Edge AI and New Considerations in Connector Selection

For ChatGPT and similar AI agents, processing takes place remotely, in a tightly controlled, highly optimized data center. More recently, AI has begun spreading to edge devices — cameras, drones, robots and industrial machines - where processors must run in far-from-ideal conditions under tight size, weight and cost constraints.

This blog looks at how Harwin's HRi and BBi connectors are enabling AI's shift to the edge, examining the conditions faced and the features required.

The operating conditions of edge AI devices are very different from those of AI data centers. An AI server sits fixed in a specially designed rack in a room with stable, moderate temperature and humidity - conditions that let it continuously deliver maximum speed and throughput. An edge AI system, by contrast, might have to perform while the platform, such as a drone, is shaken by air turbulence, squeezed by G forces, and baked by the midday sun.

Even if the developer wanted to optimize solely for AI performance, commercial applications bring other factors to the fore: size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C), as well as safety and reliability. Size, weight and power are particularly acute in mobile devices such as drones, as they directly affect the range achievable with any given battery capacity.

Connectors and cables can make up a disproportionate amount of a device's weight and size because of the mass of copper in them - and generally, the more copper a connector contains, the higher its power rating and signal throughput or integrity. In addressing the edge AI market, Harwin has balanced this need for performance against the SWaP-C factors that shape commercial developers' thinking.

This is apparent in Harwin's new commercial connectors. Features of the Gecko, Kona, and Datamate high-reliability products - all lightweight and rugged - are now being introduced into lower-cost board-to-board connectors intended for ordinary industrial applications.

The high-reliability ranges still represent the gold standard: made from the lightest, most advanced thermoplastics, their contacts offer the best combination of small size, light weight, high current capacity and signal integrity. But the latest industrial connectors' specifications run a close second, enabling designers of industrial-grade edge AI devices to handle tough environmental stresses while maintaining reliability and cost competitiveness.

Implementing AI in edge devices creates an apparent contradiction: AI processors demand high power - which usually goes hand-in-hand with thick cables and large connectors - yet many industrial devices, such as security cameras, are tightly space-constrained.

This is why engineers have welcomed a new generation of industrial-grade connectors from Harwin offering both high power and high current density. The Kona two-contact male connector is a case in point: this 7g device carries up to 60A per contact. That combination of high current capacity, small size and low weight is invaluable for embedded developers tasked with adding AI processing to an industrial device that must be both small and light.

The Kona range provides a proven way to meet size, weight and power constraints. But connectors in many edge AI systems, such as drones, must also handle shock and constant vibration. Temperature stress is another common challenge — and small edge devices often lack the internal space for adequate cooling airflow.

To withstand vibration and shock, a connector needs robust mechanical terminations: jackscrews and latches, for instance, provide a secure locking mechanism. It must also maintain an unbroken connection between contact and mating pin to ensure continuous power transfer. Harwin connectors feature sophisticated spring-beam beryllium-copper contacts that stay securely mated to the male plug.

Similarly, Harwin's HRi range implements advanced thermoplastics such as PA4T, allowing its Gecko range to withstand temperatures up to 175°C while delivering outgassing levels that meet NASA/ESA requirements.

Although these techniques and thermoplastics were originally developed for defense and aerospace connectors, the learnings from the HRi range are now being applied to Harwin's BBi industrial connectors, enabling them to withstand harsher conditions than ever before.

One further consideration when estimating a connector's lifetime reliability is mating cycles. A connector may be unmated during maintenance, and each cycle risks damaging the pins. Depending on the product's expected lifetime, it may be important to specify features such as shrouded pins, which minimize the risk of physical degradation from mating and unmating.

Adding AI functionality to a traditional embedded system introduces significant complexity, typically calling for extra processing, memory and sensor capabilities — all the more reason to simplify the connector systems.

By combining high-power contacts with high-speed data and/or coax contacts in a single unit, designers can reduce component count compared with using discrete power and signal connectors.

An integrated connector also occupies a smaller board footprint, weighs less, and allows a simpler board layout with less complex trace routing. Fewer components, in turn, lower the board's failure rate and streamline the assembly process.

If one thing is certain about AI, it is that the technology will keep developing at an astonishingly fast pace. This risks today's hardware quickly becoming obsolete as demands for speed and throughput outstrip the original design's specifications. Data center servers are built to be upgraded: their modular design lets parts be easily removed and replaced with improved versions.

That is straightforward in the fixed setting of a data center, but far harder for a population of edge devices deployed in the field. The difficulty can be mitigated, however, by building flexibility into the hardware design. For connectors, this means including so-called dark lanes - unused contacts - in the initial specification.

These can provide additional bandwidth later without redesigning the connector section of the board layout. Likewise, the maximum power rating can be over-specified initially, allowing for future AI processors that draw more power than the original.

A separate but equally important factor in a design's longevity is the supply chain. Engineers using Harwin connectors can be assured that supply chain security is carefully managed and that supply remains resilient even in the face of unpredicted disruption.

Finally, customers should satisfy themselves that the connectors specified in the purchase order are the ones delivered to their factory. The surest way to avoid counterfeiting is to always order from a distributor officially franchised by Harwin.