Taipei – September 12, 2026 -- DFI has introduced the ARH171/ARH173, a Mini-ITX embedded platform that runs on two Intel Core Ultra processor generations from a single board, targeting AI-driven robotics and industrial automation.
Platform delivers up to 99 TOPS to power on-device AI inference
The ARH171/ARH173 supports 16 Intel Core Ultra processor options spanning Meteor Lake-U/H and Arrow Lake-U/H, with power ranges of 15-28W and Intel vPro available on select SKUs. Arrow Lake-H configurations reach up to 99 total platform TOPS, with the integrated Intel Arc GPU and dedicated NPU accelerating inference through OpenVINO, DirectML, and ONNX RT, reducing dependence on discrete graphics cards.
Unified board architecture cuts redesign costs for system integrators
DFI President Claire Tien said system integrators building autonomous logistics robots need to shorten validation cycles and avoid recurring redesign expenses. The "One Board, Two Generations" architecture allows manufacturers to scale across performance tiers without re-engineering hardware for each processor upgrade, consolidating dual-generation scalability and native AI performance into a single validation point.
Wide-range power input and remote recovery target 24/7 robotic operation
The ARH173 features a 12-28V wide-range DC input, up to three 2.5GbE LAN ports, and modular M.2 expansion for sensor integration. An optional DFI EXT-OOB module enables out-of-band power cycling and OS recovery even when the primary system is unresponsive, while Intel vPro technology on select SKUs adds remote hardware management for continuous operation.
Autonomous mobile robot market growth drives demand for on-device AI
Mordor Intelligence projects the autonomous mobile robot market to expand at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 15% through 2029 as labor shortages push adoption of mobile automation. Advanced systems such as 3D cube storage robots require on-device AI to navigate floors, climb racks, and process dense sensor streams in real time, a workload profile the new platform is designed to handle.
The launch supports Qisda Group's broader AI strategy across four categories: AI Vision & Display, AI Infrastructure, AI Solutions & Smart Manufacturing, and AI Hospital & Wellness Ecosystem.