Embedded Software

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• PC/104: the smart play

  Stephen St. Amant, PC/104 Consortium President

  "It just doesn't go out of style." Is the blue blazer timeless? That's what I hear. What about PC/104? Absolutely. In the embedded market space, longevity is key. Embedded systems go through ­rigorous testing and qualification; the systems need to last. While new form factors and specifications sprout up continually, PC/104 is a solid, time-tested architecture that can be trusted in applications that require reliability, wide industry support, flexibility, and long-term sustainability. Systems built with the PC/104 stacking architecture are versatile. Based on their configuration, they can be tailored for any number of transportation, industrial, defense, mining, gaming, and aerospace needs.

• The future of Ethernet

  Ronen Isaac, MilSource

  With Ethernet becoming the ubiquitous connectivity standard for service providers, enterprises, and military applications, we are letting go of proprietary networking technologies and heading directly into industry standard networking based on Ethernet.

• Rugged networking on the move: Best practices for design and test for constrained-space applications

  

  In the unpredictable environment of the battlefield, the fight does not stop just because you are moving. That reality puts warfighters at a distinct disadvantage if they cannot maintain situational awareness at all times, as adversaries equip themselves with the latest wireless technology and smartphones while actively moving in ground vehicles. Mobile Internet Protocol (IP) networking is a necessary response by the Department of Defense (DoD) to counter the many foes who have ready access to this ever-smaller mobile technology. The DoD's moves are enabling U.S. warfighters to be more agile and prepared.

  Charlie Kawasaki, PacStar

• Mobile computing for military use grapples with size/weight versus performance issues

  

  The constant drive forward in commercial technology is also driving military-computing technology to new heights. As this progress occurs, mobile computing is becoming more relevant to the warfighter, but its benefits bring huge challenges for designers and engineers. Even as engineers deal with shrinking size and weight requirements, performance is still a big issue that mobile computing doesn't quite answer for military use.

  Mariana Iriarte, Technology Editor

• The commonality of COTS solutions for UUVs and UAVs

  

  Some time ago, when designers started thinking about unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) applications, concerns were raised that the undersea environment might be so different or exotic that standard solutions would need to be significantly modified. To the surprise of many, however, it was found that there is significant commonality between unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and UUV environments. There are, to be sure, unique aspects to each type of platform, but in general, standard rugged military commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) embedded solutions are applicable to both.

  Mike Southworth Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions

• Small-form-factor solutions revolutionize system architectures

  

  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.

  Rodger Hosking, Pentek, Inc.

• What's the latest?

  Stephen St. Amant, PC/104 Consortium President

  What's notable at our member companies? Well, quite a bit! I asked our members to contribute some news blurbs, and here's what filled my inbox. As always, I encourage you to visit our member-company websites and to stop by their booths at the many trade shows where they exhibit. As for the Consortium, you can always keep up with us at www.pc104.org.

• Unmanned systems, C4ISR funding strong: Good news for small form factors

  

  As threats evolve around the globe, investment forecasts for military application areas such as command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) applications continue to grow. Boosted military spending benefits makers of small-form-factor embedded computing solutions, as these military applications also have stringent size and weight requirements answered by the smaller devices.

  John McHale, Editorial Director

• History of the PC/104 Consortium

  OpenSystems Media Contributor

  The PC/104 Consortium was established in February 1992 by 12 companies with a common vision of adapting desktop computer technology for embedded applications. This consortium has had a tremendous, positive effect on the embedded computer marketplace. The initial release of the PC/104 specification in March of 1992 was an open design offering the power and flexibility of an IBM compatible personal computer in a size ideally suited for embedding. Simple and elegant in design, while small but rugged in performance, PC/104 technology bridged the successes of the past with the promises of future innovations.

• PC/104: A fresh look in its 25th year

  

  Let's take a moment to recall the significance of 1987 - thirty years ago. You may immediately think, "Yes. 1987. A fantastic year for the birth of tennis stars: Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, and Sara Errani were all born in '87." But I imagine your second thought is about PC/104, right? Well, it could be if you know your PC/104 history: 1987 marks the year that Ampro introduced the Little Board/PC single-board computer - one of the earliest seeds of the PC/104 ecosystem. Early collaborators such as Real Time Devices (now RTD Embedded Technologies) and Diamond Systems began developing compatible products as interest grew in the modular building block concept. By 1989, an innovative plug-in mezzanine concept was introduced; it was perhaps the first look at a stackable bus structure that could eliminate the need for a backplane. As the form and function of the 3.775-inch by 3.550-inch stackable PC architecture began to take shape, Ampro made the industry-changing decision to spin its proprietary form factor into an open standard. In 1992, twelve trailblazing companies would join together to establish the PC/104 specification and the consortium that bears its name. Stackable expansion buses, corner mounting holes, and a compact footprint proved to be a winning combination which quickly found popularity among embedded system designers. (Note: Many thanks to Rick Lehrbaum for his previous publications chronicling the early history of PC/104.)

  Stephen St. Amant, PC/104 Consortium President

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