Tech Talk
Edge AI Hardware for System Integrators
Last updated 22 October 2026
Build the Vision Solution Your Customer Needs. Not Just the One Your Hardware Allows.
Discover how flexible Edge AI computing can help system integrators deliver tailored machine vision, inspection and industrial automation solutions.
Every customer environment is different. So why should every machine vision or automation project be built around the same hardware architecture?
For System Integrators (SIs), delivering intelligent solutions means balancing processing performance, flexibility, integration requirements and project costs.
Whether you're developing a quality inspection system, implementing AI-powered automation or upgrading an existing production line, selecting the right computing platform can make a significant difference.
Traditional machine vision systems can be highly effective for defined applications. However, projects requiring custom AI models, more flexible camera configurations or additional processing capabilities may benefit from a different approach.
With industrial Edge AI computing platforms such as Innodisk's APEX series, integrators have greater freedom to build around their customer's requirements.
The Challenge: When Standard Hardware Limits What's Possible
System integrators are increasingly being asked to solve complex challenges across manufacturing, logistics and industrial environments.
One customer might need to identify subtle defects in materials moving along a production line. Another may want to combine visual inspection, object counting and automated process monitoring within a single system.
While conventional machine vision platforms can offer a straightforward route for established applications, bespoke requirements can introduce challenges:
Limited flexibility: Fixed hardware and software ecosystems may restrict custom AI models, additional sensors or third-party applications.
Processing constraints: More demanding workloads may require additional computing resources or dedicated AI acceleration.
Integration complexity: Connecting cameras, controllers, sensors and existing industrial infrastructure can require additional engineering.
Project economics: Hardware specifications, proprietary software and licensing models can influence the total cost of delivering a solution.
Future adaptability: Customers may need to introduce new inspection requirements, additional cameras or more sophisticated AI models over time.
For integrators, the opportunity is to choose a computing architecture that meets the application requirements without introducing unnecessary cost or complexity.
A More Flexible Approach with Innodisk's APEX Series
Rather than relying exclusively on dedicated vision appliances, system integrators can explore industrial Edge AI computers as the foundation for bespoke machine vision and automation applications.
Innodisk's APEX series combines industrial computing with AI acceleration technologies from Intel, NVIDIA and Qualcomm, offering different levels of performance, connectivity and configuration.
This allows integrators to evaluate hardware against the requirements of each project, rather than selecting a fixed platform before understanding the application.
The benefits of this approach include:
Greater software flexibility: Deploy compatible custom AI models, vision frameworks and third-party applications.
Right-sized computing: Choose from integrated AI acceleration or dedicated GPUs according to the workload.
Flexible connectivity: Integrate suitable cameras, sensors, networking equipment and industrial peripherals.
Configuration options: Explore different processing, memory, storage and connectivity requirements.
Commercial flexibility: Evaluate hardware architectures against project performance needs and overall deployment costs.
For SIs delivering tailored inspection and automation projects, this creates an opportunity to build solutions around the customer's actual requirements.
Choosing the Right Computing Power: APEX-E100 and APEX-P200
Not every machine vision application requires a high-performance GPU.
An inspection system performing straightforward object recognition may have very different requirements from one analysing complex surface defects across multiple high-resolution camera feeds.
Innodisk offers different APEX platforms to address these varying needs.
APEX-E100: Integrated AI Processing for Suitable Vision Applications
The Innodisk APEX-E100 combines Intel Core Ultra processing with integrated GPU and Neural Processing Unit (NPU) acceleration.
Designed for industrial Edge AI applications, it provides a compact computing platform for compatible vision, monitoring and automation workloads.
Key capabilities:
- Intel Core Ultra processing with up to 36 TOPS of combined CPU, GPU and NPU AI performance.
- Integrated AI acceleration without requiring a dedicated graphics card.
- Support for two Innodisk MIPI-over-Type-C cameras.
- Dual 2.5GbE networking and additional USB connectivity.
- Industrial DDR5 memory and NVMe storage, with configuration options.
For integrators developing relatively lightweight inspection, object detection or monitoring solutions, the APEX-E100 could provide an appropriate starting point, subject to software compatibility and performance testing.
APEX-P200: Dedicated GPU Acceleration for Demanding Applications
For more computationally demanding workloads, the Innodisk APEX-P200 combines an Intel Core i7 processor with NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada acceleration.
With dedicated GPU processing and industrial connectivity, it provides a platform for more advanced machine vision and AI applications.
Key capabilities:
- NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada acceleration with 3,072 CUDA cores, 96 Tensor cores and 8GB GDDR6 GPU memory.
- Intel Core i7 processing for application and system computing requirements.
- Three 2.5GbE LAN interfaces, including two with 30W PoE support.
- DDR5 memory support and industrial NVMe storage.
- Out-of-band management capabilities for remote system maintenance.
For integrators working with demanding computer vision models, GPU-accelerated inference or applications developed using NVIDIA-compatible frameworks, the APEX-P200 offers additional processing capabilities.
The important distinction is that neither platform is automatically the better choice.
The right system depends on the complexity of the application, software compatibility, processing demands, connectivity requirements and project budget.
With Innodisk's wider APEX portfolio, Simms can help integrators explore hardware options appropriate to their customers' requirements.
What Could This Look Like in Practice?
Consider a manufacturing customer looking to automate the inspection of materials moving along a production line.
The system needs to identify surface imperfections, distinguish acceptable products from defective ones and communicate results to the wider production process.
Rather than starting with a predetermined inspection appliance, a system integrator could develop an architecture around the application:
Define the inspection requirements: Understand the materials, potential defects, production speed, required detection accuracy and operating environment.
Select the appropriate hardware: Evaluate camera and illumination requirements, processing performance and whether integrated AI acceleration or a dedicated GPU is needed.
Develop and validate the application: Integrate vision software or custom AI models and test performance using representative production samples.
Integrate with existing equipment: Connect the vision system to relevant controllers, automation systems and operator interfaces.
Prepare for rollout: Establish a validated configuration that can be deployed, maintained and potentially replicated across additional installations.
The result is an architecture designed around the customer's needs, with the integrator retaining control over the application, integration and overall solution.
How Simms Supports System Integrators
At Simms International, our Intelligent Solutions team helps system integrators identify and evaluate industrial Edge AI hardware for their customer projects.
Working with technology partners including Innodisk, we provide access to computing platforms, memory, storage and related technologies that can form the foundation of machine vision and automation solutions.
Through our Define, Develop and Deploy approach, we can support:
Customer requirement discovery: Understanding the application, processing demands, operating environment and integration requirements.
Hardware selection: Identifying suitable Edge AI platforms, accelerators and system configurations.
Technical evaluation: Exploring hardware compatibility, connectivity and opportunities for testing.
Solution development support: Working alongside integrators to address hardware-related considerations during development.
Deployment and supply: Supporting product availability, configuration planning and repeatable hardware sourcing for future projects.
You retain ownership of the customer relationship, software development and overall solution.
Our role is to help simplify the hardware element, enabling your engineering team to concentrate on solving the customer's automation or machine vision challenge.
More Flexibility for Your Next Machine Vision Project
Not every customer requirement fits neatly into a predefined machine vision platform.
When projects demand greater application flexibility, tailored integration or a different level of computing performance, industrial Edge AI systems offer another approach worth exploring.
With Innodisk's APEX series and support from Simms Intelligent Solutions, system integrators can access a range of computing options to help bring bespoke machine vision and automation projects to life.
