What are 96Boards?

96Boards is an initiative started by Linaro to ensure that products built with the latest silicon, based on open platform specifications is available for developers, makers and businesses quickly at a reasonable cost. These boards are designed based on open-source standards for SoC-agnostic (processor independent) development platforms that can be used by software application, hardware device, kernel and other system software developers. These boards are suitable for rapid prototyping, hobbyist projects or incorporation into new systems for a wide range of applications including edge computing, home/industrial automation, digital signage, point of sale (POS), AR/VR, robotics, drones and machine vision.

There are also compatible add-on mezzanine cards that will work across a variety of 96Boards products. There are four versions of 96Boards specifications:

• Consumer Edition (CE) for mobile, embedded and digital home applications
• Enterprise Edition (EE) for networking and server solutions
• IoT Edition (IE) for Embedded segments
• SoM Edition (SoM) (Wireless and Compute) that act as a building block for development of reliable and cost-effective end product

In the last few decades, not only has computing power grown exponentially but the requirements have also become very complex. At the same time, manufacturers continue to push out devices with increased processing capabilities and reduced power consumption, the strain on these devices is becoming more apparent.

AI is becoming highly integrated into more products. AI is shifting away from cloud computing and into edge devices. Current single-board computers (SBCs) on the market that may have been an acceptable solution five years ago are no longer able to meet the latest demands from consumers.

In order to cater these demands, Arrow has launched a pair of 96Boards CE Extended SBCs that will be available by Q3 2019. The AI-ML Board is a single-board computer powered by the NXP i.MX 8X SoC whereas the Thor96 Board is a single-board computer powered by the NXP i.MX 8M SoC. These boards are based on Yocto with Linux 4.14 operating system.  These AI-ML Board and Thor96 SBCs are collaborations between Arrow and eInfochips that use the 100 x 85mm 96Boards CE Extended form factor.

AI-ML SBC

The AL-ML is a single-board computer powered by the i.MX 8X SoC, centered on Arm’s A35 quad-core 64-bit processor clocked at 1.2 GHz. The SoC integrates a Cortex-M4F clocked at 266 MHz, which is capable of running independently from the main processor and can perform real-time tasks. The combination of a quad-core processor with large RAM space ensures that the AI-ML can tackle nearly all customer requirements.

The AI-ML Board comes with an HDMI port, dual MIPI-DSI interfaces, USB 3.0 and micro-USB ports. It supports an add-on camera board via high-speed GPIO connector.

Technical Features

• Arm A35 Quad-Core 64-bit @ 1.2 GHz
• Cortex-M4F Core
• Tensilica HiFi 4 DSP Core
• 2-GB LPDDR4 @ 1,600 MHz Industrial Temp by Micron
• 265 — up to 4K @ 30 fps Decode
• 264 — up to 1080 @ 60 fps Encode
• Analog Devices based HDMI Output, Dual MIPI Display support
• Cypress’ industry-leading 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Dual-Mode Bluetooth wireless connectivity
• 2 USB (2× 3.0 and 1× Micro-USB B)
• 40-Pin Low-Speed Connector
• 60-Pin High-Speed Connector

Applications

• Robotics
• Home Automation
• Drones
• Wireless Monitoring
• AI Execution and Subsystems
• Automotive
• Visual Machine Learning

Thor96 SBC

Thor96 single-board computer is powered by i.MX 8M SoC comprising of Arm’s A53 quad-core 64-bit processor running at 1.5 GHz. The i.MX 8M integrates a Cortex-M4F running at 266 MHz for real-time digital signal processing. The Thor96 is capable of H.265 4K at 60 fps, making it ideal for media applications involving large 4K displays demonstrating 60-fps footage. To complement the Thor96 video capabilities it also includes support for Analog Devices high performance, low latency A²B® technology providing connectivity to multiple microphone arrays and speakers.

HDMI support 4K@60 fps and the camera board connects via 60-pin GPIO to support 1080p@60 encoding. It supports dual camera solution.

Technical Features

• Arm A53 Quad-Core 64-bit @ 1.5 GHz
• Cortex-M4F Core @ 266MHz
• 2-GB LPDDR4 @ 1,600 MHz Industrial Temp by Micron
• 265 — 4K @ 60 fps Decode
• 264 — 1,080 @ 60 fps Encode
• Analog Devices based HDMI Output and DSI to HDMI
• Cypress’ industry-leading 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Dual-Mode Bluetooth wireless connectivity
• Silicon Labs MGM111 Thread / ZigBee Module
• Dual MIPI Display support
• Multi-channel digital audio by A²B®, by Analog Devices
• 2 USB (2× 3.0 and 1× Micro-USB B)
• 40-Pin Low-Speed Connector
• 60-Pin High-Speed Connector

Applications

• Robotics
• Building Automation
• Drones
• Wireless Monitoring
• AI Execution and Subsystems
• Automotive Cabin Electronics
• Visual Machine Learning
• Home Cinema
• Advertisement Billboards

Being a design service partner, eInfochips has strong understanding of these evaluation boards to help in rapid prototyping and developing commercialized designs and products.