Article

SMARC module with i.MX8

congatec announces conga-SMX8 for end of 2018

12. September 2018

conga-SMX8 SMARC 2.0 modules from congatec are based on the NXPs 64-bit i.MX8 multi-core ARM processor family. They come with low power consumption and offer outstanding performance, flexible graphics and features for a variety of different IoT applications.

The conga-SMX8 offers powerful multi-core computing along with advanced graphics capabilities for up to three independent full HD displays or a single 4K display. Other advantages include hardware-based real-time and hypervisor support as well as high scalability and suitability for harsh environments and the extended temperature range of -40°C to +85°C. Especially embedded, industrial and IoT applications as well as mobile applications benefit from the features of the new SMARC 2.0 modules with NXP i.MX8 processors, hardware-based virtualization and resource partitioning, such as fleet systems for commercial vehicles or infotainment applications in taxis, buses and trains as well as electric and autonomous vehicles.

i.MX8: Powerful, energy-efficient & interface-rich

The i.MX8 based SMARC modules have up to 8 cores (2x A72 + 4x A53 + 2x M4F), up to 8 GByte LPDDR4 MLC or pseudo-SLC memory and up to 64 GByte non-volatile memory on the module. Besides 2x GbE (optional including IEEE1588 compliant precision clock synchronization) the conga-SMX8 offers up to 6x USB (including 1x USB 3.1), up to 2x PCIe Gen 3.0, 1x SATA 3.0, 2x CAN-Bus, 4x UART as well as an optional Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module onboard with Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and BLE. Up to three displays can be connected via HDMI 2.0 with HDCP 2.2, 2x LVDS and 1x eDP 1.4. For video cameras, the modules support two MIPI CSI-2 video inputs. The new NXP i.MX8 based SMARC 2.0 modules come as application ready super components including U-Boot and complete Board Support Packages for Linux, Yocto and Android. congatec delivers its SMARC modules with a comprehensive ecosystem, such as ready-made bootloader implementation, pre-qualified Linux and Android BSPs and fully featured evaluation carrier boards, to make the integration of the new i.MX8 processor as easy as possible. Since congatec is a member of the Early Access Program of NXP, the new congatec SMARC modules will go into series production in time for the production start of the new i.MX8 processor family at the end of 2018 and will also be available in the iesy webshop.