SolidRun’s Hummingboard 8P Edge AI SBC

Based on a unique iteration of the company’s popular Hummingboard development platform and equipped with an i.MX 8M Plus SOM and Hailo-8 AI processor, this groundbreaking deployment-ready solution provides engineers with everything they need to dramatically reduce time to market for new products capable of powerful AI inference at the edge.

The Hummingboard 8P Edge AI is a game-changer for the industry, serving as an excellent foundation for a wide range of applications, including computer vision, image and object recognition, surveillance, smart cities, IoT, and more. This SBC kit features the flexibility to connect two cameras, supporting Basler MIPI-CSI cameras or USB 3.0 cameras for powerful computer vision applications, and can even support AI analysis of streaming video. It can also be used with an HDMI/USB touchscreen display for interactive AI applications.

Sasha Strizhiver, embedded product line manager at SolidRun said, “Our vision has always been to simplify the complex world of embedded systems and empower engineers to innovate without constraints. Our new Hummingboard 8P Edge AI SBC encapsulates this vision, offering a total package that combines cutting-edge AI inference capabilities and broad industry support with ease of use. We believe in enabling our customers to focus solely on realising their product vision, and with this kit, we've created an integrated solution that does just that.”

At the heart of the kit is the is SolidRun’s ultra-powerful yet energy-efficient i.MX 8M Plus SOM, which is empowered by a Hailo-8 M.2 PCIe module capable of up to 28 TOPS (26 TOPs coming from Hailo-8 and 2 from i.mx8M Plus). Combined, the total package, including the carrier board, runs at a remarkably low maximum draw of just 10 watts. This performance-to-power ratio is a game-changer in the AI industry, enabling engineers to create unique AI solutions with unprecedented edge inference capabilities while being seamlessly powered over PoE.

The Hailo-8 AI accelerator boasts a proprietary dataflow architecture, setting it apart from most neural processors based on more common architectures. This proprietary architecture excels in low-power memory access, thanks to its combination of purpose-built pipeline elements and a distributed memory fabric.

Right out of the box, this high-performance, low-power SBC solution supports a variety of popular AI frameworks, including TensorFlow, TensorFlow Lite, Keras, PyTorch, and ONNX. This versatility allows engineers to jumpstart their AI projects without the hassle of framework compatibility issues.

Providing engineers with unparalleled flexibility, this kit offers several unique advantages, including the ability to run lightweight machine learning models on the i.MX 8M Plus SoC’s embedded network accelerator, and complex models on the Hailo-8 AI accelerator, opening a world of possibilities for AI application development and testing.

Yaron Ofer, Regional General Manager at Hailo, adds, “The Hummingboard 8P Edge AI SBC from SolidRun represents a significant milestone in edge AI development solutions. With its exceptional performance and unparalleled energy efficiency, it empowers engineers to unlock the full potential of AI applications at the Edge and harness the capabilities of our remarkably powerful Hailo-8 chip to drive innovation.”

SolidRun has gone the extra mile by providing everything engineers need to get started in the included Board Support Package (BSP). With the BSP pre-loaded on an SD card, setup is quick and easy, allowing users to quickly jump into testing their AI models with the Hailo-8 processor.

What's Included:

• Hummingboard 8P Carrier Board
• SolidRun i.MX 8M Plus SOM: 4GB or 8GB RAM options available
• Hailo-8 AI Accelerator M.2 module
• WiFi / Bluetooth module and antenna
• Heatsink
• Power adapter
• Optional: Basler daA3840-30mc image sensor: capable of 4K image and video capture with HDR, 30 fps at 8MP resolution

When it comes to developing small-form-factor, environmentally robust solutions, SolidRun always comes out on top. Measuring in at just 100mm x 70mm, the Hummingboard 8P Edge AI is very compact. SolidRun also offers a compact aluminium enclosure, turning it into a NUC-style computer. As with most SolidRun solutions, this kit was engineered to endure a broad range of environmental conditions, supporting commercial applications with temperatures ranging from 0° to 70° C, and industrial applications with temperatures ranging from -40° to 85° C.

This kit has also been rigorously validated and verified by Basler for use with their cameras, making it a trusted choice for applications such as surveillance, license plate recognition, gaming machines, smart vehicles, IOT solutions, and more.