AIoT-3568A Smart Terminal Board for Intelligent Medical Consumables Cabinets

In the era of healthcare digitalization, hospitals and medical facilities face growing demands for efficient and traceable management of high-value consumables. Traditional inventory systems often struggle with unclear stock levels, inconvenient access, and limited traceability — leading to inefficient workflows and increased operational risks. To address these challenges, a partner of ShiMeta developed an intelligent medical consumables cabinet powered by the AIoT-3568A smart terminal motherboard, a solution that leverages IoT and automation technologies to redefine consumable management in healthcare environments.

Background: Challenges in Medical Consumables Management

Healthcare facilities commonly encounter issues such as manual auditing, slow inventory checks, and restricted visibility into consumable usage. These challenges can result in resource waste, inaccurate stock levels, and increased administrative burden. In response, hospital administrators set clear requirements for a next-generation consumables system that could:

• Enforce multi-factor authentication including finger vein, facial recognition, and ID card access
• Support RFID automatic inventory counting for rapid stock checks
• Enable multi-cabinet linkage with synchronized data and unified control
• Provide environmental monitoring for temperature, humidity, and air quality
• Ensure flexible network connectivity (wired, wireless, 4G)
• Maintain high reliability and compliance suitable for medical settings

Core Strengths of the AIoT-3568A in This Project

The AIoT-3568A smart terminal board was chosen as the central control unit due to its comprehensive advantages in performance, extensibility, stability, and industrial readiness.

1. Powerful Processing and System Compatibility

The board is powered by a Rockchip RK3568 quad-core processor with a 2.0 GHz clock speed, running Android 15 and equipped with a 1 TOPS NPU. This configuration easily handles multi-task processing such as RFID inventory, face recognition, and data synchronization. It also supports 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage, meeting high-frequency data access and local log requirements.

2. Rich Expansion Interfaces

The AIoT-3568A provides a wide range of interfaces essential for intelligent cabinet integration:

USB 3.0 + five USB 2.0 ports for connecting RFID readers, biometric modules, cameras, and IC card readers

Five serial ports (RS232/RS485/TTL) for environmental sensors such as temperature, humidity, and PM2.5 detectors

Display interfaces (LVDS/eDP/HDMI) capable of driving various LCDs up to 4K×2K@60 Hz

3. Stable Network and Communication Support

Reliable connectivity is critical in healthcare environments. The board supports Gigabit Ethernet and dual-band Wi-Fi for stable high-speed data transmission. An optional Mini PCI-E 4G module enables remote communication and data reporting even without local network access. TCP/IP support ensures seamless integration with hospital backend systems.

4. Industrial-Grade Reliability

Designed for long-term operation, the AIoT-3568A supports a wide operating temperature range (0 °C to 60 °C) and has passed rigorous tests for electrostatic discharge, vibration, and drop resistance. Integrated RTC real-time clock and power-loss memory features help preserve data integrity and operational continuity — key requirements for critical medical systems.

5. Flexible Customization Options

ShiMeta provides extensive support with system APIs and secondary development tools, allowing customers to adapt software and workflows to hospital processes. Optional interfaces such as CAN, MIPI camera, SATA, and M.2 enable future functional upgrades.

Realized Value in Intelligent Healthcare

By integrating the AIoT-3568A smart terminal motherboard, the intelligent consumables cabinet solution delivers measurable improvements:

Dramatically improved management efficiency:

RFID automatic inventory reduces manual stock checks from hours to seconds.

Complete consumable traceability:

Every item withdrawal is recorded and uploaded in real time for full lifecycle tracking.

Enhanced safety and compliance:

Multi-factor authentication and electromagnetic shielding ensure secure operation compliant with medical standards.

High integration and ease of maintenance:

Rich interfaces and compact design simplify peripheral integration and cabinet setup.

Stable long-term operation:

Industrial-grade design and reliability testing ensure consistent performance in challenging hospital environments.

Conclusion

The deployment of the AIoT-3568A smart terminal board in intelligent medical consumables cabinets showcases how advanced edge computing and connectivity can revolutionize hospital material management. This project not only solves pressing operational challenges but also sets a strong example for the application of IoT technology in smart healthcare, industrial control, and other mission-critical systems