Seco’s “SM-D18” and Adlink’s “LEC-IMX8MP” SMARC 2.1 modules run Linux or Android on NXP’s AI-enabled i.MX8M Plus with up to 8GB RAM, 64GB eMMC, dual GbE, PCIe Gen3, and optional -40 to 85°C.

The first two SMARC 2.1 form-factor modules with NXP’s i.MX8M Plus SoC have appeared, joining a handful of other i.MX8M Plus modules including Variscite’s VAR-SOM-MX8M-PLUS and DART-MX8M-PLUS and TechNexion’s EDM-G-IMX8M-PLUS and AXON-E-IMX8M-PLUS. Seco announced its SM-D18 earlier this month and Adlink’s unannounced LEC-IMX8MP is listed as “preliminary.”

Seco’s SM-D18 (left) and Adlink’s LEC-IMX8MP
(click images to enlarge)

As suggested by the joint spec list in the intro at top, the Seco and Adlink i.MX8M Plus modules have a lot in common, including Linux and Android support, a 82 x 50mm “short” SMARC 2.1 footprint, and support for 0 to 60°C or -40 to 85°C models. Differences include soldered memory and a WiFi/Bluetooth option on Seco’s SM-D18 and a second PCIe Gen3 interface, TSN support, and shock and vibration resistance on Adlink’s LEC-IMX8MP.

NXP’s i.MX8M Plus is like a faster version of the i.MX8M Nano, but with an optional 2.3-TOPs NPU and more coprocessors. The 14nm-fabricated SoC offers up to 4x 1.8GHz Cortex-A53 cores plus Vivante GC7000UL 3D and GC520L 2D GPUs with support for 1920 x 1080 @ 60fps encoding and decoding. There is also an 800MHz Cortex-M7 MCU, an 800MHz HiFi4 DSP, and up to 2x ISPs for stereo vision or a single 12-megapixel camera.

 
SM-D18

Seco’s SM-D18 runs Linux and Android on the i.MX8M Plus Dual, Quad, and Quadlite Lite, which is like the quad-core Quad, but without a VPU or NPU. The module supplies up to 8GB soldered LPDDR4-4000 and up to 64GB soldered eMMC 5.1 storage. There are dual GbE controllers, and a WiFi/Bluetooth LE module is optional.

Block diagrams for Seco’s SM-D18 (left) and NXP’s i.MX8M Plus
(click images to enlarge)

The SM-D18 supports dual or triple (optional) independent displays. In addition to the HDMI 2.0a interface, there are various mixtures of single and/or dual-channel LVDS and eDP. Other media features include 4- and 2-lane MIPI-CSI and up to 2x I2S audio interfaces.

The SM-D18 supports PCIe x1 Gen3, 2x USB 3.0, and up to 3x USB 2.0, including an OTG port. Additional I/Os include 2x CAN, 2x 4-wire UART, up to 2x 2-wire UART, 2x PWM, and up to 14x GPIOs. You also get single I2C, SPI, quadSPI, and SMBus.

The 5V module supplies a watchdog plus boot select and power management features. There is an optional SMARC DEV KIT with a 345 x 170mm CSM-B79 carrier board, which we covered in our report on Seco’s i.MX8M based SM-C12 SMARC module.

 
LEC-IMX8MP

Adlink’s LEC-IMX8MP will be available with the Quad or no-NPU Quad Lite i.MX8M Plus models along with a Yocto Linux BSP, Android support, and an “extended support” VxWorks BSP. The module provides up to 8GB LPDDR4L-4266 and up to 64GB eMMC 5.1, with a build option for 128GB eMMC. The dual GbE controllers include one with TSN support, but there is no WiFi/BT option.

The LEC-IMX8MP provides HDMI 2.0a, MIPI-DSI, and LVDS interfaces according to the product page while the datasheet lists HDMI 2.0a along with two separate mentions of 4-lane DSI in two different sections. Other media features include 4- and 2-lane MIPI-CSI and 2x I2S, with support for an I2S audio codec on the carrier.

As noted, the module adds a second PCIe x1 Gen3 link. Other interfaces include 2x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0, including an OTG port, 2x CAN, 3x UART, and a debug header. You also get 2x SPI, 4x I2C, SDIO, and up to 14x GPIOs.

The 5V module offers a SEMA Board Controller with a watchdog, boot monitoring, and other features. Ruggedization features include 5-90% non-condensing relative humidity tolerance and shock and vibration resistance compliant with IEC 60068-2-64, IEC-60068-2-27, and MIL-STD-202 F.

 
Further information

No pricing or availability information was provided for Seco’s SM-D18 or Adlink’s “preliminary” LEC-IMX8MP. More information may be found in Seco’s announcement and product page, as well as Adlink’s LEC-IMX8MP product page.

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