Arduino’s Portenta X8 board presents designers with a compact, AI-capable System-on-Module SoM that features a powerful 9-core architecture that can run high-performance workloads for real-time applications that include connected edge computing, Autonomous Guided Vehicles (AGV), retail, home/building/industrial automation, smart agriculture, AI, and more. This 2-in-1 solution provides designers with the ease of Arduino-based control with and high-power processing of a Linux system. A pre-loaded Yocto OS is included for out-of-the-box testing.
With an operating temperature of -40°C to +85°C, this 25.40 x 66.04 mm board features the following processing architectures:
- 4x Cortex-A53 at up to 1.8 GHz per core (NXP i.MX 8M Mini)
- Cortex-M4 at up to 400 MHz (NXP i.MX 8M Mini)
- 3D and 2D GPUs (NXP i.MX 8M Mini)
- Cortex-M7 at up to 480 MHz (STMicroelectronics STM32H747)
- Cortex-M4 at up to 240 MHz (STMicroelectronics STM32H747)
The circuit operating voltage of the Portenta X8 is 3.3 V with 8 mA DC current per I/O pin. Real-time I/O control can run on a dedicated core for the 22x digital, 8x analogue, and 4x PWM control interfaces. The board can operate by applying 4.5-5.5 V to the supply pin, or it can be powered via the USB-C programming connector, with a power consumption between 200 mW and 4 W, depending on the workload.
In addition to the familiar Arduino programming ecosystem, supported languages include Python, Java, and Ruby, along with a customisable open-source Linux microPlatform OS, with Over-The-Air (OTA) update capabilities via the on-board Bluetooth 5.1 BR/EDR/LE and 65-Mbps 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity. Cloud-based DevOps and top-grade cybersecurity are provided by Foundries.io for better development and up-to-date protection against external threats. An NXP SE050C2 hardware security element provides on-board key generation, accelerated crypto operations, and secure storage for additional robustness.
Learn more about this powerful SoM in this official datasheet.
The Portenta family also includes turnkey solutions for industrial machine control at low power consumption, breakout boards for easier testing, developing, and debugging, and carrier boards that provide a wide range of physical connectivity options to interface Portenta with the world and other aspects of larger industrial devices. As with many Arduino products, shields for vision and additional connectivity provide a ready-made way to easily add functionality to your design.
And if you’re a Raspberry Pi ecosystem user, Arduino also offers a breakout board in the form of the Portenta Hat Carrier, which can be used with the Portenta X8 to create an industrial-grade single-board computer that is compatible with Raspberry Pi Hats for easy expandability while retaining the familiarity of the Arduino programming ecosystem. When docked using the high-density connectors on the back of the Portenta X8, users gain easy access to the CAN, ethernet, and USB peripherals, in addition to a microSD card slot, JTAG pins for simple debugging, 16x analogue I/Os, an onboard camera connector for machine vision, and a PWM fan connector for thermal management.
The Portenta Mid Carrier offers another alternative platform for fast IoT prototyping and integration of Arduino’s new 4G wireless modules, which are available in an EMEA-focussed model and a Global variant with added GNSS support. It also enables the use of Arduino’s GIGA Display Shield with Arduino’s PRO line of products. Learn more about this carrier and the 4G wireless modules here.
If you would like to evaluate the Portenta X8, either alone or with a carrier board, fill out the form below, and ipXchange will facilitate getting you a sample for your next commercial project.
(Images sourced from Arduino)
