SOMs based on RK3399 and PX30 SoCs target IoT

The RK3399-based SOM-RK391 and the Rockchip PX30-based SOM-RP301 are a pair of SOMs launched by Arbor. The boards both support Linux and Android. A carrier board supporting these, and future Arbor Arm-based SOMs is provided as well.

Arbor Technology has introduced a pair of System-on-Module (SOM) products both based on Rockchip SoCs, the RK3399-based SOM-RK391 and the Rockchip PX30-based SOM-RP301. Both modules run Ubuntu, Buildroot, or Android 9.0. Along with the pair of modules, the company has also released the PBA-9000-A, its SOM-Series, single pin-out design carrier board.

The Rockchip RK3399 SoC has been a favorite among high-end community backed Arm-based boards over the last couple years, and we’ve covered at least one every month over that period. Recent examples include Arbor’s own EmQ-RK390 Qseven module, Geniatech’s DB9 SBC and Vamr’s 96Boards CE-compatible Rock960 Model C. In contrast, the SOM-RP301 appears to be the first module we’ve seen based on Rockchip’s low-power PX30 SoC.

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SOM-RK391

Built around the Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core (2x Cortex-A72 + 4x Cortex-A53) SoC, the SOM-RK391 is designed for high-performance applications such as AI computing, edge computing and machine vision, according to Arbor.

For memory, the RK391 provides 2GB to 4GB of LPDDR4 DRAM and mass storage via 16GB eMMC flash plus support SD Card boot up. The Mali-T860MP4 GPU supports OpenGL ES1.1/2.0/3.0/3.1, OpenVG1.1, OpenCL and DX11. Display support includes eDP, MIPI DSI and HDMI. The compact 69.6 x 70 mm SOM supports extended operating temperatures from 10 to 70ºC.

The RK391 also provides WiFi /Bluetooth support including 2T2R 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac for WiFi and Bluetooth 5.0 with real simultaneous dual-band (RSDB). You also get 2x MIPI CSI RX camera interfaces with 13MP ISP. For I/O you get 4x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.0 2 (Type C), 2x 2-wire UART ports and 2x 4-wire UART ports. There’s also support for RTC, 10-bit 1MS/s ADC, SDIO, DIO, GPIO, SPI and I2C.

SOM-RP301

The SOM-RP301 meanwhile is based on the Rockchip PX30 Quad-Core Cortex-A35 processor and measures a compact 70 x 50 mm. Arbor touts the board for its low power consumption, flexible thermal management, cost-efficiency and its suitability for IIoT applications. The combination of its hardware media decoder and processing power makes it a fit to implement in retail kiosks such as electronic restaurant menus, automated currency exchange machines, ticketing kiosks and so on, according to Arbor.

The SOM-RP301 offers provides 1GB to 4GB of LPDDR4DRAM and mass storage via 16GB eMMC flash plus support SD Card boot up. The Mali-T860MP4 GPU supports OpenGL ES1.1/2.0/3.0/3.1, OpenVG1.1, OpenCL and DX11. Display support includes LVDS and MIPI DSI, and those interfaces share the same pinout. Like the RK391, this modules also supports extended operating temperatures from 10 to 70ºC.

The RK391 also provides WiFi /Bluetooth support including 1x 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac for WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0. You also get 1x MIPI CSI RX camera interface with 8MP ISP. For I/O the RP301 provides the all the same ports as the RK391 as described above. Despite the fact that Arbor touts the RP301 as a low power solution, its datasheet currently says “TBD” for the board’s power consumption.

PBA-9000-A SOM Carrier Board

Arbor’s PBA-9000-A Carrier Board for its SOM-series features a single pin-out design that enables it to easily support future boards in the Arbor SOM-series CPU Board family. The PBA-9000-A’s I/O configuration supports all of the interfaces on the SOM-series boards.

 
Further information

More information on the three boards can be found on the announcement page. No pricing was provided. Links to datasheets for the SOM-RK391, SOM-RP301 and PBA-9000-A boards can be found on Arbor’s ARM-computing product page.