DFI, a Qisda Group company and global leader in embedded motherboards, introduces the ARH171/ARH173 Mini-ITX industrial motherboards, expanding its AI-ready portfolio for space-constrained, mission-critical deployments. Powered by Intel technologies, these boards handle demanding Physical AI workloads from perception to reasoning, enabling next-generation smart logistics and industrial automation. As Physical AI transitions to operational deployment, intralogistics drives rapid mobile automation adoption.

Mordor Intelligence projects the autonomous mobile robot (AMR) market to expand at a CAGR of nearly 15% through 2029 to counter labor shortages, while advanced systems require on-device AI to navigate and process dense sensor streams in real time. The ARH171/ARH173 adopts a unified 'One Board, Two Generations' architecture, supporting 16 Intel Core Ultra processor options across Meteor Lake-U/H and Arrow Lake-U/H (15-28 W; Intel v Pro available on select SKUs). Delivering up to 99 total platform TOPS on Arrow Lake-H models, its integrated Intel Arc GPU and dedicated NPU accelerate AI inference via Open VINO, Direct ML, and ONNX RT, reducing thermal and spatial overhead.

Claire Tien, President of DFI, states: 'System integrators developing next-generation autonomous logistics robots need to shorten validation cycles and avoid recurring redesign costs. By supporting two processor generations on a unified board architecture, the ARH171/ARH173 simplifies long-term platform planning, delivers on-chip AI acceleration, and supports continuous operation through hardware-level remote management.'.