Congatec Unveils Next‑Gen Embedded Vision Platforms at Japan IoT/M2M Expo

congatec will showcase its new demo platforms for AI‑based embedded vision systems at the Japan IoT/M2M Expo (booth 10‑42 West Hall 2, 1F). Developed in partnership with industry leaders such as NXP Semiconductors, Intel, Basler, and Real‑Time Systems, the platforms deliver turnkey readiness for a wide range of AI‑driven vision applications. By reducing design effort, OEMs can bring innovations to market faster across sectors including industry, infrastructure, smart cities, logistics, automotive, and retail.

Embedded vision computing for real‑time robotics:
The demo, built with Intel and Real‑Time Systems, targets next‑generation collaborative robotics, automation controls, and autonomous vehicles that must handle multiple tasks simultaneously—such as situational awareness powered by deep‑learning algorithms. The solution‑ready platform centers on a COM Express Type 6 module powered by an Intel Xeon E2 processor and runs three preconfigured virtual machines. One VM hosts a Basler vision camera; object recognition executes on Linux via Intel OpenVINO, while AI inference runs on an Intel Arria 10 FPGA card from Refexces. Another VM provides a secure IoT gateway, and a third real‑time Linux partition controls an inverted‑pendulum balancer in real time. Visitors can disturb the pendulum and see the system react instantly. Learn more about this kit.

Embedded vision computing for automated retail checkouts:
A proof‑of‑concept from congatec, Basler, and NXP demonstrates how AI can fully automate the retail checkout process. Booth visitors place items in a basket; a trained neural network identifies products from a live video stream—much like face recognition—and instantly displays the total price. This approach allows retailers to add new products simply by retraining the network, reduces labor costs, and delivers a friction‑free customer experience with instant, queue‑free checkouts that operate 24/7. The platform is built on Basler’s Embedded Vision Kit, featuring an NXP i.MX 8QuadMax SoC on a congatec SMARC 2.0 computer‑on‑module, a SMARC 2.0 carrier board, and Basler’s dart BCON MIPI 13 MP camera. The kit will be available this summer from Basler. Find out more.

Embedded vision computing for face recognition:
The congatec face‑recognition demo showcases cutting‑edge biometric technology for applications that require real‑time access to a central image database—public‑infrastructure surveillance, billing, ticketing, and access control. The system uses Basler’s dart camera series (USB 3.0) and a conga‑PA5 Pico‑ITX board with Intel Atom, Celeron, or Pentium 5th‑generation processors. Future kits will support LVDS, MIPI‑CSI, GigE Vision, and other interfaces. Basler’s pylon camera software suite is integrated as standard into the appropriate kits.