Quectel Wants to Make Smart Cameras Simple with Its New Quad-Core SE200ZX-AP Module

Quectel has unveiled an upcoming module designed to drive smart cameras and other systems with embedded computer vision or machine learning capabilities: the SE299ZC-AP.

"With SE200ZC-AP, we're giving our customers a single, ready-to-deploy platform that combines vision, AI [Artificial Intelligence], and connectivity," says Quectel's Zeljko Maric, product development manager for smart modules, of the company's latest design, "so they can focus on their application instead of reinventing the hardware underneath it."

The module itself is built around the Rockchip RV1126B/RV1126B system-on-chip, giving it four 64-bit Arm Cortex-A53 processor cores running at up to 1.6GHz, a 2D-accelerating graphics processor, and a dedicated neural coprocessor delivering a claimed three tera-operations per second (TOPS) of minimum-precision compute to accelerate on-device machine learning and computer vision workloads.

It's computer vision, in fact, which is front-and-center in the module's design — with Quectel making much of the chip's built-in 12-megapixel image signal processor (ISP) with high dynamic range and a separate "AI-ISP" good for up to eight megapixels. There's hardware video encode up to 4k45 and decode at up to 4k30, with the ability to handle multiple video streams simultaneously, and peripherals include gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0, two CAN FD buses, and support for up to five cameras; Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Cellular, and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) support is available using optional external modules.

Quectel says the new module is "coming soon" for sampling and evaluation, but has not yet confirmed general availability nor pricing. More information is available on the company's product page.