Variscite is pleased to announce the broad market launch of VAR-SOM-MX8M-PLUS and DART-MX8M-PLUS with the latest i.MX 8M Plus production silicon from NXP. The general availability launch takes place following Variscite’s highly successful selective launch in early 4Q2020. More than a hundred of its early access customers and partners already received the complete VAR-SOM-MX8M-PLUS and DART-MX8M-PLUS development kits for their own evaluation and end-product design.

The broad market launch will offer Variscite’s customers the option to select either commercial or industrial graded modules with production-ready hardware and software to facilitate their end product design and production.

System on Module Features

The new System on Module solutions run on a 1.8GHz (commercial grade) or 1.6GHz (Industrial grade) quad Cortex™-A53 ARM 64-bit core with 800MHz Cortex™-M7 real-time co-processor with dedicated Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI / ML) capabilities within an integrated NPU engine.

The VAR-SOM-MX8M-PLUS and the DART-MX8M-PLUS also offer advanced multimedia features and extensive connectivity interfaces such as high-performance 2D/3D GPU, H.265 HD video encode/decode, up to 4K HDMI, HD LVDS, high-quality voice processing, DSI certified dual-band Wi-Fi, BT/BLE, dual USB3, dual GbE, dual CAN-FD, and PCIe.

Pin2Pin Product Family Compatibility

Both SoMs are compatible with Variscite’s Pin2Pin product family, which allows our customers to enjoy significant long-term advantages of scalability options as well as reduced development time, costs, and risks.

The VAR-SOM-MX8M-PLUS is part of the VAR-SOM Pin2Pin product family, starting from i.MX6UL/6ULL modules through i.MX 6, i.MX 8M Nano, i.MX 8M Mini, up to i.MX 8X up to i.MX 8QuadMax based modules.

The DART-MX8M-PLUS is a tiny SoM measuring only 55x30mm, offering Pin2Pin compatibility with the i.MX 8M Mini and i.MX 8M based modules.

VAR-DT8MCustomBoard v2.0

Variscite’s broad market launch will also include an optimized version of VAR-DT8MCustomBoard v2.0, DART-MX8M-PLUS’s carrier board, to provide a better evaluation and reference platform for the DART-MX8M-PLUS specific interfaces and feature-set.

The VAR-DT8MCustomBoard also supports the DART-MX8M-MINI and the DART-MX8M for scalability between the different iMX 8M platforms.

VAR-SOM-MX8M-PLUS and DART-MX8M-PLUS Evaluation Kits

The evaluation kits of the VAR-SOM-MX8M-PLUS and DART-MX8M-PLUS include the SoM with the Symphony Board or the VAR-DT8MCustomBoard carrier board, respectively. The kit also includes an optional LVDS display with a touch panel, optional display bridges, and a new set of cameras that allow our customers to leverage the modules’ advanced multimedia features.

Availability and pricing:

The VAR-SOM-MX8M-PLUS and the DART-MX8M-PLUS System on Modules and associated evaluation kits are available for orders in both samples and production quantities. Please contact our sales team for further details.