Advantech’s handheld embedded industrial computer EPC-C301, focusing on high-performance machine vision applications

To improve the efficiency and accuracy of inspection processes, machine vision is increasingly used in industrial automation and transportation. Machine vision can understand and interpret the images obtained during inspection. The machine vision market is expected to be a $10.7 billion market in 2020 and to reach $14.7 billion by 2025.

Advantech EPC-C301 embedded industrial computer is equipped with Intel® 8th generation Core™ i7 – 8665UE/i5-8365UE low-power CPU, which provides rich I /O interface. EPC-C301 not only has up to 4LAN and 4 expansion modes, it also has an ultra-compact form factor of 170 x 118 x 70 mm (6.69 x 4.64 x 2.75 inches), supports -20 to 60°C (-4 to 140°F) ) operating temperature range, easily realize a variety of solutions.

Application 1: Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV)

AGV applications are suitable for warehousing logistics, airport intelligent baggage handling systems, and food or grain processing systems. In most cases, multiple techniques are employed to avoid errors, such as cameras and sensors, while image processing requires high computational performance.

solution

Advantech EPC-C301 compact industrial computer is equipped with the new 8th generation Intel® Core-U platform, with up to four computing cores, supporting 4 GbE and 4 USB 3.2, enabling high-definition camera connection and AI expansion. In addition, EPC-C301 can also be used with Advantech AI module VEGA-330. Advantech solutions are capable of fulfilling intensive image processing requirements while enabling machine vision. Using 4 additional USB 2.0 and UART, the EPC-C301 can be connected to sensors and lidar; meanwhile, two isolated CANBus can do real-time motion control, such as wheel control. With a compact fanless design, the EPC-C301 has better applicability and higher reliability.

Application 2: Automatic License Plate Recognition (ANPR)

ANPR is widely used in ETC (Electronic Toll Collection), traffic monitoring and intelligent parking systems. It can reduce labor costs required, increase traffic flow, and reduce air pollution caused by traffic congestion.

solution

Advantech EPC-C301 compact industrial computer is equipped with 4 GbE and 4 USB3.2, and supports up to eight high-definition camera ports. It offers four expansion options: M.2 E-key for WiFi + BT, B-key for LTE, M-Key for SATA SSD and higher performance PCIex4 NVMe, and AI accelerator card miniPCIe; thus speeding up inference of numbers, letters, colors and kinds. The EPC-C301 operates in a temperature range of -20 to 60°C (-4 to 140°F), ensuring 24/7 reliability.

Application 3: Automatic Optical Inspection (AOI)

Industry 4.0 aims to automate and intelligentize production processes. Combining AOI, collaborative robots, AGV applications with AI, machine vision and voice technologies can effectively improve production efficiency, quality and safety.

solution

In order to achieve more accurate and efficient detection, sufficient CPU computing power, excellent graphics performance, and additional acceleration capabilities are essential. EPC-C301 adopts Intel’s latest 8th generation technology, Core SoC platform – dual-core upgrade to quad-core, which improves the performance by 1.5 times compared with the previous version. Equipped with M.2 PCIex4 SSD, the performance is improved by 5 times compared to SATA SSD; meanwhile, with dual-channel DDR4 32GB, the performance is impeccable. It also provides rich peripheral function interfaces: three RS-232/422/485 support the highest speed of 1Mbps, two independent CANBus and 8 DIO, to meet more connection needs.

EPC-C301 product features:

l The 8th generation Intel® Core™ i7-8665UE/i5-8365UE high-performance low-power CPU, the performance is improved by 40%

l Support dual-channel DDR4-2400MT/s memory, up to 32GB

l HDMI + DP* independent dual 4K monitors

l Rich I/O: 4 GbE, 4 USB 3.2, 4 USB 2.0, 2 CANBus, 3 RS-232/422/485, 1 RS-232, 8 GPIO

l Rich expansion: M.2 E-Key 2230, MiniPCIe, B-Key 3042, M-Key 2280 support NVMe and SATA

l Support DC-12V, -20~60°C (-4~140°F) operating temperature

l Support iManager software API under Windows 10 and Linux OS

l Support WISE-DeviceOn for remote device management and control

l (EVK) model default configuration VEGA-330, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Intel® OpenVINO toolkit

Advantech EPC-C301 is now available, for more information, please call Advantech Embedded Hotline: 400-001-9088

The Links:   LM64183PR   MG75J1ZS50