OnLogic of Vermont is aiming at industrial IoT and edge computing with a series of fan-less compact PCs.

OnLogic Helix HX500 industrial PC

Powered by Intel’s 10th generation Comet Lake processors, the Helix HX500 Series is 210 x 51 x 154mm and flexible on power requirements – accepting between 12 and 24V at 60W max continuously, or up to 120W peak. Operation at 8V is also possible, according to the spec sheet.

The PC is configurable when purchased, with various processors, memory options and wireless interfaces – including 4G mobile comms (the six holes on the side are for antenna connections).

“Helix is not limited to a lower wattage mobile CPU, thanks to its unique passively-cooled chassis design which allows the system to be configured with up to an Intel Core i9 processor,” according to the company. “The Helix Series also features extended operating temperature ranges, triple independent display support, Intel vPro with AMT, Intel VT-d [virtualiation for directed i-o] and Intel RST [rapid storage technology to enable RAID and protect from data loss.”

Applications are expected in industrial control, manufacturing automation and edge computing.

OnLogic Helix HX500 industrial PCIf GPUs need to be added for artificial intelligence, the company also offers the larger (210 x 65 x 303mm) HX600, which it describes as ‘hybrid fan-less’ – there is a GPU fan array.

Electronics Weekly has asked if there is a dust barrier between the no-fan motherboard and blown expansion extension, so watch this space.

Update: OnLogic replied promptly. A spokeswoman said:

“The sections are partitioned in a way that allows cables to pass between one chamber and the other at the front and back of the system. The partitioning minimises the exposure of the motherboard to moving air in the system. The motherboard is cooled passively and is intentionally well out of the way of the airflow.”

The computer can be configured with up to 64Gbyte of RAM, has room for dual SSDs (including NVMe options) and features available VPU accelerators, including Intel Movidius and Google Coral. PCIe x16 is provided for graphics cards, network cards and additional storage.

Voltage requirements are 19-24V with a GPU fitted, or 12-24V without a GPU.

“Additional cooling surface area allows the Helix 600 to integrate all of the features of Helix 500 and add expansion capabilities,” said OnLogic. “The expanded feature set of the Helix 600 makes it ideal for machine vision, AI, advanced industrial or manufacturing control and any advanced computing application that requires specialised connectivity, image or video processing. OnLogic plans to add additional expansion kits to Helix 600 in the near future, including more GPU options and hot swap storage bays, to augment flexibility and allow for additional graphics processing as well as expanded data management.”

Both 500 and 600 can be configured with Windows or Ubuntu Linux, and the company “plans to add imaging options for software partners in the future, including Ignition by Inductive Automation, ThinManager, EdgeIQ and AWS Greengrass”.