With all engineering, design, and manufacturing facilities co-located at its headquarters in Guelph, Ontario, Connect Tech maintains strict oversight of its quality control processes. The company's manufacturing facility is ISO 9001:2015 certified, ensuring that its products meet the high-reliability requirements of military and industrial applications.

2. Core Business Focus and Strategic Alliances

Connect Techâ??s primary business revolves around bridging the gap between high-performance system-on-modules (SoMs) and the physical world. While major technology providers like NVIDIA, Intel, and NXP design powerful compute engines, these modules require complex input/output (I/O) interfaces, power regulation, and physical connectivity to interact with cameras, sensors, networks, and actuators. Connect Tech designs and builds the commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and custom carrier boards that make these integrations possible.

Key Strategic Partnerships:

• NVIDIA Elite Partner: Connect Tech is a premier partner for the NVIDIA Jetson platform. CTI designs specialized carrier boards and ready-to-deploy systems for the entire Jetson family, including the Jetson AGX Orin, Orin NX, Orin Nano, AGX Xavier, Xavier NX, TX2, and Nano modules.
• COM Express & SFF Standards: Connect Tech is a long-standing supporter of standardized modular computing form factors, developing boards for COM Express, SMARC, Qseven, and PC/104 standards in collaboration with leading silicon and module manufacturers.

3. Comprehensive Product Portfolio

Connect Techâ??s product catalog is divided into several primary categories, ranging from standard carrier boards for AI modules to rugged, sealed systems and legacy serial communications hardware.

3.1. NVIDIA Jetson Solutions

As AI workloads shift from centralized cloud datacenters to edge devices, the demand for local, high-power compute solutions has escalated. Connect Techâ??s line of Jetson carrier boards and integrated systems is designed to unlock the full I/O potential of NVIDIA's system-on-modules.

• Jetson AGX Orin Carriers & Systems:

  • Rogue Carrier Board: A full-featured carrier board designed specifically for the NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin module. It features dual 10-Gigabit Ethernet ports, multiple USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, MIPI CSI-2 camera interfaces, and expansion slots for NVMe storage and wireless connectivity.
  • Forge Carrier Board: Engineered for industrial and robotics applications, this board offers a dense I/O footprint, featuring multiple GbE ports, CAN bus channels, and isolated serial interfaces.
  • Anvil Embedded System: A turn-key, ruggedized enclosure system housing the Rogue carrier and AGX Orin module, complete with passive cooling fins for fanless operation in extreme environments.

• Jetson Orin NX & Orin Nano Carriers & Systems:

  • Boson Carrier Board: A highly compact, feature-rich carrier board designed to match the small form factor of the Orin NX and Orin Nano. It features dual Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.2, and multiple MIPI CSI camera inputs, making it ideal for compact drone and vision systems.
  • Quark Carrier Board: An ultra-small carrier board, barely larger than the Jetson module itself, designed for space-constrained applications such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and wearable technology.
  • Photon Carrier Board: A carrier board tailored for smart camera and vision deployments, offering direct PoE (Power over Ethernet) camera support.
  • Rudi-NX Embedded System: A compact, fully enclosed fanless PC powered by the Orin NX or Orin Nano, optimized for edge-AI processing in harsh commercial environments.

3.2. COM Express Carrier Boards

COM Express is a standardized, modular computer-on-module (CoM) form factor highly favored in industrial and medical applications. Connect Tech provides carrier boards that support Type 6, Type 7, and Type 10 COM Express modules.

• CCG020 COM Express Type 6 Carrier: A highly versatile, small form factor carrier board supporting a wide range of x86 processors via Type 6 modules. It provides extensive onboard connectivity, including miniPCIe, mSATA, USB 3.0, and HDMI/DisplayPort.
• CCG011 Ultra Lite COM Express Carrier: Designed for space-critical applications, this board provides basic system I/O in a minimal footprint without sacrificing system expandability.

3.3. VPX & VITA Solutions (Defense & Aerospace)

For mission-critical, high-vibration, and high-temperature defense applications, Connect Tech produces boards conforming to VITA standards, particularly the 3U VPX architecture.

• GraphiteVPX 3U VPX Single Board Computer: A rugged single board computer utilizing the Intel Xeon D processor, designed for high-density computing workloads in military radar, sonar, and signal processing.
• 3U VPX GPU Coprocessors: Carrier systems that allow NVIDIA Jetson modules or MXM GPU modules to be integrated into a standard 3U VPX rack system, enabling deep learning and parallel processing capabilities inside tactical vehicles and aircraft.

3.4. Single Board Computers (SBCs) and Smart IoT Gateways

Connect Tech manufactures stand-alone, highly integrated SBCs that do not require an external computer module. These boards combine processor, memory, and I/O on a single PCB.

• SBC Intel Atom Series: Low-power, fanless industrial SBCs designed for continuous operation in automation control, remote telemetry, and digital signage.
• Comet Smart IoT Gateway: A versatile, low-profile gateway system equipped with cellular, Wi-Fi, and LoRa wireless options, configured to aggregate sensor data from industrial environments and securely transmit it to cloud platforms.

3.5. Multi-Port Serial Communications and Industrial Bus Interfaces

While Connect Tech has pioneered edge-AI hardware, it continues to support its foundational line of industrial communication boards. These products are widely used in legacy systems, manufacturing floors, and marine communication networks.

• BlueStorm/LP PCIe Serial Cards: Low-profile PCI Express cards offering up to 8 ports of configurable RS-232, RS-422, or RS-485 serial communication, featuring high-speed data transfer rates and optical isolation options to protect host systems from electrical surges.
• PC/104 and PC/104-Plus Boards: Legacy stacked computing hardware providing multi-port serial, CAN bus, and Ethernet expansion options for older industrial and aerospace systems.
• CANbus Interfaces: Dual and quad-channel CANbus controller cards (PCIe and miniPCIe formats) for automotive and heavy-machinery communication protocols.

4. Engineering and Custom Design Services

While Connect Techâ??s commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) product line is extensive, a significant portion of its business is dedicated to custom engineering services. The company offers two tiers of customization:

1. Modified COTS: Connect Tech can modify an existing carrier board design to meet a customer's specific needs. This typically involves removing unused ports to reduce weight and cost, changing physical connector styles (e.g., swapping RJ-45 for M12 circular connectors), or adjusting the input voltage range. This approach reduces design risk and accelerates time-to-market.
2. Full Custom Designs: For unique mechanical constraints or highly specialized application requirements, Connect Tech's engineering team designs custom carrier boards or entire enclosure systems from the ground up. This service covers schematic design, PCB layout, thermal simulation, rapid prototyping, signal integrity testing, and software/board support package (BSP) customization.

5. Manufacturing Excellence and Quality Assurance

Connect Tech designs and manufactures its hardware in-house at its Canadian headquarters. This centralized approach guarantees strict quality control and agile production scaling.

• ISO 9001:2015 Certification: CTI's quality management system is certified to ensure consistent product quality, traceability, and continuous process improvement.
• In-house Surface Mount Technology (SMT) Lines: The manufacturing floor features advanced high-speed SMT assembly lines, automated optical inspection (AOI), 3D X-ray inspection, and selective soldering equipment.
• Testing and Validation: Products undergo environmental stress testing, including thermal cycling, vibration testing, and functional testing, to ensure reliability under extreme operating conditions (often rated for -40 degrees Celsius to +85 degrees Celsius operation).
• Lifecycle Management: Connect Tech is committed to long-term product availability. For industrial and defense clients, CTI provides lifecycle management support, offering proactive component obsolescence monitoring and engineering support to sustain product lifespans exceeding ten years.