Solder-down SoM delivers low-power 64-bit solution for intelligent edge processing

Direct Insight has created a QNX 8 BSP (board support package) for Ka-Ro’s QS93 solder-down module with NXP’s i.MX93 processor. The combination of a feature-rich real-time OS allied to a powerful processor with dual ARM Cortex-A55 cores suits high-reliability IoT and embedded systems applications, including industrial automation, smart homes and cities, building control and energy, automotive and mass transportation, medical devices, robotics, and more – including safety-critical applications requiring IEC 61508 or IEC 62304 certification.

Ka-Ro Electronics’ QS93 is a 27mm x 27mm QFN-style solder-down SoM featuring NXP’s new i.MX93 low power, high-performance processor. Dual ARM Cortex-A55 cores running at 1.7GHz deliver performance comparable with earlier quad-core processors. The energy-efficient processor uses less than 1W under normal load conditions – and its optional low-drive mode can reduce that to sub-500mW. An industrial operating temperature range of -25C to +85C is supported, and the solder-down SoM format provides low cost and delivers excellent EMI performance and highly efficient thermal characteristics, meaning that usually no heatsink is needed – ideal for space-constrained applications.

QNX board support packages (BSPs) supply an abstraction layer of hardware-specific software that enables the implementation of QNX software in your system. Architecture and board-specific, BSPs look after initialisations and other hardware-specific tasks required to prepare an environment where your embedded system can run, serving as a delivery mechanism for the components defining startup behaviours. David Pashley, founder and managing director at Direct Insight, comments: “Our in-house developed BSP unlocks the full benefits of the QNX OS for the power-efficient Ka-Ro QS93 modules. QNX is ideal for real-time mission-critical, cybersecurity-conscious and safety-certified applications – and the BSP created by Direct Insight provides an ideal starting point for designing secure, high-availability industrial or medical embedded systems, lowering project risk and shortening time-to-market.”

The company’s QNX 8 BSP for Ka-Ro’s QS93 i.MX93 solder-down SoM provides a complete platform that permits users to employ the module in the QNX embedded design project. Included are drivers for various connectivity interfaces including dual Ethernet, watchdog timer, I2C, SPI, USB, SD card, UART and GPIO. A display driver is also in development. The BSP is free to download as a demo system, and the source code can be licensed on a per-project basis at an affordable fee. The company also provides enhancements to the BSP, including extra drivers and production-hardening and testing, on an additional services engagement basis.