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Advantech models fanless EPC-C301 on Intel Core for machine vision

Tue, Oct 06, 2020

Based on the 8th Generation Intel Core processor, the EPC-C301 is a compact fanless box PC from Advantech. Intended for industrial use, it has domain-focused I/O and can operate in a wide temperature range.

The EPC-C301 integrates Intel and Canonical technologies, provides Ubuntu OS and OpenVINO toolkits. It has been developed for machine vision applications, such as biometric artificial intelligence (face recognition), automated optical inspection (AOI) or automated plate number recognition (APNR).

EPC-C301 supports four GbE LAN and four USB 3.2 Gen2 x1 (10Gbits per second) to accommodate the IP/HD camera inputs required for AOI, APNR and other machine vision applications. The compact design measures just 170 x 118 x 70mm and has four USB 2.0 and four UART interfaces to expand performance with card readers, barcode scanners, key pads, fingerprint sensors and other peripherals.

There are also two isolated CANBus ports designed for use in automation and medical applications. Windows and Linux based drivers/APIs are also available for convenience and compatibility, adds Advantech.

The 8th Generation Intel Core processor at the heart of the PC is the first one that doubles the core count to quad-core on a low power 15W CPU, says Advantech. High-bandwidth dual-channel DDR4 supports up to 32Gbyte while satisfying intensive data handling and image processing requirements. The EPC-C301 is equipped with an M.2 M-Key 2280 that accepts both SATA SSD’s and PCIe x4 SSD’s, to advance computing speeds.

To meet artificial intelligence IoT (AIoT) IoT challenges on the edge, the EPC-C301 includes M.2 E-Key for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, M.2 B-key for LTE and a mini-PCIe, which is compatible with Advantech’s VEGA-330 AI mini-PCIe module. This system has a broad operating temperature (-20 to around 60 degrees C) typically incurred in outdoor applications like passenger information/tracking systems (PIS) or smart parking solutions.

The EPC-C301 also features the Intel OpenVINO developer kit, which is compatible with the VEGA-330 AI acceleration card and Ubuntu 18.04 LTS.

The fanless box PC is available for order now.

http://www.advantech.eu

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CH201 ToF sensor operates at up to 5m

Mon, Oct 05, 2020

TDK has extended its ultrasonic time of flight (ToF) sensor platform, with the Chirp CH201 sensor range which includes CH201 MEMS sensors, sensor modules, and developer kits.

The CH201 MEMS sensor, sensor modules, and developer kits joins Chirp’s original CH101 ultrasonic ToF sensor product. While the CH101 provides measurements for use cases scenarios of up to 1.2m, the CH201 provides exact long range measurements to targets at distances up to 5m, says TDK.

Chirp’s MEMS ultrasonic technologies leverage proprietary ToF range sensors in a 3.5 mm x 3.5 mm reflowable system in package (SiP) which combines a MEMS ultrasonic transducer with a power efficient digital signal processor (DSP) on a low power, mixed-signal ASIC.

The CH201 works in any lighting condition, including full sunlight to complete darkness independent of the target’s colour and optical transparency. Like the CH101, the CH201 has a configurable field of view (FoV) and a flexible DSP capable of handling a variety of ultrasonic signal processing algorithms.

The CH201 offers flexible industrial design options for range-finding, presence / proximity sensing and object-detection / avoidance.

A developer kit is also available (DK-CH201) for prototyping with one or more ToF sensors. The kit includes one CH201 with the option to add up to four additional ultrasonic modules.

An evaluation module (EV_MOD_CH201-03-01) is easy to use and designed for rapid integration and evaluation of hardware designs, says TDK. Different acoustic housings available to adjust the FoV.

Sensors, developer kits and evaluation modules are available now through worldwide distribution.

TDK is based in Tokyo, Japan. It was established in 1935 to commercialise ferrite, a key material in electronic and magnetic products. TDK’s portfolio features passive components such as ceramic, aluminium electrolytic and film capacitors, as well as magnetics, high-frequency, and piezo and protection devices, as well as sensors and sensor systems such as temperature and pressure, magnetic, and MEMS sensors. In addition, TDK provides power supplies and energy devices and magnetic heads. Products are marketed under the brands TDK, Epcos, InvenSense, Micronas, Tronics and TDK-Lambda.

TDK focuses on demanding markets in automotive, industrial and consumer electronics, and information and communication technology. The company has a network of design and manufacturing locations and sales offices in Asia, Europe, and in North and South America.

http://www.tdk.com

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Aitech unveils GPPPU AI supercomputer

Mon, Oct 05, 2020

Aitech Systems announces a rugged general purpose graphics processing unit (GPGPU) artificial intelligence (AI) supercomputer based on Nvidia’s enhanced AGX Xavier-based A178 system on module (SoM).

The GPGPU AI supercomputer offers double RAM and new high-speed interfaces for quicker processing of critical functions, adds Aitech. The upgraded, qualified version of Aitech’s high performance and compact A178 is designed for intense data processing in extreme environments. The rugged GPGPU AI supercomputer operates reliably in the harsh conditions found throughout mobile, remote, military and autonomous platforms for applications such as training simulation, situational awareness, AI computing, image and video processing and moving maps.

Dan Mor, GPGPU product line manager for Aitech, noted, “High speed interfaces that can quickly capture and process data, then deliver it to the next decision point, are critical to avoid bottlenecks typical of the high processing demands in today’s rugged AI applications. The new A178 includes not only the needed interfaces, like 10GbE and USB 3, but up to 32 GB of RAM for even better performance in these high throughput scenarios.”

The enhanced A178 uses the Nvidia Jetson AGX Xavier SoM, which the Volta GPU with 512 CUDA cores and 64 Tensor cores to reach 32 TOPS INT8 and 11 TFLOPS FP16.

The upgrades to the A178 were designed to help meet the demand for standalone, compact, GPGPU-based small form factor (SFF) systems that are both rugged and SWaP-C-optimised, explains Aitech. The low power unit offers energy efficiency, while providing all the power necessary for AI-based local processing next to the sensors.

The advanced computation abilities of the new system include two dedicated NVDLA (Nvidia deep learning accelerator) engines that provide an interface for deep learning applications, making it ideally suited for distributed systems. The system can accommodate up to three expansion modules, such as an HD-SDI frame grabber, composite frame grabber or NVMe solid state device (SSD). A variety of expansion modules are available upon request.

Four high definition HD-SDI inputs and eight composite inputs handle multiple streams of video and data simultaneously at full frame rates. Interfaces include Gigabit and 10GB Ethernet, DisplayPort output handling 4K resolution, USB 3.0 and 2.0 as well as DVI/HDMI output, UART serial and CANbus.

Aitech claims to be one of the world’s first, independent, open systems architecture, COTS / MOTS innovators offering open standards-based boards and integrated computing subsystem products, with customisation services for rugged and severe environment, military, aerospace and space applications.

http://www.aitechsystems.com

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Arm unveils processors for safe, autonomous applications

Wed, Sep 30, 2020

Aimed at safe, autonomous decision-making across automotive and industrial applications, Arm has announced a suite of IP which includes the Arm Cortex-A78AE CPU, Arm Mali-G78AE GPU and Arm Mali-C71AE ISP. All are engineered to work together with supporting software, tools and system IP to enable silicon providers and OEMs to design for autonomous workloads. Target applications are enabling more intelligence and configurability in smart manufacturing to enhancing ADAS and digital cockpit applications in automotive designs.

The Arm Cortex-A78AE CPU is Arm’s latest, highest performance safety capable CPU. It offers the ability to run different, complex workloads for autonomous applications such as mobile robotics and driverless transportation. It delivers a 30 per cent performance increase, compared to its predecessor and supports features to achieve the relevant automotive and industrial functional safety standards, ISO 26262 and IEC 61508 for applications up to ASIL D / SIL 3.

It also has enhanced split lock functionality (hybrid mode). This is designed to enable applications that target lower levels of ASIL requirements without compromising performance and allow the deployment of the same SoC compute architecture into different domain controllers.

The Mali-G78AE is Arm’s first GPU to be designed for safety and is intended for heterogenous compute to safety-critical autonomous applications. Flexible partitioning pioneers a new approach to autonomous GPU workloads, says Arm. It enables up to four fully independent partitions for workload separation for safety use cases.

GPU resources can now be utilised for safety-enabled human machine interfaces or for the heterogenous compute needed in autonomous systems, explains Arm. For example, an infotainment system, an instrument cluster with ASIL B requirements and a driver monitoring system can now all run concurrently and independently with hardware separation within an automotive application.

Autonomous workloads need to be aware of their surroundings, often through cameras that must operate in a wide range of lighting conditions. To support a broad range of vision applications across automotive and industrial, the Mali-C71AE can support both human and machine vision applications such as production line monitoring and ADAS camera systems.

Enhanced safety features, supports features to achieve ASIL B / SIL2 safety capability. There is support for four real time cameras, or 16 buffered cameras, delivering a 1.2Gpixel per second throughput.

http://www.arm.com

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Advantech models fanless EPC-C301 on Intel Core for machine vision

CH201 ToF sensor operates at up to 5m

Aitech unveils GPPPU AI supercomputer

Arm unveils processors for safe, autonomous applications

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