3.5-inch single board computer for industrial edge AI

Compact single board computers are increasingly used to execute AI and vision workloads directly at the industrial edge, where latency, power efficiency, and deterministic behavior are critical. At CES 2026 in Las Vegas (January 6–9, 2026), Kontron presented the 3.5”-SBC-PTL, a new member of its 3.5-inch SBC family based on Intel^® Core™ Ultra processors (code name “Panther Lake”).

Edge AI processing without external accelerators
The 3.5”-SBC-PTL is built around Intel^® Core™ Ultra processors (Series 3), supporting configurations with up to 16 CPU cores. The processor architecture integrates a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) dedicated to energy-efficient AI inference alongside up to 12 Xe GPU cores. Combined AI performance is specified at up to 180 TOPS, enabling image processing, video analytics, and AI inference workloads to run locally on the board without the need for a discrete GPU.

This heterogeneous compute design allows AI pipelines to be distributed across CPU, GPU, and NPU resources, reducing data transfer overhead and latency while supporting parallel workloads directly at the data source.

Compute acceleration and visual output
The platform incorporates Intel^® Xe Matrix Extensions (Intel^® XMX) and is optimized for OpenVINO™, improving utilization of the available compute engines for AI inference tasks. In parallel, the graphics subsystem supports up to four concurrent displays at resolutions of up to 6K, enabling high-detail visualization for control rooms, machine interfaces, and vision-based inspection systems.

Memory, networking, and I/O scalability
To support bandwidth-intensive workloads, the board integrates two DDR5 SO-DIMM slots, supporting memory speeds up to 7200 MHz. Connectivity includes three USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (two Type-A, one Type-C) and two USB 2.0 ports.

For deterministic networking, the 3.5”-SBC-PTL features 2.5 GbE with Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) support, combined with discrete TPM 2.0 (dTPM) functionality. This configuration addresses requirements for real-time communication and synchronized data exchange in distributed AI and automation systems.

Expansion capabilities include three M.2 slots supporting SSD storage, WLAN, Bluetooth, WWAN, and other modules. Additional flexibility is provided through board-to-board and board-to-wire connectors, allowing system designers to add extra I/O or dedicated graphics and AI acceleration cards without being constrained by the 3.5-inch form factor.

Design for industrial environments
The SBC is designed for deployment in harsh industrial conditions. It supports a wide input voltage range from 9 V to 36 V and integrates a hardware TPM 2.0 security chip to protect system integrity, user data, and network access. Selected variants are specified for continuous 24/7 operation under sustained high load.

Temperature options cover both industrial (-40 °C to 85 °C) and commercial (0 °C to 60 °C) operating ranges, enabling use across factory automation, transportation, energy, and outdoor installations.

Long-term availability and compliance
The 3.5”-SBC-PTL is specified for long-term availability of up to 10 years from product release, supported by embedded-grade component selection. The board complies with CE, FCC, ICES, UKCA, and UR (UL Recognized) requirements, facilitating global deployment in regulated industrial markets.

Alongside the SBC, Kontron also demonstrated an industrial Box PC platform at CES 2026 based on the same Intel^® Core™ Ultra processor generation. The KBox A-151-PTL targets AI workloads at the industrial edge and integrates the KontronAIShield security ecosystem, addressing threat detection, data protection, and compliance requirements in connected industrial infrastructures.

www.kontron.com