AAEON, renowned for its UP brand of developer boards and compact Mini PCs, has unveiled its latest innovation: the UP Squared i12 Edge. This compact Mini PC, measuring a mere 130mm x 94mm x 68mm, is a powerhouse designed to cater to the demanding needs of industrial automation applications, including AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) systems and IoT Gateways.
The UP Squared i12 Edge impresses with a range of peripheral device interfaces perfectly suited for its target industries. It features two USB Type-A ports and a USB Type-C port, all supporting the high-speed USB 3.2 Gen 2 standard. Moreover, it incorporates dual-stacked RJ-45 ports, equipped with Realtek RTL8111H-CG gigabit Ethernet connectivity, ensuring robust and reliable networking capabilities.
One standout feature of the UP Squared i12 Edge is its support for CNVi via its M.2 2230 E-Key interface, making it an excellent choice for wireless data exchange within the manufacturing sector, particularly for retrofitting factory equipment. Additionally, it offers support for AI (Artificial Intelligence) modules through an M.2 2280 M-Key slot. This empowers the already formidable CPU lineup, including up to i7 SKUs from the 12th Generation Intel® Core™ platform. This makes the UP Squared i12 Edge a prime candidate for AGV applications. Furthermore, users can opt to add an M.2 2230 E-Key for Wi-Fi connectivity, a feature complemented by the device’s onboard TPM 2.0 for those interested in deploying it as an IoT Gateway.
While the UP Squared i12 Edge ships with up to 128GB of onboard storage via an SSD, it also boasts support for SATA at 6Gb/s. Notably, the M.2 2280 M-Key slot can accommodate a four-lane PCIe Gen 4.0 module and NVMe, offering system integrators increased flexibility in storage options.
For display connectivity, the UP Squared i12 Edge offers a robust interface, including an HDMI 1.4b/DP 1.2 stack connector and DP 1.4a through the device’s USB Type-C port. This feature makes it a prime choice for deployments requiring edge functionality, such as smart parking management solutions that demand Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) capabilities. Additionally, the device’s flexibility extends to deployment options, offering both VESA and Wall Mounting configurations.
In conclusion, the UP Squared i12 Edge marks a significant milestone in AAEON’s UP brand lineup. Its compact size, robust features, and support for the latest Intel® Core™ processors make it a formidable contender in the world of industrial automation and IoT gateway solutions. With its range of peripheral interfaces, powerful CPU options, and versatile storage capabilities, it’s poised to empower industries with the computing power needed for demanding applications.
What is IoT Gateway
An IoT (Internet of Things) Gateway, often referred to simply as an IoT gateway, is a hardware device or software program that serves as an intermediary between IoT devices and the cloud or data center where data is processed, analyzed, and acted upon. IoT gateways play a crucial role in IoT ecosystems by providing several key functions:
Data Aggregation: IoT gateways collect data from a variety of IoT sensors, devices, and endpoints. These sensors can include environmental sensors, industrial machines, smart appliances, and more. The gateway aggregates data from these sources into a format that can be transmitted efficiently to the cloud.
Data Preprocessing: IoT gateways can preprocess data locally before transmitting it to the cloud. This preprocessing can involve data filtering, data compression, data encryption, and data transformation. By performing these tasks at the edge, IoT gateways reduce the volume of data sent to the cloud, which is especially valuable when dealing with limited bandwidth or latency-sensitive applications.
Connectivity: IoT gateways provide the necessary connectivity protocols to communicate with a wide range of IoT devices. They can support various wireless and wired communication protocols, such as Wi-Fi, Ethernet, cellular (3G/4G/5G), Zigbee, LoRa, and Bluetooth, ensuring compatibility with diverse IoT endpoints.
Local Processing: Some IoT gateways have embedded computing capabilities, such as microprocessors or FPGAs, that allow them to perform local analytics and decision-making. This is known as edge computing, where critical decisions can be made closer to the data source, reducing latency and improving real-time responsiveness.
Security: IoT gateways often include security features to protect data in transit and at rest. This includes encryption, authentication, access control, and the ability to detect and mitigate security threats at the edge.
Device Management: IoT gateways may offer device management capabilities, allowing administrators to remotely monitor and control connected IoT devices. This can include firmware updates, configuration changes, and troubleshooting.
Protocol Translation: Since IoT devices may use different communication protocols, IoT gateways can translate between these protocols to ensure seamless communication across the IoT network.
Reliability: IoT gateways are designed for robust and reliable operation in various environmental conditions, making them suitable for industrial, outdoor, and remote deployments.
In summary, an IoT gateway serves as a critical link between IoT devices and the cloud or data center, facilitating data collection, preprocessing, connectivity, security, and local processing. It plays a pivotal role in enabling IoT solutions by ensuring that data from devices is efficiently and securely transmitted for analysis and action, while also providing a degree of intelligence and autonomy at the edge.
