Introduction#

BeagleBone AI-64 like its predecessor BeagleBone AI, is designed to address the open-source community, early adopters, and anyone interested in a low cost 64-bit Dual Arm® Cortex®-A72 processor based Single Board Computer (SBC). It also offers access to many of the interfaces and allows for the use of add-on boards called capes, to add many different combinations of features. A user may also develop their own board or add their own circuitry.

Note

AI-64 has been equipped with a minimum set of features to allow the user to experience the power of the processor and is not intended as a full development platform as many of the features and interfaces supplied by the processor are not accessible from BeagleBone AI-64 via onboard support of some interfaces. It is not a complete product designed to do any particular function. It is a foundation for experimentation and learning how to program the processor and to access the peripherals by the creation of your own software and hardware.

BeagleBone AI-64 front BeagleBone AI-64 back

BeagleBone Compatibility#

The board is intended to provide functionality well beyond BeagleBone Black or BeagleBone AI, while still providing compatibility with BeagleBone Black’s expansion headers as much as possible. There are several significant differences between the three designs.

Table 13 Table: BeagleBone Compatibility#

Feature

AI-64

AI

Black

SoC

TDA4VM

AM5729

AM3358

Arm CPU

Cortex-A72 (64-bit)

Cortex-A15 (32-bit)

Cortex-A8 (32-bit)

Arm cores/MHz

2x 2GHz

2x 1.5GHz

1x 1GHz

RAM

4GB

1GB

512MB

eMMC flash

16GB

16GB

4GB

Size

4” x 3.1”

3.4” x 2.1”

.4” x 2.1”

Display

miniDP + DSI

microHDMI

microHDMI

USB host (Type-A)

2x 5Gbps

1x 480Mbps

1x 480Mbps

USB dual-role

Type-C 5Gbps

Type-C 5Gbps

mini-AB 480Mbps

Ethernet

10/100/1000M

10/100/1000M

10/100M

M.2

E-key

-

-

WiFi/ Bluetooth

-

AzureWave AW‑CM256SM

-

BeagleBone AI-64 Features and Specification#

This section covers the specifications and features of the board and provides a high level description of the major components and interfaces that make up the board.

Table 14 Table: BeagleBone AI-64 Features and Specification#

Feature

Processor

Texas Instruments TDA4VM

Graphics Engine

PowerVR® Series8XE GE8430

SDRAM Memory

LPDDR4 3.2GHz (4GB) Kingston Q3222PM1WDGTK-U

Onboard Flash

eMMC (16GB) Kingston EMMC16G-TB29-PZ90

PMIC

TPS65941213 and TPS65941111 PMICs regulator and one additional LDO.

Debug Support

2x 3 pin 3.3V TTL header:
  1. WKUP_UART0: Wake-up domain serial port

  2. UART0: Main domain serial port

10-pin JTAG TAG-CONNECT footprint

Power Source

USB C or DC Jack (5V @ >3A)

PCB

4” x 3.1”

Indicators

1x Power & 5x User Controllable LEDs

USB-3.0 Client Port

Access to USB0 SuperSpeed dual-role mode via USB-C (no power output)

USB-3.0 Host Port

TUSB8041 4-port SuperSpeed hub 1x on USB1, 2x Type A Socket up-to 2.8A total depending on power input

Ethernet

Gigabit RJ45 link indicator speed indicator

SD/MMC Connector

microSD (1.8/3.3V)

User Input

  1. Reset Button

  2. Boot Button

  3. Power Button

Video Out

miniDP

Audio

via miniDP (stereo)

Weight

192gm (with heatsink)

Power

Refer to Main Board Power section

Board Component Locations#

This section describes the key components on the board. It provides information on their location and function. Familiarize yourself with the various components on the board.

Board components#

This section describes the key components on the board, their location and function.

BeagleBone AI-64 board front components location

Fig. 201 BeagleBone AI-64 board front components location#

Table 15 BeagleBone AI-64 board front components location#

Feature

Description

User & power LEDs

USR0 - USR4 user LEDs & Power (Board ON) LED indicator

UART debug ports

3pin Wake-up domain and Main domain UART debug ports

USB C

Power, connectivity, and board flashing.

Barrel jack

Power input (accepts 5V power)

Mini-Display port

Output for Display/Monitor connection

Dual USB-A

5Gbps USB-A ports for peripherals (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Keyboard, etc)

GigaBit Ethernet

1Gb/s Wired internet connectivity

mikroBUS Shuttle

16pin mikroBUS Shuttle connector for interfacing mikroE click boards

P8 & P9 cape header

Expansion headers for BeagleBone capes.

Reset button

Press to reset BeagleBone AI-64 board (TDA4VM SoC)

Power button

Press to shut-down (OFF), hold down to boot (ON)

Boot button

Boot selection button (force to boot from microSD if power is cycled)

M.2 Key E

PCIE M.2 Key E connector

BeagleBone AI-64 board back components location

Fig. 202 BeagleBone AI-64 board back components location#

Table 16 BeagleBone AI-64 board back components location#

Feature

Description

microSD

Micro SD Card holder

JTAG debug port

Tag-Connect JTAG (TDA4Vm) debug port

Fan connector

PWM controllable 4pin fan connector

DP83867E

Ethernet PHY

TUSB8041

USB 3.0 hub IC

TDA4VM

Dual Arm® Cortex®-A72 SoC and C7x DSP with deep-learning, vision and MMA

PMIC

Power management TPS65941213 (PMIC-A) & TPS65941111 (PMIC-B)

16GB eMMC

Flash storage

4GB RAM

4GB LPDDR4 RAM

DSI

MIPI Display connector

CSI0 & CSI1

MIPI Camera connectors