Video Processor Card Gains Image Fusion Capabilities

It’s no easy trick to combine images from multiple sensors and cameras and assimilate and interpret that data. Providing the level of real-time processing needed, GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms announced the IMP20 Video Processing Mezzanine Card. The IMP20 adds image fusion capabilities to the GE Fanuc ADEPT104 and AIM12 automatic video trackers. It allows the design of highly integrated, high-performance graphics capabilities in any environment where the input from multiple devices needs to be fused in order to provide a complete, easy-to-interpret image. When configured with the IMP20, the ADEPT104 and AIM12 automatic video trackers provide a powerful system for detection, tracking, stabilization and fusion that delivers better performance than existing software-based solutions and can be used in harsher environments than other hardware-based solutions.

The IMP20 offers intelligent, real-time, full-frame, multi-resolution image fusion, which aims to maximize scene detail and contrast in the fused output, producing superior fused image quality with maximized information content. The image fusion algorithm embedded into the IMP20 is a new approach to multi-scale fusion that benefits from much faster execution times and reduced memory overheads. The novel algorithm gives significantly improved results over the baseline weighted average algorithm while still performing in real time on live imagery.

GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, Charlottesville, VA. (800) 368-2738. [www.gefanuc.com].

Rugged XMC/PMC Card Sports 32 Gbyte SSD

The advantages of solid-state disk storage over rotating disks are many. Combining an SSD with rugged XMC sweetens the deal. Along just those lines, Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing has announced the XMC/PMC-550, a new high-performance, rugged solid-state drive card. The XMC/PMC-550 is offered in both XMC and PMC form factor versions and is ideal for use in legacy and latest rugged deployed applications. The XMC/PMC-550’s standard Serial ATA interface enables it to be easily supported and integrated into VME VPX and CompactPCI systems.

The XMC/PMC-550 NAND flash solid-state drive provides up to 32 Gbytes of disk space in an XMC (VITA 42.3) or PMC (IEEE1386.1) form factor. It is available in configurations of 8, 16, or 32 Gbytes, and is visible to the system as two independent SATA drives. Using multi-tasking technology, the XMC/PMC-550 delivers data transfer rates of up to 30 Mbytes/s for simultaneous read to each drive. The XMC/PMC-550 also comes with RAID 0 support that stripes data across the two independent SATA drives for maximum performance. With RAID 0, the 550 can achieve read transfer rate of up to 50 Mbytes/s. Pricing for the XMC/PMC-550 starts at $2,495.

Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing, Leesburg, VA.
(703) 779-7800. [www.cwcembedded.com].

PXI Card Blends Boundary Scan and Dynamic Functional Test

System developers can now get more bang for their buck when it comes to test instrumentation gear. That’s because multi-functions are now available on boards that used to require several. Goepel Electronic has launched a new series of JTAG Digital I/O PXI modules named PXI 5396-x. The PXI 5396-x modules offer 96 individually configurable single ended channels and support the structural JTAG/Boundary Scan test as well as dynamic I/O operation up to 100 MHz to execute functional tests.

PXI 5396-x are 1-slot 3U modules, which differ in onboard memory depth of 72 Mbytes (PXI 5396-X) and 144 Mbytes (PXI 5396-XM). All modules offer 96 single ended channels configurable as input, output and tri-state, which allow simultaneous driving, measuring and real-time comparison. While the signals are processed to test bus operations completely synchronous in the JTAG mode, the dynamic I/O mode enables functional testing with freely programmable clock frequencies from 500 Hz to maximum 100 MHz. That’s why, first structural Boundary Scan tests and afterward functional tests can be executed with the same instrument.

Goepel Electronic, Jena, Germany.
+49 03641 6896-739. [www.goepel.com].

FPGA AMC Module Features Optical Transceivers

System design used to mean the realm of the system box. Now complete military systems can reside on a single FPGA-based card. Along just such lines, BittWare has introduced its newest AdvancedMC module: the SF/GX-AMC (SF/GXAM). The SF/GXAM features four small form-factor pluggable-plus (SFP/SFP+) transceivers enabling support of virtually any serial communication standard, including Fibre Channel, Gigabit Ethernet, SONET, CPRI and OBSAI. The four SFP/SFP+ SerDes channels are connected directly to the onboard Altera Stratix II GX FPGA, which handles the higher level communications protocols.