Aetina announced a Linux-driven, 87 x 70mm “ACE-N310” carrier board for Nvidia’s Jetson TX1/TX2/TX2i modules with up to 12x MIPI-CSI-2 lanes and 6x optional cameras, as well HDMI, USB 3.0, and GbE ports and -40 to 85°C support.

Aetina has launched its first carrier board for Nvidia’s Jetson TX1 and TX2 modules that supports up to 6x cameras and offers -40 to 85°C support. The ACE-N310 enables “360° surrounded view application in vehicles, drones, robots, surveillance and automation and intelligent systems at the edge,” says Aetina. With the help of the Jetson modules’ AI-enabled Pascal GPU, the ACE-N310 lets you build multi-visual intelligent systems with advanced on-premises analytics and inference, says the company.

ACE-N310 (left) and NSO-MD-TX2 (Jetson TX2i)
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The ACE-N310’s industrial temperature range makes it good match for the rugged new Jetson TX2i version of the TX2, which similarly supports -40 to 85°C and adds vibration resistance. Aetina recently released its own version of the TX2i called the NSO-MD-TX2. The module integrates its iNAVI Linux distribution, which adds customizable security, system recovery, and backup features.


ACE-N310 front and side views
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iNAVI is also available with the ACE-N310 and other Aetina Jetson carrier boards, which similarly support the TX1, TX2, and TX2i. The 87 x 70mm board is most closely comparable to the ACE-N510 carrier, which has an 87 x 50mm footprint that matches that of the TX2 and TX2i modules themselves.

Aetina also offers the Nano-ITX (120 x 120mm) form factor ACE-N261 and ACE-N622 boards. (The earlier ACE-N620 appears to have been discontinued.)

Aetina’s other carrier boards for the TX1, TX2, and TX2i (l to r): ACE-N620, ACE-N510, and ACE-N622
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The ACE-N310 can be configured with up to 12x lanes of MIPI-CSI connectors through CSI-II or FPD-LINK III extension modules. This enables the connection of 6x 2-lane, 2-megapixel cameras with [email protected] resolution or 3x 4-lane 4K cameras.

Aetina offers a variety of Sony IMX based, HD resolution MIPI-CSI camera modules to choose from, as well as an optional, FPC-connected ACE-CAM6C camera board with 6x CSI-2 cameras. There are also “certified” mini-PCIe based I/O modules including dual isolated GbE and PoE add-ons and a 4x USB 3.0 option, all with 0 to 70°C and -40 to 85°C support (see chart below).

ACE-N310 camera (left) and mini-PCIe I/O options
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Standard ACE-N310 features include HDMI, GbE, micro-USB 2.0, and 2x USB 3.0 host ports. Onboard interfaces include RS-232, I2C, and 5x GPIO, as well as 2x CAN Bus connections that work only with the Jetson TX2 and TX2i.

A mini-PCIe slot supports PCIe and mSATA, and there’s a 9-19V DC input. Other options include fan and heatsink add-ons, cable kits, and a 100-240V, 60W 12V/5A adapter.

Aetina sells the ACE-N310 with optional Jetson modules. Users who don’t already have a TX1 will likely go with the TX2 or TX2i, which feature 2x high-end “Denver 2” cores and 4x Cortex-A57 cores. The star of the show is a 256-core Pascal GPU with CUDA libraries for running AI and machine learning algorithms. The TX2 and TX2i also supply 8GB of LPDDR4 RAM, 32GB of eMMC 5.1, and 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth.

 
Further information

The ACE-N310 appears to be available now at an undisclosed price. More information may be found in Aetina’s ACE-N310 announcement and product pages.