Introduction
1. What is IFC67X1 Micro SoM?
The Penguin Edge IFC67X1 Micro SoM is a high performance tiny System on Module (SoM) solution for embedded systems designers. It is based on Qualcomm’s custom Octa-core 64-bit Kryo (385) CPU (Snapdragon 845 – Qualcomm SD845) processor for embedded applications. The plug-and-play IFC67X1 Micro SoM comes in an ultra-small form factor of 28mm x 50mm and provides pin, electrical, and form-factor compatibility across a wide product line of Snapdragon processor-based SoMs from Penguin Solutions for easy migration.
2, Does the Micro SoM have variants based on different configurations?
Yes. Penguin Solutions offers different SKUs of the Micro SoM. The available variants are described under the PRICING tab.
3. Does Penguin Solutions offer a reference carrier board for its SoMs or other form factors based on the Qualcomm SD845 (Snapdragon 845) processor?
Yes. Penguin Solutions offers a reference carrier board for this SoM. All native interfaces of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845(SDA845) processor are brought out on this carrier. Please stay tuned to our website for more details and availability on the reference design which shall comprise of the IFC67X1 SoM and the reference carrier.
4. Does Penguin Solutions provide any custom design solutions since some designs wouldn’t be able to use the standard SoM’s form factor and or features?
Yes, while we offer standard products off-the-shelf (OTS) on our website and through our multiple distributors, 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. For customers wanting to design their own unique form-factor carrier board to interface with the OTS IFC67X1 Micro SoM, we offer design assistance support packages that include dedicated engineer, reference schematics and design reviews—contact Penguin Solutions sales for more details. In addition, 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.
5. Where can I find more information about the IFC67X1 Micro SoM? What do I get when I buy an IFC67X1 Micro SoM? Is the device available internationally?
The Penguin Edge portion of the Penguin Solutions website has a lot of useful information about our SoMs at https://www.penguinsolutions.com/edge/products/system-on-modules. Please check on the exact product SKU for the pre-loaded software, available memory and supported temperature ranges. The IFC67X1 Micro SoM requires a carrier board (like all SoMs do) to power up and connect to peripheral devices and gain access to the extensive set of I/Os that are available on the Micro SoM. If you are considering the IFC67X1 Micro SoM for the first time, please purchase the comprehensive SYS67X1 reference design, which includes the Micro SoM, the reference carrier board, and a starter kit. The Penguin Solutions Snapdragon processor-based Micro SoMs are all cross-compatible (pin, connector, and form factor) with Penguin Solutions reference carrier board designs, ensuring a smooth path to migrate/upgrade to new Snapdragon processor-based Micro SoMs in the future. Once you register the product with penguinsolutions.com, you would get dedicated support from Penguin Solutions. 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 IFC67X1.
6. Does Penguin Solutions have a blog?
Yes! You can find our periodic blogs 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.
General
7. What are the accessories available?
Our website https://www.penguinsolutions.com/edge/products/accessories lists 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 IFC67X1 does not include support for a wireless modem. Third-party cellular modem dongles can be connected to the IFC67X1 based reference design 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 Edge Micro SoM.
9. What is the storage capacity of the IFC67X1 Micro SoM? Is it expandable?
The on-board storage (UFS) capacity is 64GB. Storage can be expanded by connecting a Micro-SD card or USB storage on the SYS67X1 reference design.
10. What are the performance details of the IFC67X1? What is the speed of the RAM?
The IFC67X1 Micro SoM is based on the Qualcomm SDA845 (Snapdragon 845) processor, which includes custom Qualcomm® Kryo™ Quad-core 64-bit ARM V-8 compliant CPUs organized as two clusters viz., Performance@2.8GHz each and Efficiency@1.8GHz each with 2MB shared L3 cache and 3MB system cache.
The on=board 4GB LPDDR4X RAM operates at 1866 MHz.
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 is the stacked height of the SoM mounted on the carrier board?
The height of the IFC6701 Micro SoM is between 5.9mm to 6.6mm depending on the presence of the EMI shield. The full height when mounted on mating connectors on the carrier board is between 6.8mm and 7.5mm. Please check on product SKU details for the presence of the EMI shield.
12. What types of displays are supported and at what resolutions?
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 (SDA845) natively supports dual-link MIPI-DSI and USB-C with DP Alternate Mode.
The SYS67X1 reference design has a 51-pin FI-R DSI connector with support for dual MIPI-DSI ports. Note that the displays are not provided as peripherals with the SYS67X1 reference design. They can be purchased from https://www.penguinsolutions.com/edge/products/accessories.
13. What are the capabilities of the video Decoder/Encoder on the IFC67X1 Micro SoM?
Please refer to https://developer.android.com/guide/appendix/media-formats.html for supported codecs from Android. Hardware accelerated capabilities of the SDA845 SoC:
|
Supported Codec |
Profile(s) |
Resolution/Bitrate/Framereate |
| Video Decode |
H.265 (HEVC) |
Main profile(8-bit/10-bit) up to level 6 |
720p/120Mbps/480fps 1080P/120Mbps/240fps 3840×2160/120Mbps/60fps 4096×2160/120Mbps/60fps 4096×2304/120Mbps/30fps |
| H.264 (AVC) |
(Constrained) Baseline, main, (Constrained) high profiles; up to level 5.2 |
720p/120Mbps/480fps 1080P/120Mbps/240fps 3840×2160/120Mbps/60fps 4096×2160/120Mbps/60fps 4096×2304/120Mbps/30fps |
| H.263 |
Profile 0; up to Level 70 |
720×576/16mbps/30fps 864×480/16mbps/30fps |
| MPEG-4 |
Simple, Advanced simple profiles; up to levels 6 and 5, respectively |
1080P/40Mbps/30fps |
| MPEG-2 |
Main profile |
1080P/40mbps/30fps |
| VC-1 |
Adv Main, Simple and High profile |
1080P/20mbps/30fps |
| DivX |
DivX 4/5/6 |
1080P/10mbps/30fps |
| VP8 |
Profile 0, Version 0/1/2/3 |
720p/100Mbps/240fps 1080P/100Mbps/240fps 3840×2160/100Mbps/30fps 4096×2160/100Mbps/30fps 4096×2304/100Mbps/24fps |
| VP9 |
Profile 0; 8-bit; Level 5.1 Profile 2; 10-bit; Level 5.1 |
720p/120Mbps/480fps 1080P/120Mbps/240fps 3840×2160/120Mbps/60fps 4096×2160/120Mbps/60fps 4096×2304/120Mbps/30fps |
| Video Encode |
H.265 (HEVC) |
Main profile 8-bit,up to level 6; Main profile 10-bit,up to level 6 (10-bit HDR encoding with HLG standard only) |
720p/120Mbps/480fps 1080P/120Mbps/240fps 3840×2160/120Mbps/60fps 4096×2160/120Mbps/60fps 4096×2304/120Mbps/30fps |
| H.264 (AVC) |
Baseline, main, high profiles; up to level 5.1 |
720p/120Mbps/480fps 1080P/120Mbps/240fps 3840×2160/120Mbps/60fps 4096×2160/120Mbps/60fps 4096×2304/120Mbps/30fps |
| H.263 |
Profile 0; up to Level 70 |
352×288/2Mbps/30fps 864×480/2Mbps/30fps |
| MPEG-4 |
Simple profile; till level 6 |
720P/4Mbps/30fps |
| VP8 |
Profile 0, Version 0/1/2/3 |
720p/100Mbps/240fps 1080P/100Mbps/120fps 3840×2160/100Mbps/30fps 4096×2160/100Mbps/30fps 4096×2304/100Mbps/24fps |
14. What are the camera capabilities of the IFC67X1 Micro SoM?
The IFC67X1 Micro SoM has up to three MIPI-CSI camera interfaces that support 4 lanes from CSI0, CSI1 and CSI2 each. Please check on the exact product SKU for the number of camera interfaces supported. 2×14-bit ISP that are 16MP+16MP@60fps capable Dual simultaneous camera capability is possible on a system built on this SoM.
Penguin Solutions platforms are typically validated with a Sony IMX230 sensor (21MP) based camera module for 4K@30fps capture and record. Note that the camera is not provided as part of the SYS67X1 reference design. It can be purchased as an accessory from https://www.penguinsolutions.com/edge/products/accessories.
15. How much power does the SoM draw? Is it possible to measure the power?
The IFC67X1 SoM takes 3.8V Power Input. The reference design is powered by a 12V/3A wall adaptor. Our products typically offer support for 7V-16V power input range. The total power consumed by the SYS67X1 reference design ranges between 6W to 17W when different use cases are executed. There are a few test points made available to measure run-time power on the board. The input current through the DC jack can be measured during different use-cases. Please note that we run the Qualcomm Trepn™ profiler as part of our validation process on all of our stock Android releases.
16. What are the audio capabilities?
Audio is brought out as line-outs, HPH and mic-in from the integrated PMIC audio codec on the SoM. Audio is also available from the USB lines. The SYS67X1 reference design comes with a microphone for recording and a combo jack for microphone and speaker out. It also has an audio header and details of these connectors can be found in the User Guide or HRM documents.
17. What are the sensor capabilities?
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 (SDA845) processor’s Hexagon DSP cluster has a dedicated sensor core to support always-on sensor-aware apps.
18. What documents are provided? Are board design files also provided?
We provide datasheets, user guide and a Hardware Reference Manual. Schematics are not provided for the IFC67X1 Micro SoM. Board design files 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.
19. What is the support model after products are purchased?
Penguin Solutions offers a range of standard products off-the-shelf (OTS) on its website and through our distributors (Arrow/Mouser/Atlantik). 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.
20. The IFC67A1 SKU is listed as Build-To-Order. What is the difference between this version and the IFC6701 version? Do we miss any features if there are only 2 B2B connectors between the SoM and the carrier board?
The IFC67A1 SoM is a Build-To-Order SKU and thus has an MoQ of 100 units for ordering. Please contact our sales team for specific details and lead times. The additional features that are available on the IFC67A1 SoM are listed below and all of these are available on the third IO connector (IO 3). Note that IO1 and IO2 connectors are exactly the same as that of IFC6701 SoM.
-
- Additional USB 3.0 lines. On the SYS67A1 reference design, the USB Type A connector will operate at USB3.0 speeds
- An additional MIPI-CSI interface (CSI1). On the SYS67A1 reference design, all three MIPI-CSI interfaces are operational
- Lines for Battery and charging capabilities (the battery header is thus redundant on the SYS6701)
- An additional PCIe interface (PCIe0)
Networking, IO and Wireless
21. Does the device support networking and wireless communication?
Supported connectivity includes 802.11ac 2X2 MU-MIMO 2.4GHz/5GHz + Bluetooth 5.xLE (available via WCN3990) and GPS (supported via Qualcomm SDR845).
22. 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.
23. What are the IO interfaces available on the SoM?
Standard I/O interfaces including I2C, SPI, UART, UIM and GPIOs are available. The interfaces available from the SoM are:
- 2x Camera Control I2C
- 1× PCIe Gen 2; 1x PCIe Gen 3
- 1× 4 bit SDC for SDcard
- 2× Line Out; 1x Ear out; 5× Mic In; 1× Headphone Out, 1xSlimBUS1; 1x MI2S
- 1x Sensor Core I2C
- 1x Backlight Regulator; 10x Regulator Out
Please refer to the product specifications in the Hardware Reference Manual or the datasheet for more information.
Software
24. What operating systems are supported and what is the OS roadmap for the IFC67X1 Micro SoM?
A Board Support Package (BSPs) for Android 10 is available today as an officially supported package on the Penguin Solutions TechWeb. Periodic releases shall be provided with feature improvements on this package. 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.
25. 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
26. 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 IFC67X1 Micro SoM based reference design) pressed before powering on the board and release it after the board has powered on.
27. 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 can recover through a procedure that uses the USB port. Please logon to our Techweb repository to access the necessary document.
28. Is the Hexagon DSP available on the IFC67X1 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 IFC67X1 micro SoM comes with the Hexagon™ 685 DSP with dual-Hexagon vector processor 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 Hexagon DSP code modules. Please checkhttps://developer.qualcomm.com/software/hexagon-dsp-sdk for downloading the SDK.
29. 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. Please contact our sales team if this is a requirement for your product.
Nevertheless, it is possible to side-load 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.
