OpenEmbed’s “SOM6210” COM expands upon NXP’s i.MX6 UL SoC with up to 1GB RAM, up to 64GB eMMC, and optional -40 to 80° operating temperature support.

OpenEmbed’s 55 x 42mm SOM6210 computer-on-module is not the smallest or most feature rich of the many COMs that have tapped NXP’s low-power, IoT oriented i.MX6 UltraLite. Yet, its -40 to 80° industrial operating temperature range option, low-profile mounting approach, and sub-$30 price in small quantities may draw some interest. It also offers one of the highest capacity eMMC flash options at 64GB, although the standard model gives you 4GB.

SOM6210
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As with OpenEmbed’s i.MX6 SoloX based SOM6330 module, no OS support was listed in the announcement. The product page appears to show only Windows CE support, but we imagine that Linux, which is the standard development OS for the i.MX6 UL, should run fine. Applications are said to include signage, medical, industrial automation, avionics, entertainment, PoS, data acquisition, thin clients, robotics, and gaming.

No clock rate was listed for the single-core, Cortex-A7 i.MX6 UL, which is typically clocked to 528MHz. The SoC has a stripped down WXGA display interface, but adds new security, tamper detection, and power management features not found on earlier i.MX6 models.

SOM6210 block diagram
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The SOM6210 is loaded with 256MB DDR3L, with options for up to 1GB. As noted the flash goes from 4GB to 64GB. The module includes 2x 10/100Mbps Ethernet PHY, but there’s no onboard wireless.

For displays, you get a 24-bit Parallel LCD interface for up to WXGA resolution. Like some of its competitors, the SOM6210 also provides a Parallel CSI camera interface.

SOM6210 pinout diagram
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The SOM6210 is further equipped with USB 2.0 host and OTG interfaces, as well as 8x serial UARTs, 2x CANBus, and 2x I2C connections. You also get QSPI, SDIO, McSPI, and JTAG support, as well as 40x or more GPIOs, muxed with other I/O.

Like many other small COMs, the SOM6210’s interface to its carrier board uses edge castellation rather than underside board-to-board connectors. This results in reduced BOM costs, a lower profile board stack, and a more permanent and potentially rugged assembly. On the other hand, it’s not as amenable to plug-and-play field replacements or upgrades.

The module runs from a single 3.6V to 5.5V power supply, and is available rated for either -20 to 70℃ or -40 to 85℃ operation. Typical consumption is around 2 Watts (500mA @ 5VDC), according to the COM’s data sheet.

Other small i.MX6 UL modules we’ve covered include CompuLab’s 68 x 36mm CL-SOM-iMX6UL, Digi’s 29 x 29mm ConnectCore 6UL, F&S’s 62 x 47mm efus A7UL , iWave’s 68 x 29mm iW-RainboW-G18M-SODIMM i.MX6UL, Ka-Ro’s 68 x 26mm TX6UL, TechNexion’s 36 x 25mm PICO-IMX6UL, and Variscite’s 50 x 25mm DART-6UL, to name a few.

 
Further information

The SOM6210 module is available for about $30 in 100-unit orders. More information may be found on OpenEmbed’s SOM6210 product page. A Taobao shopping page is here.