Why Use Inforce SBC(Single Board Computer)? 

The Single Board Computer(SBC) is a ready to use reference embedded platform that has all the necessary peripheral interfaces required to rapidly prototype your product.  This usually comes in standard Pico ITX or Credit Card Size form factors.  Inforce currently has the IFC6640, IFC6560 and the IFC6309 which uses the Snapdragon 820, Snapdragon 660 and the Snapdragon 410 respectively.  SBC’s usually exposes all interfaces available to the SOC like GPIO’s/BLSP’s, USB, GPS.  WiFi/BT, RJ45(Ethernet), Audio in/out, HDMI, MiPi DSI and CSI. 

Fast time to market: Since the product is already designed and ready, You can just use the required interfaces on the board for your usecase. 

No extra design costs involved: There is no extra effort/cost involved in Hardware design, as the product is already available off the shelf.  Only the software/OS would have to be customized to your liking. 

Standard formfactors: Inforce works with standard Pico ITX and credit card formfactors, so this will easily fit with enclosures designed for pico ITX formfactor. 

Customizations: Inforce offers customizations on all its SBC’s.  This is usually done via a Built to Order(BTO) echanism where the customers gets to choose the peripherals and interfaces her requires for his usecase.  This is usually done for minimum order quantities. 

Inforce IFC6309:-

Inforce 6309™ Micro SBC powered by the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 410E application processor (APQ8016E).  The plug-and-play Inforce 6309 Micro SBC development kit provides industrial IoE system designers instant access to the compute power, comprehensive I/O, and connectivity of the Snapdragon 410E SoC. Powered by quad-core ARM®v8 Cortex®-A53 CPUs, the Inforce 6309 Micro SBC is the 3rd in the family of Snapdragon processor-based embedded computing platforms from Inforce.  Unique features include support for WiFi/BLE, GPS, HDMI displays, dual-MIPI-CSI cameras, GbE ports, LVDS, and optional PoE and RS485 interfaces.  With robust support for an upstream Linux kernel (Linaro) and Android (Lollipop), coupled with extended operating temperature and long lifecycle, the Inforce 6309 Micro SBC provides an ideal choice for a multitude of industrial applications. 

Inforce IFC6640:-

The Inforce 6640 SBC is based on Qualcomm®’s first custom 64-bit quad-core processor, Snapdragon™ 820 (APQ8096 SoC) which is manufactured in an advanced 14nm FinFET Low Power Plus (LLP) fabrication process that allows faster switching speeds and lower voltage operation in a smaller footprint.  With better imaging capabilities due to the Spectra™ camera ISP, an improved GPU architecture and excellent video and connectivity options, it is targeted at embedded system applications that require hi-tech smart visual technologies and intense video Analytics.  It supports H.265 (HEVC) playback @4K60 and capture @4K30. 

Thoughts:-

Choosing the right SBC for your requirement would have to be done based on the product usecase and processing power/peripherals required by the end product, But making the right decisions can end up saving you design charges and time.  It makes sense to go with an SBC for prototyping where the time to market needs to low.  The raspberry Pi might be a good alternative for hobby projects, but when it comes down to compute power, production and reliability the Inforce SBC’s are the best money can offer.