Electronic Assistance required

And to add to this... the Pi has notable processing lag when it comes to running our 'app' with internet, touchscreen, uploading images to our server, syncing settings & log files with our server, tracking GPS to ensure it's not being taken from it's intended location, i.e. ring-fencing (as we don't leave staff on site, due to it's intuitive ease of use in action & our intended plan to scale beyond hands-on work)

 

I should also provide a more simple response to this - A Large part of our product is the simplicity, instant connectivity & the flashiness of how it looks & it's size

Since your message, another mentor has advised me of a similar approach & I am exploring off-the-shelf solutions that could be hidden in a branded & sealed enclosure, so as to appear custom & professional, but until our numbers & turnover justify a custom solution (such as the PCB I want) nobody would be the wiser... & I am exploring this option & heeding your advice - but if I am able to acheive my original request - that would certainly be the ideal scenario/outcome

 

I still think you only need a Udoo X86 as it is a PC ánd an Arduino in one board. So all the extra's can be managed by the Arduino part of the Udoo. No need for a 1.8V converter. The Arduino part can monitor the battery voltage end send a sleep command to the PC part if necessary, it is standard functionality: https://www.udoo.org/docs-x86/Ardui...aswell_Power_Management_From_Arduino_101.html

The Arduino part can handle flash, PWM etc, all your other hardware related pheripherals and do communication with the PC part. Just a very simple Arduino shield PCB will do the trick (3.3V I/O and 5V compliant Input). https://www.udoo.org/docs-x86/Arduino_101_(Intel_Curie)/Pinout.html

You could also connect your (future) sensors with I2C (for example light sensor) and use the Udoo Brick connector.

 

I can't necessarily address your specific hardware requirements. While I have connected components, they have always been pre-existing. I can raise some question about the other parts to your plan, though.

In reading your post, the phrase "single point of failure" comes to mind. Is your PCB a single point of failure? Could it take down your whole business?

I am adamantly against the belief that programmers are a commodity, but from a business perspective, you do want to make sure they aren't irreplaceable, either. I would invest in programming to known independent and open standards, and find high quality products that fit those standards precisely (i.e., no Microsoft solutions).

Down the road you might find that your volume justifies a PCB (saving significant cost per unit), but until then, it might be easier to make existing spare parts work together. Also, look at the reverse - when your product is in the field and doesn't work due to a hardware failure, do you want your tech in Tokyo to be able to grab something locally, or wait for you to ship it to them from South Africa?

As for appearances, did you know that Beats headphones used to ship with weights in them, to make customers think they were heavy duty?

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/ben-einstein/we-took-apart-some-beats-headphones_b_7639618.html

Most people don't look inside.