Each month COTS Journal features a story, interview, product or technology in its Main Feature. These features are the focal point for their edition of the magazine. This is an Archive section.
Most Recent
VME SBCs
VME SBCs Climb the Compute-Density Curve
Jeff Child
December 2006
As the year of VME’s 25th anniversary comes to a close, it’s remarkable that it remains a leading embedded computing form-factor, and enjoys a huge installed base in numerous militaryRead More...
Past Articles
VME SBCs
Multicore Processors Energize the VME SBC Realm
Frank Phelan, Principal Engineer, Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing
December 2006
Microprocessor performance has tracked Moore’s Law, which promised a fairly predictable doubling of processing performance every 18 months, virtually unfailingly, ever since theRead More...
Power Conversion
Power Converters Evolve to Suit the FPGA Era
Jeff Child
November 2006
Modern digital electronics present a challenge to designers of power systems for critical reliability applications in military and avionics programs. The latest high-performance FPGAs,Read More...
Power Conversion
Component Module Approach Wins for Custom Military Power Supplies
Keith Nardone, Sr. Manager, Defense Products
November 2006
It is not unusual for military systems designers to build their own power supplies from discrete components. Power supply design is perceived by many to be a low-tech, relativelyRead More...
FPGAs for Software Radio
FPGA Tech Advances Propel Software Radio Forward
Jeff Child
October 2006
For a variety of military applications, FPGAs have become a core enabling technology—as critical as processors, memory and I/O interface silicon. But no segment is perhaps so dependentRead More...
FPGAs for Software Radio
FPGAs Muster Up Solutions for Software Radio
Rodger Hosking, Pentek
October 2006
Software defined radio technology has been widely adopted for new military and aerospace platforms, government signal intelligence and homeland security systems, and now moreRead More...
FPGAs for Software Radio
FPGAs Cater to a Diverse Set of Military Needs
Amr El-Ashmawi, Altera
October 2006
Military applications where programmable logic is key span a diverse range, including handheld radios, heads-up displays, battlefield sensors, unmanned air and ground systems,Read More...
FPGAs for Software Radio
DSP Pipeline Scheme Enhances FPGA System Performance
Ramon Mitchell, Radstone Embedded Computing
October 2006
Many defense and aerospace applications require advanced imaging, multi-sensor processing, sensor fusion and software defined communications platforms. Ideally, this functionality mustRead More...
Data Recorders
Data Recorders Get Faster, More Reliable
Ann R. Thryft
September 2006
The more intelligence that can be acquired to help warfighters, the better they can do their jobs. In today’s military, the data recorders used in military data acquisitionRead More...
Data Recorders
New Standards, Technology Eliminate Signal Processing Bottlenecks
Rodger H. Hosking, Pentek
September 2006
The most difficult problem for designers of high-performance, real-time digital signal processing systems for military applications is simply moving data within the system because ofRead More...
Data Recorders
FPGAs Enable Real-Time Data Recording for Sensor Processing Applications
Steve Birch, TEK Microsystems
September 2006
The ability to record and play back large volumes of sampled digital data, at real-time data rates, is a key capability for many military sensor processing applications. DeployedRead More...
Data Recorders
Solid State Flash Drives Help Ruggedize Data Recorders
Dr. Balázs Bagó and Guy Freikorn, Heim Data Systems and Msystems
September 2006
The storage of mission-critical data has posed a dilemma for instrumentation recorder providers and users. Using ruggedized storage devices is extremely costly, yet affordableRead More...
Ethernet in the Battlespace - Part II
High-Performance Ethernet Fabrics for Military Systems
Greg Bolstad, Critical I/O
August 2006
It has for many years been a goal of system designers to use a single networking technology to fulfill all of the interface needs of high-performance military systems. The diverseRead More...
Ethernet in the Battlespace - Part II
Cost, Complexity Drive Ethernet Switching Layer Debate
Joe McCarthy, ACT/Technico
August 2006
Near-term advances in Ethernet switching technology will enable Ethernet to grab an ever-larger share of defense system data traffic. Rugged 3U and 6U Layer 3 Ethernet switches capableRead More...
Ethernet in the Battlespace
Adapting Ethernet for the Battlespace
Steve Rood Goldman, Data Device Corp.
July 2006
The growing interest in Ethernet for military applications has been driven by this networking technology’s commercial success. Such ubiquity has resulted in readily available COTSRead More...
Ethernet in the Battlespace
Defense Platforms Get Ready for IPv4/v6
Nauman Arshad, Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing
July 2006
Networks based on the Internet Protocol (IP) are already commonplace in both commercial and military enterprises where they help to enable seamless interoperability and communicationRead More...
Military Batteries
New Technologies Vie to Close the Battery Power Gap
David B. Cotton
June 2006
As the amount of electronic gear carried by modern Warfighters continues to grow, escalating power and energy requirements can cause real challenges in the operation of these devicesRead More...
Military Batteries
High-Power Lithium Technology Proves Ripe for Mil Apps
Sol Jacobs, Tadiran Batteries
June 2006
The U.S. DoD recently identified the need for a reliable high-power battery for single-use military applications as a “critical problem” demanding significant attention. Demand forRead More...
Military Batteries
Extreme Temps Pose Battery Pack Design Challenges
Jeffrey VanZwol, Micro Power Electronics
June 2006
With the modernization of military armament, soldiers are becoming reliant on mobile power sources. Modern soldiers carry wireless electronic systems to improve situational awarenessRead More...
Tailoring Processors for Military Applications
Processors Combine Forces for Military Systems
Ann R. Thryft
May 2006
When it comes to the processors used in high-demand, complex compute-intensive military systems, the big news these days is the rise of FPGAs and the new generation of multicoreRead More...
Tailoring Processors for Military Applications
Commercial Processors in Military Applications
Dawn Levy and Stephen Pearce, Mercury Computer Systems
May 2006
The expanding array of processor types available today has significantly complicated the selection process for military imaging and signal processing applications. The variousRead More...
