Banana Pi BPI-AI2N SoM Packs Renesas RZ/V2N and 15 TOPS AI

The BPI-AI2N combines a Renesas RZ/V2N MPU, 15 TOPS DRP-AI3 accelerator, 8GB RAM, dual Gigabit Ethernet, and camera interfaces for edge AI.

Comm and Networking SoM / CoM 3 hours ago by Sayantan Nandy

BananaPi BPI-AI2N SoM

Banana Pi has released its embedded vision platform, BPI-AI2N, to users worldwide. The BPI-AI2N uses a system-on-module approach, separating out the physical components into a SODIMM form-factor module and a carrier board to expose its different characteristics. The platform combines a system-on-module (SoM) based on the Renesas RZ/V2N Vision AI MPU and a carrier board designed for smart cameras, industrial vision, robotics, and other edge AI applications.

Its DRP-AI3 accelerator promises up to 15 TOPS of sparse AI performance, while a Mali-G31 GPU and Mali-C55 image signal processor take care of graphics and camera-processing workloads. The 45 × 69,6mm System-on-Module (SoM) is furnished with a 260-pin SO-DIMM connector and has 8GB of LPDDR4X memory, 32GB of eMMC storage and 64MB of onboard SPI flash.

Previously, we covered the Banana Pi BPI-SM9 16-ENC-A3 SoM featuring the SOPHGO BM1688 AI SoC and the Boardcon LGA3576 SoM powered by the Rockchip RK3576 SoC. Feel free to check them out if you’re interested in these products.

BPI-AI2N-Core Top and Bottom View

Banana Pi BPI-AI2N Specifications:

SoC / Processing:
- Renesas RZ/V2N Vision AI MPU
- Quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 application processor, up to 1.8 GHz
- Arm Cortex-M33 real-time core running at 200 MHz
- DRP-AI3 Vision AI accelerator delivering up to 15 sparse TOPS
- Arm Mali-G31 GPU
- Arm Mali-C55 ISP for image processing
- 1.5 MB integrated on-chip SRAM
Memory and Storage:
- 8 GB LPDDR4X system memory integrated on the SoM
- 32 GB onboard eMMC storage
- 64 MB SPI flash
- MicroSD card slot for additional storage
- M.2 Key-M 2280 socket for NVMe SSDs
- NVMe storage supported via PCIe Gen3 ×2
Display and Camera Interfaces:
- MIPI DSI interface for display connectivity
- 2× MIPI CSI interfaces for camera modules
Networking:
- 2× Gigabit Ethernet interfaces
- Dual Realtek RTL8211F Gigabit Ethernet PHYs integrated on the SoM
- Dedicated connector for an optional USB Wi-Fi module
USB Connectivity:
- 2× USB 3.0 Type-A ports
- USB Type-C port with USB OTG functionality
- USB-C port supports 12V USB Power Delivery
- Dedicated USB Type-C console interface
Expansion and Debugging:
- 40-pin GPIO expansion header
- 3-pin 5V PWM fan connector
- 3.3V debug UART interface
- SoM-integrated bootstrap switch
- Onboard EEPROM
User Controls:
- Power button
- Reset button
- Sleep button
- Recovery button
RTC and Backup Power:
- Integrated real-time clock
- CR1220 coin-cell battery holder
Power Supply:
- 12V input via USB Type-C Power Delivery
- 12V DC power input
Operating temperature range: −40°C to +85°C
Mechanical Specifications:
- SoM dimensions: 45 × 69.6 mm
  - 260-pin SO-DIMM interface
- Carrier board dimensions: 100 × 79 mm

BPI-AI2N-Carrier Top View

The software and hardware resources for the platform have also been increased by Banana Pi. The project documents currently offers downloadable Yocto and Armbian images, source-code branches, schematics for the carrier-board and SoM, assembly drawings, diagrams of hardware interfaces, and getting-started documentation. The publicly available repositories include a Yocto metadata branch for the BPI-AI2N and an Armbian build branch centered on the BPI v25.8.1 code base. The documentation also includes operating-system installation, peripheral testing, NVMe storage, camera and display interfaces, fan control, and access to the 40-pin header.