The compact PICO-APL3 has been toughened up by removing memory sockets that are vulnerable to shocks and vibrations and replacing them with onboard memory and eMMC storage. This design detail has clear advantages for rugged applications and is already being used to support in-vehicle passenger information displays.

AAEON has also achieved a major breakthrough by fitting its new device with an inbuilt Trusted Platform Module (TPM). While standard boards of this size rely on software to encrypt information and protect against viruses, the PICO-APL3 has a far stronger hardware solution that can otherwise only be currently found on larger, less mobile devices. For people who need to make financial transactions on the go and retailers wanting to offer more convenient service, AAEON’s PICO-APL3 fills a long-existing gap in the market.

Fitted with two COM ports, multiple camera and display interfaces, and expansion slots including an optional board-to-board interface, the PICO-APL3 is highly versatile and can easily support additional high-capacity storage. It also features a range of power connectors and easy-access housing, making this an extremely user-friendly machine.

“The onboard storage is an important feature,” said Alicia Wang, product manager for AAEON’s Embedded Computing Division. “Along with the TPM, it means the PICO-APL3 can go farther, do more, and be trusted more than competing products on the market.”