As AI adoption accelerates in industrial, robotics, and smart vision applications, developers are increasingly looking to deploy more sophisticated AI workloads closer to where the data is generated. Working with AI locally at the edge can help reduce latency, improve data privacy, and limit reliance on cloud-based processing, particularly for time-sensitive applications.
Designed to meet these requirements, the NXP Ara240 DNPU delivers up to 40 equivalent teraoperations per second (eTOPS) and supports workloads including large language models (LLMs), vision language models (VLMs), transformers, and convolutional neural networks (CNNs). With support for up to 16 GB of LPDDR4 memory, the device enables developers to run larger and more complex AI models directly on embedded and edge systems without relying on cloud resources.
To help customers explore these capabilities, Arrow has made NXP's Ara240 solutions available through its Digital Test Drive platform. Arrow's Digital Test Drive (often described as a "digital test platform") is a cloud-based, remote hardware testing and development environment run by Arrow that allows engineers to evaluate physical embedded boards online without needing the hardware on their desktop.
Engineers can remotely access live systems based on NXP i.MX application processors paired with the Ara240 DNPU, allowing them to evaluate real-world AI applications such as computer vision, large language model inference, and vision language AI, rather than relying on specifications or reference data. This enables engineers to better understand system performance and suitability for their own projects before committing to hardware investments or architectural decisions.
"Developers need practical ways to understand how advanced AI technologies will perform in real-world applications," said Justin Mortimer, senior director of product marketing for Secure Connected Edge, NXP Semiconductors.
“By providing access to NXP’s Ara240 DNPUs through the Digital Test Drive, Arrow enables engineering teams to evaluate cutting-edge AI performance in the real world more quickly and make informed design decisions.” “At Arrow, we are committed to helping customers accelerate their AI journey by removing the barriers between innovation and implementation,” said Shelby Schnurrenberger, vice president of global semiconductor supplier management at Arrow Electronics.
“By integrating NXP’s Ara240 AI accelerator into our Digital Test Drive platform, engineers can immediately evaluate advanced AI workloads at the edge, gaining hands-on experience with the technology before making hardware investments. Together with NXP, we are enabling customers to move faster from concept to production and discover new opportunities in intelligent edge applications. Digital Test Drive expands global access to NXP’s AI portfolio, allowing engineers to validate performance, explore use cases, and shorten development cycles from anywhere in the world. This collaboration reinforces our shared commitment to making edge AI more accessible, scalable, and practical for customers in industry, robotics, machine vision, and emerging intelligent systems.”.
The NXP Ara240 evaluation environment is now available through Digital Test Drive. Digital Test Drive simplifies early-stage testing by helping to eliminate common barriers such as kit availability, shipping delays, complex setup, and software installation.
