As its name implies, articles in this section blend in-depth examinations of a key embedded computer or electronics technology trend and put it in context with the requirements of today's military system designs. This section is typically the cover story for the issue.
Most Recent

Multifunction I/O Boards
Multifunction I/O Boards Step Up with Integrated Solutions
Jeff Child, Editor-in-Chief
August 2010
While the dramatic benefits of Moore’s law are obvious with processors and memory—faster speeds, more density—the I/O realm enjoys the constantly increasing levels of semiconductorRead More...
Past Articles

Multifunction I/O Boards
Distributed Strategies Tame Complex Sensor/Control I/O Demands
August 2010
Modern military platforms continue to place an ever greater reliance on electronics for their operation. Just as aircraft have transitioned to fly-by-wire systems, ground vehicles areRead More...

Pre-Integrated Subsystems
Pre-Integrated Systems Move Up the Solution Food Chain
Jeff Child, Editor-in-Chief
July 2010
The rising trend toward stand-alone rugged box systems continues to pervade the military embedded computing industry. These box-level systems often resemble the end deliverableRead More...

Pre-Integrated Subsystems
Pre-integrated Subsystems Curb Costs, Speed Deployment
Adam Thompson & Mike Southworth, Parvus
July 2010
To meet burgeoning demand, developers of off-the-shelf rugged computing platforms are including a variety of features and services to enhance usability, reduce complexity and increaseRead More...

Pre-Integrated Subsystems
New DoD Goals Boost Preconfigured Subsystem Opportunities
Mike Macpherson, Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing
July 2010
Recent changes in the U.S. military’s mission strategy—following the change of administrations, and reflected in the DoD’s new budget—are shifting the military procurement landscape.Read More...

Manned Space Program at a Crossroads
Transitions and New Realities Shake Up U.S. Manned Space Program
Pete Yeatman, Publisher
June 2010
Here we are again at a crossroads of National manned space policy—the most significant since the transition from the Apollo/Saturn to the Space Shuttle. The Space Shuttle program isRead More...

Military Vehicles Embark on Modernization
Fresh Start and Net-Centric View Drive Vehicle Modernization
Jeff Child, Editor-in-Chief
May 2010
It’s taken some time, but the defense industry seems to be over the shock of life beyond the Army’s Future Combat Systems program. For over a decade FCS was an inherent part of anyRead More...

Rugged Box-Level Systems vs. Slot-card Solutions
Many Factors Influence Slot-Card vs. Module Choice
Andy Mason, VP Product Development, AP Labs
April 2010
Military embedded system designers are always eager to take advantage of new technologies and emerging industry standards once a critical mass of acceptance is achieved and a clearRead More...

Rugged Box-Level Systems vs. Slot-card Solutions
Deployed Applications Embrace System-Level Rugged Solutions
Tom Roberts, Product Marketing Manager, Mercury Computer Systems
April 2010
Despite their technical sophistication, defense electronics systems must deliver uncompromised performance under difficult environmental conditions, including excessive heat, humidity,Read More...

Rugged Box-Level Systems vs. Slot-card Solutions
Slot-Card Systems Vie with Rugged Box Solutions
Jeff Child, Editor-in-Chief
April 2010
There’s no doubt that there has been a change occurring in the military embedded computing industry over the past five years or so. At the heart of that change is the risingRead More...

Small Form Factor Boards in Mobile Defense Apps
Small Boards Serve Up Overlapping Innovations
Jeff Child, Editor-in-Chief
March 2010
Long gone are the days when small form factor boards were limited to a few types of standard form factors like PC/104. Today, while strategies vary among the various small embeddedRead More...

Small Form Factor Boards in Mobile Defense Apps
COM Express Enables Powerful Small Form Factor Designs
Lorraine Orcino, Sr. Product Line Manager RadiSys
March 2010
In today’s mil/aero industry, there has been a shift from customized, proprietary solutions to leveraging COTS building blocks in the deployment of mobile, mission-critical andRead More...

ISR Programs and Payloads in Large UAVs
Ethernet Switches Connect With Military Needs
Martin Sweeney, Senior Electrical Engineer, Mike Southworth, Director of Marketing, Parvus
February 2010
The success of net-centric warfare is dependent on fast, secure communications technology—specifically Ethernet. To meet the military’s demands for Ethernet-enabled vehicles, there isRead More...

ISR Programs and Payloads in Large UAVs
UAV Payloads Focus on Autonomy, ISR and Comms
Jeff Child, Editor-in-Chief
February 2010
As the use, design and planning of military UAVs matures, the DoD has adopted a strategy of closely pairing its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) programs with itsRead More...

Target Report: Five Most Compute-Intensive Defense Application Areas
Next-Gen Processor Technology Redefines Compute Density
Ben Klam, VP of Engineering, Dave Barker, Director of Marketing, Extreme Engineering Solutions
January 2010
The demands of today's advanced military applications require system architects to constantly push the design envelope. These demands are coming from multiple fronts. The militaryRead More...

Target Report: Five Most Compute-Intensive Defense Application Areas
Secure Network Communications Pushes Compute Limits
Christine Van De Graaf, Product Manager David Pursley, Field Applications Engineer, Kontron
January 2010
New and evolving technology initiatives such as Brigade Combat Team Modernization, JTRS (Joint Tactical Radio System) and WIN-T (Warfighter Information Network-Tactical) rely heavilyRead More...

Target Report: Five Most Compute-Intensive Defense Application Areas
New Solutions Attack the Defense Industry’s Most Compute-Centric Problems
Jeff Child, Editor-in-Chief
January 2010
There's a trend that should be obvious, but is often overlooked at higher echelons of the defense industry: More and more of system functionality is now implemented as software runningRead More...

Target Report: Five Most Compute-Intensive Defense Application Areas
Cluster Computing Suits Up for Aircraft Duty
Jim Renehan, Director of Marketing, Trenton Systems
January 2010
Surveillance aircraft may represents just a small slice of the overall military defense market, but they exemplify many of the challenges facing the rackmount system designer.Read More...

Target Report: Five Most Compute-Intensive Defense Application Areas
GPU-based Processing Solves Persistent Surveillance Challenges
Anne E. Mascarin, Product Marketing Manager, Mercury Computer Systems
January 2010
Persistent surveillance requires highly compute-intensive imaging capabilities because the aerial vehicle must remain (on demand) in an area to detect, locate, characterize,Read More...

Target Report: Five Most Compute-Intensive Defense Application Areas
Intel Architecture Invades Embedded DSP Arena
Ian Stalker, DSP Product Manager, Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing
January 2010
Floating point processors are an essential component of military digital signal processing (DSP) systems. For approximately the last ten years, the evolving series of PowerRead More...

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