From Entry-level to High-performance: Selection Guide for Allwinner T Series SoMs
In the fields of industrial control, IoT, and edge computing, Allwinner Technology's T series processors have become the choice of an increasing number of customers due to their excellent performance and stable industrial-grade quality. As a strategic partner of Allwinner Technology, Forlinx Embedded has developed multiple SoM products based on the T series processors, covering the full range of scenario requirements from lightweight applications to high-performance computing.
Facing the three mainstream star products, namely the FET113i-S SoM, the FET527N-C SoM, and the FET536-C SoM, how should engineers make their selections? This article will analyze the core configuration, functional features and industry adaptability in an all-round way to help you find the T series SoM solution that matches the project requirements.
FET113i-S SoM
For cost-sensitive industrial projects, Forlinx Embedded's FET113i-S SoM is an extremely advantageous choice. This industrial-grade SoM is built based on the Allwinner T113-i industrial-grade processor, and its price including tax can be as low as only $14.
1. Multi-Core Heterogeneous Architecture, Configuration
Although the Forlinx Embedded FET113i-S SoM is positioned as an entry-level product, it has three processor architectures: a dual-core ARM Cortex-A7 CPU (with a main frequency of 1.2 GHz), a 64-bit XuanTie C906 RISC-V CPU, and a dedicated DSP core. The activation and deactivation of each core can be flexibly controlled through software, enabling a powerful combination where the A7 core, RISC-V core, and DSP core run simultaneously.
This architecture allows a single chip to handle complex scenarios: the Cortex-A7 is responsible for the main control operation, the DSP core processes multimedia and digital signals, and the RISC-V core meets the requirements of real-time control, achieving "multiple uses of a single chip".
2. Industrial-grade reliability and rich interfaces
The FET113i-S SoM uses industrial-grade components throughout. From the memory, storage to each resistor and capacitor, they can withstand the harsh operating temperature range from-40°C to + 85°C, adapting to the complex environment of industrial sites.
It also has rich interface resources: it supports 8-bit parallel CSI and CVBS video input; CVBS, RGB, dual-channel LVDS, and four-channel MIPI DSI video output. At the same time, it is also equipped with commonly used industrial interfaces such as USB, SDIO, UART, SPI, CAN, and Ethernet.
3. Applicable fields
With its high cost-performance ratio and industrial-grade reliability, the FET113i-S is particularly suitable for projects with high cost-control requirements in fields such as rail transit, power energy, industrial control, security monitoring, and conference systems.
FET536-C SoM: An expert in high-performance and multi-interface
At the Industrial Expo in September last year, Allwinner Technology released the latest member of the T series processors, the T536. At the same time, Forlinx Embedded also launched the FET536-C SoM equipped with the T536 series processors for the first time in the industry. For high-end industrial applications that require real-time control and rich interfaces, the Forlinx Embedded FET536-C SoM is a highly recommended solution.
1. Quad-core A55 + RISC-V real-time dual architecture
The Forlinx Embedded FET536-C SoM adopts an AMP multi-core heterogeneous design: the quad-core Cortex-A55 (with a main frequency of 1.6 GHz) handles complex applications, and the 600 MHz XuanTie E907 RISC-V MCU specializes in real-time tasks. This architecture supports the mixed operation of Linux RT, FreeRTOS, and bare-metal code, balancing the requirements of high-performance computing and real-time control. It integrates a 2 TOPS NPU, providing strong support for edge AI applications.
2. Industrial-grade interface matrix
The most prominent feature of the FET536-C SoM lies in its rich interface resources: Communication interfaces: 4 x CAN-FD, 17 x UART, and 2 x Gigabit Ethernet.
High-speed expansion: USB3.1, PCIe 2.1 (5 Gbps).
Control signals: 34 x PWM, 28 x ADC, and 196 x GPIO. In addition, it also supports the parallel bus LocalBus, with a read-write rate of up to 16bit@100M/32bit@50M, enabling sub-nanosecond low-latency data interaction with FPGAs, which is particularly suitable for real-time data acquisition scenarios in industrial control.
3. Applicable fields
With its rich interfaces and real-time performance, the FET536-C can be an ideal choice in fields such as concentrators, DTU, charging piles, and industrial control.
FET527N-C SoM: A performance flagship for multiple scenarios
When a project needs to handle complex computing tasks or AI inferences, the Forlinx Embedded FET527N-C SoM demonstrates strong adaptability to multiple scenarios. This product is based on Allwinner's T527 series of high-performance processors, using a board-to-board connector design for easy installation and maintenance. It also has a 10-15-year lifecycle, ensuring long-term supply.
1. Octa-core ultra-high-performance industrial-grade chip
The core highlight of the FET527N-C is its 8-core Cortex-A55 architecture (4 cores @ 1.8 GHz + 4 cores @ 1.4 GHz), with a data processing capacity of up to 36.7K DMIPS. It also integrates a RISC-V coprocessor and a HiFi4 DSP core, forming a complete multi-core heterogeneous computing system.
More importantly, its 2 TOPS NPU supports INT8/INT16 quantization operations, providing more than 40 kinds of AI operators, and offering strong computing power support for edge AI applications.
2.Superb multimedia and display capabilities
The FET527N-C SoM performs excellently in multimedia processing: it supports H.264 encoding and decoding, H.265 decoding (4K@60fps), and achieves dual-screen heterogeneous display output of 4K + 1080P. The display interfaces comprehensively cover RGB, dual-channel LVDS, four-channel MIPI DSI, and eDP, meeting the needs of multi-screen interactive scenarios.
3. Applicable fields
With its excellent comprehensive performance, the FET527N-C SoM is widely applicable in fields such as commercial displays/cash registers, cloud computers, robots, industrial intelligence, edge computing gateways, aftermarket central controls, commercial vehicles, and industrial control computers.
Summary
Through in-depth analysis of the features of the three SoMs, we can clearly sort out the selection decision-making: the FET113i-S SoM is suitable for cost-sensitive lightweight industrial application scenarios; the FET527N-C SoM is suitable for high-performance multimedia and AI applications; the FET536-C SoM is oriented towards more complex high-end industrial control scenarios. Hope this article can help you find a more suitable Allwinner T series SoM solution for your project and contribute to the rapid implementation of your project.
