This chapter covers the hardware details of the M5-182X-A1: board specifications, product and PCB dimensions, all interface definitions, and electrical characteristics.
| Item | Specification |
|---|
| Dimensions | 128(L) × 95(W) × 70(H) mm |
| Appearance | Black top cover, gray-green enclosure |
| Mounting | Place on a horizontal surface |
| Item | Specification |
|---|
| Input voltage | DC 12V (±10%), 5A |
| Static power | 20W (TYP.) |
| Maximum power | 35W (power supply should exceed this value) |
| Operating temperature | 0°C ~ 60°C |
| Operating humidity | 8% ~ 90% RH (non-condensing) |
| Storage temperature | -20°C ~ 70°C (store at room temperature) |
| Storage humidity | 10% ~ 95% RH |
| Item | Min | Typ | Max |
|---|
| Input voltage | — | 12V | — |
| Input ripple | — | — | 50mV |
| Input current | — | — | 4A |
| Operating current (HDMI out, no peripherals) | 350mA | 1200mA | — |
| Standby current | 150mA | 250mA | — |
| Total output current | — | — | 3A |
The operating currents above were measured with the NPU idle and no RK182X compute module installed.
| Item | Specification |
|---|
| PCB | 8-layer, 1.6mm thick |
| PCBA dimensions | 120 × 88 mm |
| Screw hole size | ∮3.0mm × 4 |
| Module | RK3588 (host) | RK182X (AI coprocessor) |
|---|
| Process | 8nm | 22nm |
| CPU | 4× Cortex-A76 + 4× Cortex-A55 @ 2.4GHz | 3× RISC-V 64-bit (control cores, not application CPUs) |
| GPU | Mali-G610 MP4 | None |
| NPU | 6 TOPS | 20 TOPS @INT8 |
| NPU cores | — | 8 cores (LLM/VLM use all 8; CNN models often declare only 1) |
| DRAM | LPDDR4/5 4GB | RK1820: 2.5GB; RK1828: 5GB (3D-stacked) |
| Interface | — | PCIe 2.1 / USB 3.0 |
| Link | — | PCIe 3.0 x4 lane (connects to the host) |
| Capability | Decode | Encode |
|---|
| H.265 / HEVC | Main / Main10 @ 4K60 | Main @ 4K30 |
| H.264 / AVC | HP / MP / BP @ 4K60 | HP / MP / BP @ 4K30 |
| VP9 | Profile 0 / 2 @ 4K60 | — |
| AV1 | Main @ 4K60 | — |
| Multi-stream concurrency (on-board RK3588) | 32× 1080p30 decode | 16× 1080p30 encode |
Multimedia codec is handled by the RK3588's built-in VPU through the MPP framework; the RK182X is not involved.
| Item | Specification |
|---|
| CPU | RK3588 octa-core (Cortex-A76×4 + Cortex-A55×4), up to 2.4GHz |
| GPU | Mali-G610 MP4, 8K@60fps H.265/VP9 decode + 8K@30fps H.265/H.264 encode |
| Codec | Simultaneous encode and decode, up to 32× 1080P@30fps decode + 16× 1080P@30fps encode |
| Local storage | 32GB |
| DDR | 4GB |
| OS | Linux |
| Interface | Specification |
|---|
| Ethernet | 2× 10M/100M/1000M adaptive |
| WiFi | WiFi 5 |
| Bluetooth | BT 5.0 |
| HDMI OUT | 1× Type-A, 7680×4320@60Hz |
| Interface | Specification |
|---|
| USB 3.0 | 2× USB3.0 (current limited to 1.5A) |
| USB-OTG | 1× Type-C (OTG by default, supports DP output, current limited to 1.5A) |
| Headphone | 1× 3.5mm (supports 3/4-pole headsets) |
| Interface | Specification |
|---|
| Fan | 2×: 4pin 2.0mm (RK3588) + 4pin 1.25mm (RK182X module), both support 12V PWM speed control |
| MIPI output | 1× (24pin 2.0mm), verified with a 720×1280 LCD panel |
| MIPI CAM | 1× (30pin 0.5mm FPC) |
| Raspberry Pi IO | 40pin double-row header (compatible with GPIO / I2C / SPI / UART) |
| High-speed signal expansion | 2× FPC sockets (2× USB2.0 + 1× PCIe 3.0 x4 lane) |
| SO-DIMM | 260pin 0.5mm (hosts the RK182X module) |
| Power input | DC jack (D6.0, d2.0), 12V / min 2A (no peripherals, no RK182X) |
| MIC | 1× 2pin 1.25mm |
| RTC | 1× 2pin 1.25mm (CR2032 coin cell) |
| DEBUG serial | 1× 4pin 1.0mm (RK3588, 1500000bps, 3.3V) |
| FAN (4pin 2.0) | 12V / PWM / NC / GND |
| FAN (4pin 1.25, RK182X) | GND / 5V / FG / PWM |
| TP | 1× 10pin 0.5mm FPC (I2C touch panel, 3.3V) |
| JTAG | 1× 4pin 2.0mm (RK182X module debugging) |
| Storage | TF card (SD3.0 Class10, up to 128GB) |
| Key | 1× POWER ON + 2× Uboot flashing keys (3588 / 182X, one each) |
| LED | 2× (user-programmable indicators) |
- 12V DC power supply
- Power the board only from the DC jack
- Without peripherals or the RK182X module, the supply must support at least 2A
| No. | Definition | Attribute | Description |
|---|
| 1 | MIC+ | Input | MIC+ |
| 2 | MIC- | Input | MIC- |
| No. | Definition | Attribute | Description |
|---|
| 1 | RTC | Input | 3V input |
| 2 | GND | Ground | Ground |
| No. | Definition | Attribute | Description |
|---|
| 1 | GND | Ground | Ground |
| 2 | UART-RX | Input | RX2 |
| 3 | UART-TX | Output | TX2 |
| 4 | NC | — | No connect |
Default baud rate 1500000bps; 3.3V logic level — level shifting is required when connecting devices above 3.3V.
4pin 2.0mm (RK3588 fan):
| No. | Definition | Attribute | Description |
|---|
| 1 | 12V | Power | 12V power |
| 2 | PWM | Output | Fan speed control |
| 3 | NC | — | No connect |
| 4 | GND | Ground | Ground |
4pin 1.25mm (RK182X heatsink fan):
| No. | Definition | Attribute | Description |
|---|
| 1 | GND | Ground | 5V ground |
| 2 | 5V | Power | 5V power |
| 3 | FG | Input | Fan speed (tach) output |
| 4 | PWM | Output | Fan speed control |
| No. | Definition | Attribute | Description |
|---|
| 1 | GND | Ground | Ground |
| 2 | GND | Ground | Ground |
| 3 | RST | Output | Reset |
| 4 | INT | Input | Interrupt |
| 5 | GND | Ground | Ground |
| 6 | SCL | Output | I2C clock |
| 7 | SDA | Input/Output | I2C data |
| 8 | VCC | Power | 3.3V output |
| 9 | GND | Ground | Ground |
| 10 | GND | Ground | Ground |
Only I2C touch panels are supported (USB touch panels are not); I2C / RST / INT run at 3.3V — level shifting is required for 1.8V panels; connect the panel before powering on; hot-plugging is not allowed.
| No. | Definition | Attribute | Description |
|---|
| 1 | GND | Ground | Ground |
| 2 | TCK | Input | JTAG_TCK signal |
| 3 | TMS | Input | JTAG_TMS signal |
| 4 | VCC | Power | 3.3V output |
| Pin | Definition | Pin | Definition | Pin | Definition | Pin | Definition |
|---|
| 1 | 3V3 | 11 | GPIO4_A6 | 21 | SPI_MISO | 31 | GPIO1_A7 |
| 2 | 5V | 12 | GPIO1_B6 | 22 | GPIO0_C0 | 32 | PWM0 |
| 3 | I2C8_SDA | 13 | GPIO4_A7 | 23 | SPI_CLK | 33 | PWM1 |
| 4 | 5V | 14 | GND | 24 | SPI_CS0 | 34 | GND |
| 5 | I2C8_SCL | 15 | GPIO4_A3 | 25 | GND | 35 | GPIO1_A5 |
| 6 | GND | 16 | GPIO4_B7 | 26 | SPI_CS1 | 36 | GPIO4_B2 |
| 7 | GPIO0_D3 | 17 | 3V3 | 27 | I2C5_SDA | 37 | 9555_GPIO0_7 |
| 8 | TTL-TX6 | 18 | GPIO4_B6 | 28 | I2C5_SCL | 38 | GPIO4_B1 |
| 9 | GND | 19 | SPI_MOSI | 29 | GPIO1_B0 | 39 | GND |
| 10 | TTL-RX6 | 20 | GND | 30 | GND | 40 | 9555_GPIO1_1 |
IO level is 3.3V; level shifting is required for peripherals above 3.3V; mind the input/output direction; with the board powered off, measuring an IO pin with a multimeter should read 0V.
Hosts the RK182X module via a 260pin SO-DIMM socket:
- RK1820 module: 2.5GB on-package DRAM, supports 3B-parameter LLMs
- RK1828 module: 5GB on-package DRAM, supports 7B-parameter LLMs
For detailed pin definitions, see the RK182X module datasheet.
| Interface | Standard | Parameters |
|---|
| TF card | SD3.0 | Class10, max speed 10MB/s, up to 128GB |
| USB Type-A | USB 2.0 / USB 3.0 | 480Mbps / 5.0Gbps |
| Ethernet | RJ45 | 10/100/1000M |
| HDMI | HDMI 1.4 / 2.0 | 1920×1080 / 1280×720 / 720×576 / 720×480 etc. |
| Headphone | 3.5mm | Stereo left/right + MIC recording |
| Module | RK3588 (host) | RK182X (AI coprocessor) |
|---|
| Process | 8nm | 22nm |
| CPU | 4× Cortex-A76 + 4× Cortex-A55 @ 2.4GHz | 3× RISC-V 64-bit (control cores, not application CPUs) |
| GPU | Mali-G610 MP4 | None |
| NPU | 6 TOPS | 20 TOPS @INT8 |
| DRAM | LPDDR4/5 4GB | RK1820: 2.5GB; RK1828: 5GB (3D-stacked) |
| Interface | — | PCIe 2.1 / USB 3.0 |
