i.MX8 Powered Nitrogen8m Single Board Computer

The i.MX 8M family of application processors from NXP is based on Arm^® Cortex^®-A53 and Cortex-M4 cores which provide industry-leading audio, voice and video processing capabilities. They offer support for video quality with full 4K UltraHD resolution and HDR (Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG), DSD512 audio capability, flexible memory options as demonstrated in the Nitrogen8, and many other features.

The NXP’s latest i.MX 8M Quad processor powers the Nitrogen8M, an upgrade from the i.MX7 based Nitrogen7. The i.MX 8MQ features 4 Cortex-A53 (1.5GHz) and 1 Cortex-M4F (266MHz) cores. The Nitrogen8M will come standard with 2GB of LPDDR4 of RAM with a 4GB version also available. It features a microSD Card slot, an optional 8GB eMMC version expandable to 128GB,  USB 3.0 for high-speed data communication and of course adhering to the industry latest trend. At 136.7 x 87mm, the Nitrogen8M is slightly larger than the i.MX7 based Nitrogen7 and the earlier i.MX6-based Nitrogen6.

Nitrogen8M includes the latest in network connectivity options to serve IoT applications that employ edge, cloud, and fog computing. The SBC comes with a Gigabit Ethernet port as well as the BD-SDMAC, a pre-certified WiFi 802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.1 module based on the QCA9377.  It also includes HDMI (4K@60fps) and 4-lane MIPI-DSI (1080p) display connections; two, 4-lane MIPI-CSI; headphone, microphone, and amplifier interfaces. Nitrogen8M will quickly find applications in the areas of smart-home, smart-speaker, industry, display applications, and many more.

The following are the specification of the Nitrogen8m SBC:

• CPU — i.MX 8M Quad Core (x4 Cortex-A53 @ 1.5GHz; Cortex-M4 @ 266MHz)
• RAM — 2GB LPDDR4 (4GB Optional)
• Storage — micro SD slot or 8GB eMMC (upgradeable to 128GB)
• NOR — 16MB (QSPI)
• GPU — Vivante GC7000Lite
• Camera — x2 4-lane MIPI-CSI
• Display —
  • HDMI (w/CEC)
  • MIPI DSI
• Wireless —
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 ac
  •  Bluetooth 4.1 BD-SDMAC Module (QCA9377)
• Networking — Gigabit Ethernet port
• Other I/O –
  • 3x USB 3.0 Host ports
  • 1x USB 3.0 OTG port
  • 3x I2C
  • 1x SPI
  • 3x RS-232
  • 1x SD/MMC
  • 1x RTC + battery
  • 2x PCIe (1 Mini-PCI-E connector, one on expansion connector)
  • 1x JTAG
• Power — 5V DC input
• Operating Temperature — 0 to 70°C (Industrial Optional)

The Nitrogen8M is available now for pre-order, with boards beginning to ship in Spring 2018. Boundary Devices is offering the following three options:

• Nitrogen8M Board – $165
• Nitrogen8M Board + Accessory Kit (5V power, serial cable, antenna, battery, SD Card pre-loaded with LinuxOS) – $190
• Nitrogen8M Development Kit (accessory kit + touch screen display) – Available Soon

Though the Nitrogen8M is launching with the i.MX 8M Quad processor, an i.MX 8M Dual and QuadLite versions are available on request. More information including a full list of specifications and availability can be found on the Nitrogen8M product page.

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