PICMG announces COM-HPC Mini Academy event

This multi-part virtual event will span four sessions and introduce participants to the new COM-HPC Mini form factor’s features, including details of the Mini’s updated Carrier Design Guide, as well as examine use cases, design questions, and deployment challenges.

“Between converged network rollouts and advances in artificial intelligence, the hardware requirements for edge computing have changed,” said Doug Sandy, CTO of PICMG. “Modern edge workloads need a combination of high-end computing, power consumption management, and low-latency data transmission. The COM-HPC Mini addresses these requirements, and our Mini Academy will teach developers everything they need to know about how the specification brings the intelligent edge to life.”

The event will be divided into four sessions covering the following topics:

• How COM-HPC Mini improves performance in mobile-friendly deployments.
• The importance of support for CPU, GPU, FPGA and heterogenous processor architectures in diverse Edge applications.
• Details on new features in COM-HPC and how they enable greater bandwidth, lower latency, more rugged designs, and interoperable high-speed chip-to-memory interconnects.
• How the updated Carrier Design Guide streamlines development and deployment of cost-optimised, low-to-mid volume production runs.

More details on each session can be found below:

• Session 1: June 4th at 14:00 UTC—What’s New in COM-HPC? - The first Mini Academy session, co-hosted by representatives from congatec, Samtec, and the University of Bielefeld, provides an update on COM-HPC and how it can help organisations transform their edge infrastructure. Alongside updates to the COM-HPC specification family, the session will explore potential PCIe Gen 6 support, CXL 3.1 compatibility, and Functional Safety (FuSa) capability.
• Session 2: June 4th at 14:30 UTC—Introducing COM-HPC Mini - Co-presented by Richard Pinnow of ADLink and Christian Engels of Avnet Embedded, this session will detail how COM-HPC Mini provides system architects with greater speed and performance in a smaller form factor. Participants can expect a review of the new specification’s electromechanical features, followed by demonstrations of how they can leverage those features for far-Edge mobile and battery-powered use cases, such as AMRs, HMIs, drones, and robotic controllers.
• Session 3: June 4th at 15:00 UTC—Exploring the COM-HPC Mini Design Guide - Presented by Kontron’s Peter Hunold, this session introduces the updated Carrier Design Guide developed specifically for the COM-HPC Mini specification. Participants will be given an overview of how the COM-HPC Design Guide has changed from previous versions. The session will conclude by demonstrating how to design in advanced signals, like multiplexed USB 4.0 and how to quickly and efficiently produce Gerber files that define lasting COM-based systems.
• Session 4: June 4th at 15:30 UTC—The COM-HPC Mini Academy: A Multi-Vendor Outlook Panel - Co-hosted by several of the suppliers responsible for developing the COM-HPC Mini specification, this discussion panel will field questions from attendees about designing and deploying the new standard. Participants will also learn about the differences between COM Express and COM-HPC, along with best practices for designing the COM-HPC Mini into real-world applications. The session will then conclude with insight into PICMG’s technology roadmaps.

Going beyond the intelligent Edge

“First ratified in 2021, COM-HPC was designed to address the challenges and fulfil the requirements of embedded system architects,” explained Sandy. “COM-HPC Mini continues this trend, introducing a new form factor and features like expanded connectivity support, efficient thermal management, and soldered memory.”

“Open, interoperable, and available from multiple suppliers, COM-HPC Mini provides a path forward for edge computing that will remain relevant for decades,” he added, inviting anyone interested in learning more about COM-HPC Mini and other specifications to visit PICMG’s website.

Recordings of the COM-HPC Mini Academy sessions will be available on-demand for those unable to attend the live event.