Italian firm Seco will present IoT systems-on-module (SoMs) developed with Qualcomm at next month’s Embedded World show in Nuremberg,

The Smarc SoMs are based on Qualcomm’s QCS6490 and QCS5430 application processors. They are the first results from Seco’s collaboration with Qualcomm announced in September last year. Both companies aim to help accelerate the development of edge computing products.

The Smarc-QCS6490 SoM (edge.seco.com/en_eu/som-smarc-qcs6490.html) simplifies the use of the QCS6490 processor, a platform tailored for IoT. Developed with product longevity and durability in mind, the chipset offers support for AI and computing, robust performance at low power, and expanded interfaces and peripherals catering to diverse industrial use cases. The integrated Qualcomm AI engine enables on-device machine-learning applications, featuring a fused AI-accelerator architecture elevating the total performance to 13Tops.

It streamlines access to this technology within a Smarc 2.1.1 SoM featuring a Qualcomm Kryo 670 CPU housing an Arm Cortex-A78 at 2.7GHz, three Cortex-A78s at 2.4GHz and four Cortex-A55s at 1.9GHz. The Qualcomm Adreno 643 GPU ensures enhanced graphics performance and energy efficiency, supporting FHD+ at 120fps resolution on primary display and secondary display up to 4k Ultra HD at 60Hz.

The two Mipi-CSI four-lanes and support for an image signal processor (ISP) enable a high-quality camera experience.

The expanded range of interfaces includes USB 3.1, USB 2.0, PCI-e Gen3 lanes, and various serial interfaces. Networking capabilities are represented by two Gigabit Ethernet interfaces and optional wifi and BT 5.3.

The SoM supports Windows 11 IoT Enterprise, Yocto Linux and Android, with both commercial (0 to +60˚C) and industrial (-30 to +85˚C) temperature variants available.

Complementing this high-tier SoM, Seco also has a mid-tier option, which slightly moderates CPU and GPU performance: the Smarc-QCS5430 SoM (edge.seco.com/en_eu/som-smarc-qcs5430.html), powered by the Qualcomm QCS5430. This SoC combines premium connectivity, high-level performance and edge AI-powered camera capabilities with the potential for over-the-air software updates to unlock enhanced performance.

It features an Octa-core Kryo 670 CPU with four Cortex-A78s at 2.1GHz, four Cortex-A55s at 1.8GHz and a Adreno 642L GPU, maintaining parity with the high-end Smarc-QCS6490 in all other features.

It also provides scope for field software-based upgrades of the CPU and GPU, using the processor’s capabilities.

“We are excited to introduce our new Smarc modules in collaboration with Qualcomm,” said Maurizio Caporali, chief product officer at Seco. “These products represent a leap forward in IoT and edge computing. Utilising Qualcomm’s state-of-the-art platforms, we offer unmatched performance and AI capabilities. This launch underscores our promise to empower clients with innovative, efficient technology for a competitive edge in the industrial IoT sector.”

Sebastiano Di Filippo, senior director at Qualcomm (www.qualcomm.com), added: “The QCS6490 and QCS5430 processors deliver cutting-edge compute, AI and power efficiency for demanding IoT applications. The Smarc module announcement is an important milestone in our strategic collaboration with Seco. We are excited to support Seco to help them bring advanced edge computing and on-device AI capabilities to industries such as manufacturing, logistics, energy, healthcare, retail and more.”

As with all SoMs from Seco, they come bundled with a corresponding operating system, board support package and software development kit. They are natively integrated with Clea and primed for use with Seco’s software. Clea enhances the hardware infrastructure with an array of value-added services encompassing device management, remote updates and data pipeline management, all while ensuring top-tier security standards.

Seco (www.seco.com) will unveil the SoMs at Embedded World (www.embedded-world.de) in Nuremberg from April 9 to 11, 2024.