New-Tech Magazine - Europe | January Digital edition

half year. The cost per unit after this time is around $40; compare this with using a SoM, where there is no development cost, prototyping and debugging and software maintenance costs nothing and the price for the unit is the same. Any concern that the hardware engineers think that they are not needed is unfounded because their focus should be on the application board, which is their IP (intellectual Property). They don’t need to “invent the wheel” again with the processor board when they can get a working platformbased on the latest processors in the market from Texas Instruments, Altera, Freescale, Qualcomm and Atmel. All these processors are based on the latest ARM cores from Cortex A5 to Cortex A8 and A9 as well as Cortex A7 and Cortex A57. Status Quo of technology so far and existing approach The SoM market can be divided in several ways: 1. Architecture : ARM and x86 2. Form Factor: ARM Based Solution for SMARC , Q7 or Proprietary (Others, like COM Express, are supported by x86 and not ARM based)

Picture Nu1 - Example of System On Module

e.V. (SGET) for computer-on-modules (COMs). Generally, SMARC modules are based on ARM processors, they can, however, also be fitted with other low-power SoC architectures, like, for example, those based on x86 SoCs. Typically, SMARC modules’ power requirement is in the range of a few watts, which opens up avenues to markets which to date could not be addressed due to processor designs with much higher power consumption. Two module sizes are defined: 82mmx50mm and 82mmx80mm • Q7 - Qseven is a well-established, legacy-free standard for technology- independent small form factor computer modules, which includes standardized thermal and mechanical interfaces. Qseven was the first standard that supported x86 and ARM technologies in COM- compatible environments. The size is 70mm×70mm and the Qseven standard has been adopted by SGeT. • Proprietary - The proprietary form factor is the most popular in the SoM market because most customers want a unique platform for their use. It can be very small or in any shape needed to the applicatio.

3. Type of ARM core (Cortex A5, A7, A8, A9) and Example of SoM 4. Operating System Support: Linux,

Android , Windows Embedded 1. Architecture: ARM and x86

• ARM - Most popular cores used in 90% of worldwide mobile phones and powerful embedded community • X86 - Supported mainly by Intel with popular solutions based on Intel Atom and Core ix families 2. Form Factor • SMARC (‘Smart Mobility ARChitecture’) is a specification published by the Standardization Group for Embedded Technologies

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