Aaeon unveiled two Linux-friendly embedded systems: an “AIOT-IP6801” gateway equipped with an Apollo Lake-based UP Squared SBC with WiFi and LoRa, and a “Boxer-8120AI” mini-PC with an Nvidia Jetson TX2 module and 4x GbE ports.

Aaeon announced that three of its Linux-ready embedded systems have won Computex d&j awards, including two previously unannounced models: an Intel Apollo Lake based AIOT-IP6801 gateway based on Aaeon’s community-backed UP Squared board, as well as a Boxer-8120AI embedded computer built around an Arm-based Jetson TX2 module.

UPC-GWS01

The third product is the UPC-GWS01 gateway, which was announced with no name last September. Based on the newly re-released UP Core SBC, the UPC-GWS01 was announced along with a UPS-GWS01 gateway based on the higher end UP Squared.

All three of the products are fanless and small enough to fit into the mini-PC category. The Computex d&j awards “recognize groundbreaking design and innovation in the information and communication technology (ICT) field,” says Aaeon. The company will show off the three products June 5-9 at the Computex Taipei 2018 trade show in Taiwan.

 
AIOT-IP6801

The AIOT-IP6801 internet gateway hides away its UP Squared mainboard in an IP68-protected, 239.4 x 159.4 x 69.4mm chassis with an extended -20 to 60°C temperature range. It features secure connectors, including M12 connectors for serial I/O designed to stay connected even during heavy vibration.

AIOT-IP6801 from both sides
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The AIOT-IP6801 uses an UP Squared board equipped with the quad-core, up to 1.8GHz Intel Atom x5-E3940 with 9W TDP. This is a nonstandard model, as the UP Squared typically ships with Celeron or Pentium chips from the same Apollo Lake generation. OS support includes Ubilinux, Ubuntu, and Yocto Linux flavors, as well as Windows 10 or Windows 10 IoT Core.

The system ships with 4GB DDR4 and 64GB eMMC. There’s both a GbE port and an M.2 slot equipped with a WiFi/Bluetooth module.

Up Squared front (left) and back details
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A mini-PCIe slot adds additional expansion potential. It’s unclear if the mentioned LoRa (868MHz long-range wireless) radio uses this mini-PCIe connection, or even if LoRa is standard or optional. There are, however, antennas for both LoRa and WiFi. Aaeon’s Intel Cherry Trail based AIOT-ILRA01 gateway also supports LoRa.

The AIOT-IP6801 provides protected HDMI and USB 3.0 ports, as well as two M12 connectors: one with 4-pin RS-232 and GPIO and the other with a single RS-232 interface. The 5V board also has a reset button and power connector.

Jetson TX2

 
Boxer-8120AI

The Boxer-8120AI is a “high-performance, low-energy machine vision system” designed for surveillance, drone, and robotics applications. The mini-PC like system taps Nvidia’s third-gen Jetson TX2 module.

The Jetson TX2 is equipped with an Arm-based Tegra-family SoC with dual Cortex-A72 like “Denver” cores and 4x -A57 cores. The SoC incorporates 256-core Pascal graphics, supported with CUDA libraries for AI, vision processing, GPU-accelerated parallel processing, and deep/machine learning.

Boxer-8120AI from both sides
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The wall-mountable, 153 x 101 x 30mm Boxer-8120AI supports -20 to 55°C temperatures with 0.5 m/s air flow, and offers 5 Grms, 5 ~ 500Hz vibration resistance. A wide-range 12-24V DC terminal block input is provided along with remote power/reset switch that “allows for easy installation in hard-to-reach places,” says Aaeon.

The Jetson TX2 module provided by the Boxer-8120AI runs Ubuntu 16.04 and is equipped with 8GB of 128-bit LPDDR4 RAM and 32GB eMMC. The Boxer-8120AI adds a microSD slot and half-sized mini-PCIe slot that supports mSATA. The highlighted feature section mentions a 2.5-inch HDD/SDD bay, but this is not listed in the spec sheet.

There are 4x GbE ports that appear to be intended for connections to IP cameras. Another notation mentions 2x GbE ports, so it’s possible the third and fourth ports are optional. You also get 802.11ac and Bluetooth with antenna mounts.

The Boxer-8120AI is equipped with an HDMI 2.0 port and dual RS-232/422/485 connections expressed as DB9 ports. Other features include single USB 3.0 and 2.0 host ports, as well as a USB OTG port that does not appear evident in the photos. The feature highlight section mentions 4x USB 2.0 and 4x RS-232 ports, which may suggest these are optional features.

 
Further information

No pricing or availability information was provided for the “new” AIOT-IP6801 and “coming soon” Boxer-8120AI. More information may be found on Aaeon’s AIOT-IP6801 and Boxer-8120AI product pages.