🚀 AI-Powered Industrial Strength from Congatec: Meet the COM-HPC Module!

[Hasan S. Cemkan]

💡 The Single Solution for Next-Gen AI Workloads​

Congatec has introduced its new conga-HPC/cRX1 module, designed for industrial AI applications with integrated AI accelerators. This COM-HPC Client Size C module is equipped with AMD Ryzen AI Embedded X100 Series processors, combining processing, graphics, and neural processing units for demanding physical AI workloads.

🎯 Target Sectors​

This powerful module offers an ideal solution, especially for autonomous commercial vehicles operating in fields such as industrial automation, medical technology, robotics, and smart agriculture, logistics, and forestry.

🧠 Integrated Architecture for Physical AI​

Physical AI applications require real-time processing power to combine sensing, control, and decision-making processes in dynamic environments. The conga-HPC/cRX1 is designed to meet these needs:

• CPU Power: With up to 16 AMD "Zen 5" CPU cores clocked at up to 5.1 GHz, it handles sequential processing tasks such as motion planning, real-time control, and sensor fusion.
  
• GPU Performance: Parallel processing workloads like environmental perception and object detection are offloaded to the integrated AMD Radeon RDNA 3.5 GPU, featuring up to 40 compute units. This GPU delivers 59 TOPS INT8 inference performance and 29.7 TFLOPS FP32 processing capability, enabling it to run Large Language Models (LLMs) and multi-stream visual analytics locally without the need for external cards.
  
• NPU Efficiency: For continuous background tasks such as speech recognition and continuous image analysis, a dedicated AMD XDNA 2 NPU provides up to 50 TOPS of energy-efficient AI processing.
  

⚙️ Technical Specifications and Memory Infrastructure​

• Size: 120 mm × 160 mm (COM-HPC Client Size C).
  
• TDP: Configurable from 45 W to 120 W (standard 55 W).
  
• Operating Temperature: -40°C to +85°C industrial temperature range.
  
• Memory: Up to 128 GB of unified LPDDR5X-8533 memory soldered directly to the board for high data throughput tasks. This design enhances mechanical stability against shock and vibration and reduces data transfer latency.
  
• Storage: Optional NVMe storage up to 512 GB.
  

🔒 Industrial Interfaces and Cybersecurity​

• Connectivity: Up to 24 PCIe Gen4 lanes, 2x 2.5 GbE network interfaces, 4x USB 3.2 Gen2, 8x USB 2.0, 2x SATA 6 Gb/s, I²C, UART, GPIO, SMBus, and SPI channels.
  
• Display Support: Up to four independent 4K monitors via the integrated GPU.
  
• Cybersecurity: Development processes compliant with the IEC 62443-4-1 industrial cybersecurity standard and integrated TPM 2.0.
  

💻 Software Ecosystem and Virtualization​

• Software Development: Open-source AMD ROCm stack for high-performance computing and machine learning frameworks.
  
• Operating Systems: Microsoft Windows 11, Windows 11 IoT Enterprise, and Linux distributions.
  
• Ready-to-Use Solutions: Licensed ctrlX OS, Ubuntu Pro, and KontronOS applications under the aReady.COM initiative.
  
• Virtualization: Real-time control, HMI, AI execution, and IIoT gateway operations on a single physical module with aReady.VT.
  
• Remote Management: Remote management, diagnostics, and data collection with aReady.IOT software components.
  

✨ Why conga-HPC/cRX1?​

While traditional architectures require a separate PCI Express accelerator card with an x86 host module or proprietary SOM platforms, the conga-HPC/cRX1 combines an x86 CPU, GPU, and NPU in a single unit based on the open PICMG COM-HPC Client Size C form factor standard. This integration reduces overall physical space, lowers thermal dissipation requirements, and eliminates mechanical failure points associated with PCIe connector sockets in high-vibration industrial applications.

Offering up to 128 GB of unified LPDDR5X-8533 memory and up to 109 TOPS of combined AI performance (50 TOPS from NPU, 59 TOPS from GPU), this module stands out with its configurable thermal design power from 45 W to 120 W and its ability to operate in an industrial temperature range of -40°C to +85°C.