Industrial grade motherboards by Advantech – AIMB series

It has been the second year since Unisystem has joined Advantech`s network as an official partner. Thanks to this cooperation, various innovative IoT solutions constantly expand our offer of displays, screens, and touch panels. This article will take a closer look at several products from the industrial-grade motherboards category – the AIMB Series.

We have already covered the topic of Advantech’s embedded industrial computers by presenting the ARK Series last year. When it comes to motherboards such as models belonging to the AIMB Series, variants such as, e.g., AIMB-277 and AIMB-287 are perfect solutions for deep learning inference applications – those that prioritize data capturing, processing and analysis as quickly as possible. The smaller, more compact brother of those models is palm-sized AIMB-U233. With enhanced computing power despite its size, it is perfect for sophisticated digitalized applications, especially for those with limited installation space.

The variants of Advantech’s AIMB Series

Each of the variants of the AIMB Series mentioned above is worth taking a closer look at:

1. AIMB-277 and AIMB-287. Mini-ITX Industrial Motherboards with 10th generation of Intel® Core™ Processors. High-functional and efficient for their dimensions (170×170 mm), with low power consumption (under 100 Watts), are intended for factory automation as well as medical and self-service applications.

2. AIMB-U233. UTX Industrial Motherboard powered by the 8th generation Intel® Core™ i7-8665UE processor. Measuring only 112.8×137 mm, combining compactness and computing performance with significant energy savings, such a product is ideal to be applied for AI, robotics, and IoT solutions requiring a kiosk integration.

Advantech’s AIMB Series – usage overview

Those selected models of industrial-grade motherboards from the AIMB series can be adapted to a wide range of applications thanks to some of their particular features — the AIMB-277, for example, distinguish itself by third-generation PCIe x16 (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express interface with a maximum, 16-lane configuration). That solution augments factory automation applications requiring high-speed I/O capabilities or edge medical applications necessitating high-performance graphics cards.

Both of Advantech’s AIMB-277 and AIMB-287 are IEC61000-4-2 level 4 (contact 8kV and air 15kV) certified – this ensures electrostatic protection when applied in sensitive factory or hospital solutions. Mentioned models are further IEC 60068-2-27 certified and can resist shock when installed in AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle), AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot), and other projects associated with transport or navigation.

AIMB-277 and AIMB-287 also come with TPM 2.0, an encryption IC with cryptographic keys for platform authentication. This feature provides hardware-based security and data protection from both digital and physical attacks, theft, or loss while mitigating cybersecurity threats.

On the other hand, a palm-sized AIMB-U233 motherboard was developed to meet the needs of smart factories and smart applications in general. Such solutions require enhanced computing power, integrated peripheral devices and fitting into such equipment’s limited installation space.

AIMB-U233 motherboard features M.2 M-key/B-key/E-key interface combined with 4-lane NVMe PCIe, increasing storage read/write speeds by up to 400% compared to a traditional SATA 3.0 SSD. Meeting demands for increased wireless connectivity, its M.2 E-key and M.2 B-key support integrates with Wi-Fi/BT and 4G LTE modules. Additionally, this motherboard’s rugged design delivers high-level protection against unwanted EMC interference.

All of the AIMB series mentioned variants use the WISE-DeviceOn management platform to avoid system failures through real-time hardware, software, and peripheral monitoring. WISE-DeviceOn allows staff to proactively identify and resolve any issues, reducing maintenance efforts and failures while maximizing IoT management efficiency – speaking of which, thanks to WISE-DeviceOn, retailers have the option of data acquisition and status visualization in operation centers. Thanks to this, it is fast and easy to analyze regional differences in shopping trends and upload new product information to their distribution networks.

Contact us to learn more about the industrial-grade motherboards from the AIMB series. Also, get to know more solutions by Advantech on Unisystem’s offer over here.