Ibase’s Ubuntu-ready “EC-7100” edge AI computer combines a 7th Gen Intel Core i7 with Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 graphics. The system offers 2x M.2, mini-PCIe, 2x SATA 3.0, 4x DP, 4x USB 3.0, and up to 3x GbE ports.

The EC-7100 is another example of the trend of adding discrete graphics cards to embedded systems to enable edge AI or high-end graphics applications. Ibase previously combined an Intel 7th Gen Kaby Laky CPU with an Nvidia MXM NV1050 graphics card in its SI-614 signage player to enable up to 4x 4K DisplayPort displays. With the EC-7100, Ibase has paired Kaby Lake with a much more powerful Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 card for AI applications. One similar system that supports the GTX 1080 is Neousys’ Intel Coffee Lake based Nuvo-8208GC.

EC-7100, front and back
(click images to enlarge)

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 MXM Type-B (up to 150W) card is equipped with 2560 CUDA cores and 8GB GDDR5X RAM and enables up to 7.9 or 9 TFLOPS performance, depending on the citation. Combined with the Intel Core i7-7700 with 4x 3.0GHz/3.6GHz cores, the EC-7100 is designed to “to leverage streaming data for artificial intelligence-driven applications in the transportation, automation and retail industries.”

The system is said to provide low-latency, high-throughput inference for computing vision applications such as image recognition, object detection, and image classification. Ubuntu and Windows 10 are supported.

The EC-7100 is equipped with 16GB to 32GB of dual-channel DDR4, and ships standard with a 128GB SATA III SSD. A second 2.5-inch SATA bay supports additional storage, and there are mSATA-ready M.2 M-key 2280 and M.2 B-key 3042 slots, with the latter also supported 4G LTE. A full-size mini-PCIe slot enables WiFi/Bluetooth, 4G LTE, or capture card options, and a SIM card slot is on board.

Four DisplayPort 1.4 ports are available along with an HDMI 1.4 port used as a console. We saw no claims for 4K support, although that would seem likely. A single Gigabit Ethernet port is standard and two more are optional via the mini-PCIe slot for a total of 3x GbE. An RJ45-based RS232 port and 4x USB 3.0 ports are also available.

The fan-cooled, 340 x 170 x 79mm system can be wall-mounted and operates at 0 to 45°C with 5%~90% @ 45°C (non-condensing) humidity resistance. There’s a DC input jack, a 270W power supply, a 2-pin terminal block for an external power switch, and a standard power button. Other features include a watchdog timer and 2x LEDs.

 
Further information

No pricing or availability information was provided for the EC-7100. More information may be found in Ibase’s announcement and product page.