NXP

NXP FRDM i.MX 93

Dual Cortex-A55 + Cortex-M33 heterogeneous platform with Ethos U-65 NPU, EdgeLock secure enclave, and industrial connectivity for edge AI applications.

Avocado target nameimx93-frdm

• 1.7 GHzDual Cortex-A55
• 0.5 TOPSEthos U-65 NPU
• 2GBLPDDR4X Memory
• Cortex-M33250 MHz Real-Time Core
• GbE + CAN FDIndustrial Connectivity
• -40 to 85°CIndustrial Temperature

Get Started

Overview

The NXP FRDM i.MX 93 development platform, enhanced with Avocado Linux and Avocado Connect, delivers a production-ready heterogeneous computing solution for edge AI applications. This integrated platform combines dual Cortex-A55 application processors, a Cortex-M33 real-time core, and an Ethos U-65 NPU to enable sophisticated edge processing with 0.5 TOPS of AI performance. The pre-integrated Linux and RTOS environment eliminates months of complex multi-core development, while EdgeLock security and atomic OTA updates ensure enterprise-grade deployment from prototype to production. Teams can leverage industrial connectivity options including CAN FD and Gigabit Ethernet to build secure, scalable edge AI systems that operate reliably in -40°C to +85°C environments with 10+ years of platform support.

Specifications

Specification	Value	Notes
Applications CPU	Dual Cortex-A55 @ 1.7GHz	64-bit ARM v8.2-A architecture
Real-time CPU	Cortex-M33 @ 250MHz	Dedicated real-time processing
AI Accelerator	Ethos U-65 NPU	0.5 TOPS for edge AI inference
Memory	2GB LPDDR4X	16GB eMMC storage included
Connectivity	Gigabit Ethernet, CAN FD, USB 3.0	Industrial and automotive interfaces
Operating Temp	-40°C to +85°C	Industrial temperature range

Use Cases

Edge AI Vision Systems

Real-time object detection and classification with Ethos U-65 NPU. Process camera streams locally with low latency for industrial inspection.

Industrial HMI Controllers

Rich graphical interfaces on Cortex-A55 with real-time control on Cortex-M33. Heterogeneous processing for responsive industrial control panels.

Smart IoT Gateways

Bridge OT and IT networks with secure EdgeLock enclave. Local AI processing reduces cloud dependency and improves response times.

Challenges and Solutions

Challenge	Solution
Complex heterogeneous architecture setup	Pre-integrated Linux + RTOS system
Linux and RTOS integration challenges	Optimized NPU drivers and frameworks
NPU optimization requires expertise	Secure OTA for both cores
Security configuration complexity	EdgeLock security pre-configured
Long development cycles for edge AI	Production-ready in weeks not months

Key Features

Heterogeneous Processing

Seamless Linux on Cortex-A55 with RTOS on Cortex-M33. Pre-configured inter-core communication for optimal workload distribution.

Edge AI Acceleration

Ethos U-65 NPU with optimized TensorFlow Lite and ONNX runtime. Hardware acceleration for computer vision and anomaly detection.

EdgeLock Security

Hardware root of trust with secure enclave. Secure boot, encrypted storage, and runtime attestation built-in.

Dual-OS Fleet Management

Unified OTA updates for Linux and RTOS partitions. Coordinate updates across heterogeneous cores with rollback protection.

Industrial Linux Stack

Yocto-based Linux with real-time patches. Pre-integrated industrial protocols and containerization support.

Multi-Core Analytics

Monitor both application and real-time cores. Track AI inference performance and system health metrics.

Security features

The published i.MX 93 feed builds every security capability this SoC can deliver; each one is opted into per runtime in avocado.yaml, with no distro rebuild.

Capability	Status on imx93-frdm
Encrypted /var	Built. Key derived from the SoC UID today; the EdgeLock (ELE) backend is pending
Signed boot FIT	Built. U-Boot re-packed with your key, and a saved-environment permit list
Rootfs dm-verity	Built. Root hash carried in the signed FIT
Extension dm-verity	Built
AHAB boot container	Built as a feed feature: EdgeLock authenticates SPL, ATF and U-Boot against SRK fuses

avocado.yaml

rootfs:
  image:
    verity: true

runtimes:
  prod:
    var:
      encrypt: true
      recovery: fleet-var-master
    signing:
      fit_key: product-fit

AHAB is applied when the feed is built rather than from avocado.yaml, because it signs the boot container the ROM loads. Signing does not close the part — an OPEN device boots a signed image without checking it, which is the window to validate in before burning SRK fuses. See Boot signing.

imx91-frdm carries the AHAB wiring too; it does not declare encrypted /var or verified boot yet.

Getting Started

The NXP FRDM i.MX 93 guide walks through the whole path for this board: prerequisites, the serial console, building, provisioning to an SD card, first boot, and running your own container so that it comes back after a power cycle.

Host machine

avocado init --target imx93-frdm imx93-frdm
cd imx93-frdm
avocado install
avocado build
avocado provision -r dev --profile sd

Insert the SD card, connect the USB-C cable, and apply power. The root user is passwordless in the dev runtime.