Leveraging COM Express and COM-HPC for AI Workloads

As the demand for artificial intelligence continues to rise in various industries, from healthcare and finance to manufacturing and autonomous vehicles, industrial computers face the challenge of optimizing AI workloads. Developers are constantly seeking efficient and scalable solutions to solve these challenges. One such solution is using COM Express , a standardized form factor that can be used as a flexible computing platform for various AI workloads.

With the ability to choose from wide variety of CPUs and the flexibility to right-size CPU to target various AI workloads, COM Express empowers organizations to create efficient, scalable, and cost-effective AI solutions. In addition to harnessing the advantages of COM Express, developers can leverage additional AI accelerators to further optimize the solutions. COM-HPC, a new specification, further enables enhanced performance and scalability for high-performance computing applications.

The Intel Alder Lake x86 CPU is an ideal solution for COM Express modules targeting AI workloads due to built-in AI acceleration with Intel Deep Learning Boost technology. This integrated AI capability allows for efficient execution of AI workloads, such as neural network inference and deep learning tasks. By leveraging the built-in AI accelerator, COM Express modules based on Alder Lake can provide optimized performance for AI applications without the need for additional external accelerators.

What is COM Express?

COM Express is a highly integrated and compact computer on module that is designed to offer scalability and flexibility by providing a standardized form factor and interface for integrating different processor architectures and I/O configurations. Introduced by the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group in 2005, COM Express provides a single circuit board with integrated RAM.

This family of modular, small form factor modules has gained significant traction in various industries, including automation, gaming, retail, transportation, robotics, and medical fields. With eight different types, four sizes, and three major revisions, COM Express promotes vendor technology reuse while catering to mid-range edge processing and networking requirements.

The key differentiator of COM Express from traditional single-board computers (SBCs) lies in its ability to plug off-the-shelf modules into custom carrier boards designed for specific applications. This enables an upgrade path for the CPUs while keeping the carrier board intact. By using a custom COM Express carrier board, all necessary signals can be efficiently routed to the peripherals, while COM Express processor modules serve as the main controller. These advanced features ensure the versatility and adaptability of COM Express for diverse application requirements.

Comparing COM-HPC with COM Express

COM-HPC is an evolution of the COM Express standard, uniquely tailored to address the demands of high-performance computing applications. With its focus on enhanced performance, scalability, and advanced features, COM-HPC caters to the same applications and markets as COM Express, but with notable differentiators. It boasts higher-end CPUs, expanded memory capacity, and increased and faster I/O capabilities. It’s essential to emphasize that COM-HPC does not aim to replace COM Express, rather the two standards exist as distinct entities in the field of embedded computing, offering developers a broader spectrum of choices to meet specific application requirements.

COM-HPC brings significant improvements over COM Express for AI workloads, particularly in terms of PCIe lanes and PCIe generation support:

• Increased PCIe Lanes: One of the key advantages of COM-HPC over COM Express is the availability of more PCIe lanes. COM Express has a limited number of PCIe lanes, which can restrict the connectivity options and the number of I/O interfaces or accelerators that can be integrated. In contrast, COM-HPC modules provide a higher number of PCIe lanes, allowing for more extensive connectivity and the integration of multiple high-speed devices.
• PCIe Gen4/5 Support: Another crucial enhancement in COM-HPC is the support for PCIe Gen4 and Gen5, whereas COM Express supports up to PCIe Gen3. PCIe Gen4 and Gen5 offer higher data transfer rates and improved bandwidth compared to Gen3. This is particularly advantageous for AI workloads that require fast data movement between the CPU, GPU, storage devices, and other peripherals.

In summary, newer generation processors, paired with higher data rates, dramatically lower the size, power and cost requirements of the systems required to perform the AI tasks.

The Advantages of Choosing COM Express for AI Workloads

COM Express offers several distinct advantages when it comes to AI workloads. As a flexible and scalable platform, it provides developers to adapt their AI systems according to specific requirements like CPU performance, power requirements. They can then design a carrier board that integrates the module with additional AI-specific components, such as AI accelerators. Below is the block diagram example of COM Express platform with AI Accelerator.

Here are the key advantages of choosing COM Express (or COM-HPC) for AI workloads:

• Flexibility and Scalability: COM Express allows developers to choose from a wide range of CPU options. Such kind of flexibility allows them to choose the module that best matches the computing needs of their AI workloads. Whether it’s a complex neural network inference or deep learning task, the platform can be customized to deliver optimal performance.
• Modular Design: COM Express follows a modular design approach with a separate CPU module and carrier board. This modularity simplifies system customization and future upgrades. Developers can easily swap out or upgrade the CPU module without redesigning the entire system, saving time and effort while adapting to evolving AI requirements.
• Streamlined Integration: COM Express adheres to industry-standard form factors and interfaces, ensuring compatibility across different vendors. This standardized approach simplifies system integration, reducing development complexity and time to market. Developers can focus on optimizing their AI algorithms and software, confident that the hardware integration will be seamless.
• Rich Connectivity Options: COM Express provides a wide array of interfaces, including Ethernet, USB, PCIe, and DisplayPort interfaces. These interfaces enable effortless integration with various peripherals, sensors, and external devices commonly used in AI applications. The rich connectivity options enhance data I/O capabilities, facilitating efficient communication and interaction within the AI system.
• Long-Term Availability and Support: COM Express offers long-term availability and support, ensuring continuity for AI deployments. This is particularly crucial for industries that rely on stable and long-lasting AI systems. With a consistent platform and extended availability, developers can plan for long-term deployment and maintenance, with access to software updates and technical assistance.
• Cost Optimization: COM Express provides a cost-effective solution for AI workloads. By leveraging COM Express, developers can save on development costs and reduce time to market. The modular design allows for efficient resource allocation, ensuring optimal performance while minimizing unnecessary expenses.
• Time to Market: Since the computer modules are widely available in the embedded marketplace, COM Express enables developers to focus on the IO needs, the addition of accelerators, the AI models and application software.

Real-World Applications of COM Express for AI Workloads

As stated above, COM Express modules offer immense potential for developers to optimize AI workloads on industrial computers, leading to transformative impacts and various implications for cost-effective solutions and large-scale deployments. Let’s delve into real-world examples and insights to showcase the significance of this optimization trend.

In the field of autonomous vehicles, this optimization trend allows autonomous vehicles to navigate complex environments, enhancing safety and efficiency. By leveraging COM Express modules, developers can achieve cost-effective solutions by utilizing existing industrial computers and upgrading them with optimized AI capabilities, resulting in large-scale deployments of autonomous vehicles across transportation networks.

Industrial automation is another area where COM Express systems can revolutionize AI workloads. By optimizing AI algorithms on industrial computers using COM Express modules, developers can achieve significant cost savings and efficiency gains in manufacturing processes. For instance, AI-powered computer vision systems can inspect and detect defects in real-time, improving quality control and reducing production costs. The use of COM Express modules enables industrial computers to handle these AI workloads effectively, making cost-effective solutions viable for large-scale deployment in manufacturing facilities.

In the healthcare sector, COM Express systems can optimize AI workloads on industrial computers to improve diagnostics, patient monitoring, and personalized treatment. For example, by leveraging COM Express systems, developers can enable industrial computers to process complex medical imaging data and apply AI algorithms for more accurate and timely diagnosis. This optimization trend in AI workloads allows healthcare providers to deliver cost-effective, benefiting patients globally.

What to choose

AI accelerators are paired with COM Express module on the carrier as separate modules or integrated directly into the carrier board’s design. This modular approach provides scalability and flexibility, allowing system designers to customize AI processing capabilities to meet the specific requirements of their applications. It also enables easy upgrades or replacements of AI accelerators without having to modify the entire system, making it both cost-effective and future-proof. AI accelerators such as Blaize, Hailo or Axelera paired with COM Express module can provide significant benefits. For example, combining Axelera M.2 AI Edge accelerator module with COM Express Carrier board can achieve up to 120 TOPS of AI performance with the flexibility of switching between the CPU families for optimized compute needs.

These accelerators are specifically designed to enhance AI workloads and provide optimized compute capabilities compared to GPUs. This level of compute power can greatly benefit vision processing applications, which often require intensive computations for tasks such as object detection and classification.

Conclusion

COM Express and COM-HPC offer flexible and scalable platform to enable various AI workloads, allowing developers to customize their systems based on CPU performance, power requirements, and I/O interfaces. CPUs like Intel Alder Lake integrated into COM Express modules provide efficient AI execution, integrated graphics performance, enhanced compute density, ecosystem support, and broad connectivity options. The combination of the CPU with optional AI Accelerator delivers optimized performance, reducing costs and enabling efficient large-scale AI deployments.

With the Tauro Technologies’ team of electronic engineers and designers it becomes possible to design and deploy comprehensive AI processing systems based on x86 and ARM CPUs paired with various AI Accelerators. This strategic approach helps bring down costs and ensures the right balance between compute power and AI processing needed for the system. We can customize the I/O as well as the footprint to fit your application requirements.

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