November 2016
52
I
ndustrIal
C
ontrol
& C
omputIng
The SMARC evolution in
embedded COM form factors
By Martin Unverdorben,
Kontron
In this article the author describes SM-
ARC2.0, the new SGET version of the
popular Computer-on-Modules small
form factor standard of his company,
and highlights the changes which it
incorporates.
n
The final Version 2.0 of the Smart Mobility
Architecture (SMARC) embedded comput-
ing format was announced by the Standard-
ization Group for Embedded Technologies
(SGET) SDT 0.1 in June 2016. In just three
years, SMARC has proved to be an innova-
tion boost for the ultra-low power embedded
market and it is this rapid success which has
largely contributed to the requirement for
Version 2.0 in a relatively short period. Essen-
tially, the SMARC2.0 specifications provide
an enhanced pinout to better accommodate
customer needs and processor interfaces,
perfectly matching the original standard
set in 2013 for low-profile form factor mod-
ules. While SMARC was born out of the
necessity for further development of Com-
puter-on-Modules (COMs) standards for
energy-saving ARM System on Chip (SoC)
processors, Intel subsequently improved the
power efficiency of its processors with Atom-
based SoCs and allowed x86 architecture
products to also benefit from the SMARC
format. Consequently, SMARC modules have
rapidly emerged as scalable building blocks
for enabling an entire new generation of
embedded computing applications.
Using SMARC, Systems Integrators can take
full advantage of the user-interface options
available to mobile device OEMs, providing
access to the smaller, low-cost display mod-
ules employed in smart phones, tablets and
advanced human machine interfaces. Aimed
at manufacturers of COMs, carrier board and
system developers requiring SoC-based ultra-
lowpower COMs inminiature format, the area
of application for SMARC modules is contin-
ually expanding, from solutions in the auto-
mation market to graphics and image-centric
devices which also require extremely low
energy consumption and have to withstand
extreme environmental conditions. The mod-
ules also serve as building blocks for very
small portable handheld devices as well as for
larger devices where consumption must not
exceed a few watts and the computing power
has to be particularly high.
Of course, Kontron is no stranger to SMARC.
As part of the SGET manufacturer-indepen-
dent initiative, it has always played a leading
role in its development going back to 2012
when the company completed the original
SMARC specification under the working title
Ultra Low Power Computer-on-Modules
(ULP-COM). Looking back, it is remarkable
how smoothly SGET was established and able
to quickly eliminate the usual standardization
bottlenecks. Clearly market demand played
an important role in this, allowing the embed-
ded market to benefit from an additional stan-
dards body for contributing to innovative
specifications, and totally capable of bringing
new standards to market within just a mat-
ter of months. With the SMARC standard in
place, Kontron was quick to address pent-up
market demand by launching in 2013 its first
highly scalable SMARC module families with
ARM SoC processors including the Freescale
i.MX 6, Texas Instruments Sitara 3874, and
NVIDIA Tegra 3. These enabled developers to
begin work immediately on engineering inno-
vative ultra-low power devices.
In fact, the smooth ratification of the SMARC
standard also underlines the power of Kon-
tron to innovate in its role as an international
technology leader and as a standardizer of
COMs. With over 15 years of experience in
the development of COMs, the company has
always provided extensive support along with
notably long-term product availability, allow-
ing industrial customers, partners andmodule
manufacturers to profit from the high level of
investment security available. Its success story
with COMs began in 1998 with DIMM-PC
which, in 2000, led to the ETX standard being
licensed worldwide. The X-board specifica-
tion followed in 2002 and ETX Express as
the technological basis for PICMGs COM
Express technology was launched in 2003.
COM Express was finally developed by mem-
bers of the PICMG standards consortium, and
Kontron was a major contributor to the tech-
nology. Over the years COM Express has been
Figure 1. SMARC-sAMX6i:
Ultra-Low Power ARM and
SOC-based SMARC Module
based on Freescale i.MX6-Fa-
mily with Single-, Dual and
Quad-Core versions
