Embedded Single Board Computers

Industrial embedded boards are highly versatile and suitable for applications across various industries:

1. Industrial Automation:
   • Control and monitoring of machines (PLC systems, HMI solutions).
   • Edge computing and data acquisition in production facilities.
2. Transportation and Logistics:
   • Vehicle telematics, fleet management, and infotainment systems.
   • Control systems in railway vehicles or aircraft.
3. Medical Technology:
   • Devices for imaging, patient monitoring, or portable diagnostic instruments.
4. IoT and Smart Cities:
   • IoT gateways, sensor hubs, and intelligent control systems.
   • Applications in surveillance cameras, traffic management, or building automation.
5. Retail and Kiosk Systems:
   • POS terminals, ticketing machines, and digital advertising displays.
6. Telecommunications and Networks:
   • Routers, network switches, and edge servers.
7. Military and Aerospace:
   • Systems for control, navigation, and surveillance in harsh environments.

Thanks to their flexibility and robustness, embedded boards form the foundation for reliable and customizable industrial solutions.

The selection of an embedded board requires an analysis of the specific requirements:

1. Application Area:
   • Is high computational power required? (e.g., for image processing)
   • Are real-time capabilities important? (e.g., for automation)
2. Size and Form Factor:
   • Space requirements in the target device: ATX, Mini ITX, or even more compact?
3. Interfaces:
   • What connections are needed? (e.g., USB, COM, GPIO, CAN, LAN)
   • Are special bus systems supported? (e.g., PCIe, M.2, Mini PCIe)
4. Temperature and Environmental Conditions:
   • Is an extended temperature range (-40°C to +85°C) required?
   • Protection against moisture, dust, or vibrations?
5. Power Consumption and Cooling:
   • Is a fanless design necessary? (e.g., in noise-sensitive environments)
   • What is the power consumption?
6. Long-term Availability and Support:
   • Is long-term availability (5-10 years) critical?
   • Is there a fixed BOM offer for consistency?
7. Expansion Options:
   • Is there a need for additional modules or memory? (RAM, SSDs, GPU)

The differences mainly lie in the sizes, functionalities, and use cases of the boards:

• ATX (Advanced Technology Extended):
  Standard form factor for desktop PCs (305 × 244 mm). Offers many expansion slots (PCIe, PCI) and space for powerful CPUs, RAM, and connections. Ideal for workstations or high-performance industrial systems.
• micro ATX:
  Smaller than ATX (244 × 244 mm), with fewer expansion slots but still powerful. Suitable for space-saving industrial PCs with medium power requirements.
• Mini ITX:
  Very compact (170 × 170 mm), ideal for embedded and IoT applications. Provides basic connection options with limited space.
• Pico ITX:
  Even smaller (100 × 72 mm), for ultra-compact devices like edge computing platforms, portable devices, or space-critical industrial applications.
• Slot CPUs:
  Motherboards that are directly inserted into bus boards or backplanes. This separation allows modular systems where the CPU and expansion slots can be flexibly adjusted.
• Bus Boards (Backplanes):
  Passive circuit boards with slots for slot CPUs, expansion cards, or memory modules. Especially used in modular industrial PC systems like rackmount enclosures.
  3.5″ Boards:
  Compact single-board computers (146 × 102 mm) with integrated CPU and connections. Popular in industrial applications requiring reliability and compact dimensions.

The choice of the board depends on the requirements for size, connection variety, power consumption, and use scenario.