Advantech’s fanless, Linux-friendly “EPC-U2117” mini-PC has an Apollo Lake SoC, 2x GbE, 4x USB 3.0, and 2x serial, plus SATA, HDMI, DP, CAN, mini-PCIe, M.2, and extended temp support.

It’s amazing what you can fit into a compact embedded computer these days. Advantech’s “preliminary,” Intel Apollo Lake based EPC-U2117 mini-PC, for example, hits pretty much all the I/O food groups while maintaining a slim 170 x 117 x 52.6mm footprints. The device is aimed at smart kiosk, smart vending machine, and digital signage, but with its wide-range, 12-24V power input, optional -20 to 60°C support, and shock and vibration resistance, it could find its way into more hard-core industrial applications.

EPC-U2117, front and back

Advantech has produced a variety of Apollo Lake based modules and SBCs, including its Pico-ITX form-factor MIO-3360, but this is the company’s first compact embedded PC we’ve seen with the popular Atom E3900 SoCs. The EPC-U2117 runs Linux or Windows 10 IoT Enterprise on both dual- and quad-core Atom E3900 processors.

The EPC-U2117 supports up to 8GB of DDR3L-1867 and up to 128GB eMMC. There’s also a SATA II bay for solid state drives (SSDs) and a full-size mini-PCIe slot with mSATA and USB 2.0 support. An M.2 E-key slot supports an optional WiFi module, and there’s a quartet of antenna mounts that support optional WiFi and 4G/LTE antenna kits.

EPC-U2117

The EPC-U2117 is equipped with 2x Realtek RTL8111G powered GbE ports, as well as 4x USB 3.0 and two serial DB9 ports: RS-232 and ccTalk. Dual display support is provided via HDMI (3840 x 2160 @ 30Hz) and DisplayPort 1.2 ports (4096 x 2160 @ 60Hz), and there’s an audio jack, CANbus interface, and an Infineon SLB9665 TPM chip or optional TPM 2.0 chip.

An AC/DC adapter is available for the 12-24V input and AT/ATX supply, and power consumption ranges from 0.665A to 0.987A at 12 volts. There’s a standard 0 to 50°C range in addition to the optional -20 to 60°C model.

EPC-U2117 front and back detail views
(click image to enlarge)

The EPC-U2117 provides resistance to EMC, humidity (95% @ 40 °C non-condensing), vibration (3Grms, 60068-2-64, random, 5 ~ 500 Hz, 1 hr/axis), and shock (30G, IEC 60068-2-27, half sine, 11ms duration). The aluminum system offers standard wall mounting and optional VESA and DIN-rail mounting.

Advantech’s WISE-PaaS DeviceOn software for remote system monitoring and management is available. The system is also certified for AWS Greengrass and Microsoft Azure IoT Edge cloud/IoT aggregation platforms.

 
Further information

No pricing or availability information was provided for the “preliminary” EPC-U2117. More information may be found in Advantech’s EPC-U2117 announcement and product page.