The VEST SMTX i.MX95-A Generative AI Kit is a high-performance, advanced platform built for Edge Vision, transformer-based Generative AI, Multimodal AI, and emerging Agentic AI workloads. It combines an i.MX95 SMARC 2.2 System on Module (SoM) with a Mini-ITX carrier board and an NXP Ara240 16GB AI accelerator in the M.2 Key M form factor. This architecture brings together application processing, real-time control, graphics, video, audio, and AI acceleration in a single Edge-ready platform, enabling intelligent systems capable of perception, reasoning, and autonomous decision-making at the edge.
Core Hardware & Connectivity
- Heterogeneous Architecture: Integrates Six Arm® Cortex®-A55 application cores plus independent Cortex®-M7 and Cortex®-M33 domains for real-time and safety-oriented functions
- Graphics and Video: Arm® Mali™-G310 GPU for 3D dashboards and a VPU for H.264/H.265 simultaneous video encoding and decoding
- High-Speed Networking: Includes one 10 GbE port and two 1 GbE ports
for high-bandwidth data transmission and video streaming - Imaging Interfaces: Dual MIPI-CSI D-PHY camera interfaces with an advanced ISP capable of 500 Megapixels/s. Support up to 1x 12 MP at 30 fps, 2x 4K at 30 fps, 4x Full HD at 60 fps, 8x Full HD at 30 fps
Image: VEST SMTX i.MX95-A Generative AI Kit Interface Overview
Ara240 DNPU AI Accelerator Specifications
- AI Performance: 40 TOPS
- Form Factor: M.2 Key M 2280
- Host Interface: PCIe Gen3 x1
- Memory Interface: 16GB LPDDR4
- Power Consumption: 3W (Typical), 12W (TDP)
- Operating Temperature: -0 ~ 70°C
- OS Support: Yocto Linux
- AI Frameworks: Llama2, LLava, TensorFlow, PyTorch
A key strength of the platform is its heterogeneous AI pipeline, utilizing dual NPUs to balance real-time responsiveness and multimodal AI reasoning.
- Integrated i.MX95 NPU: A dedicated 8.0 eTOPS Neutron NPU handles low-latency, front-end tasks close to the sensor
- Smart Delegation: The i.MX95 NPU manages immediate vision processing, while the Ara240 drives the multimodal AI reasoning
- Heterogeneous Efficiency: This architecture keeps the system responsive even under heavy AI workloads
Image: Ara240 DNPU AI Accelerator
Use Case: Agentic AI for Industrial Inspection and Workflow Automation
This kit enables an Agentic Edge AI system that perceives, reasons, and acts autonomously to improve real-time inspection accuracy and operational efficiency.
- Vision Input: A MIPI-CSI camera captures live images while the i.MX95 Neutron NPU runs CNN-based models for real-time defect detection, object recognition, and quality inspection
- Contextual Reasoning: The Ara240 executes Vision-Language Models (VLMs) and an Edge LLM to interpret visual and audio inputs, correlate operational context, identify root causes, and determine the next action
- Natural Interaction: Operators interact using voice or text. ASR processes spoken commands, while the LLM generates context-aware responses delivered through Text-to-Speech (TTS)
- HMI Dashboard: The Arm Mali™-G310 GPU displays live inspection results, AI insights, and system status, while 10 GbE streams operational data to industrial management systems
- Autonomous Action: The system can automatically reject defective products, trigger maintenance alerts, optimize workflows, or adjust process parameters, enabling closed-loop operations
Image: Agentic AI Pipeline for Industrial Inspection & Workflow Automation Flowchart
Target Applications
- Smart Surveillance & Video Analytics
- Industrial Vision Inspection
- Robotics & Autonomous Systems
- Smart Retail & Interactive Kiosks
- Multimodal Edge AI Assistants
- Intelligent HMI Platforms
- AI Video Streaming Gateways
- Industrial Automation Systems
Image: Applications
By combining real-time edge processing, Multimodal AI acceleration, and high-speed connectivity in a compact embedded platform, the VEST SMTX i.MX95-A Generative AI Kit enables next-generation intelligent systems for Industrial Automation, Edge Vision, Robotics, and emerging Agentic AI workloads.
Learn more about the VEST SMTX i.MX95-A Generative AI Kit with Ara240 DNPU by visiting our products or contacting our sales team at sales@apc-vest.com.