Introducing: Our SOM Modules Built on the Open Standard Module Specification

The Open Standard Module: A New, Future-Proof, Versatile Standard for a new line of our System on Modules 

Over the course of the last year, Ezurio has been rapidly expanding our line of system-on-modules with offerings from all of our silicon partners. This is in an attempt to give our customers unprecedented choice and flexibility in choosing the embedded processing and wireless platform for their products. We’ve introduced SMARC cards powered by NXP and MediaTek, with different processors in each to give OEMs choice. From the most powerful to the most simplified, our SMARC portfolios and interchangeable wireless give our customers choice now AND in the future as product redesigns enable new opportunities.  

Now, we’re providing another form factor for our customers to choose from in a new line of system-on-modules powered by Texas Instruments. Our CarbonAM62 and CarnbonAM67 SOMs, powered by Texas Instruments’ AM62x and AM67x processor families, are based on the Open Standard Module (OSM) standard from SGET, the same group responsible for codifying the SMARC standard.  

In this post, we’ll take a look at what defines the OSM standard, what aspects of the OSM standard we’re implementing in our line of OSM products, and what defines our upcoming Carbon62 and Carbon67 SOMs.  

Understanding the OSM Specification 

The Open Standard Module (OSM) specification is designed to create a unified architecture for embedded modules that comes in multiple form factors and provides unprecedented miniaturization with an abundance of pins and connectable interfaces. The OSM standard is a solder-down hardware form factor that represents a highly-connectable and future-proof design that addresses all the needs a manufacturer might have in an embedded processor.  

At the core, the OSM specification is meant to address real-world problems that manufacturers face. It’s designed to be machine processible, in multiple form factors (from the tiniest 30x15 mm to the largest 45x45 mm), with pre-defined software and hardware interfaces and with a principle of being open source from the start.  

Open Standard Module (OSM): Visual representation of the four different sizes with Size-0, Size-S, Size-M and Size-L and the visible bottom-side of the modules. 

According to SGET, the four OSM form factors provide the following connections:  

• Size-0 (Zero): with 188 BGA pins on 30 mm x 15 mm 
• Size-S (Small): measures 30 mm x 30 mm with 332 pins 
• Size-M (Medium): offers 476 pins on 30 mm x 45mm 
• Size-L (Large): measures 45 mm x 45 mm with 662 BGA pins 

There are multiple noteworthy features of these form factors. For one, the Size-0 is remarkably small at just 30 x 15 mm. For another, the Size-L manages to pack in 662 pad contacts, which is over twice as many as the SMARC standard features at 82 x 50 mm.  

In addition, there is a distinction for each form factor between standard height F (flat) and extended height E, a distinction that helps OEMs meet their particular requirements. Extended height modules include a PCB spacer that extends the total height of the module, while the flat modules do not and are directly soldered onto a carrier board. This is indicated in the name of the form factor, i.e. OSM-ME or OSM-MF. 

These modules, depending on their size and number of pins, are able to provide a huge array of interfaces that service the use cases OEMs face in embedded computing: Size-S and up provide video interfaces, camera interfaces, and PCIe. Larger footprints support additional and more of these. All modules support Ethernet, USB, CAN, UART, and Flash connections, as well as GPIOs, SPI, I2C, I2S, SDIO, and analog inputs.  

Our CarbonAM6x SOMS – Based on the OSM-MF Form Factor 

Our upcoming line of CarbonAM62 and CarbonAM67 modules are based on the OSM-MF standard. This form factor provides 288 additional contact pins on top of the base Size-0 standard, with support for a much greater feature set. Among those features are:  

• Additional Ethernet and USB interfaces 
• PCIe, MIPI, and RG interfaces 
• Universal Flash Storage (UFS)  
• Multiple GPIOs, additional power supplies, and testing interfaces 

The OSM-M standard provides a grand total of 476 pins for a wide array of applications. It also provides a large number of pins that are open for developers to configure as they see fit, and reserved pins that will be defined in future versions of the standard. Our CarbonAM62 and CarbonAM67 SOMs will leverage the OSM-MF standard, with tailored development to address our customers’ unique needs, and will be compatible with our future OSM-M releases to give customers an upgrade path in the future. As future processors and wireless features become available, our emergent line of OSM system on modules will give our customers an easy upgrade path to take advantage of new features without costly redesigns of their host PCB.  

The Carbon Series – Powered by Texas Instruments 

Our CarbonAM6x modules in the OSM-MF form factor are powered by Texas Instruments’ Sitara ASM62 and AM67 line of processors. They also feature many additional Texas Instruments components on board, such as TI PMICs, TI Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and many TI analog components. The wireless module onboard is our upcoming Sona TI351 Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth 5.4 module, based on the TI CC3351 chipset.  

Our Carbon SOMs aim to bring the best of Texas Instruments’ hardware to our SOM portfolio and give our customers design flexibility and choice between different levels of processing performance in a small 30 x 45 mm footprint. They’re built to support the needs of the most demanding commercial, industrial, and medical applications, supporting an industrial -40 °C to +85 °C temperature range. At the high end (our CarbonAM67), they’re capable of supporting up to 3 independent displays, video encode and decode, dual AI acceleration, hardware image processing, and multi-camera support. And they’re backed by our extensive software and hardware integration support, from the design phase clear through to manufacturing.  

To learn more about our OSM system on modules, please visit us at:  

https://www.ezurio.com/system-on-module/osm-som