Thundercomm recently Rubik’s Pie AI SBC Built around Qualcomm QCS6490 SoC with 12.5 TOPS AI accelerator. The SBC comes in the “PI-CO ITX” form factor, which combines the Pico-ITX standard with the 40-pin GPIO header found on the Raspberry Pi SBC.
The SBC comes with a standard set of interfaces including USB, HDMI output, MIPI-CSI camera support, Ethernet, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.2, and more. Additionally, the SBC features a 40-pin header for GPIO, UART for debugging, audio output, and RTC battery support. The company says this is the first Pi-based system to use Qualcomm’s AI platform, so it supports Raspberry Pi HAT/HAT+ expansion boards and is suitable for a variety of AI, IoT, and edge computing projects. .
Rubik Pi AI SBC specifications
- SoC – Qualcomm QCS6490
- CPU – Octa-core Kryo 670, 1x Gold Plus core (Cortex-A78) @ 2.7 GHz, 3x Gold core (Cortex-A78) @ 2.4 GHz, 4x Silver core (Cortex-A55) @ up to 1.9 GHz
- GPU – Adreno 643L GPU @ 812 MHz, supports Open GL ES 3.2, Open CL 2.0, Vulkan 1.x, DX FL 12
- DSP – Hexagon DSP with dual HVX and 4K HMX
- VPU – Adreno 633 VPU Up to 4K60 decode for H.264/H.265/VP9 and up to 4K30 encode for H.264/H.265. Support for HDR10 and HDR10+ playback
- Spectra ISP – 64 MP at 30fps ZSL / 36 + 22 MP / 3×22 MP; 192 MP non-ZSL
- AI – 6th generation Qualcomm AI Engine combining Compute Hexagon DSP with dual Hexagon Vectors, eXtensions (HVX), Hexagon Co-processor (Hexagon CP) 2.0, and Hexagon Tensor accelerators AI performance up to 12 TOPS
- System memory – 8GB LPDDR5
- storage
- 128GB UFS Flash (μMCP; i.e. RAM and UFS on the same chip)
- M.2 M key socket for SSD
- video output
- HDMI 1.4 (4K @ 30FPS)
- DisplayPort (4K @ 60FPS) via USB Type-C
- Camera Input – 2 x MIPI-CSI D-PHY (4 lanes)
- audio
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- HDMI audio output
- connectivity
- Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port
- Wi-Fi 5 supports 802.11 ac/a/b/g/n
- Bluetooth 5.2
- USB
- 1 x USB Type-C port (USB 3.1 Gen 1)
- 2 x USB Type-A ports (USB 3.0)
- 1 x USB Type-A port (USB 2.0 host/device)
- expansion
- M.2 M-key connector for SSD
- 40-pin Raspberry Pi compatible header with 28x GPIO, 1x I2S, 1x PWM, 2x I2C, 3x I2C or SPI or UART
- others
- power button
- RGB LED
- RTC battery connector
- PWM fan connector
- Power – 12V/3A input via USB Type-C PD
- Dimensions – 100mm x 75mm (~Pico-ITX and PI-CO ITX form factors)
This device supports Qualcomm Linux, Android, and “LU” (Probably Lubuntu, Update: The company responded: LU stands for Canonical Ubuntu for Qualcomm platform and is expected to be released in early 2025) An operating system that provides flexibility to developers across a variety of development platforms. The company says the SBC is scalable and compatible with Thundercomm’s C8550 and C5430P SoM modules. Qualcomm AI Hub helps developers use pre-optimized AI models or fine-tune custom AI models to improve performance on SoC.
I previously wrote about the Radxa ROCK 3B, which combines Pico-ITX and Raspberry Pi form factors and has some similar features. However, it is powered by Rockchip RK3568 SoC. We’ve also covered various SoMs and SBCs built around the QCS6490 SoC, including the Avnet AI Vision Development Kit, the Tachyon credit card-sized SBC, and the SagireEdge AI 600. If you’re interested in this topic, feel free to check it out.
As of this writing, the Rubik Pi is not for sale, but the company says it will be available for pre-order in early November. For more information about SBC, please visit Rubik Pi’s product page or press release.
Thanks to TLS for the tip.
Debashis Das is a technical content writer and embedded engineer with over 5 years of experience in the industry. With expertise in embedded C, PCB design, and SEO optimization, he effectively blends difficult technical topics with clear communication.
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