Variscite Offers a Cheaper Entry Point for Its DART Pin2Pin SOM Family: The $35 DART-MX91

System-on-module (SOM) specialist Variscite has announced a new, lower-cost entry model in its DART Pin2Pin family: the DART-MX91, built around the NXP Semiconductors i.MX 91 system-on-chip and featuring up to 2GB of LPDDR4 memory on-board.

"With the addition of this new entry-level system on module to our DART Pin2Pin family, Variscite is expanding the range of its scalable solutions to meet the requirements of developers working on cost-sensitive projects," says Variscite's Ofer Austerlitz of the new device. "This new SOM combines affordability with the robust performance and versatility expected from our DART line-up, empowering our customers to innovate with confidence in a competitive market."

At the heart of the compact module, measuring just 55×30mm (around 2.17×1.18"), is NXP's i.MX 91 system-on-chip — featuring a single Arm Cortex-A55 processor core running at up to 1.4GHz, to which Variscite has added the buyer's choice of 512MB to 2GB of LPDDR4 memory and 8GB to 128GB of eMMC storage.

There's support for 768p60 or 800p60 parallel RGB displays with or without capacitive touch, eight-bit parallel camera interfaces, analog and digital audio support, and peripheral connectivity include two USB 2.0 ports, two SD Card interfaces, eight UART, seven I2C, two I3C, seven SPI, and two CAN buses, JTAG debugging, and general-purpose input/output (GPIO) including four analog-to-digital converter (ADC) channels.

For networking, the module includes two gigabit Ethernet ports along with Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax and Bluetooth 5.4 with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) support. There's also the option to add IEEE 802.15.4 support, for low-rate wireless personal area network (LR-WPAN) standards including Zigbee and Thread — though this isn't included in the standard radio line-up.

The module is part of the DART Pin2Pin family, meaning — as the name suggests — it's pin-compatible with other modules in the range. Given its place in the family as a new entry point, then, it's likely to make a tempting target for those wanting to experiment with Variscite's offering at a lower cost while providing an easy upgrade path if more resources are required.

More information on the DART-MX91 is available on the Variscite website; pricing starts at $35 for a model with 512MB of RAM.