congatec has announced its full support of the new SMARC 2.0 specification. This major technology adaption extends congatec’s leading and extensive Computer-on-Module portfolio to include a brand new solution which is perfectly positioned between Qseven and COM Express.
A milestone in Computer-on-Module technology
congatec’s support of the standard is no surprise for insiders, as congatec played a major role within the SGET in developing the SMARC 2.0 specification. The new specification heralds a milestone in embedded Computer-on-Module technology and is especially designed for particularly multimedia oriented and IoT-connected small systems.
Christian Eder, Marketing Director at congatec, Member of the SGET Board and editor of the SMARC 2.0 specification comments on the importance of the new specification: “Revision 2.0 has elevated SMARC onto an excellent quality level and we can unconditionally recommend it to our customers. Known issues with previous versions – like the all too random Alternate Function Block – have been removed and this eases customers’ entry into SMARC technology and secures long-term availability. SMARC 2.0 has got all the right qualifications to become an extremely successful new module standard, and win significant market share."
“With congatec in the role of draft editor we were able to significantly drive the advanced enhancements of this new specification," Jason Carlson, CEO of congatec AG explains “As the market leader in EMEA for Computer-on-Modules we utilized our knowledge and market experience to position SMARC 2.0 as a specification that will support the needs of the market for many years to come. We see SMARC 2.0 as complementary to our existing product offerings of Qseven and COM express, and by supporting all three platforms we will have a broader product offering to meet the expanding needs of our customers.”
Destined for a wide range of IoT applications
SMARC 2.0 offers numerous leading-edge serial IOs as well as IoT, network and video interfaces and is thus destined for a wide range of multimedia and graphics-oriented IoT applications. SMARC is perfectly positioned between the rugged, ultra-low-power standard Qseven for deeply embedded systems and the feature-rich COM Express standard for especially high performance embedded designs, which even include edge and fog servers.
Technical highlights of SMARC 2.0
With the big step from SMARC 1.1 to 2.0, SMARC’s position in the established COM market has become clearly defined. Underlining SMARC 2.0‘s focus on multimedia, via the 314 pins of the MXM 3.0 connector, numerous multimedia interfaces are available, allowing up to four video outputs. 2x 24 Bit LVDS / eDP / MIPI DSI plus HDMI/DP++ and DP++ are executed. Additionally, there are 2x MIPI camera interfaces and two audio interfaces via HDA and I2S. SMARC 2.0 now features additional USB ports for up to 6x USB including 2x USB 3.0, a second Ethernet port for vertical IoT connection, a fourth PCI Express Lane and 1x eSPI. Obsolete interfaces such as the parallel ports for camera and display, the Alternative Function Block, off module eMMC, SPDIF and one of three I2S channels have been dropped.
