Introduction
1. What is IFC6640 SBC?
The Penguin Edge IFC6640 SBC is a full-fledged Single Board Computer (SBC) solution based on Qualcomm’s custom quad-core 64-bit ARM®v8 ISA compatible Snapdragon 820 processor (APQ8096) for embedded applications. The production-ready IFC6640 SBC comes in a standard pico-iTX form factor of 100mm x 72mmwithout compromising on direct access to a rich set of I/Os. This platform provides a perfect environment for a variety of unique Android and Linux based industrial embedded applications such as hi-tech smart visual technologies, Computer vision and Video Analytics, Specialized photography use-cases and Medical devices.
2. Does Penguin Solutions offer other form factors based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 (APQ8096) processor?
Yes. Penguin Solutions offers a SoM in an ultra-small form factor of 28mm x 50mm and a reference design that includes this SoM and a full-fledged development carrier board (SYS6601 Reference Design). Please refer to the link https://www.penguinsolutions.com/edge/products/reference-designs/qualcomm-snapdragon-820-inforce-6601-reference-design for more details on this product.
3. Does Penguin Solutions provide any custom design solutions since some designs wouldn’t be able to use the standard form factor and or features?
Yes, while we offer standard products off-the-shelf (OTS) on our website and through our distributor, Arrow Electronics, we also have a strong background in customized hardware and software solutions. We offer pre-validated build-to-order (BTO) configurations, as well as configure-to-order (CTO) options for existing products. Penguin Solutions also offers full custom hardware design and associated software/device driver development, for those projects where a unique hardware design is required to meet sophisticated technical challenges.
4. Where can I find more information about the IFC6640 SBC? What do I get when I buy an IFC6640 SBC? Is the device available internationally?
The Penguin Edge portion of the Penguin Solutions website has a lot of useful information about our SBCs at https://www.penguinsolutions.com/edge/products/single-board-computers-sbc.
Please check on the exact product SKU for the pre-loaded software, available memory and accompanying starter kits, which include items such as acrylic base, power adapters, and cables. Once you register the product with Penguin Solutions, you would get dedicated support from us.
The board ships to most places worldwide and relevant shipping and local tax/customs duty charges may apply. Please contact PenguinEdgeSales@penguinsolutions.com for pricing details or any additional questions that you may have before buying an IFC6640.
5. Does Penguin Solutions have a blog/newsletter?
Yes! We publish a periodic newsletter which is available at https://www.penguinsolutions.com/edge/resources/blog/category/newsletters/. Our blogs are available at https://www.penguinsolutions.com/edge/resources/blog/category/articles Here you can keep up with all of the latest information about Penguin Solutions products, conference/trade show appearances, and innovative customer case-studies and applications.
6. Does Penguin Solutions offer Warranty replacement/return materials authorization (RMA)?
Yes, please contact our sales team at PenguinEdgeSales@penguinsolutions.com for specific details for your product.
General
7. What are the accessories available?
Our website https://www.penguinsolutions.com/edge/products/accessories all the available accessories. Please note that User Guides and product datasheets are available for all accessories.
8. Does the board support a cellular or GSM connection?
The IFC6640 does not include support for a wireless modem. Third party cellular modem dongles can be connected to the IFC6640 system via USB ports and may require special drivers from the respective manufacturers. We can also help you design in a 3rd party cellular modem module in your custom carrier board that is mated with an Penguin Solutions SBC.
9. What is the storage capacity of the IFC6640 SBC? Is it expandable?
The on board storage (UFS) capacity is 64GB. Storage can be expanded by connecting a Micro-SD card. Please check on the exact product SKU for details on pre-loaded software and available memory.
10. What are the performance details of the IFC6640? What is the speed of the RAM?
The IFC6640 SBC is based on the Snapdragon 820 processor, which includes ARM® Cortex®-A72 class computing through its custom Qualcomm® Kryo™Quad-core ARMv8 64-bit CPUs organized as two clusters viz., Gold@2.15GHz each with 32KB of L1 I-Cache, 24KB L1 D-Cache, L2 1MB, and Silver@1.593GHzeach with 32KB of L1 I-Cache, 24KB L1 D-Cache, L2 512KB. The Qualcomm® Adreno™ 530 is capable of 500+ GFLOPS of general purpose compute and provides support for OpenGL ES 3.2 and OpenCL 2.0.Note that these libraries are provided as binaries only. The onboard 4GB LPDDR4 RAM operates at 1866MHz All our Android releases are benchmarked with Antutu and validated with the Qualcomm Trepn™ Profiler to ensure that all cores are capable of operating at their maximum frequency.
11. What types of displays are supported and at what resolutions?
Primary, dual-link MIPI-DSI up to WQXGA (2560 × 1600) 24bpp @60 Hz refresh + Micro HDMI(2.0 spec.) output of 4K@60 Hz refresh are the displays supported.
The IFC6640 SBC has a 51-pin FI-R DSI connector with support for dual MIPI-DSI ports and a Type-D HDMI port. Note that the displays are not provided as peripherals with the IFC6640 SBC. They can be purchased from https://www.penguinsolutions.com/edge/products/accessories.
12. What are the capabilities of the video Decoder/Encoder on the IFC6640 SBC?
Please refer to https://developer.android.com/guide/appendix/media-formats.html for supported codecs from Android. Hardware accelerated capabilities of the APQ8096 SoC are:
|
Supported Codec |
Profile(s) |
Resolution/Bitrate/Framerate |
| Video Decode |
H.265 (HEVC) |
Main profile up to level 5.1 |
1080P/40mbps/30fps 1080P/60mbps/60fps 3840×2160/100mbps/60fps 4096×2160/100Mbps/60fps |
| H.264 (AVC) |
Baseline, main, high profiles; up to level 5.1 |
1080P/40mbps/30fps 1080P/60mbps/60fps 3840×2160/100Mbps/60fps 4096×2160/100Mbps/60fps |
| H.263 |
Profile 0; up to Level 70 |
864×480/2mbps/30fps |
| MPEG-4 |
Simple, Advanced simple profiles; up to levels 8 and 5, respectively |
1080P/40mbps/30fps 1080P/60mbps/60fps |
| MPEG-2 |
Main profile |
1080P/40mbps/30fps |
| VC-1 |
Adv Main, Simple and High profile |
1080P/40mbps/30fps 1080P/60mbps/60fps |
| DivX |
DivX 3.11/4/5/6 |
DivX 3.11 – 720×480/2mbps/30 fps DivX 4.x/5.x/6.x – 1080P/10mbps/30fps |
| VP8/VP9 |
|
1080P/20mbps/30fps 3840×2160/100Mbps/30fps |
| Video Encode |
H.265 (HEVC) |
Mainprofile up to level 5.1 |
1080P/40mbps/30fps 3840×2160/100mbps/30fps 4096×2160/100Mbps/24fps |
| H.264 (AVC) |
Baseline, main, high profiles; up to level 5.1 |
1080P/40mbps/30fps 3840×2160/100Mbps/30fps 4096×2160/100Mbps/24fps |
| H.263 |
Profile 0; up to Level 70 |
864×480/2mbps/30fps |
| MPEG-4 |
Simple, Advanced simple profiles; up to levels 8 and 5 respectively |
1080P/40mbps/30fps |
| VP8 |
|
1080P/20mbps/30fps 3840×2160/100Mbps/30fps |
13. What are the camera capabilities of the IFC6640 SBC?
The IFC6640 SBC has 2 camera connectors that support 4 lanes from CSI0 and CSI2.CSI0 has support for CMOS and CCD sensors and is capable up to 28MP sensor and CSI1 has webcam support and is capable up to 13MP sensor. Dual camera capability is possible. Penguin Solutions platforms have been validated with a Sony IMX230 sensor (21MP) based camera module for 4K@60fps capture and record. Note that this camera module accessory (ACC1H70) can be purchased from https://www.penguinsolutions.com/edge/products/accessories
14. How much power does the board draw? Is it possible to measure the power?
The IFC6640 SBC is powered by a 12V/2A wall adaptor. Our products typically offer support for 7V-16V power input range. The total approximate power drawn by the IFC6640 SBC ranges between 6W to 17W when different use cases are executed.
There are test points made available to measure run-time power. Please refer to the user guide for more details on these test points. The input current through the DC jack can also be measured during different use cases. Note that we run the Qualcomm Trepn™ profiler as part of our validation process on all of our stock Android releases.
15. What are the audio capabilities?
Audio is available through HDMI, USB, and speaker out. The IFC6640 SBC also comes with a microphone for recording and a combo jack for microphone and speaker out. The HDMI interface has an 8 channel audio with 7.1 channel surround sound, with support to Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master.
16. What are the sensor capabilities?
Snapdragon 820 processor’s Hexagon DSP cluster has a dedicated sensor core to support always-on sensor-aware apps. Onboard the IFC6640 SBC, a 3D accelerometer and a 3D gyroscope are available through the STMicro LSM6DS3sensor module.
17. What documents are provided? Are board design files also provided?
We provide datasheets, user guide and a Hardware Reference Manual. Board design files and schematics are proprietary and are the intellectual property of Penguin Solutions, and hence not provided. All software releases are accompanied with release notes, user guides and application notes that describe the installation procedure.
18. What is the support model from Penguin Solutions after products are purchased?
Penguin Solutions offers a range of standard products off-the-shelf (OTS) on its website and through our distributor, Arrow Electronics. Apart from these, it offers pre-validated build-to-order (BTO) configurations, as well as configure-to-order (CTO)options for existing products. In addition, we also offer full custom hardware design and associated software/device driver development, for those projects where a unique design is required to meet sophisticated technical challenges. All purchases of Penguin Solutions products get unlimited access to the online TechWeb support portal, which provides a host of technical documentation and software downloads. Purchasers are also provided free technical support for two support tickets. For a sustained technical support, Penguin Solutions offers Design Assistance Support Contracts for shorter periods of time and Annual Support Contracts for its customers who would like unlimited prioritized technical support. Please contact Penguin Solutions to obtain more details of the support contracts.
Networking, IO and Wireless
19. Does the device support networking and wireless communication?
Supported connectivity includes Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11ac 2X2 MU-MIMO 2.4GHz/5GHz + Bluetooth 4.1LE (available via Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174) and GPS (supported via Qualcomm WGR7640).
20. How can I change the MAC address for WiFi/BT/Ethernet on my board?
MAC addresses are fixed at the factory. Changing them should not be necessary since the correct addresses are programmed before the board is shipped. If it is still required, please refer to the Release Notes and App notes available on Penguin Solutions TechWeb support portal.
21. What are the IO interfaces available?
Standard I/O interfaces including GbE, I2C, SPI, UART, UIM, GPIOs, and on-board Serial Console are available. The Snapdragon 820 processor supports 1x USB 3.0and 1 x USB 2.0 interfaces. The 6640SBC has one USB 3.0 type A (Host only) and one USB 2.0 micro AB (Device only with OTG support) connector. We also provide a 40 pin expansion header with accessible GPIOs available for users. Please refer to the product specifications in the Hardware Reference Manual or the datasheet for more information.
Software
22. What operating systems are supported and what is the OS roadmap for the IFC6640 SBC?
Board Support Packages (BSPs) for Android Marshmallow and Nougat are available today as officially supported packages on Penguin Solutions TechWeb. An Ubuntu/Debian Linux based BSP would soon be made available and please stay tuned to our website for an announcement on this package. Periodic releases shall be provided with feature improvements on both these packages. Penguin Solutions also upgrades the BSPs to newer Android releases and upstream Linux kernel to support feature improvements on its platforms. Please stay tuned for announcements on our website for update releases.
23. Is root access possible on Penguin Solutions boards? Could you please explain how to get root privileges in Android?
Yes. As Android derives from the Linux kernel, rooting an Android device gives similar access administrative permissions as on Linux. Please give below commands in adb shell to get root privileges #adb root #adb remount Note that root access to the app space is not provided by default by the BSP.
24. Is fastboot supported? How to enter fastboot?
Yes. To go to fastboot mode, keep the Vol-button (for exact location, check the Quick Start Guide [QSG] document for the IFC6640 SBC) pressed before powering on the board and release it after the board has powered on.
25. I’ve modified the boot partitions on my board and the board is no longer booting. What should I do?
If the UFS (flash memory) partitions have been erased or the partition table has been corrupted, you may have to obtain a Return Merchandize Authorization (RMA) for the board to be shipped back to Penguin Solutions to fix the issue. There are no other alternatives when a board is bricked in this manner. In particular, please avoid erasing the SBL partition.
26. Is the Hexagon DSP available on the IFC6640 platform?
Yes. Qualcomm’s Hexagon DSP architecture is designed to deliver performance with low power over a variety of heterogeneous computing applications. It has features such as hardware assisted multithreading, privilege levels, VLIW, SIMD and instructions geared toward efficient signal processing. The IFC6640 SBC comes with the Hexagon™ 680 DSP with dual-Hexagon vector processor (HVX-512) designed for 825 MHz for ultra-low-power audio and computer vision processing.
Qualcomm also opens up a comprehensive Hexagon SDK for all its processors that provides for a complete environment to generate dynamic HexagonDSP code modules. This SDK would soon be available for the Snapdragon 820. Please check https://developer.qualcomm.com/forums/qdevnet-forums/multimedia-optimization-hexagon-sdk for updates on the SDK availability.
27. How can I get kernel debug messages?
Connect the device’s serial port to the host PC. Boot into fastboot mode and issue the following command – fastboot -c “console=ttyHSL0,115200n8r androidboot.hardware=qcom” boot boot.img
Debug messages should start to show up.
28. Why isn’t Google Play (previously Android Market) available on my board?
Google Play is part of Google Mobile Services(GMS) and is licensed separately by Google. This is usually available on commercial Android devices. Though our hardware is capable of meeting requirements of the Google Test Suite that would lead to GMS certification, we have not added this to our product. Nevertheless, it is possible to sideload any Android application using the following commands:
#adb devices
#adb mount
#adb remount
#adb install apk
Should you have further questions not answered by the above FAQ and would like to have them included here, please contact PenguinEdgeSales@penguinsolutions.com.
