April 2008

Departments Publisher's Notebook One Small Step, One GIANT LEAP The Inside Track COTS Products Editorial ...No Matter How Small

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Features

Special Feature
LARGE UAV Payload Challenges

Payloads Empower Autonomy Trend for Large UAVs
Jeff Child

Large UAVs like the Global Hawk, Fire Scout and Taranis are leveraging embedded computer processing to achieve ever greater levels of autonomous operation.

Tech Recon
ATCA-Based Military Systems

ATCA Meets Needs of Mission-Critical Designs
Dan Leih, Product Marketing Manager ATCA, Emerson Network Power, Embedded Computing

Although created for the telecom market, ATCA is well suited for defense and aerospace industries as they turn to IP networks and real-time data, voice and media transfers over IP.

ATCA Carves Out Niche in Mil Applications
David Pursley, Field Applications Engineer, Kontron America

ATCA has made impressive inroads into the military market mindshare. Its communications bandwidth and high-availability features help seal the deal.

System Development
GPP, DSP, FPGA Trade-Offs

FPGA Advances Ignite Signal Processing Rethink
Manuel Uhm, Senior Marketing Manager; Mark Littlefi eld, Product Marketing Manager, Xilinx; Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing (Respectively)

In military radar, SIGINT and similar systems, FPGAs are being used to augment, and sometimes even replace, general-purpose processors or DSPs.

MPPA Strategy Puts DSP/FPGA Dominance in Check
Paul Chen, Director of Strategic Business Development, Ambric

FPGAs and DSPs have recently held the high ground in military signal processing apps. Now Massively Parallel Processor Arrays (MPPAs) are weighing in, bringing benefits not found in those other approaches.

Technology Focus
1553 Boards

MIL-STD-1553 Joins the Multi-Function Board Trend
Jeff Child, Editor-in-Cheif

Still popular as a solution for low-latency, high data integrity interface needs, 1553 has maintained its viability in a variety of military applications. Multi-function board solutions that include 1553 are strengthening that legacy.

1553 Boards Roundup