethernet. The Rockchip RK3568 module comes with many of the same features and options as the Raspberry Pi CM4 with 2GB to 8GB RAM, 8GB to 256GB eMMC flash, optional WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, and an on-module Ethernet transceiver, in this case, a Realtek RTL8211F. Banana Pi BPI-CM2 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3568 CPU – Quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ up to 2.0 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G52 2EE GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.0, Vulkan 1.1 AI accelerator – 0.8 TOPS NPU VPU – 4Kp60 H.265/H.264/VP9 […]

Banana Pi BPI-KVM – A KVM over IP solution based on Rockchip RK3568 SoC

Banana Pi has started working on the BPI-KVM box based on a Rockchip RK3568 SoC, but it’s not a mini PC, and instead, it is a KVM over IP solution designed to remotely control another computer or device as if you were on-site with, for example, the ability to turn on and off the connected device, access the BIOS, and so on. Commercial KVM over IP solutions used to be expensive, but people have started to use Raspberry Pi SBCs with an expansion board such as the PiKVM v3, and more recently Raspberry Pi CM4-based KVM over IP solutions have been launched for under well $200. Seeing the popularity of these solutions, Banana Pi has decided to join the fray with its own BPI-KVM powered by an IO-rich Rockchip RK3568 processor that provides all interfaces needed for this type of application. Banana Pi BPI-KVM (preliminary) specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3568 […]

Rockchip RK3568 Android mini PC supports PoE (Power over Ethernet)

QINTAIX QY8 is yet another Rockchip RK3568 mini PC running Android 11 whose main differentiating feature is the ability to take power from a 5V power supply or PoE (Power over Ethernet) via its Gigabit Ethernet port. The system comes with up to 8GB RAM, up to 64GB eMMC flash, offers HDMI 2.1 and composite video output, an audio jack, optical S/PDIF, WiFi 6 wireless connectivity, a few USB 3.0/2.0 ports, as well as an RTC with a backup battery for time-keeping. QINTAIX QY8 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3568 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ up to 2.0 GHz with Arm Mali-G52 2EE GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.0, Vulkan 1.1, 1.0 TOPS NPU for AI acceleration, 4Kp60 H.265/H.264/VP9 video decoding, and 1080p60 H.265/H.264 video encoding System Memory – 4GB or 8GB LPDDR4 Storage 32GB or 64GB eMMC flash MicroSD card socket Video Output – HDMI 2.1 port up […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs

Station P2S Rockchip RK3568 mini PC adds support for 4G LTE cellular connectivity

Firefly’s Station P2S mini PC is a new variant of the Station P2 based on Rockchip RK3568 Cortex-A55 SoC that adds support for 4G LTE cellular data connectivity, but downgrades to WiFi 5 instead of WiFi 6, but only supports shorter M.2 2242 NVMe SSDs. The Station P2S still comes with up to 8GB RAM, 128GB eMMC flash, and supports dual Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 2.0 4Kp60 video output, 2.5-inch SATA 3.0 storage, and integrates a few USB 3.0/2.0 ports, plus an RJ45 jack for RS232 and RS485 serial interfaces. Station P2S specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3568 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ up to 2.0 GHz with Arm Mali-G52 2EE GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.0, Vulkan 1.1, 1.0 TOPS NPU for AI acceleration, 4Kp60 H.265/H.264/VP9 video decoding, and 1080p60 H.265/H.264 video encoding System Memory – 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB LPDDR4 Storage 32GB, 64GB, or 128GB eMMC flash 1x […]

ECS RK3568-IS 3.5-inch SBC with Rockchip RK3568 SoC showcased at COMPUTEX 2023

ECS is better known for its LIVA mini PCs and x86 motherboards, but ECSIPC unveiled a 3.5-inch SBC powered by Rockchip RK3568 Arm SoC at Embedded World 2023. However, when I asked for photos or detailed specifications at the time, I was told by a company representative no further details were available. But we now have more information as the company is showcasing the RK3568-IS 3.5-inch SBC at COMPUTEX 2023, and I received some photos from their booth. ECS RK3568-IS specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3568 quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 @ up to 2.0 GHz with ARM Mali-G52 2EE GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2. OpenCL 2.0. Vulkan 1.1, 0.8 TOPS NPU System Memory – 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB DDR3 or LPDDR4X Storage 8GB or 32GB eMMC flash M.2 socket for 2280 NVMe SSD MicroSD card slot Display HDMI 2.0 output eDP 1.3 LVDS or MIPI DSI interface I2C capacitive touch […]

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