AMD-Xilinx launched its new line of systems-on-module (SOM) last year, which introduced us to the Kria K26 with the KV260 Vision AI Kit. If you’re not already familiar, an SOM is a modular type of FPGA development board that isolates the actual FPGA chip to its own modular PCB with some sort of high-speed, high density connector interface; the rest of the peripherals such as power supplies, interface connectors, COM ports, etc. are placed on a compatible baseboard PCB with the corresponding high density connector.
This makes SOM FPGAs a more cost-effective option with shortened development cycles since the hardware development changes are isolated to the peripherals located on the carrier board the SOM base board is attached to. This is especially important in current times where supply chain issues have created shortages across all markets, so any reuse of hardware that is possible is critical at the moment.
SOMs are ideal for deployment in AI edge computing applications due to their small form factor and flexibility to adapt to different use case needs via a simple carrier board swap out. These same properties naturally make SOMs ideal for robotics applications as well, which is why AMD-Xilinx just announced the Kria KR260 Robotics Starter Kit.
Utilizing the same Kria K26 SOM board as the KV260 Vision AI Kit carrier board, the KR260 Robotics Starter Kit carrier board adds many of the GPIO interfaces the KV260 lacked that any robotics project will require to drive motors, read sensors, and the like. The main goal of the Kria KR260 is to provide an out-of-the-box platform for users to develop their initial robotics application without delay, then to also have a basis to develop and prove in their own custom carrier board to best fit the given use case.
While the KV260 and KR260 carrier boards have the same physical dimensions, the peripheral interface difference is immediately clear when comparing the two side-by-side. I’m personally also a fan of the black CPU fan on the KR260’s Kria K26.
KR260 carrier board peripherals
Digging into the specifics of the KR260’s peripherals, we see that all of the Kria K26’s I/O pins have been made available for sensor, peripheral, and network connectivity. The two 240-pin connectors are the high-speed, high density connector interface that mounts the Kria K26 to the KR260 carrier board.
Cameras can be connected to the KR260 by one of the USB 3.0s, while image sensors can utilize the two-lane SLVS-EC Gen2 high performance vision Rx connector. If you’re not familiar, SLVS-EC is a new high-speed interface from Sony for the next-generation of high-resolution CMOS image sensors.
The 1.2a DisplayPort (1920 x 1080 at 60Hz) is the only option for video output on the KR260 (the KV260 has both a DisplayPort and HDMI interface), however given the EMI radiation issues with HDMI I think it was a wise choice to nix the HDMI in favor of extra I/O for other sensors.
KR260 block diagram (DS988)
In terms of networking the KR260 is an absolute powerhouse with FOUR 10/100/1000 Mb/s RJ-45s …….