Low Consumption Öchìn CM4 Carrier Custom Board Applied In Robotics, Drones, Home Automation and IoT, Manufactured by Seeed Fusion

Everything starts with a robust system!

The Raspberry Pi boards are sturdy and in particular the new Raspberry Pi CM4 module as well as having extremely small dimensions has very high performances. This is ideal if you want to equip your system with advanced features such as Machine learning, robotics or outdoor IoT devices and computer vision algorithms. 

In recent times, drones have taken the field and some companies have taken the technological level of these machines very high. Even the open-source world has produced software of incredible engineering level like the firmware for flight controllers such as Ardupilot, INAV, Betaflight and others. The guys from OpenHD took a step further and created a system to transmit the video captured by a high-resolution camera associated with an OSD that allows you to view the running data. However, these systems created for drones can be used with any type of vehicle, be it a rover, aglider, an airplane or a submarine.

The possibilities offered for this type of application by a machine such as the CM4 module are remarkable and in fact opens a wide range of new scenarios that are truly amazing！

Flavio Ansovini is an enthusiast of electronics, robotics and programming, and in recent years he has applied his skills to the world of RC models and drones. To make the most of the Raspberry Pi CM4 module he decided to create a carrier board oriented to robotics, drones, IoT devices and in general to embedded devices. The carrier board is called öchìn CM4. 

The öchìn CM4 is a tiny carrier board for the Raspberry Pi Compute Module. It is designed for applications where a powerful machine with low consumption and small dimensions is required. 

The small form factor makes it interesting for all those applications where the space available is not much and containing the weight is important, such as in robotics, home automation and IoT.

Furthermore, the board is compatible with all Raspberry Pi CM4 modules equipped with eMMC. Depending on your needs, you can select a CM4 module with an SDRAM starting from 1GB up to 8GB and the eMMC from 8GB up to 32GB, with or without the Wi-Fi / BT4 connection. 

Key features of the Raspberry Pi CM4 available on öchìn that Flavio developed are as follows:

• Dimensions equal to the CM4 module
• 4-port USB2 HUB
• Interfaces for the two CSI cameras
• UART, I2C, SPI interfaces
• Switching power supply capable of delivering a lot of current, to power the CM4 module and have ample room for USB devices
• Robust connectors dedicated to each interface
• USBType-C for eMMC flash procedure

Stunning Öchìn board manufactured by Seeed Fusion which, as always, gave its best!

Flavio made this point several times in our follow-up conversation: 

“The order creation process is very simple and powerful. It allows you to upload your own gerber and view them in the online editor, where you can check that you have not made any gross mistakes. In addition to being able to select the desired constraints, it is possible to load the bill of materials and immediately check the availability of the material and the costs of each individual component. Also very interesting is the warehouse of components available immediately called Seeed OPL, with attractive prices and in continuous expansion.

In my case, I had to repeat these operations several times both for the realization of revisions and due to the worldwide lack of components, but in the end, thanks to the enormous support of the Seeed Fusion team, I managed to make my boards.

The PCBs are made in a workmanlike manner, gold plating, precisely centered masking, and perfectly mounted boards. For the procurement of components, they were really helpful! In a time of shortage like this, research has been going on for months and they’ve given incredible support! I had worked with them in the past too, and I will certainly be happy to repeat the Fusion PCBA experience in the future.”

Seeed Fusion Sponsorship and Co-Create Program

Raise your Seeed Studio IoT projects to the next level with Seeed Fusion! The Ochin CM4 has been licensed to Seeed to manufacture and sell. Seeed Fusion provides free prototype sponsorship programs for products based on Seeed Studio modules & development boards and licensing options for Seeed to manufacture and sell your products to the community worldwide and share profits. Learn More.

Looking back, since the CM4 Sponsorship with Seeed Fusion campaign launched, designers and engineers from all over the world have enthusiastically participated in it, we’re gladly received a wide range of interest and great feedback from the community. 

We are really grateful to Flavio for participating in our CM4 sponsorship and being such a strong supporter of Seeed Fusion! Our cooperation has been very productive, and we look forward to a more long-term and in-depth cooperation in the coming days. Meanwhile, we also expect to see more enthusiasts participating in our sponsored events, as well as more interesting and diverse projects!

PCBA Sponsorship for Commercial Raspberry Pi CM4 Products Customization

Seeed is sponsoring businesses and individuals using the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 in customizing their designs or when designing carrier custom boards. If your team is working on a new product looking to incorporate the Compute Module 4, then this is for you. Most designs can receive up to $500 in sponsorship with the Seeed PCB Assembly service. Designs do not need to be open-sourced and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) can be signed beforehand if desired. Do it now, while you have the chance！

In addition, as an Official Raspberry Pi Approved Design Partner, Seeed is recognized as having the technical expertise and resources to develop Raspberry Pi-based solutions for clients. The world-class end-to-end design services are available that can be tailored specifically to your needs. 

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