Kontron has announced new boards, modules and embedded systems featuring the 8th Gen Intel Core/Xeon processors (former codename Coffee Lake). Through the update to the COM Express Computer-on-Modules (COMs), embedded motherboards, CompactPCI platforms, Kontron KBox family of box PCs, as well as the company’s rackmount systems, customers benefit from a marked increase in graphics- and processing performance. First products featuring the new processor generation will be available on the COM Express basic form factor starting June 2018.
With the new boards and modules, customers will benefit from the enhanced functionality and significant performance increase of the latest 8th Gen Intel Core(TM) / Xeon processors at the same power consumption as the previous generation. Available with dual-, quad-, or hexacore CPUs, they double the DDR4 storage as before, with up to 64 GB. They support the fast Intel Optane memory, as well as the fastest available storage technology NVMe SSD for system acceleration in a very compact design. USB 3.1. support with up to 10 Gbps and USB Type C support offer twice the bandwidth as compared to USB 3.0 for fast data transfer. Four 4K displays can be controlled, three of them separately. UHD streaming supports high quality video applications.
With these innovations, the new platforms are an ideal basis for applications in communication, digital signage, professional gaming and entertainment, medical imaging, surveillance, and security. They are also well suited for the control of industrial systems, machines and robots on the shop floor level as well as from the control room.
Peter Müller, director product line boards & modules at Kontron: "To enable our customers to fully leverage the new performance benefits of the latest Intel processor generation, we are promptly upgrading our product families with the latest technology. At the same time, we guarantee to our customers product life cycles of no less than ten years to make sure their investments pay off in the long run as well."
The new platforms are more secure through SGX 1.0 hardware-enhanced multifactor authentication. In addition, all Kontron products support the TPM 2.0 security chip as well as the Kontron APPROTECT Security Solution. Based on an integrated Wibu-Systems security chip and in tandem with a specifically developed software framework, it provides IP and copy/reverse engineering protection. Kontron APPROTECT Licensing also enables new business models such as "pay per use", demo versions for limited time periods, or activation/deactivation functions.