Chinese military bolt-on rackmount that can house up to 8 AI servers grabs iF Design Award

Military-grade AI server wins iF Design Award for its rugged modular design
Features include electromagnetic shielding, shock resistance, and moisture protection
Operates in extreme conditions from -55°C to 70°C without performance loss

The iF Design Awards are an international competition recognizing excellence in design across categories such as product, communication, packaging, and user interface.

Organized by iF International Forum Design GmbH in Germany, past winners include products from the likes of Apple, Samsung, Sony, and Lenovo – in 2024, one of the winners included South Korea’s KT (Korea Telecom) with its gorgeous skinnable Wi-Fi router.

There are often unusual winners, and this year the list includes, of all things, a Chinese military AI server. If we’re honest, we can see why it won. It’s unquestionably a thing of beauty, with its olive-green and metallic finish, reinforced metal frame, eight vertical modules with LED indicators, locking mechanisms, connector ports, and a shock-absorbing base – but even so, it’s an unexpected inclusion.

Designed for on-the-go

Created by China’s Chaoyue Technology, the Global “Special Forces” server is described as a “fully environmentally compatible, electromagnetic interference-resistant, high-computing power, and 100% domestically produced server.”

Features include environmental adaptability, one-click control functions, and integrated computing, storage, switching, confidentiality, and display capabilities.

The Special Forces server is designed for use in airborne, ship-borne, and in-vehicle situations. It’s built for harsh environments (frankly it wouldn’t be much use if it wasn’t), and offers anti-electromagnetic interference protection from 10K–10GHz, resistance to strong vibrations and 50g impact, and IP66-rated moisture protection with 95% humidity tolerance.

It also reportedly delivers reliable performance in temperatures from -55°C to 70°C, and durability against salt spray exposure for up to 10 years without damage.

The product, which took up to a year to create and was launched in 2023, is the first domestically produced independent platform LRM server in China.

It features advanced DVI+USB matrix switching, something which Chaoyue Technology says is currently only achievable by two companies in China, alongside AI-assisted control, modular configuration, and energy-efficient design principles.

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