Boardcon LGA3576 - A Rockchip RK3576 LGA system-on-module with UFS storage and LPDDR5 memory

Boardcon has just introduced the LGA3576 system-on-module with a 330-pad LGA design powered by Rockchip RK3576 AI SoC and the Idea3576 single board computer (SBC) based on the module.

The 6TOPS AI-capable system-on-module ships with up to 8GB LPDDR5, integrates 32GB to 512GB UFS storage, while an RK806S-5 PMIC takes care of power management, and all I/Os such as HDMI, PCIe, Ethernet, and GPIO signals are exposed through LGA pads.

Boardcon LGA3576 – A Rockchip RK3576 LGA system-on-module

Specifications:

SoC – Rockchip RK3576
- CPU
  - Octa-core CPU with 4x Cortex-A72 cores at 2.2GHz, 4x Cortex-A53 cores at 1.8GHz
  - Single-core Cortex-M0 real-time core
- GPU – Arm Mali-G52 MC3 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1, 2.0, and 3.2, OpenCL up to 2.0, and Vulkan 1.1
- NPU – 6 TOPS (INT8) AI accelerator with support for INT4/INT8/INT16/BF16/TF32 mixed operations.
- VPU
  - Video Decoder
    - H.265, VP9, AV1, and AVS2 up to 8Kp30 or 4Kp120
    - H.264/AVC up to 4Kp60
    - MPJEG decoding up to 4Kp60
  - Video Encoder – H.264, H.265, (M)JPEG up to 4Kp60
System Memory – 4GB or 8GB LPDDR5
Storage – 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB UFS storage
330-pin LGA package
- Storage – 2x SDMMC
- Display interfaces – HDMI/DP, RGB/EBC, MIPI DSI,
- Camera interfaces – 3x 4-lane MIPI CSI
- Audio – SAI, S/PDIF Rx
- USB – USB 3.2 Type-C
- Networking – 2x RGMII Ethernet (or 1x GMAC, 1x SAI)
- PCIe – 2x PCIe
- Analog – 7x SARADC
- Low-speed I/Os – 4x UART, GPIO, 5x I2C, PWM, etc…
Supply Voltage – 3.4V to 5.5V
Dimensions – 45 x 30mm (10-layer PCB design); LGA330 package with ball size: 0.4mm and 0.35mm; ball pitch: 1.25mm
Temperature Range – Operating: 0 to 70°Cs; storage: -40 to +85°C

Boardcon provides support for Debian or Buildroot, and expects the LGA3576 system-on-module to be used for 4K/8K video surveillance and analytics, AIoT edge devices (smart retail, robotics), interactive kiosks and industrial PCs, and portable computing and automation systems. The software and pricing have not been made public, but you’ll find a hardware manual and other information on the product page.

Idea3576 SBC

Boardcon also introduced the Idea3576 SBC to help customers evaluate the LGA3576 SoM and quickly get started with software development.

Idea3576 specifications:

SoM – LGA3576 system-on-module with RK3576, LPDDR5, and UFS storage as described above.
Storage
- Optional eMMC on baseboard if UFS storage is unused on the module.
- MicroSD card slot
- M.2 (M-key) socket for NVMe SSD
- M.2 (B-key) socket for SATA (optional, multiplexed with 4G module)
Video Output
- HDMI 2.1 up to 4Kp120
- MIPI DSI up to 2Kp60
Video Input
- 1x HDMI input using HDMI to MIPI CSI bridge
- 2x 4-lane MIPI CSI for cameras
Audio
- 3.5mm audio I/O jack
- Speaker via 12-pin pluggable terminal block
- 8-channel audio via HDMI
Networking
- 2x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports via Realtek RTL8211F-CG controller
- Dual-band WiFi 5 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac) 1T1R and Bluetooth 5.2
- Optional 4G LTE via M.2 module and Nano SIM card slot
USB – 1x micro USB 2.0 OTG port, 2x USB 3.0 ports; Note: USB 2.0 OTG is multiplexed with USB 3.0
Serial
- 1x RS232, 1x RS485, and 1x CAN Bus via 12-pin pluggable terminal block
- 2x UART(TTL) via 4-pin & 6-pin connectors
Expansion – SPI header, ADC header with 5x analog inputs
Debug – 3-pin connector for serial console
Misc
- Power, Reset, Recovery keys
- RTC with battery connector
Power Supply – 12V DC via power barrel jack
Dimensions – 155 x 115 mm

It’s not the first Rockchip RK3576 LGA SoM we covered, as MYiR Tech introduced the MYC-LR3576 in an LGA381 package last November. It only came with eMMC flash storage, and one of the key selling points of the LGA3576 SoM and Idea3576 SBC is that they are equipped with faster UFS storage, something that’s not common on system-on-modules, except potentially when using pricier Qualcomm SoCs or a MediaTek Genio 1200 SoM.

That’s not to say other Rockchip RK3576 platforms don’t integrate UFS flash storage, however, they have different form factors. For instance, the Firefly Core-3576JD4 SO-DIMM Core Board supports either eMMC or UFS, it’s the same thing for the Geniatech SOM-3576, except it features a 314-pin MXM 3.0 connector, and Banana Pi BPI-M5 Pro is a single board computer. Having said that, all those modules and boards come with eMMC flash by default, and a UFS footprint is also present as an option.

More details about the Idea3576 SBC can be found on the product page, where readers will also find some more information about accessories like a 10.1-inch touchscreen display and a 4G LTE module, but again, software and pricing are not publicly available.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.