spaceSOM-8Mplus (SLS35) System On Module, Quadcore and NPU

New SOM (System On Module) spaceSOM-8Mplus (SLS35): Quadcore NXP i.MX8M plus processor with neural processing unit (NPU – ML+AI). For a next-generation HMI!

CONSYSTEM presents to the Italian market the new SOM family from SoMLabs: spaceSOM-8Mplus (SLS35). This new SOM family’s distinctive trait is the presence of a “powerful and intelligent” core; the module is in fact characterized by high computing power and is optimized for machine learning, artificial intelligence and neural network applications, making the product suitable for HMI applications such as self-driving cars, remotely piloted aircraft, medical diagnostics, natural language processing and machine translation.

A powerful and intelligent heart thanks to the NXP iMX8Mplus processor

The spaceSOM-8Mplus SOMs are developed on the NXP iMX8Mplus processor, which features a quad-core Cortex-A53 (up to 1.8GHz) and a single Cortex-M7 (up to 800MHz), offering maximum flexibility to support real-time applications, supporting Linux, Android and HMI. Furthermore, to enable development of cutting-edge applications, the SOM has a 2D (HD1080p60) and 3D graphics processing unit (GPU – Vivante GC7000UL) Open GL 3.01 compatible with Open GL 3.01ES, and a video processing unit (VPU) with D1080p60 H.264 and HD1080p60 H.265 capability. The truly interesting and innovative novelty is the presence of an advanced neural processing unit (NPU) with integrated machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) to provide smart functionality for both data processing and multimedia (for example, facial or object recognition).

Connectivity & interfaces

This SOM was designed for quick connection thanks to the Murata Wi-Fi module option, with dual-band 2.4/5GHz connectivity, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, and fully certified dual-band Bluetooth (BLE 5.1 1ZM). This makes it an ideal solution for wireless applications while at the same time simplifying carrier board design. The numerous available interfaces also allow the solution to be used in a wide range of applications. Here is a recap:

• two high-speed USB 2.0/3.0,
• two 1 Gb/s Ethernet MAC interfaces,
• HDMI (eARC), 2 x LVDS and MIPI-DSI interfaces,
• advanced Full HD display with 3D coprocessing and VPU encoder/decoder,
• PCIe 3.0 serial interface,
• two CAN-FD interfaces.

SoMLabs also provides a complete hardware and software development kit for the SoM, in the form of a package consisting of a Carrier and a TFT display with touch option – a display made by Powertip, a leading Taiwanese company in the sector. The SOM can also be further configured, as different memory sizes are available depending on the customer’s needs (including a wide choice of LPDDR4, eMMC and SD memory size options), together with OS support (Yocto and Android). All this in extremely compact dimensions thanks to the SODIMM format (dimensions of 69.60 mm x 35.00 mm x 2.48 mm).

Thanks to its computing power and interfaces, the SOM can be used in numerous HMI systems, enabling advanced features (such as driving two screens). In summary, the spaceSOM-8Mplus enables rapid development of artificial intelligence systems that can be applied across the board for industrial and embedded HMI (industrial systems) or for smart applications (for vending, white goods, etc.). Thanks to specific technical expertise and collaboration with both Somlabs and Powertip (on the display side), CONSYSTEM is able to support customer customization requests.