Jetson based mini-PCs offer choice of Nano, Xavier NX, or TX2 NX

Jetson based mini-PCs offer choice of Nano, Xavier NX, or TX2 NX

Jun 4, 2021 — by Eric Brown

— 154 views

Aetina’s “DeviceEdge Mini Series” edge AI systems run Ubuntu on Nvidia’s Jetson Nano, Xavier NX, or TX2 NX and offers M.2 with NVMe and options for up to 8x USB or up to 2x PoE. Aetina also announced Intel-based “SuperEdge” and “MegaEdge” systems with slots for Nvidia cards.

Aetina announced a “DeviceEdge Mini Series,” starting with three embedded mini-PCs, each of which run Ubuntu 18.04 on a choice of Nvidia’s Jetson Nano, Jetson Xavier NX, or the newest member of the Jetson family, the Jetson TX2 NX. We also take a brief look at two Intel-based Aetina AI inference systems revealed earlier this year that support Nvidia graphics cards: a SuperEdge system with a Xeon-D and support for Nvidia T4 cards and a MegaEdge with Coffee Lake and GEForce RTX-3900 support (see farther below).

DeviceEdge Mini M2 (left) and rear view for all three models
(click images to enlarge)

The DeviceEdge Mini Series, which we saw on EENews Embedded, supports edge AI applications in smart transportation, factories, retail, healthcare, robotics, and other AIoT use cases. The DeviceEdge Mini M1, M2, and M3 models have similar footprints and features, but with the following additions:

• M1 — adds 1x PoE PD 802.3at port, enabling system to be powered via Ethernet
• M2 — adds 2x PoE PSE 802.3af ports enabling system to power up to 2x PoE cameras at up to 100M
• M3 — adds 6x additional USB 3.1 Gen1 ports (8x total) for powering up to 8x USB cameras

DeviceEdge Mini M1 (left) and M2 front panels
(click images to enlarge)

Here are the three supported Jetson modules:

• Jetson Nano — 69.6 x 45mm; 4x -A57 @ 1.43GHz CPU; 128-core Maxwell GPU; 4GB LPDDR4; 16GB eMMC; 5W/10W; 0.5-TOPS
• Jetson TX2 NX — 69.6 x 45mm; 2x Denver and 4x -A57 CPU; 256-core Pascal GPU; 4GB LPDDR4; 16GB eMMC; 7.5W/15W; 1.33-TOPS
• Jetson Xavier NX — 69.6 x 45mm; 6x ARMv8.2 Carmel CPU; 384-core Volta GPU; 48 tensor cores; 8GB LPDDR4; 16GB eMMC; 10W/15W; 21-TOPS

The DeviceEdge Mini systems support Aetina’s EdgeEye real-time remote monitoring software, which also works on the SuperEdge and MegaEdge systems. The software is linked to an “iTons” one-key recovery button for resetting to default settings in case of failure.

DeviceEdge Mini M3 front panel and EdgeEye screenshot
(click images to enlarge)

In the “near future,” the products will be able to run an EdgeDeploy device deployment platform and an EdgeStore offering with a “one-stop service related algorithm,” says Aetina. Beyond this, Aetina plans to launch an DeviceEdge Mini M4 model that supports out-of-band (OOB) management and an M5 model with 5G support.

Although not mentioned in the announcement, Aetina’s DeviceEdge page shows an image for a larger, “coming soon” DeviceEdge Pro model that we are guessing is powered by the high-end Jetson AGX Xavier. Aetina is a Preferred Nvidia Partner known to LinuxGizmos readers for its Jetson carrier boards such as the Xavier NX based AN810-XNX and Nano powered AN110 and AeyeQ.

Aetina does not list the dimensions for the DeviceEdge Mini, but it appears to have roughly the same volume as Aaeon’s TX2 NX based Boxer-8230AI, which at 175.8 x 100 x 39mm, is wider but not as tall. Standard features include 3x USB 3.1 Gen1, USB Type-C OTG, GbE, micro-HDMI 1.4, and a DB15 port with UART, I2C CANBus, 3.3V, and 5x GPIO.

The DeviceEdge Mini is equipped with an M.2 M-key 2242 socket that supports a 128GB NVMe module. An M.2 E-key 2230 interface offers an optional Intel WiFi-ac module, and there are 2x optional antenna connectors.

The system provides recovery and reset buttons in addition to the remote recovery iTons button. There is a 12-24V DC input and -20 to 50°C support with 10% ~ 90% humidity tolerance. Options include a USB camera with a 12M cable.

SuperEdge AIS-D422-A1

The first member of Aetina’s high-end SuperEdge Series is the AIS-D422-A1, which is also available in a fully configured AIS-D422-A113A2T1 model with pre-64GB DDR4, 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD, and an Nvidia Tesla T4 card. Aetina supports Nvidia NGC AI models running on the card. Other systems with Nvidia T4 support include Neousys’ Coffee Lake based Nuvo-7166GC.

SuperEdge AIS-D422-A1 (left) and block diagram
(click images to enlarge)

The 406 x 267 x 109mm AI inference system supports up to 512GB DDR4 for its 6th Gen, octa-core Xeon-D-2146NT plus another up to 256GB for the T4 card. Dual PCIe Gen3 x16 (or dual x8 plus an x16) slots are available along with M.2 M-, E-, and B-key slots. Networking features include 8x GbE, 2x 10GbE, 2x 10GbE SFP+, and an IPMI LAN port.

The SuperEdge AIS-D422-A1 is further equipped with 4x SATA bays, 4x USB, and VGA and COM ports. There are 600W and 100-240V AC supplies and a 0 to 50°C range. No OS support was listed, but Ubuntu is likely on both the SuperEdge and MegaEdge systems.

MegaEdge AIP-FH31-A1

The MegaEdge AIP-FH31-A1 features an 8th/9th Gen Coffee Lake, hexa-core Core i5-9500T CPU (2.2GHz/3.6GHz). An optional base expansion unit includes a PCIe Gen3 x16 card that supports up to 250W cards including the Ampere architecture Nvidia RTX3070 or RTX3090. The base unit also includes an interface that is variably referred to as PCIe x1 and PCIe x4.

MegaEdge AIP-FH31-A1 detail view (left) and block diagram
(click images to enlarge)

The 343 x 244 x 146mm system can load up to 32GB DDR4 and offers 3x SATA bays and an M.2 M-key 2280 for additional storage. Other expansion incudes M.2 E-key and mini-PCIe slots with SIM.

The MegaEdge AIP-FH31-A1 is equipped with 4x GbE, 4x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0, and 4x COM ports. There are also DP, VGA, and DVI-D ports plus audio I/O. The system is powered by a 12-48VDC input and has a -20 to 60°C range.

MegaEdge AIP-FH31-A1 video overview

Further information

The DeviceEdge Mini systems will ship in July with pricing undisclosed. More information may be found in Aetina’s DeviceEdge Mini announcement and product page, as well as the M1, M2, and M3 product pages.

No pricing or availability information was provided for the SuperEdge and MegaEdge systems. More on the SuperEdge AIS-D422-A1 may be found in the January announcement and SuperEdge product page. More on the MegaEdge AIP-FH31-A1 may be found on the product page.