PC/104 Consortium

Reliability and performance still matter for industrial embedded computing applications, which is why the PC/104 standard remains the first choice for those solutions requiring small form factors that can operate reliably in harsh industrial environments. While designers still choose PC/104 for rugged industrial applications, they are also opting for the time-tested architecture in newer technology [...]

Mariana Iriarte, Technology Editor

Reduced size, weight, and power (SWaP) and increased standardization requirements for applications from unmanned aircraft to ground vehicles to portable communications systems are driving military power supply designs. Meanwhile, innovations such as gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) are improving efficiencies.

Rodger Hosking, Pentek, Inc.

Radar, communications, and SIGINT [signals intelligence] systems have traditionally combined sensor processing, data conversion, and signal processing hardware within single enclosures or equipment racks. Analog signals for antennas, transducers and other sensors were connected through cables, often causing loss and interference along the way. However, enabled by new data converter and field-programmable gate array (FPGA) technology and evolving open embedded computing standards, system designers can now deploy small-form-factor (SFF) subsystems at each sensor site for distributed signal acquisition and preprocessing. Digitized signals are then delivered through optical cables, providing higher signal quality over longer connection distances while reducing size, weight, cost, and maintenance.

Manfred Schmitz MEN Mikro Elektronik

Recently, the U.S.-based Internet service provider OneWeb ordered 900 satellites to provide additional global broadband. Knowing that this volume is more than half of the total 1,400 satellites already in orbit, and knowing that the cost for sending one into space is about $100 million, the industry needs to start thinking about new technologies that could help manage the mass of satellites that must be produced every year.

John McHale, Editorial Director

"Uncertainty" best describes the current outlook for the U.S. military market, with the next president's positions still somewhat unclear, as is the nation's future defense outlook.Regardless of inertia or doubt in Washington, military program managers and industry engineers must continue to keep the current defense electronics systems in air, ground, and sea platforms running efficiently to ensure continuing military readiness. Moreover, key radar, unmanned, electronic warfare, and other systems must still be modernized. All of this means that opportunities still exist for embedded electronics suppliers.

Thierry Wastiaux Interface Concept

To reach the level of performance requested by the latest military specifications, electronic warfare (EW) systems designers rely more and more on VPX high-performance embedded computing (HPEC) platforms. To handle the global IP traffic growth - predicted to reach 132 exabytes (EB) per month in 2018, according to Cisco's Visual Network Index - electronic systems must manage the data flow in and out of the semiconductor devices. Designers of field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) have developed devices offering high bandwidth and performance with very high-speed interfaces that can bring superior parallel processing power. This reality enables the design of high-performance hybrid HPEC systems that can be used for such demanding applications as ultrafast shape-recognition systems.

John McHale, Editorial Director

Unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) continue to shrink in size, as do their payloads, requiring system designers to leverage small-form-factor, embedded-computing standards like PC/104, COM Express, and others.

John McHale, Editorial Director

While PC/104 has been around for decades it has never been healthier. Its main advantages - ruggedness, compact size, and modularity - have never been more in demand in the military electronics market, especially in unmanned systems.

John McHale, Editorial Director

Now as SWaP requirements become more prevalent in military electronics system designs, PC/104’s place in this market is more secure than ever.

Pushek Madaan, Cypress Semiconductor and Gagan Luthra, Cypress Semiconductor

Increasing time-to-market pressures have led to the availability of full-featured microcontrollers, sometimes called system-on-chip (SoC) processors. These feature-rich microcontrollers or SoCs speed design by integrating a part of or, in some cases, all of the hardware required to implement an embedded design. Developers can then focus their design efforts on application-level functionality.