IBASE's IB962 Is a Compact Near-Single-Board Computer Packing Intel's Edge AI Core Ultra Chips

Taiwanese industrial computing specialist IBASE Technology has unveiled a surprisingly compact single-board computer targeting high-performance edge artificial intelligence (AI) thanks to its integrated Intel "Meteor Lake" Core Ultra processor and integrated neural processing unit (NPU): the IB962.

"The IB962 3.5-inch single board computer (SBC) is built on the advanced Intel Core Ultra 7/5 100 Series processors (formerly Meteor Lake U/H)," IBASE says of its design. "Featuring 3D performance hybrid architecture, advanced AI capabilities, and available with built-in Intel Arc GPU, the processor delivers an optimal balance of performance and power efficiency and helps unlock the power of AI to create immersive graphics experiences."

While not a true single-board computer — the IB962 lacks integrated memory, relying on the installation of DDR5 SODIMMs of up to 64GB total capacity — IBASE's machine is designed to slot into the same spaces as its truly integrated stablemates. At its heart is the user's choice of 14th-generation Intel Core Ultra 5 or Ultra 7 processor — chosen from the Core Ultra 5 135U, 135H, Ultra 7 165U, or 165H, all based on the Meteor Lake platform and boasting a selection of high-performance, efficiency, and low-power x86-architecture processing cores.

The chips have something else on board, too: Intel AI Boost, an embedded neural coprocessor designed to accelerate on-device machine learning, computer vision, and artificial intelligence workloads. Compatible with the OpenVINO, WindowsML, DirectML, and ONNX RT frameworks, this is designed to deliver energy-efficient processing of AI and ML tasks without tying up the CPU or GPU cores.

Regardless of CPU chosen, the IB962 delivers twin 2.5-gigabit Ethernet connectivity, two RS232/422/485 serial ports, one USB 2.0 Type-A port with two more available on pin headers, three USB 3.0 Type-A ports, two SATA III ports, four digital inputs and four digital outputs, HDMI, DisplayPort, embedded DisplayPort, and LVDS video outputs, and M.2 B-key, E-key, and M-key slots, the latter offering four PCI Express lanes for high-performance Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) storage.

More information on the board is available on the IBASE website; the company has not publicly disclosed pricing.