Interface

SUMIT Connector, Pico-I/O, Pico-ITXe, MiniBlade, XR-DIMM

• 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

• Designing a rad-hard CubeSat onboard computer

  

  A CubeSat is a miniature satellite that conforms to a standard specification of 10 cm on each side and weighs no more than 1.33 kilograms. Often these cubes are concatenated to form larger structures. This standardization in satellite technology has provoked a significant growth in their use, as economies of scale in components, subsystems, launch equipment, and logistics have enabled many cost-effective new ventures.

  Ross Bannatyne VORAGO Technologies

• Small form factors, big time markets

  

  Whether you're talking about PC/104 and PCe/104 for rail and military applications or COM Express for gaming and IoT applications, small-form-factor solutions for embedded computing are hot across multiple markets. Reduced size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements are spurring innovation in smaller footprint designs that pack as much performance as larger solutions.

  OpenSystems Media Contributor

• 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

• PCIe/104 - The "fishal" recognition revolution in fish counting

  

  Fish-count surveys are vital in ensuring the conservation and management of fish stocks in our increasingly overfished seas. The accuracy of those surveys is critical in providing evidence of overfishing to drive restorative and preventative legislation. Traditional fish-counting is inherently manual, relying on fishing trawlers casting enormous nets into the ocean, pulling aboard as many fish as possible to manually count and develop the trawl survey.

  Rory Dear, European Editor/Technical Contributor

• Version 2.0: The evolution of SMARC module specification

  

  Earlier this year, the Standardization Group for Embedded Technologies (SGET) updated its Smart Mobility Architecture (SMARC) embedded computing format to the 2.0 specification. Since its inception three years ago, the SMARC small-form-factor module has given developers an innovation boost for the ultra-low-power embedded market. Due to its widespread adoption and successful application, SGET members determined that Version 2.0 was needed to support next-generation design requirements.

  Martin Unverdorben Kontron

• UAS payloads, radar best bets for military electronics market

  

  "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.

  John McHale, Editorial Director

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