Embedded Box PCs, fanless embedded computers and embedded PCs are all interchangeable terms for what are essentially small form factor fully functioning computers wrapped in rugged case. The cases are typically made of aluminium, and have some form of heat sink integrated to help with heat dissipation.
Due to the challenges of heat dissipation, embedded PCs usually use lower wattage (TDP) processor variants in the BGA format although some do have options for pluggable (PGA) desktop CPUs. Using desktop CPUs with clever thermal designs enables some embedded PCs to remain fanless, whilst still offering very high end processing performance in a system cable of withstanding shock, vibration and extended operating temperature ranges.
Since the appearance of true embedded box PCs nearly 20 years ago, the range of expansion options and features have increased significantly. A variety of different embedded PC families have been born to cater for the different requirements in a wide range of industrial applications from intelligent video analytics, industrial automation, machine vision and the new kids on the block, the IIoT gateway and AI Edge device. Many industries adopted embedded computers as the technology developed sufficiently to support their application demands. These lower cost, smaller fanless embedded platforms replaced larger rack based systems enabling better connectivity and localised computing capability meaning you can now find embedded PCs in industries as diverse as oil & gas, rail, manufacturing and digital signage to name but a few.
Expect to find lots of options for PCI and PCIe expansion for fieldbus, DAQ and GPU cards, miniPCIe and M.2 slots for cellular and WiFi connectivity, digital and analog I/O and the stallworts for comms, multiple Gigabit Ethernet, PoE, serial and USB ports.