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New Orange Pi 4/4B with six-cores and Neural Processing Unit (NPU)

Shenzhen Xunlong Software recently introduced a new Orange Pi microcomputer. According to information provided by the Chinese company, the Orange Pi 4 measures 91 x 56 mm and features a Rockchip K3399 six-core system-on-chip SoC (ARM Mali-T860 MP4 GPU, 4GB of LPDDR4 memory, 16GB of storage). eMMC (expandable via a microSD card), a 24-pin connector, and a 40-pin General-purpose input / output (GPIO) connector.

Orange Pi 4 six-core system
Orange Pi 4B with Neural Processing Unit (NPU)

This microcomputer is also equipped with two camera connectors, one USB 3.0 jack, two USB 2.0 jacks, one USB 3.0 Type-C jack, HDMI 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet and 3.5mm audio jacks, and includes support for Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.1 LE.

The secondly introduced Orange Pi 4B model includes a Gyrfalcon Lightspeeur SPR2801S Neural Processing Unit (NPU), two USB 2.0 sockets, as well as a USB 3.0 Type-C socket.

Orange Pi 4/4B preliminary specifications:

  • SoC – Rockchip K3399 hexa-core big.LITTLE processor with two Arm Cortex A72 cores, four Cortex A53 cores, and an ARM Mali-T860 MP4 GPU with support for OpenGL 1.1 to 3.1 support, OpenVG1.1, OpenCL and DX 11
  • System Memory – 4 GB LPDDR4
  • Storage – 16 GB eMMC flash, micro SD card
  • NPU (Orange Pi 4B only) – Gyrfalcon Lightspeeur SPR2801S NPU delivering up to 2.8TOPS @ 300mW, 5.6 TOPS @ 100 MHz (peak performance)
  • Video Output/Display Interface
    • HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60 Hz
    • LCD connector for MIPI DSI display
    • USB-C port with DisplayPort Alternate mode
  • Video Decode – 4K VP9 and 10-bit H.265 video codec support up to 60 fps
  • Audio – 3.5mm audio jack for headphones; HDMI digital audio output; built-in microphone; ALC5651 codec
  • Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet port (via  RTL8211E transceiver), dual-band 802.11ac 2×2 MIMO WiFi and Bluetooth 5.0 (Ampak AP6256 module)
  • USB
    • Orange Pi 4 – 1x USB 3.0 port, 2x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x USB 3.0 type C port
    • Orange Pi 4B – 2x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x USB 3.0 type C port
  • Camera – 2x camera headers
  • Debugging – 3-pin serial header
  • Expansion
    • 40-pin GPIO 2.54mm pitch female header with 2x I2C, 1x SPI/UART, 8x GPIO, etc…
    • 24-pin connector for PCIe signals
  • Power Supply
    • 5V/3A via DC jack
    • 5V via type C portRK808 PMU
  • Dimensions – 91 x 56 mm

Source: https://www.cnx-software.com/2019/11/19/orange-pi-4-4b-sbc-rockchip-rk3399-soc-gyrfalcon-2801s-npu/

Industrial use of previous OrangePi development boards

Introduced in November 2017, the ModBerry M300 series, based on NanoPi NEO revolutionised the economic segment of Industrial IoT devices and proved, that automation and monitoring can be done effectively with low expenditure on industrial installations.

ModBerry M300 O1 based on OrangePi Zero Plus features Allwinner H5 (Quad-core Cortex-A53) SoC, moderate 512MB RAM, storage memory option with microSD slot, USB and Gigabit Ethernet port. The wireless communication is supported with onboard Wi-Fi module.

Offering much higher performance and wider feature range, the ModBerry M300 O2 features same SoC as M300 series, but thanks to OrangePi Zero Plus2 means, the device is equipped with onboard 8GB eMMC, extra microSD expansion slot as alternative and wired/wireless interfaces, e.g. HDMI, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0.

Rock Pi X - Next Intel-based clone of Raspberry Pi

Every fan of new technologies has heard of small single-board computers (SBC) in the form of Raspberry Pi. Raspberry debuted on the market in many different versions, and the current model is Model 4B. A lot of people got infected with it for DIY, programming or Linux. No wonder that many other companies are trying to replicate British success. One of them is Rock Pi, which has just presented Rock Pi X. Compared to many other SBCs available on the market, it does not use a processor based on ARM architecture, but a chip from Intel. However, it is already quite old and cheap CPU, but it translates into a low price of the device.

Next Intel-based Rock Pi X clone of Raspberry Pi
Rock Pi X (front look). Source: https://wiki.radxa.com/RockpiX

Another player on SBC market – Rock Pi X

Rock Pi X is a single-board computer with dimensions of 52 x 85 x 18 millimeters. The heart of the device is the Intel Atom x5-Z8300 processor from 2015, which has 4-cores and 4-threads clocked from 1.44 to 1.88 GHz, 2 MB Cache memory and integrated graphics Intel HD Graphics (Cherry Trail). RAM memory depends on the chosen variant and it can be 1, 2 or 4 GB DDR3L 1866 MHz. There is no built-in memory here, but there is a slot for MicroSD cards and eMMC modules. Model Rock Pi X A has no wireless connection (only RJ-45 socket), while Model B has a module 802.11ac WiFi + Bluetooth 4.2 LE.

Among the available connectors we will find one HDMI 1.4, headphone port, one USB 3.1 Gen 1, two USB 2.0, one USB type C with OTG support and a 40-pin GPIO identical to that of the Raspberry Pi. Most importantly, however, that the use of the x86 processor allows the normal installation and support of Windows 10, and not its prosthesis with the annotation ARM. However, it should be remembered that the discussed Atom was not a performance demon even at the time of its release. Rock Pi X will be available soon, suggested prices are as follows:

  • Model A 1GB RAM – $39
  • Model A 2GB RAM – $49
  • Model A 4GB RAM – $65
  • Model B 1GB RAM – $49
  • Model B 2GB RAM – $59
  • Model B 4GB RAM – $75
ModBerry M500 with Raspberry Pi’s 4

Industrial use of market SBCs

A year ago, TECHBASE released an updated version of the ModBerry M500 industrial IoT computer, replacing the aging Raspberry Pi 3 with a 3B+, giving it better performance. With the recent launch of the Raspberry Pi 4, TECHBASE has yet again, announced another upgrade to the M500, which now packs the latest single-board computer.

ModBerry M500 also utilizes many more SBC platforms, such as Orange Pi, NanoPi and Intel-based UpBoard. Find more information here: https://iiot-shop.com/product/modberry-m-series/