PMC continues to thrive as the military’s mezzanine of choice, with a rich variety of conduction-cooled and military I/O products in that form-factor. Follow on technologies such as XMC provide a backward compatible upgrade path to faster interfaces.
A variety of processor-based mezzanine form-factors are coming into play. These Computer-on-Module products remove CPU core developments from a system designer’s list of concerns.
Much of software defined radio focuses on the development of software and tools that can be used to build better SDR products, but developments on the hardware side are more than keeping pace.
FPGAs are now an essential component of Software Radio due to their flexibility and real-time processing capabilities. But they can also be used in phased array radar beamformers, in smart antennas for wireless base stations and in real-time high-bandwidth spectrum monitoring.
Software defined radios require extensive processing power to realize their promised portability of waveforms and reconfigurability. Using FPGAs for hardware acceleration offers promising architectural options.
Using FPGAs to create systolic arrays can impact several aspects of Software Defined Radio including the parallel implementation of an adaptive beamformer.
Incorporating algorithmic synthesis as part of a true top-down flow for designing Galois-based FEC blocks for SDR applications allows users to have a golden source from which the final hardware can be generated and verified.
Test and Screening Software Programmable Test Instruments
Not long ago, testing of Mil-Aero products was done via specific-purpose test systems, but today it is much more likely that test requirements are met with mostly COTS components.
Technology Focus Military Market Review and Forecast
Despite many uncertainties—such as the Federal Deficit, winding down the war in Iraq and transitioning the military to a more responsive force—growth of embedded computers in military programs is expected to remain well above double digits throughout the coming year—and out into the future. And while the market remains somewhat stable, rampant consolidation within the industry has dramatically changed the landscape for merchant-market embedded-computer makers.
