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Wandboard 8MPLUS SBC Gets NXP i.MX 8M Plus SoC with 2.3TOPS NPU

TechNexion Wandboard Dual was one of the first Freescale i.MX 6 single board computers when it launched in early 2013 and the company has introduced a few more models over the years including Wandboard QuadPlus in 2017. TechNexion is now working on a new version called Wandboard 8MPLUS powered by the recently announced NXP i.MX 8M Plus SoC that features a built-in 2.3 TOPS NPU for AI acceleration. Wandboard 8MPLUS preliminary specifications: EDM System-on-Module SoC – NXP i.MX8M Plus quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.8 GHz, Arm Cortex-M7 real-time core @ up to 800 MHz, Vivante GC7000UL 3D GPU, Vivante GC520L 2D GPU, HiFi 4 audio DSP, and 2.3 TOPS Neural Processing Unit (NPU) System Memory – 2GB or 4GB LPDDR4 Storage – 32GB eMMC flash Video Decode – HD (1080p +720p) Video Encode – 1080p60 H.265, H.264 260-pin EDM Type G board-to-board connector Debugging – JTAG Interface […]

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iWave Systems i.MX8M Mini Devkit Targets Low-cost Facial Recognition Systems

iWave Systems i.MX8M Mini Board is a development platform based on an update versions of the company’s iW-RainboW-G34M-SM i.MX 8M Mini system-on-module and designed specifically for low-cost facial recognition systems thanks to NXP eIQ ML software, and MIPI display and camera. iWave Systems i.MX8M Mini (aka iW-RainboW-G34D) specifications: SoM SoC – NXP i.MX8M Mini Q/QL/D/DL/S/SL with up to 4x Cortex-A53 cores,  1x Cortex-M4F real-time core, Vivante 3D and 2D GPUs System Memory – 1GB LPDDR4 (Expandable up to 4GB) Storage – 8GB eMMC Flash (Expandable), optional 2MB QSPI Flash optional Micro SD slot Wireless – Dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0. PMIC – BD71847AMWV i.MX8M SODIMM Carrier Board Storage – MicroSD slot Display I/F – MIPI DSI display connector Camera I/F – MIPI CSI camera connector Audio – Audio codec, 3.5mm Line In/Out jack Networking – Up to 2x Gigabit Ethernet ports (One is Optional) USB – 2x USB […]

ArmSoM CM5 - Raspberry Pi CM4 alternative with Rockchip RK3576 SoC
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NXP i.MX 8M Mini Pico-ITX SBC Comes with Audio DSP, Optional PoE and Google Coral M.2 Module

We’ve covered several NXP i.MX 8M Mini SBC‘s since the announcement of the processor in 2018 as the first i.MX SoC manufactured with a 14nm process allowing for a higher CPU clock of 2.0 GHz compared to the 1.5 GHz frequency used with the original i.MX 8M processor.  i.MX 8M Mini also removes some features (4K video playback, some video interfaces, …) in order to lower the cost of the processor. Companies are still releasing new i.MX 8M SBCs regularly, but we don’t always cover them all since many often do not offer much compared to the competition. But Estone Technology EMB-2237-AI Pico-ITX SBC has some unusual features and options including a Cirrus Logic audio DSP, as well as support for a PoE module and Google Coral M.2 AI accelerator module.   EMB-2237-AI SBC is comprised of a system-on-module and baseboard with the following specifications: Estone SOM-2237 module SoC – […]

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

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 […]

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Toradex Launches New Verdin Arm SoM Family Starting with iMX8M Mini/Nano Modules

So far, Toradex had two Arm-based system-on-module families with the smaller, lower-power Colibri and more powerful Apalis modules. The Colibri form factor was first defined in 2005, and the company is still maintaining it, but since then new interfaces have emerged, so Toradex has now designed a new low-power module family called Verdin. Toradex Verdin modules offer more I/Os with a 260-pin edge connector, include a battery-ready design with a wide input voltage range (3.3 to 5V), low power 1.8V IOs, the ability to easily extend power management to carrier board peripherals, and off-the-shelf thermal solutions. The modules are also tested for EMC, shock and vibration tolerance, and “Toradex Direct Breakout” is said to simplify signal routing on carrier boards as high speed, impedance critical signals are routed from the source IC to the edge connector on the Verdin module in such a ways to limit complexity on the carrier […]

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Kontron Launches the Smallest i.MX 8M Mini Module with 30x30mm Form Factor

Introduced in 2018, NXP i.MX 8M Mini is the first i.MX processor from the company manufactured with a 14nm process, and the low-power processor is found in several compact modules such as Variscite VAR-SOM-MX8M-MINI (38×28 mm), SolidRun i.MX 8M Mini SoM (47×30 mm), or Compulab UCM-iMX8M-Mini (38×28 mm). The smallest i.MX 8M Mini module we’ve covered so far is TechNexion XORE-IMX8M-Mini LGA system-on-module that takes just 30×30 mm of space. The TechNexion module is now joined by Kontron SoM SL i.MX8M Mini module with the same 30x30mm form factor, but a few more pins (267 vs 225). Kontron SoM SL i.MX8M Mini specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Mini quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.6 GHz with one Arm Cortex-M4 real-time core @ 400 MHz, as well as 2D GPU and 3D GPU System Memory – 1GB LPDDR4 RAM (option up to 4GB) Storage – 8GB eMMC flash (option up […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs
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NXP i.MX 8M Plus Processor Targets AI Applications with a 2.3 TOPS Neural Processing Unit

NXP has just announced its first i.MX processor with a dedicated neural processing unit (NPU) at CES 2020. The NXP i.MX 8M Plus SoC is built upon the existing i.MX 8M Nano family with a quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor running at up to 2GHz, an independent real-time Cortex-M7 microcontroller @ 800MHz, and a Vivante 3D GPU, but adds a 2.3 TOPS NPU to the mix. The NPU will enable advanced machine learning inference at the industrial and IoT (Internet-of-Things) edges for applications such as people and object recognition for public safety, industrial machine vision, robotics, hand gesture, and emotion detection with natural language processing. NXP i.MX 8M Plus key features and specifications: CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 2.0 GHz with 512KB ECC cache Real-time MCU – Arm Cortex-M7 @ up to 800 MHz GPU – Vivante GC7000UL 3D GPU, Vivante GC520L 2D GPU DSP – HiFi […]

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Boardcon EM-IMX8M-MINI SBC Drives a MIPI DSI Display via NXP i.MX 8M Mini Processor

We’ve been covered SBC’s and SoM’s from Boardcon for at least 5 years,  with our latest article detailing Boardcon Idea3399 SBC powered by Rockchip RK3399 processor, and launched this September. The company has now launched another single board computer with EM-IMX8M-MINI featuring an NXP i.MX 8M Mini system-on-module (SoM) with 2GB LPDDR4, 8GB eMMC flash, and wireless connectivity. The board is designed for a “wide range of multimedia applications” and offers a MIPI DSI interface for LCDs up to 1920×1080 resolution. Boardcon EM-IMX8M-MINI specifications: SOM-IMX8M-MINI SoM (aka PICO-IMX8MM-V1) SoC – NXP i.MX8M Mini Quad with 4x Arm Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.8GHz, Arm an Arm Cortex-M4F real-time microcontroller @ 400MHz, Vivante GCNanoUltra 3D GPU, and Vivante GC320 2D GPU System Memory – 2GB LPDDR4 RAM Storage – 8GB eMMC 5.1 flash, QSPI NOR flash Connectivity – 802.11n WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 4.0 via an Ampak AP6236 module I/Os via 200-pin […]

Boardcon Rockchip and Allwinner SoM and SBC products