Application Highlight: Premio Brings Powerful Custom Compute to the Edge

February 12, 2024

Sponsored Story

The push to bring processing closer to the edge is undeniable, and the demand for embedded systems to provide that processing with AI, ML, and IoT capabilities is only going to continue to grow in every vertical.

Keeping processing as close as possible to where the data is generated is a driving force behind the implementation of computing automation for smart sensors and IoT devices, but that processing must be reliable, robust, resilient, and powerful to prevent downtime and delay. As these embedded computers and devices enable the intelligent edge through AI & Machine Learning algorithms, they not only speed process, compute, and outcomes, but they also enable new business models and revenue streams in nearly every vertical, including manufacturing, smart cities and homes, security and surveillance, medical diagnostics and treatment, and intelligent transportation and infrastructure.

The massive (and growing) data lakes that have been created through the IoT sensor networks in every sector require data processing power to grow at an even faster rate, and the resultant embedded computing solutions are required to deliver resiliency for mission-critical processing, connectivity, and reliability in real-time applications. End-users require near-instant insights and alerts and expect always-on capabilities like never before.

Application Use Cases

The restaurant industry is facing a labor shortage, according to the National Restaurant Association, and some kitchens are going automated as a result. A company developed a powerful AI algorithm to manage food preparation with consistent output, such as required speeds to keep up with customer demand and maintain clean kitchen conditions, but they needed a powerful processing solution to deploy the robotics software and hardware.

Premio, a global solutions provider specializing in computing technology from the edge to the cloud, offered just the solution to these problems in its KCO Series Embedded Compute products.

The KCO Series was implemented to run the customer’s AI, automating manual fry cook tasks via robotic arms to ensure consistency, speed, and accuracy, and mitigate in-house safety concerns. The rugged edge computers incorporated an Intel i9 processor and Nvidia RTX 4000/A4000 graphics card to be the brain of the robotic system, and thereby allowed the customer to focus its internal resources on improving its AI/software and expanding its offerings in kitchen automation.

The kitchen automation systems have removed manual labor, improved working conditions, and enhanced commercial kitchen operations. Staff who were working fryers could now monitor and manage automated rugged edge computing hardware systems for proper handling of the data-intensive workloads and the real-time data generated at the edge.

In the Healthcare space, compute power considerations, regulatory requirements, and all the recent supply chain challenges have presented a unique series of hurdles to achieving desired technological innovations that could improve patient outcomes. In particular, medical imaging and diagnostic devices are a key opportunity for automation, but the complexities are not insignificant.

One medical imaging company was relying on consumer-grade computing for its tomosynthesis machines, which use X-rays to generate a three-dimensional mammogram, but found that these machines didn’t have the robustness required. Short component life cycles were causing ongoing issues and erratic revenue patterns, so they desired to implement a compute hardware upgrade to power the system’s ever-improving machine learning and AI capabilities. Of course, the solution vendor had to be ISO-13485 certified for medical device manufacturing to meet regulatory requirements.

Premio was able to apply its KCO Series computers to the problem. As a COTS product, the Premio KCO industrial computer is designed for easy installation and interoperability with existing system components, and the company’s manufacturing facility already meets ISO-13485 standard. These robust, purpose-built industrial computers are designed to enable medical inference at the edge thanks to their high-performance GPU support. They can meet the real time processing demands for medical imaging and diagnostics and offer the built-in hardware-based security and data encryption required for medical applications through Trusted Platform Module (TPM).

Premio’s manufacturing facility would enable the flexible low-volume, high-mix manufacturing capabilities necessary for the customer’s custom system integrations, which would allow them to solve its end of life issues that were limiting growth. The company was able to leverage the KCO Series and its high-speed computing and parallelized graphics computing to deliver a high-quality medical imaging platform that consumer computing products can’t compete with.

The KCO Series

Premio has designed its KCO Series, a certification-ready industrial computer, to be prepared for mass deployments and scalable in OEM system-level configurations without the hassle of re-certification. This fanned industrial computer series uses a micro-ATX motherboard in an industrial-grade chassis in both versions of the platform: the KCO-2000 and the KCO-3000. Both feature multi-core processing power, GPU expansion, digital I/O, on-board NVMe, TPM 2.0, and an industrial dust filter.

The latest advancements in x86 silicon from Intel power the processing in the KCO Series, which balances performance and power efficiency for the most mission-critical deployments. Specific processors in 35W or 65W options are available to help system integrators scale with long-term reliability.

The KCO-3000 allows for dual GPU integration (max up to 8.5") and comes as a 3U Rackmount chassis; and the KCO-2000 is a 2U Short Depth Chassis and an external, hot-swappable 2.5" SSD Drive Tray.

Premio’s latest product release features several UL-Listed computing solutions for mission-critical applications. These are all supported by Intel Core i3/i5/i7/i9 TE 35W processors, and the range includes x86 rugged edge computers, x86 fanned industrial computers, and a micro-ATX motherboard that can be used as an off-the-shelf building block for faster time to market and next-generation hardware acceleration.

In a global marketplace that is demanding ever-greater computing with impenetrable security, ruggedization, connectivity, and reliability at the edge, all with AI and ML capabilities, embedded computing has never been more important, nor has the market demand ever been greater. With that as a given, make sure your embedded systems are doing everything they need to do for you.

KCO-3000 RPL Key Features:

• 3U Compact Chassis with Rack Mount Options
• Industrial Grade Micro-ATX Motherboard with Intel Q670E PCH
• Support 12th/13th Gen Intel Core Processors (LGA 1700, 65W Max TDP)
• 4x 288-pin DDR4 DIMM. Max. up to 128GB
• 1x 1GbE, 1x 2.5GbE Ports Support Wake-on-LAN, PXE
• 4x DP++ Independent Displays
• 1x PCIe x16 (Gen 5), 2x PCIe x4 (Gen 4, Gen 3), 1x PCIe x16 (Gen 4, 4-lane)
• 2x M.2 M Key, 1x M.2 E Key
• 6x RS-232 COM Ports
• 6x USB 3.1 Gen 2, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type C
• Support uEFI Secure Boot, TPM 2.0
• Tool-less Washable Dust Filter
• Internal 300W Flex Power Supply
• 13.15"(W) x 11.78"(D) x 5.23"(H)

KCO-3000 CFL Key Features:

• 3U Compact Chassis with Rack Mount Options
• Industrial Grade mATX Motherboard with Intel Q370 CFL-RS Chipset
• Support Intel 8th/9th Gen Core Processors (LGA 1151, 35W/65W/95W TDP)
• Support 4x 288-pin DDR4 DIMM, Max. up to 128GB
• 2x Intel GbE Ports Support Wake-on-LAN, PXE and vPRO (with i5 and above processors)
• Triple Independent Display Ports among VGA, DVI-D and DP (1.2) ports
• 1x PCIe X16 (Gen3), 2x PCIe X4 (Gen3) Expansion slots for full height add-on cards
• 1x M.2 M Key, NVMe PCIe X4, SATA 2242/2260/2280
• 1x M.2 E Key PCIe X2, USB2.0. 2230
• 4x COM Ports (DB9) 2x RS-232/422/485 + 2x RS-233, 2x RS-232 (internal header)
• 4x USB3.1 ports, 6x USB2.0 External Ports, Internal 1x USB3.1 Gen 2, 2x USB2.0 headers
• 1x 3.5" SATA HDD drive or 2x 2.5" SSD/HDD up to 15mm
• Support UEFI Secure Boot, TPM2.0
• Tool-less Washable Dust Filter
• Internal 300W Flex Power Supply
• 13.15"(W) x 11.78"(D) x 5.23"(H)
• CE, FCC, UL Certified

Additional Resources:

• Press Release: https://premioinc.com/blogs/press-kits/premio-inc-releases-intel-12th-13th-generation-industrial-edge-computers-and-micro-atx-motherboard
• Data Sheets:  KCO-3000 CFL, KCL-3000 RPL
• Product Page: https://premioinc.com/pages/fanned-industrial-computer