A brand new single board laptop vary gives builders flexibility and the choice of customized {hardware}.
RS Group’s single board laptop growth and manufacturing unit OKdo is now working with Rockchip vendor Radxa on a variety of SBC programs utilizing Radxa’s ROCK designs. It’s an attention-grabbing partnership, giving Raxda entry to OKdo’s expertise in at-scale manufacturing and to its international help channels.
The intent of the brand new partnership is to present engineers the instruments they should construct merchandise round Radxa’s designs, whereas nonetheless supporting a maker group and college students on the lookout for a strong, low-cost computing platform. In addition to OKdo’s personal help companies, ROCK is supported via Radxa’s personal on-line group instruments.
SEE: {Hardware} stock coverage (TechRepublic Premium)
Introducing the ROCK 4 SE
The primary board from the brand new partnership, the ROCK 4 SE, is now obtainable. Based mostly on Radxa’s Rockchip hexacore RK3399-T processor with 4GB of RAM, it gives a contemporary ARM large.LITTLE pairing of twin Cortex A72 CPUs with a quadcore Cortex A53 and ARM’s Mali GPU. The result’s a extra versatile choice than the acquainted Raspberry Pi 4, with help for on-board eMMC storage modules and an m.2 connector for NVMe SSDs.
Extra importantly for makers, the board features a real-time clock with battery connector, so it might hold monitor of time even when powered off. Alternatively, there’s the power to save lots of energy by powering down components of the SBC after they’re not in use. You should use any USB-C PD energy provide, so that you’re not restricted to anyone provider and may work with trendy high-density batteries in addition to mains energy.
A 40 pin GPIO port means it’s appropriate with many present off-the-shelf equipment, together with power-over-Ethernet adapters. Different ports embrace a full-size HDMI video connection supporting 4K shows, in addition to two USB 2 and two USB 3 ports (one in every of which can be utilized for OTG connection to cellular gadgets), and a mixed microphone and headphone socket.
The ROCK 4 SE is OKdo’s spinoff of Radxa’s present household of ROCK 4 SBCs, and is meant to be the primary in a brand new vary of Rockchip-based SBCs and pluggable compute modules. Utilizing the slogan “Your board, your means,” OKdo is offering not solely {hardware}, but additionally focused help for all customers of its ROCK {hardware}, from particular person makers to massive firms constructing programs round ROCK-based compute modules.
Coming quickly: The ROCK 4C+
A second board, the ROCK 4C+, is underneath growth and shall be launched quickly, together with the CM3 compute mannequin and a next-generation SBC. Usefully, the ROCK 4C+ will add a function that’s normally lacking from SBCs: a bodily on/off swap. It’ll even embrace a separate header for a cooling fan, so that you received’t must lose any GPIO pins. A further connector means that you can plug in your personal Wi-Fi antenna, bettering efficiency for gadgets that is perhaps deployed wherever there’s a weak sign.
Why ROCK?
Ongoing provide chain points have been the explanation behind the RS Group firm OKdo not too long ago stepping away from its Raspberry Pi manufacturing license and adopting a wider vary of silicon suppliers, together with ROCK’s mum or dad firm Radxa and IoT chipset specialists NXP. ROCK’s silicon comes from fabless vendor Rockchip, which makes use of a number of fabs to cut back provide chain danger, as chips are manufactured internationally. Rockchip won’t be as well-known as different IoT processor firms like Broadcom, however its chips are aggressive and include help from acquainted Linuxes in addition to Android, providing you with extra choices for each software growth and consumer experiences.
SEE: Contained in the Raspberry Pi: The story of the $35 laptop that modified the world (cowl story PDF) (TechRepublic)
A bonus that the ROCK platform has over different SBCs is the power to ship boards as customized System-on-Module programs, avoiding part wastage. When you’ve prototyped {hardware} utilizing gadgets just like the ROCK 4 SE, you may then work with OKdo to design a SOM on your manufacturing {hardware} that solely consists of the options you want, serving to hold prices to a minimal and lowering your publicity to provide chain danger. The flexibility to work with each a producer like OKdo and a board designer like Radxa helps optimize board designs and guarantee your mission will get the {hardware} it wants, when it wants it.
A customized future for {hardware}
OKdo’s customization service builds on the corporate’s expertise, eradicating parts as wanted and redesigning the SBC board to suit inside {hardware} constraints. This isn’t a service for the house consumer or the hobbyist maker; it requires a dedication to quantity manufacturing the place OKdo will construct hundreds of boards or modules. Typical adjustments embrace eradicating the ethernet port in favor of wi-fi operation, not solely saving area however price, as a redesigned board received’t want specialised controller chips and any related parts. OKdo can add parts to a board, altering interfaces or including reminiscence.
As OKdo factors out, there are added advantages to a customized resolution. If you happen to’re transport hundreds of items, even a small discount in dimension and weight will help with environmental commitments, lowering transport weight or the quantity of packaging wanted. Working with an organization like OKdo on customized {hardware} means that you can benefit from their present testing companies, making certain that adjustments don’t put the customized board out of compliance with any relevant laws.
Radxa’s confirmed designs have been widespread in China and the remainder of Asia, so it’s good to see a vendor the scale of RS Group making a dedication to bringing the platform to the U.S. and Europe. Provide chain points are nonetheless making it exhausting to purchase many SBCs, with massive prospects getting precedence, so having succesful {hardware} in inventory now ought to give builders entry to the gadgets they should develop new IoT {hardware} with out having to attend any longer.
The ROCK 4 SE is already obtainable in OKdo’s ROCK store, and extra {hardware} ought to arrive quickly.
