PCI/104-Express, PC/104 and EPIC SBCs Roundup

SBC Provides Right-Sized PC/104 Solution PC/104 has always shined in defense applications that need a modest amount of computer power. Adlink Technology has released the AmproRead More...

What's the Computer Inside?

When I participate in any kind of press meeting or briefing, I’m the guy who always asks a question–or many questions. I ask questions to satisfy my naturally curious nature, but alsoRead More...

SSD Products Climb Aboard New Form Factors

Free from the woes of moving parts, flash-based solid-state disks (F-SSDs) are able to operate under the harshest conditions, unlike magnetic hard disk drives. And because F-SSDsRead More...

Stand-Alone Rugged Boxes Come into their Own

Technology developments that reduce complexity and enhance usability are always a welcome addition to military applications. That need is being fueled by the increasing availability ofRead More...

Multicore Solutions Target a Variety of Emerging Military Needs

Embedded developers in many arenas are constantly facing competitive pressure to provide more application features and improve performance capabilities. As a result, it’s becomeRead More...

Multicore Boards Roundup

6U CompactPCI Boards Sport Quad Core Xeons The multicore trend has hit all levels of processor families, and the Xeon is no exception. Concurrent Technologies has released theRead More...

A Shortcut in the Road to VPX?

Developers of military systems have a close eye on VPX–formerly known as VITA 46. VPX is aimed specifically at defense applications and brings the performance of switched fabricRead More...

Small Form Factors Mean Big Design Choices

Military applications represent some of the most challenging and broad-ranging design demands today. New technologies can be difficult to adopt and develop quickly, and as a resultRead More...

Small Victories

Systems including small UAVs, robotics, mission-specific handheld systems, intelligent munitions and many others have one thing in common: a desire for small form factor embeddedRead More...

MicroTCA Gaining Ground in Military Applications

Deeply rooted in VME and CompactPCI platforms, military embedded design is undergoing a noticeable shift. Modern warfare initiatives are driving designers to find more bandwidth, whileRead More...

The Customer Shall Judge

As a member of the trade press I can’t hide a little bit of glee when controversies erupt in the standards-based embedded computer industry. That stuff never fails to provide juicyRead More...

Minimizing UAV Payloads with Ultra-Compact Computing

New generations of defense imaging systems, using sophisticated sensor technologies, generate invaluable information for modern warfare. Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) and laser radarRead More...

Military I/O Solutions Look Beyond 1553

Tried and true I/O schemes, such as MIL-STD-1553 and ARINC 429, remain popular for pure control applications. But they’re bandwidth-limited by today’s standards. A slew of multipurposeRead More...

Direct Spray Cooling Widens Choices in Harsh Airborne Environments

There’s no doubt that demand is on the rise for ever more computing density. Military platforms such as radar and image processing, electronic warfare, signal processing, command andRead More...

Cots Products

20-Inch 2U Chassis for Trenton 32 Gbyte Boards The days when military system developers did everything themselves are long gone. They’d much rather find building blocks to pieceRead More...

Small Form Factor Realm Churns out Boards and Standards

Small embedded computers—in both standard and non-standard form factors—are in high demand for military applications that are extremely space- or weight-constrained or whereRead More...

SUMIT Interconnect Spec Revamps Small Form Factor Landscape

Designers of high-performance embedded systems need to incorporate growing numbers and types of I/O in smaller and smaller off-the-shelf and semi-custom boards, while keeping theirRead More...

COM Express Sports 2 GHz i7 Processor

Gone are the days of a long gap between when a mainstream processor emerged and when it made its way into the military embedded board realm. Exemplifying that trend, several vendorsRead More...

COTS Products

BGA Adapters Adapt 0.50 mm Devices to 1.00 mm Boards Keeping up with and mitigating the impact of component obsolescence is a constant challenge in the military industry. ICs oftenRead More...

Small UAVs Step up to Advanced Comms Capabilities

The brisk investment in UAV development and procurement continues across all branches of the DoD. And that situation isn't expected to change under the current Administration. InRead More...

The Inside Track

Raytheon Completes Design Review for CVN 78's Dual Band Radar Raytheon and the U.S. Navy recently completed a critical design review (CDR) for the Dual Band Radar (DBR), which will beRead More...

EPIC-sized SBC features Core 2 Duo and SUMIT

EPIC-Sized SBC features Core 2 Duo and SUMIT connector New performance levels in an EPIC-sized SBC have been achieved with the integration of the new Intel Core2 Duo (model P8400) 45Read More...

Atom-Based 3.5-inch SBC Provides Dual LVDS

Atom-Based 3.5-inch SBC Provides Dual LVDS The Atom processor has caught on like wildfire in military applications—especially where Size, Weight and Power (SWaP) is a priority.Read More...

Test Product 2

COM Express Card Serves Up Higher Graphics Performance

COM Express has moved past the stage of tire-kicking and now has established itself as a here-to-stay form factor. The conga-CS45 from Congatec is a high-performance COM ExpressRead More...

Small Boards Serve Up Overlapping Innovations

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...

COM Express Enables Powerful Small Form Factor Designs

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...

FPGA Boards Rev Up for Signal Processing Duties

Military applications like sonar, radar, SIGINT and software radio—all of which rely on heavy amounts of waveform processing—continue to leverage advances in FPGA technology. FasterRead More...

3.5-Inch SBC Sports New Generation Atom Processor

  The Atom processor has caught on like wildfire in military embedded applications where size, weight and power top the list of requirements. Feeding those needs, WINRead More...

StackableUSB Carrier Boards Support SUMIT Spec

The SUMIT connector interface ranks as one of the most innovative approaches to maximized small form factor board space. Micro/sys has added to the growing line of StackableUSBRead More...

3.5-Inch Embedded Board Marries Atom and 2 Gbyte DRAM

The popular Atom CPU, now in its second generation, is finding its way into a variety of embedded board level platforms. Along such lines, American Portwell Technology hasRead More...

PC/104 Camp Ropes in Multiple Interconnect Schemes

PC/104 and all of its follow-on variants continue to hold an established position in military embedded systems. Now, as PCI Express and USB make their way into the PC/104 universe,Read More...

PC/104 and PC/104-Family Boards Roundup

Rugged EPIC SBC Features SUMIT Expansion The SUMIT interconnect scheme provides an innovative way to aggregate a variety of I/O types onto a compact connector. Marrying that ideaRead More...

8051-Based ASP Family with Integrated Programmable Logic

The 8-bit 8051 microcontroller is still a popular solution for very small low-power military devices. The last trend toward application services platforms (ASPs) adds new flexibilityRead More...

FeaturePak Embedded I/O Comes to SUMIT-ISM Stacks

A new adapter board allows the use of FeaturePak I/O expansion modules in systems that provide SUMIT-ISM expansion stack locations. The FeaturePak socket on the SUMIT/FP AdapterRead More...

Energy-Efficient Processor Family Targets 1-Watt Video-Enabled Devices

Small electronic devices are in the mix of the most advanced military devices under development. A product family of energy-efficient embedded processors provides a small form factorRead More...