SolidRun launches i.MX 8M Plus SOM and devkit for AI/ML applications

SolidRun already offers NXP based solutions with AI accelerators through products such as SolidRun i.MX 8M Mini SoM with Gyrfalcon Lightspeeur 2803S AI accelerator, or Janux GS31 Edge AI server with NXP LX2160A networking SoC, various i.MX 8M SoCs and up to 128 Gyrfalcon accelerators. All those solutions are based on one or more external Gyrfalcon AI chips, but earlier this year, NXP introduced i.MX 8M Plus SoC with a built-in 2.3 TOPS neural processing unit (NPU), and now SolidRun has just unveiled the SolidRun i.MX 8M Plus SoM with the processor together with development kits based on HummingBoard carrier boards. Specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Plus Dual or Quad with dual or quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @1.6 GHz (industrial) / 1.8 GHz (commercial), with Arm Cortex-M7 up to 800MHz, Vivante GC7000UL 3G GPU (Vulkan, OpenGL ES 3.1, OpenCL 1.2), 2.3 TOPS NPU, 1080p60 H.264/H.265 video encoder, 1080p60 video […]

Buy Coral Dev Board Mini

Google Coral Dev Board mini SBC is now available for $100

Google Coral SBC was the first development board with Google Edge TPU. The AI accelerator was combined with an NXP i.MX 8M quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor and 1GB RAM to provide an all-in-all AI edge computing platform. It launched for $175, and now still retails for $160 which may not be affordable to students and hobbyists. Google announced a new model called Coral Dev Board Mini last January, and the good news is that the board is now available for pre-order for just under $100 on Seeed Studio with shipping scheduled to start by the end of the month. Coral Dev Board Mini specifications haven’t changed much since the original announcement, but we know a few more details: SoC – MediaTek MT8167S quad-core Arm Cortex-A35 processor @ 1.3 GHz with Imagination PowerVR GE8300 GPU AI/ML accelerator – Google Edge TPU coprocessor with up to 4 TOPS as part of Coral […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM
NXP I.MX 8M Plus Development Kit

NXP i.MX 8M Plus AI Systems-on-Modules and Devkits Launched by Variscite

NXP i.MX 8M Plus processor was unveiled at the very beginning of the year as the first i.MX processor with AI hardware acceleration provided by a 2.3 TOPS Neural Processing Unit (NPU) embedded in the chip. Apart from the upcoming Wandboard 8MPLUS SBC, we had not seen hardware powered by the new processor, but Variscite has now announced two NXP i.MX 8M Plus systems-on-modules – VAR-SOM-MX8M-PLUS and DART-MX8M-PLUS – and corresponding development kits. VAR-SOM-MX8M-PLUS CPU Module & Development Kit Specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Plus single, dual or quad-core Cortex-A53 processor clocked at up to 1.6 (Industrial/Extended) or 1.8GHz (Commercial), Cortex-M7 real-time core @ 800 MHz, 1080p H265/H264 encode/decode, AI/ML acceleration up to 2.3 TOPS, GC7000UL 3D GPU, GC520L 2D GPU System Memory – 1 to 4GB LPDDR4 Storage – 8 to 64GB eMMC flash Networking – 802.11 ac/a/b/g/n + BT 4.2/BLE module SO-DIMM Edge Connector Storage I/F – […]

MatchX M2 Pro LPWAN Crypto-Miner

MatchX M2 Pro LPWAN Crypto-Miner Supports LoRaWAN and Cryptocurrency Mining

A few years ago, I received MatchX.io MatchBoX outdoor LoRaWAN gateway for review, and eventually tested it with RAK811 LoRa tracker once I got a node to play with, and made sure I did not break any local laws. But now the company has come up with an unusual gateway with its MatchX M2 Pro LPWAN Crypto-Miner that acts as a traditional LoRaWAN gateway, as well as a cryptocurrency miner. I’m a bit perplexed by the solution as miners are notoriously power-hungry, but let’s have a look. MatchX M2 Pro specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 6UL (MCIMX6G2CVM05AB) single-core Arm Cortex-A7 processor @ up to 528MHz System Memory – 256MB DDR3 RAM Storage – 256MB NAND FLASH, optional SSD up to 32GB or industrial SD-Card Networking & Wireless Connectivity LoRa Radio – SX1302 chipsets, 16 frequency channels Supports EU868, US915, AS920, AS923, AU915, KR920, IN865 regions 2.4Ghz 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 GPS […]

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

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 […]

PicoCore MX8MN is a Tiny NXP i.MX 8M Nano Computer-on-Module

The PicoCore MX8MN Nano carries the NXP i.MX 8M Nano F&S Elektronik Systeme has announced the development of the smallest i.MX 8M based CoM yet: the PicoCore MX8MN Nano. Previously we had reported on the Congatec Conga-SMX8 Nano which was a fairly small CoM compliant with SMARC 2.0 standard. The PicoCore MX8MN is based on the NXP i.MX 8M Nano CPU with 1 to 4 Arm Cortex-A53 cores and a Cortex-M7 real-time core. The Nano is set to carry up to 8GB RAM and 32 GB eMMC, with optional WiFI/BT and support for -40º C to 85º C temperature ranges. Similar to Predecessor The PicoCore MX8MN Nano is very similar in structure to the PicoCore MX8MM Mini CoM, but with a different i.MX 8M Mini processor featuring the same Arm Cortex-A53 cores, but the Cortex M4 real-time core is changed to a more powerful Cortex-M7 core in the MX8MN Nano. […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025
Verdin iMX8M Mini / Nano

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 […]

NXP i.MX 8M Plus

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 […]

Boardcon CM3588 Rockchip RK3588 System-on-Module designed for AI and IoT applications