Introduction

The SMARC-sAL28 is a SMARC half-size module using the NXPs LS1028 processor with dual-core ARM. It is designed on the latest SMARC 2.1 specification. The NXP Dual Cortex A72 LS1028A processor and a 3D GPU make the module powerful and flexibly deployable. It has up to five TSN-capable 1GB Ethernet ports and up to 8GB memory, which is twice the capacity as before. The new SMARC module, which is now in series production, thus achieves high network capability and performance for industrial applications.

The SMARC-sAL28 is available in three versions, which can be adapted to individual customer requirements: The first version has two TSN-capable 1GB Ethernet ports that can be used directly by the carrier; the second version has one TSN-capable 1GB Ethernet port. The third version offers six Ethernet ports with PHY on the carrier, five of which are TSN-capable.

All versions support up to 8GB DDR3L non-ECC or ECC memory down and have a 3D GPU and eMMC 5.1 onboard memory between 2 and 64GB. A dual-channel LVDS interface and two PCI Express® (PCIe) x1 interfaces are available.

In addition, the SMARC-sAL28 has one SDIO, four serial, one I2S, two I2C, two SPI, twelve GPIO and one CAN interface. Uboot serves as boot loader. The SMARC-sAL28 uses the Yocto Linux operating system and is designed for the industrial temperature range E2 from -40 to +85 degrees Celsius.

Typical application examples for the highly integrated module can be found in manufacturing automation. The modules are also used reliably in drive and motion control as well as industrial control. They are also integrated into IoT gateways, programmable logic controllers (PLC) and human-machine interfaces (HMI). 

Kontron also uses this module as the basis for the KBox A-230-LS, which can be used directly as an edge computer in TSN networks. The box PC has up to five TSN-capable 1GB Ethernet ports that meet IEEE 802.1-TSN specifications. Thereby, Kontron provides a cost-effective solution for implementing a TSN-capable IoT gateway from a single source. Kontron is thus building a bridge between IT and OT, hence enabling Industry 4.0 concepts based on future-oriented Ethernet protocol standards.