Avnet Introduces MaaXBoard Mini for Embedded Computing and Smart Edge IoT Applications

By Tiera Oliver

Associate Editor

Embedded Computing Design

July 23, 2020

News

Avnet Introduces MaaXBoard Mini for Embedded Computing and Smart Edge IoT Applications

Production-ready single-board computer leverages NXP's i.MX 8M Mini processor, allows developers to focus on software development and integration.

Global technology solutions provider Avnet is adding the MaaXBoard Mini, a new single-board computer, to its portfolio of hardware designed to accelerate time-to-market and reduce costs for IoT developers. Based on NXP's i.MX 8M Mini processor, the MaaXBoard Mini is ideal for embedded computing and smart edge IoT applications.

The MaaXBoard Mini is built similar to the original MaaXBoard and adds a hardware video encoder to power video applications such as monitoring, visual inspection, and video conferencing. The MaaXBoard Mini is also available at a reduced price point, giving developers flexibility in their budgets when building IoT devices.
 
The MaaXBoard Mini has been designed to deliver what a developer needs to support and create a Linux, Android, Windows 10 IoT Core, or other OS based system. The platform offers on-board peripherals including 2 GB of DDR4 memory, a Gigabit Ethernet port, quad USB 2.0 host ports, MIPI-DSI, MIPI-CSI, WiFi, Bluetooth Low Energy, and MicroSD card slot. A Raspberry Pi hat compatible expansion connector also provides interfaces for UART, SPI, I2C, and GPIO. These combined capabilities make it an ideal platform for investigating AI, IoT, and multimedia applications.

Avnet designed the MaaXBoard Mini to take advantage of NXP's i.MX 8 family of application processors, which are based on the Arm Cortex-A53 and Cortex-M4 cores. These chips provide audio, voice, and video processing for applications from consumer home audio to industrial building automation and embedded computers.

Each MaaXBoard Mini is shipped with a custom passive heatsink and Quick Start guide to assist developers with getting started on their hardware or software development project. A user-supplied 5V/3A USB Type C power supply is required to power the board, and a 16 GB microSD card and a UART USB Serial translator are recommended for booting the MaaXBoard Mini Out of Box experience.

To further assist with development, Avnet offers supported Android 9.0 and Yocto images available for download, and connectivity into Avnet's IoTConnect cloud platform. For software debugging, an optional Microchip USB-to-UART evaluation board is recommended, allowing USB terminal access through a UART port on the 40-pin expansion connector.

The MaaxBoard mini is available in the Americas, Europe, and China for USD $72.50.

For more information on this product, please visit: https://www.avnet.com/shop/us/products/avnet-engineering-services/aes-mc-sbc-imx8mini-g-3074457345643866383?CMP=GL-Avnet-E14-cross-sell

Tiera Oliver, Associate Editor for Embedded Computing Design, is responsible for web content edits, product news, and constructing stories. She also assists with newsletter updates as well as contributing and editing content for ECD podcasts and the ECD YouTube channel. Before working at ECD, Tiera graduated from Northern Arizona University where she received her B.S. in journalism and political science and worked as a news reporter for the university’s student led newspaper, The Lumberjack.

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