Top 5 boards/backplanes in February

Kontron’s new Pi-Tron CM5 based on Raspberry Pi

Kontron is launching the new BL Pi-Tron CM5 at embedded world 2025. The new industrial board is designed to meet the demand for off-the-shelf products and an open software environment in the embedded industry. It is based on the latest Compute Module 5 from Raspberry Pi.

The BL Pi-Tron CM5 offers significantly increased performance over its predecessor and is suitable for demanding applications. (Read more.)

NXP applications processor dev board

Now being shipped by authorised distributor Mouser Electronics is the FRDM i.MX 93 development board from NXP Semiconductors.

The FRDM i.MX 93 development board is based on the NXP i.MX 93 applications processor and is designed to enable rapid prototyping of a variety of applications, including industrial automation, smart home and smart cities, IoT, contactless HMI, healthcare and more. (Read more.)

Mikroe releases CAN-FD comms board

ATA6503 Click from Mikroe is a compact add-on board for high-speed CAN FD communication in automotive and industrial applications. This board features the ATA6503, a fully integrated CAN FD System Basis Chip (SBC) from Microchip, meeting Grade 0 AEC-Q100 standards.

It supports both Classical CAN and CAN FD protocols with data rates up to 8Mbit/s, features an integrated 5V/150mA voltage regulator, reverse battery protection, a button for waking the module from Sleep mode, and advanced fail-safe mechanisms. (Read more.)

Kontron's K4021-U mSTX

Nominated by the trade magazine Elektronik for the ‘Product of the Year’ 2025, the K4021-U mSTX motherboard from Kontron scores with the latest DDR5 memory technology, Intel graphics, and a new integrated NPU for dedicated AI acceleration.

The motherboard, which is available from Rutronik, supports up to four 4K60 HDR displays or two 8K displays simultaneously. The platform thus represents a significant advance in embedded computing technology and meets the requirements for the most demanding AI, industrial, and medical applications. (Read more.)

Sensor development platform

The STMicroelectronics STEVAL-MKI109D development platform allows engineers to monitor the behaviour of ST MEMS sensors. It is in stock at authorised distributor DigiKey.

This motherboard can help accelerate the time to market and maximise the performance of new product designs. It is compatible with ST MEMS adapter boards and supports I²C, I3C, and SPI data modes for very high output data rates. It can also manage the TDM interface. (Read more.)