This significant technological upgrade expands congatec's already extensive portfolio of leading Computer-on-Module (CoM) products to include a new solution perfectly positioned between Qseven and COM Express. The first congatec SMARC 2.0 modules, along with carrier boards and starter kits, including comprehensive software, driver, and BIOS support, will be available in August.
Congatec's support for the standard is no surprise to experts, as Congatec has played a significant role within SGET in the development of the SMARC 2.0 specification. The new specification marks a milestone in embedded "Computer-on-Module" technology and is specifically designed for small, connected IoT systems and multimedia-oriented systems.
Christian Eder, marketing director at congatec, SGET board member, and editor of the SMARC 2.0 specification, speaks about the importance of the new specification: "Version 2.0 has elevated SMARC to an excellent level of quality, and we can wholeheartedly recommend it to our customers. Known issues with previous versions, such as the highly unpredictable Alternate Function Block, have been removed, making it easier for customers to adopt SMARC technology and ensuring long-term availability. SMARC 2.0 has all the right qualifications to become a highly successful new standard module and gain a significant market share.".
"With congatec in the role of draft editor, we have been able to significantly advance the enhancements of this new specification," explains Jason Carlson, CEO of congatec AG. "As the market leader in the EMEA region for CoM modules, we have used our market knowledge and experience to position SMARC 2.0 as a specification that will support market needs for many years to come. We see SMARC 2.0 as complementing our existing Qseven and COM Express product offerings, and by supporting all three platforms, we will have a broader product portfolio to meet the growing needs of our customers.".
SMARC 2.0 offers numerous state-of-the-art serial I/Os, as well as IoT, network, and video interfaces, and is intended for a wide range of multimedia and graphics-oriented IoT applications. SMARC is ideally positioned between the robust, ultra-low-power Qseven standard for deep embedded systems and the feature-rich COM Express standard for high-performance embedded designs, including edge and fog servers.
Technical Details of SMARC 2.0:
With the significant leap from SMARC 1.1 to 2.0, SMARC's position in the established COM market has been clearly defined. Underscoring SMARC 2.0's focus on multimedia, numerous multimedia interfaces are available via the 314 pins of the MXM 3.0 connector, enabling up to four video outputs. Two 24-bit LVDS/eDP/MIPI DSI outputs are supported, along with HDMI/DP++ and DP++++. Additionally, there are two MIPI camera interfaces and two audio interfaces via HDA and I2S. SMARC 2.0 now features additional USB ports for up to six USB ports, including two USB 3.0 ports, a second Ethernet port for IoT vertical connectivity, a fourth PCI Express lane, and one eSPI port. Obsolete interfaces such as parallel ports for camera and display, Alternative Function Block, external eMMC module, SPDIF and one of the three I2S channels have been removed.
