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News Release from: Venture Development Corp
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 10 October 2006
Mini-ITX moves into embedded designs
The Mini-ITX form factor, introduced by VIA Technologies in 2002, has unexpectedly made significant inroads in the embedded market.
The Mini-ITX form factor, introduced by VIA Technologies in 2002, has unexpectedly made significant inroads in the market Originally driven by hobbyists seeking a smaller alternative to large desktop towers that house ATX motherboards, demand for the boards has spread to the embedded market as well
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 17 Dec 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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The boards are a smaller than a traditional ATX motherboard, but also retain ample board real estate for integrated I/O.
"The PC similarity of the Mini-ITX form factor was initially the reason hard-core embedded designers initially looked down on using it, but the resemblance has proved to be an enabler of the form factor being widely used", says Eric Heikkila, Director VDC's Embedded Hardware and Systems Practice.
Mini-ITX has a standardised layout of mounting holes, panel I/O shield, and PCI slot similar to ATX boards.
This has encouraged the rapid development of Mini-ITX chassis.
The Mini-ITX form factor is also backward compatible, and these boards can be used in an ATX chassis because they work with a standard ATX power supply and 20-pin ATX power connector.
Although backward compatibility is useful and has only added to usage of Mini-ITX, the major driving for Mini-ITX in the embedded space has been the low-power, low-heat characteristics of the form factor.
This has enabled the development of fanless embedded computer systems using Mini-ITX motherboards, which are ideal for building extremely rugged and reliable embedded computing solutions for harsh environments.
The demand for MiniITX is currently being driven by embedded applications such as ATM and gaming kiosks, digital signage, industrial control, communications - codecs, mesh network boxes, etc, mobile video recording and transmitting units for law enforcement.
Many other applications are driving demand, where a small board with low-power, low-heat dissipation is desired to make the system rugged, reliable, and adaptable to a small case.
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