Introduction to ALPON
The ALPON Edge Computer Series is an industrial edge AI platform built for real-time data processing and AI acceleration. It enables scalable edge computing across IoT and AI-driven applications.
Edge AI computers with a managed cloud.
ALPON is a family of industrial edge computers built on Raspberry Pi, paired with the ALPON Cloud platform for fleet onboarding, monitoring, OTA updates, and on-device inference.
ALPON is Sixfab's family of industrial edge AI computers, built on Raspberry Pi and managed through ALPON Cloud. ALPON X4 handles connectivity and gateway workloads on Raspberry Pi CM4. ALPON X5 AI adds 25 TOPS of NPU inference (DEEPX DX-M1) on Raspberry Pi CM5.
Which ALPON device should I use?
Choose ALPON X5 AI when the workload requires real-time computer vision or on-device model inference. Choose ALPON X4 when the workload is connectivity, gateway, or telemetry. Both share the same cloud, registry, and deployment surface.
Edge AI Computer
ALPON X5 AI
For real-time computer vision and on-device inference. Built on Raspberry Pi CM5 with a dedicated DEEPX DX-M1 NPU.
- AI 25 TOPS · DEEPX DX-M1
- Compute Raspberry Pi CM5
- Network LTE · 2× Gigabit Ethernet · Wi-Fi
- Operating temp −20 to +60 °C
Edge IoT Computer
ALPON X4
For industrial gateway, telemetry, and remote-monitoring deployments. Built on Raspberry Pi CM4 with multi-network failover.
- Compute Raspberry Pi CM4
- Network LTE Cat 4 · 2× Ethernet · Wi-Fi
- Operating temp −20 to +60 °C
- Security TPM 2.0 · watchdog · TLS
Where do I start?
Four entry points cover most workflows. Pick the one that matches what you need next.
First boot & setup
Power on, complete onboarding, and reach the ALPON Cloud dashboard in five steps.
Run an AI model X5 AI
Run your first inference on the DEEPX DX-M1 NPU using dxrt-runtime.
Manage a fleet
Onboard devices, monitor health, and ship OTA updates from ALPON Cloud.
Deploy a container
Push ARM64 Docker workloads to one device or your entire fleet, with rollback.
The shared ALPON platform
The platform layer is identical across both devices. Learn it once and use it for ALPON X4 and ALPON X5 AI fleets together.
ALPON Cloud
Onboarding, fleet inventory, monitoring, remote terminal, OTA updates, and eSIM management.
Deploy Applications
Container-based deployment, CI/CD integration, secrets management, and centralized logs.
AI Development X5 AI
DEEPX runtime, model conversion (ONNX → DXNN), deployment recipes, and inference benchmarks.
Sixfab Container Registry
Private OCI registry at cr.sixfab.io with per-tenant isolation and ARM64 image hosting.
Common questions
Is ALPON the same as the operating system that ships on the device?
No. ALPON is the device family. The operating system is device-qualified: ALPON X4 OS ships on ALPON X4, ALPON X5 AI OS ships on ALPON X5 AI. Both are factory-flashed and updated over the air via ALPON Cloud.
Do ALPON X4 and ALPON X5 AI use the same cloud platform?
Yes. Both devices register against the same ALPON Cloud account and appear in a single fleet view. Onboarding, OTA, remote terminal, application deployment, and eSIM management work identically across both. See ALPON Cloud.
Can I run AI inference on ALPON X4?
ALPON X4 runs general-purpose ARM64 workloads but does not include a dedicated NPU. For real-time computer vision and on-device inference at production frame rates, use ALPON X5 AI with the 25 TOPS DEEPX DX-M1 accelerator. See Device Comparison.
Where do I deploy my Docker containers?
Push ARM64 images to your private namespace on cr.sixfab.io, then deploy from the Applications tab on ALPON Cloud. Each ALPON device ships with credentials scoped to its owner's registry, so no per-device login is required. See Deploy Applications.
Updated 7 days ago