Aventen Formosa Sync Is a High-Performance Dev Board Running Up to 1 GHz

A new development board from UK-based Aventen runs up to 1 GHz and contains a variety of peripherals. The Aventen Formosa Sync, coming soon to Crowd Supply, targets battery-powered IoT applications that demand high performance.

"The NXP RT106s board stands poised to offer a transformative experience for both casual makers and professional developers."

The compact board contains the high-performance NXP i.MX RT1060 microcontroller, external memories, a Murata 1ZM for wireless connectivity, and a Microchip LAN872A for wired Ethernet in a slim package. USB-C provides a data connection, power, and a means to charge an optional LiPo battery. There are 35 castellated pins spread across the long sides.

The i.MX RT1060 runs at 600 MHz. But Aventen says you can overclock it to 1 GHz! The chip does come with some internal RAM. However, this board expands on the relatively small internal memory by adding an external 64 Mbit PSRAM and 128 Mbit flash.

Muruata's 1ZM module provides dual-band Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.1. Aventen Formosa Sync has two antenna options. There is an onboard chip style and an IPX connector for external antennas. An RF switch connected to a GPIO on the RT1060 allows you to switch between them.

Ethernet 10/100 support comes from a small-footprint Microchip LAN872A transceiver IC. There is no included connector. Instead, you can add one via the 8-pin breakout header.

The IO pins are a notable function mix. There are 20 GPIOs plus six for power, which seems standard on a board like this one. However, the pads also break out the SWD debugger signals, a USB differential pair, and a pin named RGB.

Other features include a MicroSD card slot (on the back), an auxiliary LDO to power external devices, and an RGB LED.

Aventen says the design files will be available on this GitHub repo when the campaign goes live. Sign up on the Aventen Formosa Sync page on Crowd Supply to know when that happens.