UP Core Plus Board To Support AI Plus FPGA and AI Net Ethernet Expansion Boards

We’ve just written about UP AI Core mPCIe card part of the new AI Edge family from UP Board, but other members will soon be released including UP Core Plus board, that builds upon UP Core Cherry Trail board launched last year, with a choice of Intel Atom x5/x7, and Celeron/Pentium Apollo Lake processors.

The form factor is different, but just like the first UP Core board, the Core Plus board supports expansion boards via docking connectors such as the Net Plus Ethernet expansion, and the AI Plus expansion board with Intel Cyclone 10 GX FPGA.

Click to Enlarge

UP Core Plus specifications:

  • SoC (one or the other)
    • Intel Atom x5-E3940 (2M Cache, up to 2.00 GHz)
    • Intel Atom x7-E3950 (2M Cache, up to 2.00 GHz)
    • Intel Celeron N3350 (2M Cache, up to 2.50 GHz)
    • Intel Pentium N4200 (2M Cache, up to 2.50 GHz)
  • System Memory – 2GB, 4GB or 8GB on-board DDR4L-2400
  • Storage – 32GB, 64 GB, 128 GB eMMC flash
  • Video Output / Display – 1x DisplayPort up to 4K 60Hz, 1x Full eDP
  • Audio I/O – Via DisplayPort, and I2S
  • Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 AC 2T2R + Bluetooth 4.2 (BLE)
  • USB – 1x USB 3.0 Host + 1x USB 3.0 OTG + 2x USB 2.0 pin header
  • Camera I/F – 1x MIPI-CSI 2 lane + 1x MIPI-CSI 4 lane
  • Expansion
    • 2x 100-pin docking connector with USB 2.0, USB 3.0, 6x PCIe Lane, SATA, I2C, I2S, SPI, PWM, LPC, SDIO, HSUART, ISH, GPIO
    • 10-pin connector with 2x USB 2.0, 1x UART
  • Misc – Power & reset buttons, RTC battery header, fan connector, BIOS reflash connector
  • Power Supply – 12V DC-in @ 4A -6A; 5.5/2.1mm power barrel jack
  • Dimensions – 90 x 56.50 mm (Same width as UP Core, but longer)
  • Temperature Range – 0 to 60 °C; optional: -40 to 85°C
  • Humidity – 10%~80%RH non-condensing
  • Certifications – CE/FCC Class A, RED, RoHS compliant, REACH

The board is said to be compatible with Microsoft Windows 10 Professional, Microsoft Windows 10, IoT Core, Linux (Ubuntu, Yocto), and Android Marshmallow.

Heatsink + UP Core Plus + Net Plus – Click to Enlarge

As mentioned in the introduction, UP Core Plus can optionally take two add-on boards: Net Plus (pictured above) with four Gigabit Ethernet port via Intel l211-AT, mini PCIe/mSATA slot, SATA port, and USB 3.0, as well as AI Plus board with the following (preliminary) specifications:

  • FPGA – Intel Cyclone 10GX F672 (105KLE, 150KLE, 220KLE)
  • Memory – Up to 2GB DDR3 Single Channel x32
  • Storage – 1x 512 Mb SPI Flash
  • Video Input – 1x HDMI IN, 1x LVDS IN, 1x 1x MIPI-CSI (4 lanes)
  • Connectivity – 1x Gigabit Ethernet (Realtek 8111G) to main board
  • USB – 1x USB 3.0 Type A to main board, 1x USB 3.1 Type C
  • Expansion Slot
    • 1x Mini card (full-size) SATA-PCI-e colay
    • 2x Docking connector 100-pin to UP Core Plus main board
  • Power 12V DC
  • Dimensions – 90 mm x 56.5 mm

Somehow, there seems to be a MAX 10 FPGA in the mix too. The FPGA expansion board can be used with Windows 10, Linux Ubuntu, or Linux built with the Yocto Project depending whether the required FPGA IP drivers are supported by the OS.

AI Plus

More details about the three boards above can be found on UP Board’s AI Edge product page. No pricing, nor availability information has been released yet, but eventually we should expect the boards to join AI Core card on the AI EDGE section of UP online store.

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5 Comments
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TLS
TLS
6 years ago

Interesting, but the fact that you pretty much have to buy one of the add-on boards makes this a bit of a niche product. It’s also a custom form factor, although they seem to offer housings, so that might not be a big deal. I have a feeling this is going to be expensive for what it is though and clearly something like the Net Plus expansion isn’t going to work with the Atom based models, as they don’t have sufficient PCIe lanes, unless they’ve moved from the Z-series to the E-series, but the cost will be really high… And… Read more »

tkaiser
tkaiser
6 years ago


It’s x5-E3940 and x7-E3950 what they list besides Celeron N3350 and Pentium N4200.

tcmichals
tcmichals
6 years ago

Wonder if the AI+ FPGA board is connected to the x86 via PCIe? And can both AI+ board and Movidius board be used at the same time.

erick h
6 years ago

Well, I think you can combine it in different ways. I want to combine the UP Core Plus + net plus + AI core to develop a product here in my country (located in the caribbean, hehe). I hope I can use these boards to launch my startup next year. These boards are an excellent alternative to the most expensive ones (I’m talking to you nvidia!!!).

If they solve the shipping mess, I’ll do business with them asap!

Khadas VIM4 SBC