AMD G-Series SOC Integrates CPU, GPU and I/O Controller Onto a Single Die

COVER STORY AMD G-Series SOC integrates CPU, GPU and I/O controller onto a single die

Special Features Transportation Safety & Security Solar Power Test & Measurement

VIEWPOINT

Dear Reader,

If you look as an expert in the embedded industry at the communications industry and as well in the industrial automation you must be quite happy. Because the trend towards the internet of things (IoT) and to Industry 4.0 will bring a bright future to cyber physical systems – formerly known as embedded systems. According to the definition of Wikipedia “a cyber- physical system (CPS) is a system featuring a tight combination of, and coordination between, the computational and physical elements of the system. Today, a pre- cursor generation of cyber-physical systems can be found in areas as diverse as aerospace, automotive, chemical processes, civil infrastructure, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, transportation, entertainment, and consumer appliances. This generation is often referred to as embedded systems. In embedded systems the emphasis tends to be more on the computational elements, and less on an intense link between the computational and physical elements. Unlike more traditional embedded systems, a full-fledged CPS is typically designed as a network of interacting elements with physical input and output instead of as standalone devices. Mobile cyber physical systems, in which the physical system in question has inherent mobility, are a prominent subcategory of cyber physical systems. Examples of mobile physical systems include mobile robotics and electronics transported by humans or animals. The rise in popularity of smartphones has increased interest in the area of mobile cyber physical systems. Smart- phone platforms make ideal mobile cyber physical systems for a number of reasons. What means the convergence between consumer apps and industrial applications is still going on.

Especially for mobile cyber physical systems the highest possible integration and performance by lowest power consumption is paramount. An example for one of these early mobile CPS you can take the new AMD G-Series SoCs, described in our cover story starting at page 6. This new device offers a highly scalable single-chip platform for innovative small form factor applications based on x86 technology to the developer of embedded systems nowadays and cyber physical systems in future.

Yours sincerely

Wolfgang Patelay Editor

3 May 2013 CONTENTS

Viewpoint 3 Cover Story: Cover Story AMD G-Series SOC integrates CPU, PAGE 6 AMD G-Series SOC integrates CPU, GPU and I/O controller onto a single die GPU and I/O controller onto a single die 6 Tansportation With the introduction of the G- Series SOC, AMD has completed the Computer systems for railway process of evolution from CPU, applications 8 chipset and dedicated graphics via Getting to the core of rugged APU and controller hub to a single transportation systems 12 fully-integrated x86 building block. What benefits can developers Embedded computing technology expect from the new G-Series SOC improves rail hygiene 15 platform? Box PCs Computer systems for railway A small form factor challenge: box PC with camera system 18 transportation systems PAGE 8 More and more electronic systems are Safety & Security being built into trains, the underground, Safety in civil airplanes via DO-254 streetcars and buses. If you talk about certifiable MIL-STD-1553 interfaces 20 the overall railway engineering market, you don’t only mean vehicles – in which areas and applications can one find Mainboards these computers and which functions Mainboards in precision scales dodo ttheyhe ttakeake over?o er? AndAnd why are they so different to the office PC pull their weight 24 or the one at home? Product News 26-30 Getting to the core of rugged transportation systems PAGE 12 Mobility and environmental extremes are critical in transportation applications; by selecting the right core and rugged framework, focusing on and prioritizing any added customization becomes much simpler.

A small form factor challenge: box PC with camera system PAGE 18 Trivial looking demands may turn into tough challenges once there are enough of them to be combined. Here we describe a small box PC

COVER STORY based camera system for military secu- AMD G-Series SOC integrates CPU, rity applications like face and object GPU and I/O controller onto a singl e die recognition in a forbidding outdoor environment. The question is whether toto bbuyuy oorr ttoo mmakeake iiff ttimeime iiss sshort and costs must not explode?

Safety in civil airplanes via DO-254 certifiable MIL-STD-1553 interfaces PAGE 20 This article introduces a wide range of MIL-STD-1553 compo- Special Features Transportation nents, test cards, rugged embedded cards, and software from a Safety & Security Solar Power single company. Originally intended for military requirements, Test & Measurement AMD the standard is increasingly considered for use in civil aircraft.

May 2013 4

COVER STORY

AMD G-Series SOC integrates CPU, GPU and I/O controller onto a single die

By Craig Bryant, AMD Embedded Solutions

With the introduction of the G-Series SOC, AMD has completed the process of evolution from CPU, chipset and dedicated graphics via APU and controller hub to a single fully-integrated x86 building block. What benefits can developers expect from the new G-Series SOC platform?

With the introduction of the AMD Embed- when running multiple industry-standard com- CPU/GPU parallel processing can be especially ded G-Series in 2011, a low-power CPU and a pute-intensive benchmarks. New features include beneficial to high-precision applications such discrete-class GPU was combined into a single enhanced Universal Video Decode (UVD) hard- as industrial control and automation, security Accelerated Processing Unit (APU). The AMD ware acceleration (H.264, VC-1, MPEG 2 and and surveillance, and communications infra- Embedded G-Series APU resulted in a space- more) and new video encode capabilities with structure, allowing OpenCL APIs to access the efficient two-chip solution – comprising the enhanced clock gating and C6 deep power- integrated GPU with 256 GFLOPs per clock APU and a companion I/O controller hub – down capabilities that lower overall power con- compute power. Meanwhile, seamless DirectX that offered high multimedia and parallel pro- sumption. G-Series SOCs also support remote 11 and OpenGL support complements the cessing performance on a low-power platform. wireless display capabilities with minimal latency. AMD G-Series SOC DisplayPort 1.2-enabled With the introduction of the new AMD Em- Another new feature is the ECC support, which, dual independent display capability, providing bedded G-Series SOC platform, AMD has up until now, has been limited to power-hungry high-resolution multi-display support for graph- built on the strength of the G-Series processor processor platforms. However, the evolution of ics-driven applications spanning digital signage, architecture and is completing the evolution a new class of ultra energy-efficient, compute- digital gaming, thin client and human machine by reducing the two-chip architecture of the intensive x86 IT infrastructure and precision interface (HMI). On the mechanical side, the G-Series APU to a single chip. At the same control systems makes ECC an increasingly im- time it delivers multimedia and heterogeneous portant requirement. The ability of the G-Series processing capabilities that promise superior SOC platform to support enterprise-class ECC performance-per-watt in the low-power x86- memory distinguishes it as an excellent fit for capable microprocessor class of products when applications requiring high levels of data in- running multiple industry standard bench- tegrity without compromising energy efficiency. marks. Additionally, it supports enterprise- class error-correction code (ECC) memory. The integrated GPU supports DirectX 11.1, OpenGL 4.2 and OpenCL 1.2, enabling high- The new AMD G-Series SOCs are available in speed parallel processing and high-performance dual- and quad-core variants. Featuring the graphics processing that provides up to 20% next-generation Jaguar-CPU core with 28 nm improvement over G-Series APUs and 5x im- technology and an enhanced integrated Radeon provement versus Intel Atom. Support for these GPU core with frequency increase and instruc- computing frameworks affords a host of software tions per cycle (IPC) improvement, G-Series development options with advanced graphics Figure 1. A complete system on a single chip: SOCs deliver up to a 113% CPU performance APIs, while extending application lifetime there- the AMD Embedded G-Series SOC platform improvement compared to G-Series APUs, and by helping to minimize software development integrates CPU, GPU and I/O controller on a 125% CPU improvement versus Intel Atom costs and maximize ROI. OpenCL-enabled a single die.

May 2013 6 COVER STORY

highly integrated AMD Embedded G-Series SOC platform with 28 nm technology offers a 33% footprint reduction versus G-Series APUs. The AMD G-Series SOC BGA package requires only 600.25mm² (24.5mm x 24.5mm) on the Figure 2. With uni- PCB, which is 290 mm² less than the AMD G- form pin compatibil- Series APU FT1, and the controller hub two- ity across the product chip platform requires (361 mm² for the APU family, the AMD G- Series SOC platform and 529 mm² for the controller hub). The re- allows OEMs to uti- duction of the two-chip APU platform archi- lize a single board tecture to a single chip streamlines design cycles design to enable and can help lower BOM costs with a potential solution scalability to reduce board layers and simplify power from entry level to supply design. The low power attributes of the high end product AMD G-Series SOC can also enable fanless de- offerings. signs, further driving down system costs, helping to reduce system noise, and boosting system reliability by eliminating the failure points inherent to moving parts.

The AMD G-Series SOC platform design makes possible new levels of performance in small SBC and COMs form factors, enabled in part by the reduction in board layers via the single- chip SOC architecture. This helps designers to more easily and cost-effectively implement the G-Series SOC platform into innovative, small form factor designs such as Pico-ITX, Qseven, PCIe/104, ETX and COM Express. Additionally, the I/O controller integrated within the AMD G-Series SOCs offers expansion capabilities to address a wide range of market needs, supporting PCIe, SATA and even USB 3.0 as well as other mainstream I/O interfaces. Offering an array of dual- and quad-core performance options and SKUs spanning from 9W to 25W with uniform pin compatibility across the product family, the AMD G-Series SOC platform allows OEMs to utilize a single board design to enable solution scalability from entry level to high end product offerings. This common platform design approach may simplify product development business of OEMs on both the supply and the production sides, which could result in significant cost savings. With the AMD Embedded G-Series SOCs a highly scalable single-chip platform for innovative small form factor applications based on x86 technology is offered to developers. The rich ecosystem of industry-standard, x86-optimized software, applications, operating systems and development environments readily available to embedded designers contributes to a low total cost of ownership, multi-generation product longevity and greater investment protection for systems based on AMD G-Series SOCs. Providing x86 computing agility with enterprise-class features like ECC, this device helps provide tight integration with enterprise IT networks, Internet backbone infrastructure and x86-based distributed control systems, which introduces additional benefits for the myriad applications hosted on these networks.

7 May 2013 TANSPORTATION

Computer systems for railway applications

By Barbara Schmitz, MEN Mikro Elektronik

More and more electronic systems are being built into trains, the underground, streetcars and buses. If you talk about the overall railway engineering market, you don’t only mean vehicles – in which areas and applications can one find these computers and which functions do they take over? And why are they so different to the office PC or the one at home? Figure 1. Redundant rail signalling system in 2oo3 architecture

Common studies like that of the SCI Verkehr second place with almost 30%) and North care. The EN 50155 standard defines rules re- roughly divide the railway market into vehicles, America/NAFTA (third place with nearly 20%). garding different environmental impacts. The system technology and infrastructure. While While UNIFE assumes that the entire world- operating temperature is divided into two the overall market has a volume of 143 billion wide market will annually grow by 2.0% to classes. Tx prescribes that the computer can euros (according to UNIFE 2012 for 2011), 2.5% until 2015/16, it expects an annual growth be operated between -40°C and +70°C, for ex- about 60% of the business amounts to vehicles, of 6% for traffic management and train pro- ample, and for 10 minutes even up to +85°C. just over 30% to infrastructure and less than tection, and of 4% for information technology. The electronics in the system must be coated 10% to system technology. The term infra- by a special varnish for protection against hu- structure includes the track system and elec- Let’s go back to the vehicles, which take up al- midity or condensation. It may also be neces- trification where no computers are needed. most two thirds of the global market volume. sary to protect the housing against splashing System technology comprises traffic manage- The average annual growth rates depend on water. The standard also prescribes shock and ment and train protection as well as informa- the vehicle type and country (and new acqui- vibration tests over a specific frequency range. tion technology, including passenger informa- sition or maintenance) and are between 0 and In addition to common EMC inspections, the tion, passenger safety and fare management. 4%. The biggest driving force behind this lies behaviour in case of overvoltage is tested. Fail- in equipping the vehicles with computers for ure-free operation of electronics must be guar- In all areas computers are of vital importance. train protection and control. Of course, the anteed even with supply voltages between 70% What’s obvious in passenger information, computers on board the vehicles fulfil many and 125% of the nominal voltage. The basic which is customer-oriented to meet the usual other tasks, too. These include the control of material for printed circuit boards is defined convenience and standard of living, has to be vital functions (e.g. drive, brake, power supply, with regard to flammability. Solder connections clarified for traffic management and train pro- tilting technology), safety management (doors, or other connections with insulation displace- tection. Ever increasing speeds with more and light, etc), and convenience functions (heating, ment are subject to the respective standards, more dense traffic on the track and finally the air conditioning, etc) inside the vehicle. and so on. harmonization of rail networks across countries (ERTMS, CRTMS, PTC) as well as the increase If you compare a computer inside a rail vehicle Depending on the application, only parts of in safety and economic efficiency would be or in train protection with computers in other the EN 50155 standard need be observed, or impossible to achieve without powerful com- embedded applications, you will see two strik- else all of its provisions. The European DIN puters on the wayside and in the railway ing differences. On one hand, electronics for a EN 50155 standard (German VDE 0115, inter- control center or in the central control room. railway-compliant control have to meet more national IEC 571-x) „Railway applications - This makes system technology the smallest severe requirements with respect to robustness, Electronic equipment used on rolling stock“ but fastest growing segment of the railway reliability and availability, and demand corre- is issued by the European organization for market – not just in Asia, with a market share sponding precautions and thorough knowledge electro-technical standardization, CENELEC, of over 30%, but also in Western Europe (in in design, production, qualification and product and was first published in 1995. It is very de-

May 2013 8 TANSPORTATION

Figure 2.Evaluation model of IRIS tailed and refers to approximately 50 other knowledge management or obsolescence man- standards, many of which need to be observed agement, among others. Long-term availability in addition. EN 50155 demands operation of is extremely important in the railway market, electronic equipment in trains for 20 years because the vehicles have to pass complex ac- with the already-mentioned requirements – ceptance tests before first operation and are without regular periodical maintenance. then in use for several decades. The most significant IRIS procedures include RAMS (Relia- The second main difference relates to applica- bility – Availability – Maintainability – Safety) tions that also require the safety of the elec- and FAI (First Article Inspection). And finally tronic systems. A safe system is a system with all 12 knock-out criteria of IRIS, one of them a defined error behaviour. Fail-safe systems being design validation, must be fulfilled during are switched off in case of an error, they have a certification audit, without exception. got a safe state – a train, for example, would stop. Fault-tolerant systems have to continue How such a railway-compliant computer is operation correctly when part of the system built up obviously depends on its job. Still, fails – an absolute must, e.g. in a railway many functions have to be specially designed control center. This is achieved through re- for the specific application, but with consistent dundant computer architectures and perma- product planning and the electronics supplier nent testing of all components. The reliability road map, more and more computers can at required according to so-called SIL levels (SIL least be partially built up of standard compo- = safety integrity level) has a scale of SIL 1 to nents. This saves time and costs. Due to its SIL 4 and is defined by the frequency of use. modularity, maintainability and robustness They are defined in IEC 61508 (Functional the CompactPCI bus system, based on the safety of electrical/electronic/programmable Eurocard format, proved itself in the area of electronic safety-related systems). Additionally, 19“ solutions. Initially based on the parallel the following standards are relevant for the PCI bus, at present there are further develop- design of railway-compliant computers: ments with CompactPCI PlusIO and Com- EN50126 (Railway Applications - the specifi- pactPCI Serial that possess serial interface cation and demonstration of transport), architecture. This means PCI Express, SATA, EN50126 (Railway Applications - Software for USB and Ethernet on the bus backplane. railway control and protection system), and EN50126 (Railway Applications - Safety related CompactPCI systems are ideal for application electronic systems for signaling). in passenger information as content servers or multimedia access units and in passenger and Last but not least, a company needs to qualify train surveillance for the recording and man- as a supplier for the railway market also from a agement of camera data, or for ticketing. They commercial point of view. The IRIS (Interna- can be combined with diagnosis, maintenance tional Railway Industry Standard) standard is and service functions. One or several CPU the best example of what is demanded here. cards in the same system can take over different IRIS is a quality management system built on control jobs and can exchange results. In terms ISO 9001 but requires very detailed documen- of processor architecture, the most up-to-date tation of the procedures and processes using Intel platforms are available – currently the key figures in order to guarantee a high quality Core i7 (first and second generation) or types of the entire supply chain inside the railway in- of the Intel Atom family, and also backwards- dustry. IRIS processes include risk management, compatible CPU board models down to

9 May 2013 TANSPORTATION

WTB or switches and gateways between the train bus, wagon bus and higher-level Ethernet communication. CompactPCI carriers for PCI Express MiniCards and combined SIM card slots can cover the whole world of HF requirements – WLAN, UMTS, GPS, GSM, HSDPA, LTE – up to the railway-specific GSM-Rail.

The use of standard mezzanine cards can make design even more modular – two M-Modules or one PMC or XMC or PC/104 can be plugged on a CompactPCI carrier in single Eurocard format. The choice of mezzanine boards of different manufacturers is huge, and especially with M-Modules there are myriads of analog and binary I/O and instrumentation and motion functions. CompactPCI boards with an individually programmable FPGA and a broad spectrum of IP cores are an additional Figure 3. Graphics output system based on CompactPCI Serial. It can control up to 28 displays alternative to implement an application by without switches or bridges. using almost only standard components.

The use of CompactPCI systems for passenger surveillance has another benefit. The new CompactPCI Serial standard in particular allows especially easy configuration of complex SATA RAID or NAS systems for the recording of camera data. Modern processors support up to 8 SATA channels that can be used to control 8 robust, hot-pluggable hard-disk shuttles via a standard bus backplane.

Even for safe computers in applications ranging from train control, train protection and control technology to driverless operation in ATO systems, CompactPCI and CompactPCI Serial are ideal platforms. Sub-computers on separate backplanes, each with an identical set-up of a CPU board, I/O functions and a PSU of their own, are built into the same rack or distributed over several racks to be connected as redundant, Figure 4. SIL 4 certified CompactPCI SBC with triple-redundancy complete systems that monitor each other. They communicate via Ethernet, for example. You call this a 1oo2 (1-out-of-2) architecture, Pentium M. Thanks to individually designed CompactPCI Serial) are sufficiently robust. At and if not only safety but also availability is heat sinks, power-saving versions permit to the computer front, you should abstain from demanded, a 2oo3 or 2oo4 etc architecture. do without active ventilation in the system, usual types like RJ45 and use D-Sub, Lemo or The main memory in systems like these is typ- where necessary. Under even more severe con- M12 connectors instead. The latter are now ically protected using ECC. Another simple ditions, the single assemblies are packaged also available for Gigabit Ethernet. For antennas method is to use reflective memory assemblies into CCA frames and housed by conduction on wireless I/O cards, you can use SMA con- in the system. You can also certify individual cooling enclosures that are even protected nectors. computer boards up to SIL 3 and SIL 4 which against splashing water (IP67). In standard have a triple-redundant processor and main 19“ enclosures that are less protected, still the Infotainment computers especially depend on memory and are equipped with onboard voters option remains of coating the whole electronics loads of flexible interfaces to other computer and other safety-relevant features like BITE against humidity and condensation but also units on board the train and to the outer (Built-In Test Equipment). Due to lockstep against dust – this should be taken into con- world. CompactPCI (Serial) systems offer an- architecture, the (also safe) operating system sideration already in the development phase. other plus here: you can simply plug up to 7 only „sees“ one CPU. This reduces software In environments prone to shock and vibration (8) peripheral slot cards (and more using overhead. you should completely do without connectors, bridges) into the system, for any desired I/O if possible. Ideally, all components are perma- function and with hot swap support. These As many (CompactPCI) systems used in railway nently soldered on the board – even the CPU may be additional UART, USB and Ethernet applications don’t necessarily need powerful and main memory. The 2mm CompactPCI Interfaces, multimedia connections for several graphics, and as Windows is not the most fa- system connectors linking to the bus backplane screens and audio on/off, field bus connections vorable operating system to choose at least for (including the new AirMax connectors for from CAN bus up to railway-specific MVB and safe computers, CPU boards with PowerPC

May 2013 10 TANSPORTATION

Figure 5. Maintenance-free Fast Ethernet switch. The rugged aluminum enclosure is IP67 compliant processors are also used in many cases. With and 10 minutes up to +85°C). Like Compact- less than one watt of power dissipation, some PCI systems, box and display computers should types of the PowerQUICC II and III families have railway-compliant networks and phone are very power saving, while the high-perfor- connections for wireless communication, in mance types of the QorIQ family offer up to addition to the usual computer interfaces – eight processor cores. Even combinations of for instance to transfer service data to the Intel-based host CPUs with PowerPC based control center or to receive traffic information. slave CPUs inside the same system are common, for example for diagnosis and maintenance Finally, Ethernet switches make communication functions in different applications. A slave inside the vehicle work and distribute relevant CPU connected via Ethernet could act as a di- information to different computer systems. agnosis buffer. The PowerPC card running the They are currently being used mainly for VxWorks real-time operating system needs data-intensive newer equipment such as info- well under two seconds to boot and is ready tainment and content servers, CCTV video for operation long before the Intel host is. surveillance cameras, web access and wireless services like GPS or GSM. Other subsystems No matter whether you deal with a Compact- still more or less communicate via standardized PCI (Serial) or another type of embedded sys- fieldbuses like WTB/MVB, CAN bus, ProfiNet tem – the top priorities are always compact or WorldFIP. However, some manufacturers and robust design, and standard conformity. have already taken the first step and have Computer-On-Modules (COMs) also allow established Ethernet IP as an information bus setting up small systems in a very flexible and beside WTB as the train bus and MVB, CAN inexpensive way. While the COM as a standard etc as the vehicle bus. Ethernet switches can component already implements the entire com- be found as assemblies in CompactPCI systems puter architecture, carrier boards tailored to and are used as plug-in components for 19“ the specific application can be designed within systems and as compact, independent devices short time. COM standards like ESMexpress with IP67 protection. and ESMini are enclosed by an aluminum case that is connected to the housing wall to The train as a modern transportation system transfer the heat. They have been designed for is getting computerized to a growing extent. fanless conductive-cooling systems right from Computer systems for railway applications the beginning. Based on this, standard systems have to be able to include all current PC func- such as box computers are also available. They tions and have all the up-to-date technology. can be used to control different vehicle func- But not only that: robustness, safety and long- tions, and special enclosure models can also term availability are also demanded in this be protected against splashing water (IP67). market. Possessing the relevant know-how and Intelligent display computers for passenger the necessary key competences is important information systems (PIS) and driver cabin for the manufacturers of these kinds of com- systems are ideally set up with conduction puters. That’s how the worldwide renaissance cooling features, too, and are then available of rail traffic can have permanent success – for applications up to the Tx temperature and why not, as the future number 1 traffic range (-40°C to +70°C in continuous operation carrier?

11 May 2013 TRANSPORTATION

Getting to the core of rugged transportation systems

By Jeff Munch, ADLINK

Mobility and environmental extremes are critical in transportation applications; by selecting the right core and rugged framework, focusing on and prioritizing any added customization becomes much simpler.

Figure 1. The cPCI-6880 blade is available with an extended operating temperature range of -20°C to +70°C and supports a conducted cooling option.

Transportation means movement. Movement that supports two channels of memory. The backplane, instead allowing modules to stack means variability. Variability means design chal- blade routes one channel to 4 GB of solder- together like building blocks more rugged lenges. When building a small form factor em- down memory and the second channel to an than typical bus connections in PCs. And with bedded computer for transportation applica- SO-DIMM connector that can support an ad- just 46 square inches of surface area (8“ x tions, there are inherent design challenges re- ditional 4 GB of memory. The ability to handle 5.75“), EBX balances size and functionality gardless of application-specific requirements. 8 GB of memory as well as its VT-d1 support with a bolt-down SBC format supporting In fact, it can be argued that small form factor matches up well with virtualization environ- rugged embedded designs with higher-perfor- design trends are paradoxical. As form factor ments. Dual BIOS PROMs provide redundancy mance central processing units (CPUs), such size decreases, functionality requirements in- in the event of a BIOS corruption or a need to as those using multicore technology for net- crease. And at the same time that processing roll back the BIOS to a previous known good working, digital signal processing (DSP), and power requirements heighten, lower power revision. Other peripherals include four PCI graphics-heavy applications, and generous on- consumption and thermal output is expected. Express based 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet board input/output (I/O) functions to support Now add to that the requirement for ruggedness ports, one DVI-I port, one analog CRT port, everything from large data exchange to video. to accommodate for the shock, vibration, hu- three USB 2.0 ports, a serial port, an onboard midity, and temperature extremes and variance hard drive, 4 GB of NAND flash, and a PMC However, the most extendable and customiz- inherent in mobile and outdoor applications; site. Additional peripherals are available on able application design method accommodates developers are often left wondering where they the rear transition module. The blade can do a broad range of custom and off-the-shelf can safely compromise while still meeting its job residing in either a CompactPCI system needs by using modularity. Computer-on- overall application design specifications. Know- slot or a peripheral slot and supports 5.0 V Modules (COMs) are complete embedded ing the application needs and what already and 3.3 V backplane V (I/O). A PCI-Express- computers built on a single circuit board for exists on the market fitting those requirements to-PCI-bridge makes it possible for a 66 MHz use in small or specialized applications requir- makes transportation design less daunting. 64-bit PCI interface to be used for the PMC ing low power consumption or small physical and bridged for use on the CompactPCI bus. size. Though they are compact (ETX/XTX at Adlink has made a blade available with an ex- It is fully compliant with PICMG specifications 114 x 95mm and COM Express at 125 x tended operating temperature range of -20°C 2.0 R3.0, 2.1 R2.0, 2.9 R1.0, and 2.16 R1.0. 95mm) and highly integrated, COMs can ac- to +70°C. To withstand high-vibration envi- commodate complex CPUs. With the COM ronments, the blade can be configured with PC/104 and Embedded Board eXpandable approach, all generic PC functions are readily just 4 GB of solder-down memory, and it con- (EBX) are good format options for designs available in an off-the-shelf core module. A tains an on-card 4 GB USB based NAND flash. that can handle slightly larger single board custom-designed carrier board complements The blade also supports a conduction-cooled computer (SBC) form factors. Intended for the COM with additional functionality that is option. With up to 8 GB of system memory, data acquisition in rugged environments, the required for specific applications. The carrier the cPCI-6880 has a GM45 memory controller PC/104 embedded computing format has no board provides all the interface connectors for

May 2013 12 TRANSPORTATION

peripherals, such as storage, Ethernet, key- of climates dictates the need to operate in adds weight and expands dimensions of a board/mouse, and display. This modularity extended temperatures and to power up in unit. Even an extra mm can be critical in allows the designer to upgrade the COM on any extreme. The easiest initial step is to select small form factor design, which is why confor- the carrier board without changing any other a rugged board or system that is designed for mal coating with a single-part material that board design features, and also allows more harsh environments from the ground up. To conforms to the board is a better option. A va- customization of peripherals as dictated by a support the extremes of shock, vibration, hu- riety of conformal coating materials (such as specific application. midity, and temperature, care is given to com- acrylic, polyurethane, epoxy, and silicone) and ponent selection, circuit design, printed circuit application methods (such as brushing, spray- COMs allow system developers to focus on board (PCB) layout and materials, thermal so- ing, and dipping) are currently used to protect their core competencies and the unique func- lutions, enclosure design, and manufacturing against moisture, dust, chemicals, and temper- tions of their systems. The COM Express form process. Robust test methods, including highly ature extremes that can potentially damage factor offers flexibility in the development and accelerated life testing (HALT), ensure optimal electronics. The correct coating or application advancement of ultra-rugged embedded ap- product design phases in order to meet the method varies depending on established stan- plications for a plethora of industries, including stringent requirements of a product, such as dard operating conditions for an application. transportation. By using the modular process- -40°C to +85°C operating temperature range, With transportation applications, different ing block, the designer creates a price and MIL-STD, shock and vibration, and long-term coatings may be selected based on a primary value advantage; he/she is not locked into a reliability. need for moisture resistance versus abrasion single vendor for board creation and can cus- resistance versus temperature stability. tomize based on pricing and performance re- Onboard train systems also deal with high quirements. Because it is easily swapped from concentrations of sulphur and humidity when Transportation applications typically need as a carrier board and comes in one of the going through tunnels. Designers can look for much functionality as possible in the smallest smallest form factors, COM Express is ideal boards with conformal coating to reduce degra- form factor, meaning the controller may be for long-life embedded applications with a dation from such exposure. Conformal coating burdened with extreme loads of information critical development cycle, as well as more is used in small form factor manufacturing and intricate tasks. Rugged computing solutions progressive applications that require frequent rather than potting, which is a similar process also demand more memory space than ever processor upgrades without affecting other that uses a heavier material and is harder to before for both data storage and application application design elements. Transportation inspect, test, and repair. Though considered performance. Options for storage include ro- solutions are most often housed outdoors or the highest level of environmental protection, tating hard disk drives (HDDs) for economy in moving vehicles, where exposure to a variety potting encapsulates the entire PCB, which or solid-state drives (SSDs), which are truly TRANSPORTATION

rugged, but also come at a higher price point (cents per GB for HDDs data usage requirements, such as collecting video, remotely checking the versus dollars per GB for SSDs). HDDs contain spinning disks and health of onboard system devices, and sending command controls. For movable read/write heads, whereas SSDs use microchips that retain an in-vehicle or outdoor video/audio capture application design, the data in non-volatile memory chips and contain no moving parts, board itself needs high-performance graphics and host interface support making them less susceptible to physical shock, altitude, and vibration for multiple peripherals. In addition to the integration of a video issues. SSDs have faster access time and lower latency than do HDDs, camera, features such as remote monitoring and wireless video download but SDDs cannot provide the capacity of an HDD; because of the call for some form of connectivity. Both satellite and cellular connectivity higher cost per GB, SSDs are typically no larger than 120GB, while require either an antenna or antennaed device to connect directly to the HDDs average 500GB to 1TB. Higher performing HDDs also require system. Ample Ethernet and serial interface ports with at least one port heavier materials than either a standard HDD or the flash memory and supporting RS-232/422/485 for transmit and receive are critical to ac- circuit board materials of SSDs. commodate function-specific peripherals.

With in-vehicle surveillance applications, vibration control is critical for A leading global supplier of technology solutions for railroads wanted capturing quality video. Some rugged boards offer a thicker PCB fabri- to develop an onboard locomotive video/audio capture system to aid in cation to add rigidity so the board can withstand higher levels of accident investigations and provide safety training to crews. In addition vibration strain. The thicker PCB offers stability to the overall surface to video and audio recording, requirements for the system included re- area, protecting electronic components from damage due to vibration. mote monitoring and control, real-time health monitoring, and wireless The thicker PCB also offers the ability to use more copper between video download. The system should also incorporate solid-state media layers for thermal considerations. Heat is a common unwanted by- in a sealed, tamper-resistant housing. Ampro by Adlink is a line of product of processing power. In addition to cooling fans and large heat extreme rugged embedded computers and systems that provides sinks, which may not always be possible for compact, mobile transporta- designers of rugged applications with a head start to development. For tion designs, PCBs with adequate amounts of integrated copper facilitate the onboard locomotive video/audio capture system, designers created heat conduction away from temperature-sensitive electronic components a rugged solution around the Intel embedded architecture and EBX to prevent performance degradation. Another challenge with designing SBC form factor. The design accommodated both functionality and with small form factors is that current power supply technology can put rugged requirements for the train system with dual Ethernet, CRT and limits on size reduction. In addition, rugged designs, specifically, require flat panel video, multiple serial and USB ports, SATA and IDE interfaces, a robust onboard power controller to support a wide operating temper- CompactFlash socket, PCIe Mini Card socket, high-definition audio, ature range on average of -20°C to +70°C. An onboard power controller and General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) support. is also critical for mobile transportation applications to support multiple A critical by-product of on-site video/audio capture is reduced litigation and settlement costs due to accurate incident reporting. System reliability is critical to users in terms of return on investment, so designers should build using products that provide documented uptime in their specifications and meet the industry standard of EN50155. Because of cost and the complex nature of embedded computing solutions for transportation, qualification can take a very long time, requiring designers to look for products with a long lifecycle. One way to ensure system longevity is to build with products that follow the roadmap of an established architecture.

Though designing for rugged, small form factor applications presents challenges, there are form factors and manufacturing techniques that accommodate most requirements for either general or application-specific design. Formats such as PC/104, EBX, and COMs have been created specifically to address rugged, embedded system needs while also handling complex CPU technology for applications that require heavy processing power. Modularity also helps designers to create customizations while taking into account cost and value requirements. The bottom line for any rugged design, whether for transportation, military, energy, or infrastructure, is to understand all application requirements and how/where existing formats and products can address those needs. By selecting the right core and rugged framework, focusing on and prioritizing any added customization becomes a much simpler mission. Product News

Sarsen: XMC module supports up to three Mini-PCIe cards Sarsen Technology announces the availability of the Xport5005, a new XMC module that can be quickly configured to support a platform’s specific I/O or storage needs. By supporting up to three Mini-PCIe cards, the XPort5005 provides a flexible platform for hosting everything from wireless modules (WLAN, cellular, GPS) to communication modules (MIL-STD-1533, CAN, ARINC-429), and anything in between. News ID 17150

May 2013 14 TRANSPORTATION

Embedded computing technology improves rail hygiene

By Jenny Shepperd, Eurotech

A toilet out of commission is not only an annoyance for passengers, but also equates to a loss of the service required from train operating companies, for which they can receive financial penalties. These factors led train servicing company TBM Rail Group to call on Eurotech to create a cloud-based technology package for toilet monitoring.

Over the last two decades, railway travel has by an overhaul after six years of operation. team out to deal with the problem. They may risen at a significant rate. Franchised passenger Based at Crewe, TBM Rail Group performs a board the train at the next station or else journeys in the UK increased from 800 million wide range of train maintenance services for carry out the required maintenance when the for the financial year 1987/88 to 1.32 billion all the UK train operators, including hand dri- train reports back to the depot, if for instance for 2009/2010. This means that train operators ers, air ducts and toilets. Vacuum toilet systems the toilet needs to be changed. The system will have an increasingly complex and demanding cleaned and serviced include all makes of unit also monitor the CET tank so that when it be- operation to manage, not least because of the used in the UK. TBM supplies logistics packages comes full it can be emptied at the depot. targets they have to meet on punctuality, relia- and a comprehensive spares service for cus- bility of service and customer satisfaction. The tomers and has extensive skills and experience Eurotech experience in rolling stock covers key facilities and comfort on board trains are natu- in rail sector engineering, consultancy and areas that support driver and train safety and rally of major concern to passengers and make procurement. assist operators in managing and controlling all the difference between their having a positive services. Compact, rugged, low-powered solu- or a negative journey experience. With rail Andy Hawker of TBM Rail explained that the tions have been developed for rail network ap- fares being relatively high and with competition partnership between his company and Eurotech plications which are suited to rolling stock from air and road travel alternatives an in- had been initiated in 2012, because of the spe- projects in performance, longevity and reliability. creasing threat, customer service is a major cific need to reduce toilet downtime through The onboard controller of the train toilet mon- priority for train operators in their efforts to a monitoring system that would alert mainte- itoring system is the rugged fanless DynaCOR maintain and build passenger numbers. nance teams to problems so they could be dealt with at the earliest opportunity. This The condition of toilets on trains is a subject would minimise the fines incurred because of that passengers often complain about. While passenger complaints or negative reports from modern on-board vacuum toilets are reliable rail inspectors and lead to the improved con- and resilient to the wear and tear of normal ditions on trains that industry bodies and end usage, they are vulnerable to vandalism, inap- users alike were eager to see. Eurotech has sup- propriate items being flushed into the system plied TBM Rail with the robust hardware inte- or blockages due to build-up of calcium in the grated with a software platform based on pipework and other reasons. Vacuum systems cloud technology, that provides the facilities flush into a holding tank which in turn leads to monitor all the functions of a vacuum toilet to a CET (Controlled Emission Toilet) tank system on board trains. If there is a blockage beneath the train. Servicing programmes are or valve failure, the system will warn in real subject to manufacturer specifications and typ- time through an alert message to the control Figure 1. A sign in trains often says the toilet ically these are at 12 and 24 months, followed centre so that TBM Rail can get a maintenance is out of order.

15 May 2013 TRANSPORTATION

on the device that eases the application development and makes the device fully manageable through Everyware Cloud.

A powerful and flexible Machine to Machine (M2M) connectivity platform, Everyware Cloud manages and connects devices to business applications quickly and without the need to create and maintain any infrastructure. Cloud computing provides an Internet-based solution offering shared resources on demand, similar to an electricity grid. It was developed through the Internet ability to provide ease of access to remote computing sites, while at the same time providing complete security of data. With Everyware Cloud, Eurotech has combined proven cloud, M2M and IoT (Internet of Things) technologies to provide the means to connect and control an infinite range of devices. Data can be collected, stored and analysed and actioned in real time, offering a powerful resource for data communication and management. Everyware Cloud provides the connectivity environment between business applications - such as database, ticketing, track and trace, ERP and CRM - and the multi-ser- Figure 2. Toilet system overview vice gateways that in turn link to sensors, actu- ators and displays.

Eurotech cloud solutions have proved of ex- ceptional value for rail and road transport operations worldwide. Rugged high performance systems have been devised for accurate location tracking applications (AVL), enhanced communications and real time vehicle tracking. The transport expertise of the company also includes the manufacture of automatic passenger counting (APC) systems. For example, the T1 Tramway operated by TEB is a popular commuter asset running between the Northern Italian towns of Bergamo and Albino and accurate statistics are continuously required on the number of passengers using T1 to identify the travel peaks and troughs. The APC system supplied by Eurotech allows for real time planning of the route. Counting is carried out on passengers entering and exiting the trams via Figure 3. The rugged SBC DynaCOR 10-00 the DynaPCN 10-20 autonomous counting device, which is based on non-contact vision 10-00 mobile computer platform. This low The DynaCOR 10-00 is also certified against technology specifically designed for accurately power (19W), fanless, off the shelf solution is other key EU and national standards. It is counting passengers in real time entering or well suited for railway M2M applications and compact (254mm long x 129mm wide x 57mm leaving public transport vehicles, including has a range of features that make it an extraor- high) and has the rugged specifications suitable trains, metros or buses. Operating with high dinarily versatile tool for the demands of the for a range of demanding rail network and accuracy under any lighting conditions thanks transport sector. Critical to the TBM Rail rolling stock applications. Based on the powerful to its integrated high luminosity infrared LED project is the product compliance with EN50155 Intel Atom Z510P 1.1GHz processor and with system, stereoscopic cameras capture the images international standard for electronic equipment Wind River Linux OS support, the computer passing the field of view below the device. used on rolling stock. The standard involves platform offers a wide range of wired and wire- When it is determined that a person is entering tests on equipment that includes reliability less communication interfaces which has ensured or leaving, incoming or outgoing counters are when subject to electromagnetic interference, the built-in flexibility demanded for TBM on- incremented accordingly along with the time surges, ripple and interruptions in the supply board railway application and renders on-vehicle the event occurred. This facility, which includes voltage, vibration and shocks, together with integration an easy and failsafe process. These Fast Ethernet, GPS and WiFi, acts as the launch high and low temperatures, high humidity and benefits are enhanced because it supports Every- pad for the next stage in the information the ingress of dust and fluids. ware Software Framework (ESF), a framework transfer process via the cloud.

May 2013 16

BOX PCS

A small form factor challenge: box PC with camera system

By Aksel Saltuklar and Eric Boger, Elma Electronic

Trivial looking demands may turn into tough challenges once there are enough of them to be combined. Here we describe a small box PC based camera system for military security applications like face and object recognition in a forbidding outdoor environment. The question is whether to buy or to make if time is short and costs must not explode?

Buy or make is an everlasting question challenges come with the other, non-technical chassis is thermally coupled with the heatsink coming along with the creation of embedded demands: quick time to market (within a very of the single board computer (SBC) by using a systems. Each method has its specific benefits challenging timeframe), capability of providing solid alloy heat spreader and high-end gap filler. and there is no general rule when to go which large numbers of ready-to-use systems in a To avoid problems with condensing humidity, way. If it is about non-standard products, a short timeframe, a large set of specific quality the box is hermetically sealed; for operation at custom design delivered by an EMS may be a documents (for planning, simulation, design, very low temperatures a heating element can suitable compromise. In practice a significant review, test, inspection) plus strict confidentiality be installed as an option. Internal wiring between decision point is what kind of know-how is on the details of the implementation. the components is secured to ensure a basic required, and whether this can be provided level of stress protection. Using a standard small by internal resources or needs to be sourced There were two main reasons to contract the form factor computer board with an existing by an external partner. The solution might be system development and manufacturing. First - board support package and a standard Linux training or consultancy service in the build the missing know-how in the area of sealed, distribution ensures quick and reliable system case or a reasonably experienced system weatherproof cases including all the side effects integration. CAD virtual prototypes (figure 1) integrator or EMS in the buy case. like cooling and long-term durability, and and thermal simulations grant maximum design second – the lack of confidence in keeping the flexibility at no delay penalties. Each requirement In the scenario of the PC-based camera system timeline with the available in-house resources. per se was quite trivial, however the combina- the key features in the specification were: small The profile for the ideal supplier was: must tion of them all together was the real challenge, form factor (SFF), robust, waterproof (IP67), have thorough experience with contract devel- especially as experience and know-how in vari- scalable and expandable, high-quality and reliable, opment and manufacturing, must have expertise ous areas were required. Elma as the executing fanless passive cooled, must work in extended with custom boxing and waterproof housings, temperature range (expandable into very low must be capable to provide application integra- temperature areas below freezing point), and the tion, must have ability for encapsulation of the supplier must provide full system integration in- project to keep confidentiality, must have the cluding the application software. An AC power manpower available to keep tight deadlines, supply is not requested, supply voltage (9-36V must have experience in military contract and DC) is provided separately. Such technical specs documentation work, and must not exceed can probably be accomplished by a number of budget / reasonable pricing. To keep the time embedded solution providers, system integrators and cost budget, high quality standard off-the or EMS providers. However the tricky part here shelf components are selected for the PC moth- is to preserve the thermal balance of the system erboard and USB camera. For good ruggedness within a wide temperature range. To provide a and minimal size the housing is custom devel- reliable solution a thermal simulation or at oped on the base of an Elma modular chassis Figure 1. The CAD model is the foundation least a number of thermal tests is vital. More family. For efficient fanless passive cooling, the of simulation.

May 2013 18 BOX PCS

outsourcing partner was able to provide the required expertise and manpower with short no- tice off the engineering pool. Having all the required resources and know-how available in- house was a definite plus for reaching the tight deadlines. Using stock-available standard components wherever possible saved additional time in developing and also later in the roll- out phase. The main effort and also risk factor was the custom-specific layout of the small- sized chassis with respect to the thermal re- Figure 2. Idle state – components reached Figure 3. Maximum load – components still quirements of the motherboard. This was en- operational temperature with almost no con- in safe operational temperature range with sured by thermal simulation with Flotherm to vection. For better visibility of thermal dissi- strong heat dissipation through natural enable quick optimisation and verification of pation only a slice of the physical components (unforced) convection outside. and housing is shown. the fanless cooling concept. Right dimensions and layout of the chassis could be found without having the need to build numbers of different prototypes. Setup was done pretty quickly with most of the models available in-house. It was no surprise that the heat dissipation characteristics are pretty much dependent on the later orientation of the box (i.e. horizontal, vertical or angular mount). Only simulation could ensure that the board and its chipsets would not overheat no matter what the orientation in the later mission would be.

Figures 2 and 3 show the system in idle state and under maximum load. One of the nice benefits of the Flotherm simulation software used is that the visibility of the physical components can be easily switched on or off. Here in the figures approximately one-third of the left side of the system is made visible. This is enough to physically locate the critical parts (chip dies show up as a red slice with the alloy heat spreader on top) and to watch the imprint of the other components in the thermal plane. Figure 3 proves that under full load the heat distributes uncritically and very equally within the sealed box. Long-time experience on military projects was a big plus, by knowing what to look at in harsh environments and having processes set up to provide all required documents and keep confidentiality in all the communication processes. To select the appropriate waterproof MIL connectors was a lot easier.

The Box PC with camera system is a good example how basically simple things can develop into challenges. Use of pre-fabricated and pre- integrated modular components as well as long-time experience and extensive know-how are keys to cost efficiency and project success. In many cases like this it is more efficient by means of cost, time and quality to outsource tasks which are not core competency of the own business. Being not a first-timer but rather having access to a rich pool of experience reduces stress and hassle a lot and can ensure meeting even tight deadlines. Quality and success of outsourced projects are bound to the know-how and experience of your solution partner. Be sure to choose the right one!

19 May 2013 SAFETY & SECURITY

Safety in civil airplanes via DO-254 certifiable MIL-STD-1553 interfaces

By George Los, Data Device Corporation

This article introduces a wide range of MIL-STD-1553 components, test cards, rugged embedded cards, and software from a single company. Originally intended for military requirements, the standard is increasingly considered for use in civil aircraft.

MIL-STD-1553 is a protocol standard that Space Shuttle, the Eurofighter, the International tors, and a wire length of up to 20 feet is al- defines the electrical and functional character- Space Station, and the New Horizons spacecraft. lowed. Transformer coupling provides electrical istics of a data bus used in military aircraft. In addition to military applications, the MIL- isolation, better impedance matching, and The standard describes the method of com- STD-1553 components have also been designed higher noise rejection characteristics than munication, the data bus requirements, and into flight control applications on the Airbus direct coupling. The electrical isolation prevents the electrical interface requirements for the A350. These components have more than 200 a terminal fault or stub impedance mismatch data bus. The 1553 data bus is dual-redundant million hours of flight history, which proves from affecting bus performance. The MIL- and bidirectional, and features encoding and their reliability and performance. DDC MIL- STD-1553 electrical bus characteristics include high bit error reliability. The bus architecture STD-1553 components also have unique at- voltage output of 18V to 27V peak to peak. of MIL-STD-1553 allows for a reduction in tributes to further ensure the flight safety of a The unique bus configuration, 1553 isolation the size and weight of systems and the wiring MIL-STD-1553 data bus. transformers, transformer coupling modes, that interconnects them, is inherently reliable, and voltage range make MIL-STD-1553 a very and incorporates redundancies and electrical MIL-STD-1553 runs at a data rate of 1MHz safe data bus providing high voltage lightning characteristics that make it a very safe data and is connected to a bus architecture with 70 protection without the need to design very bus solution. ohm impedance wire. Electrically this is a bi- complex external circuitry. phase signal where transmitters and receivers Data Device Corporation (DDC) designs and are coupled to the bus by isolation transformers MIL-STD-1553 has 3 operating modes defined manufactures a wide range of MIL-STD-1553 and stub connectors, in conjunction with iso- as Bus Controller (BC), Remote Terminal (RT) components, test cards, rugged embedded lation resistors and coupling transformers with- and Monitor (MT). The bus is a flight critical cards, and software. DDC also produces a line in the transformer coupled case. MIL-STD- reliable bus by design, offering redundancy of ARINC-429, AFDX, Ethernet, ARINC-407 1553 defines two different connection methods and reliability, along with resistance to EMI. (Synchro), Fibre Channel, and solid state power to the data bus. Connections can be made in Bus redundancy is built into the MIL-STD- controller products. The products of the com- either long stub (transformer coupled) or 1553 specification, and the specification is in- pany meet military requirements such as high short stub (direct coupled) configuration meth- tended to support system design. Each channel reliability, safety, low CPU utilization, real- ods. Direct coupling connections are wired di- has A and B buses which are completely inde- time performance, and ruggedness for harsh rectly to the bus cabling, and allow a wire pendent. If a failure occurs on bus A and no environments. The products also cover a flexible length of up to 12 inches. The isolation resistors response is received by the Bus Controller range of performance and cost requirements. and transformer are internal to the terminal then the system can automatically switch over DDC MIL-STD-1553 solutions have been de- device, so no additional coupling hardware is to the other bus. The Bus Controller commands signed into such projects as the F-16 Falcon, required. In comparison, transformer coupling the bus and can command an RT to receive the B-1 Bomber, the F-35 (JSF), the AH-64 utilizes a second transformer located external data, send data to the BC, or send data to an- Apache attack helicopter, the M1A2 tank, the to the terminal device with the isolation resis- other RT. The main function of the Bus Con-

May 2013 20 SAFETY & SECURITY

can be ordered as RT only to ensure that this safety-critical requirement is met. The Total- ACE and Total-AceXtreme series are BGA packages that include protocol, memory, transceivers and transformers inside one package that brings out a signal which can be used to disable the device from acting as a Bus Controller. MIL- STD-1553 also has defined an RT validation test plan to ensure that the bus is electrically safe and reliable, and that all parameters are within specifications and that no external noise or dynamic offset exists on the line. All of DDC MIL-STD-1553 products have successfully undergone full RT Validation.

DO-254 is an FAA standard that provides Figure 1.The Total-ACE and Total-AceXtreme series are BGA packages that include protocol, guidelines for design assurance of complex memory, transceivers and transformers inside one package. airborne electronic hardware and calls out ob- jectives that must be met by avionics equipment troller (BC) is to provide data flow control for and the 1553 transceivers to external ball con- manufacturers to ensure continued airworthi- all transmissions on the bus. All information nection sets on the plastic BGA packages. The ness, safety, and reliability. There are five levels is communicated in a command and response sets must be connected in order for the device of compliance, A-E, which depend on the format. The BC sends a command to the RTs to function as a fully programmable BC/RT/MT. effect a failure will have on the operation of that then reply with a response. The RT never If the desired application is only monitoring the aircraft. Level A is the most stringent, and sends data on the bus unless it is commanded data from a classified bus and must never trans- defines a failure as catastrophic, while a failure to do so by the BC. mit on the bus, then these external connections of Level E hardware will not affect the safety are simply left unconnected on the layout. This of the aircraft. DO-254 certification is required A Monitor is defined as a 1553 interface that is a very common concern among avionics sys- for all civil airborne electronic hardware, and records all the traffic on the bus but can never tems that need to capture data but must never military contractors are also finding DO-254 transmit any data onto the bus. Some applica- re-transmit this data onto the bus. Safety con- increasingly important for military aircraft tions need to record classified data as a monitor cerns must ensure that even if a software glitch that must fly through civil airspace. and ensure that a software glitch on the host or software error occurs the device never trans- computer does not inadvertently transmit this mits, and DDC Total-ACE and Micro-ACE Although MIL-STD-1553 was originally de- data over an unclassified bus. DDC Tx Inhibit series ensures this high level of safety. signed for use with military avionics, due to feature on components allows end users to its robustness and safety it has recently become easily accomplish this task. By setting one of Another critical requirement that often comes increasingly considered for use in commercial the input pins of the device to the correct logic up on systems acting as just a remote terminal aircraft. MIL-STD-1553 has caught the atten- level, the device is inhibited from ever transmit- is to ensure that the component can never take tion of commercial aircraft manufacturers, ting on the bus even if it is commanded to do control of the bus and act as a bus controller. such as Airbus, who seek to capitalize upon so by the host computer. DDC has gone one Since the part is configurable as BC, RT, MT 1553 inherent reliability, robustness, maturity, step further and brought out the internal data via host software there needs to be a method and superior EMI performance. Airbus has se- connection between the 1553 protocol logic to disable the BC logic. DDC offers parts that lected MIL-STD-1553 components from Data SAFETY & SECURITY

Device Corporation for use in critical primary flight control systems on the A350 XWB. An- Product News other important consideration influencing Air- bus choice was that DDC products facilitate GE: rugged 6U OpenVPX GPGPU SECO: energy-efficient CUDA ARM achieving RTCA/DO-254 Level A certification, multiprocessor development kit a significant factor in the avionics industry. GE Intelligent Platforms announced the rugged SECO unveiled its latest energy-efficient DevKit DDC offers DO-254 certifiable MIL-STD-1553 IPN251 6U OpenVPX GPGPU Multiprocessor. – powered by the NVIDIA Tegra 3-based Qsev- interfaces, such as the Enhanced Mini-ACE, A successor to the IPN250, the IPN251 com- en module on a Mini ITX form factor carrier Mini-ACE Mark 3, Micro-ACE and Total-ACE bines the latest 384-core NVIDIA Kepler board – the SECO mITX GPU DevKit. The family of products which have extensive in- GPGPU technology with a third generation SECO mITX GPU DevKit is a GPU computing service history, and are supported by detailed Intel Core i7 quad core processor to deliver development kit designed to support the grow- documentation packages, as well as proven outstanding computing performance in a wide ing worldwide demand for power-efficient performance, experience, safety and reliability. range of demanding data-intensive applica- ARM/ and ARM+GPU HPC and server solu- For MIL-STD-1553 components, DDC can tions, particularly ISR (intelligence, surveillance, tions. Integrating a PCI Express x4 interface supply a documentation package that provides reconnaissance). on PCI-e x16, the SECO mITX GPU DevKit data specific to the aspects of certification in News ID 17035 allows the use of a range of NVIDIA GPUs, accordance with RTCA/DO-254 Level A. The including those based on the NVIDIA Kepler 1553 family of products of the company has Kontron: 3U VPX graphics board provides compute architecture. achieved over 200 million hours of in-flight desktop-class AMD graphics in rugged News ID 17058 operation within over 1000 unique designs, form factor and is an example of the qualification data Kontron has launched the Kontron 3U VPX MSC: Qseven starter kit with provided. graphics board VX3324 in an embedded form AMD Embedded G-Series APU factor targeting military and aerospace appli- MSC is announcing the availability of a new The company also offers a complete line of cations. It has been designed for long lifecycle Qseven Starter Kit based on MSC’s Qseven boards and box level assemblies that offer a applications and is equipped with the AMD modules featuring the AMD Embedded G-Se- mix of MIL-STD-1553 only, ARINC-429 only, Radeon E6460 graphics processing unit. The ries APU. The MSC Q7-SK-A50M-EP4 Starter or a combination of MIL-STD-1553/ARINC- new VPX graphics board has been optimized Kit consists of MSC’s 3.5” Qseven baseboard 429 on one board or box. Other common in- for size, weight, power and cooling constrained Q7-MB-EP4 with suitable heatspreader and terfaces include, but are not limited to, digital applications and supports the latest high-end heatsink and an integrated power supply with and avionics (+35V) level discrete I/O, IRIG-B graphics performance features such as DirectX cable kit. The kit comes with a ready-to-run input/output, RS-232/422/485 serial I/O chan- 11 OpenGL 4.0 and Shader model 5.0, Linux installation in Flash Disk to enable an nels, CANBus, ARINC-717 and AFDX. The providing an immersive 3D user experience. out-of-the-box functional experience. cards, just like the components, are designed News ID 17117 News ID 17086 to meet strict safety and reliability concerns of the military avionics community. With this in Emerson: VPX system chassis simplifies Trenz: compatible all-programmable mind DDC has implemented a way to enable development, testing and deployment SoMs feature Artix, Kintex, and Zynq end users to configure the card to meet these Emerson Network Power announces its latest Trenz Electronic presents its new series of safety concerns. In addition to full BC validation VPX system chassis: the KR8-VPX-3-6-1. De- FPGA and SoC modules. They are based on and RT validation, each card is a fully functional signed primarily for development, testing and the latest Xilinx all-programmable devices device that has the capability to operate as a lab duties, the KR8-VPX-3-6-1 can also be (Artix, Kintex, and Zynq-7000) and are avail- bus controller or multi-remote terminal, each deployed in ground benign installations as it able in a uniform 4×5 cm form factor. Trenz optionally running a concurrent bus monitor. meets Emerson’s standard safety, electromag- Electronic’s new product series is comprised netic compatibility and environmental of FPGA and SoC industrial modules, which Each card has the ability to inhibit the trans- requirements. can also be deployed in harsh environments, mitters for monitoring only applications or News ID 17174 such as those occurring in the industry and disable the Bus Controller for RT only appli- aeronautics. cations on a channel by channel basis. This is Artila: ARM9 Linux computer with 8-port News ID 17088 done via a customer configuration utility that isolated RS-485 is run once on the card. Once each 1553 chan- Artila Electronics releases Matrix-516, the new DFI: complete line of nel on the card is configured in the desired generation of its ARM-based box computer. Computer-On-Module products manner then host software cannot change this Artila’s Matrix-516 industrial box computer is Due to the increasing demand of Computer- configuration. If the software commands the a small form-factor, low power consumption, On-Module products, aside from Type 2, DFI card to transmit data as a bus controller on and Linux-ready computing platform. With a completed its COM Express product line by channel 1, the hardware will not do so if the 400MHz Atmel AT91SAM9G20 CPU, 64MB adding Type 6, Type 10, and Mini form factor. defined channel is inhibited or BC disabled. SDRAM and 128MB NAND Flash inside, Ma- In addition, we added several COM Express Pre-defined versions can also be ordered if the trix-516 ensures system high performance. products that use BGA-package processor to end user does not want to configure each card. Matrix-516 is equipped with multiple I/O in- satisfy vertical markets that require product This ensures the safety and reliability of the terfaces, including 2 LANs, 8 x isolated RS- stability. DFI now offers Type 2, Type 6, and systems that include these cards. Each of the 485 serial ports, 2 x USB hosts, 1x micro-SD Type 10 in Mini, Compact and Basic form cards and boxes that DDC sells go through CE and 21 x GPIOs. It is easy to develop pure factors. At present, DFI has 19 Computer-On- certification. This ensures that the products C/C++programs or Web-based applications Module products that are readily available for comply with the Low Voltage Directive and such as SQLite+ and PHP to run on top of the shipment and 14 more modules that will be EMC Directive to be sold as electronic products Matrix-516. released throughout the year. in Europe to address user safety concerns. News ID 17146 News ID 17121

May 2013 22 SAFETY & SECURITY

Artila: two ports serial to Ethernet 3-D transistor, Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 technol- Modbus gateway ogy, Intel Hyper-Threading technology, 16 GB Artila Electronics announce the launch of DDR3 1333/1600 system memory, and PCI Aport-212, two ports serial to Ethernet Modbus Express 3.0 x16 slot. It also supports Intel gateway. Aport-212 provides maximum flexi- Active Management Technology 8.0, Intel Small bility to integrate Modbus networks of all Business Advantage solution, Intel Smart Re- type and sizes. Built with 32-bit ARM Cortex sponse Technology, Intel Rapid Storage Tech- M3 processor and real time FreeRTOS, Aport- nology, Intel vPro, Trusted Platform Module 212 can converts data between Modbus TCP 1.2, and SATA RAID for various mission critical and RTU/ASCII up to 16 Modbus TCP masters applications. and 32 Modbus slaves in almost any mode News ID 17148 combination simultaneously. News ID 17053 BVM: low cost Mini-ITX SBC for high volume embedded applications Emerson: ATCA systems ready for The competitively priced IMB-171 Mini-ITX deep packet inspection motherboard is the latest product to be added to Emerson Network Power announced new ap- The BVM Group’s portfolio of industrial grade plication-ready platforms for deep packet in- SBCs. Manufactured by ASRock Industrial it is spection applications. Emerson has integrated based on the Q77 chipset and supports Intel its new FlowPilot load balancing software with Core i7/i5/i3/Celeron Sandy Bridge and Ivy its Centellis series 40G ATCA systems to create Bridge processors in the LGA1155 socket. Two platforms that enable network equipment 204 pin slots accept up to 16GB of Dual Channel providers to accelerate the development and DDR3 1066/1333/1600 MHz SDRAM; two SA- delivery of applications that use DPI. These TAII 3.0Gb/s and two SATAIII 6.0Gb/s ports include ‘bump in the wire’ applications such support RAID 0/1/5 configuration hard drives. as policy enforcement, security gateways, and News ID 17211 firewalls as well as network monitoring and optimization, and lawful intercept. VIA: ARM Cortex-A9 based Pico-ITX News ID 17115 board for in-vehicle applications VIA Technologies announced the VIA VAB- VadaTech supplies MicroTCA cloud 600 Pico-ITX embedded board. Featuring an computing platform 800MHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, the VIA VadaTech has started shipping a novel chassis VAB-600 combines a wide operating temper- designed specifically for application server ature range with extremely low power con- platforms. As well as meeting the cost and re- sumption and optional 3G connectivity to liability requirements of cloud computing, the fuel in-vehicle innovation as well as a broad chassis is carefully engineered for thermal per- range of mobile and healthcare applications. formance. The MicroTCA architecture is im- The VAB-600 features a rich I/O set with plemented with VadaTech’s modular infra- superb multimedia performance, including a structure products, allowing field-proven soft- built-in Multi-standard decoder for playback ware to be used for platform management support of the most demanding video formats and remote monitoring capability. in resolutions up to 1080p. News ID 17212 News ID 17216

IPC2U: slim mini-ITX mainboard with AMP: 4 channel H.264 encoder boasts Atom D2550 processor less than 40ms compression delay IPC2U presents with the mini-ITX board AMP announced immediate availability of its AMB-D255T1 a new industry board, boasting lowest latency H.264 encoding engine in a PCI- beside compact mini-ITX boards a small 104 form factor. Targeted at video distribution height. Beside power-saving and powerful Intel applications which demand a near real-time Atom D2550 Dual Core processor with 1.86 user experience, the H264ULL encodes four full GHz and maximal memory up to 4GB DDR3 frame rate, full resolution video inputs in parallel the board offers a lot of interfaces such as 1x with latency of less than 4oms on all channels Gbit LAN, 6x USB2.0 (two of them internal) and with minimal CPU overhead. When paired and 4x COM. with AMPs H264ULL-Decoder, glass-to-glass News ID 17106 latency of less than 100ms is achieved. Applica- tions such as teleoperation of high speed vehicles Axiomtek: high-end Mini ITX mother- and precise remote manipulation of objects board features 3rd gen i7/i5/i3 processors across a low bandwidth communications channel Axiomtek’s MANO873 Mini ITX motherboard require both highly efficient compression and based on the Intel Q77 Express chipset is de- short round-trip delay. AMP’s H264ULL-En- signed for the 3rd Generation Intel Core coder delivers both of these capabilities in an i7/i5/i3 processors in the LGA1155 socket. The easy to integrate single PCI-104 card. high-performance MANO873 supports Intel News ID 17237

23 May 2013 MAINBOARDS

Mainboards in precision scales pull their weight

Peter Hoser, Fujitsu Technology Solutions

This article shows how modern precision scales for supermarkets are able to weigh, organise, and order in HD quality, with high reliability even under tough circumstances due to embedded computer boards.

Figure 1. The pictures of the products, weight and costs are shown coloured and in high resolution on the second screen of the scale.

Place fruit on scale, press the corresponding temperature and moisture, but are also used the back-office via wireless networks for further button, take out sticker and hurry to the check- at a high frequency by customers and employ- processing. All scales are connected with each out – a scenario of mainly historical interest ees. Scales in the food sector need to operate other, including the control scales at the check- as the technology used today in the majority reliably and continuously. Balanças Marques outs – even the cash drawer can be connected of food scales in European supermarkets is had repeatedly experienced problems with with sensor feedback. In the retail market all more sophisticated. Among the manufacturers the ruggedness and reliability of scales. Fur- results must be recorded, this is mandatory of modern precision scales is the Portuguese thermore, the company wanted to reduce the and can only make use of certified software company Balanças Marques. Since 1989, they number of components to cut costs, and to like ETPOS. have been producing and distributing complete have an internal LVDS on the platform. In ad- weighing solutions for the commercial and in- dition to industrial scales, vehicle scales, load Conventional desktop mainboards usually can- dustrial sectors on the Iberian peninsula, in cells, and customised weighing solutions, the not guarantee the reliability and ruggedness Europe, and in Northern Africa. Balanças Mar- Portuguese company, a part of the Jose Pimenta under adverse enviromental conditions that ques produce, among other things, modern Marques Group, manufactures precision scales Balanças Marques requires, as these boards precision and control scales based on Fujitsu for the food sector. The precision and control are neither designed for continuous operation industrial Mini-ITX-Motherboard D3003-S1 scale BM5 has load capacities ranging from nor for changes in temperature. This was the with AMD G-Series processors for supermar- 6/15 kg to 15/30 kg. It features touch technology reason why, back in January 2011, Balanças kets equipped with two displays for customers with an integrated management software Marques had equipped their scales with an in- and employees. The fully developed products (ETPOS) that was developed in-house. In dustrial mainboard by Fujitsu, the Mini-ITX also include an integrated management soft- order to operate it smoothly, we needed a mainboard D2963-S, designed for digital sig- ware which is responsible not only for weighing, mainboard combining high quality with a nage and PoS applications. In April 2012, the but also for a very wide variety of other tasks good cost-performance ratio. company switched to the successor, the current such as taking orders, managing current ac- Mini-ITX board D3003-S1. It is specifically counts of customers and suppliers, and inven- The software makes it possible not only to dis- designed for demanding applications in an ex- tory management. play the weight but also to issue tickets for tended temperature range and therefore com- customers. Employees, on the other hand, can plies even more precisely with the requirements For precision and counting scales operated in check current accounts which can be activated of the customer. Several special features of the fresh food areas of shops, reliability even under through an RFID tag. Furthermore, the inven- mainboard ensure safe operation of the whole tough circumstances such as moisture and tory can be managed from the check-out by machine. The possibility of system-independent high or low temperatures is a basic requirement. placing orders, printing invoices, and accessing remote maintenance can do away with costly In refrigerated display cases, in the fruit and reports on previous purchases. The system au- and time-consuming field service by a mainte- vegetable department, or at the check-out, the tomatically generates statistical graphics of nance technician. Particularly with systems scales are not only subject to various levels of daily operations which can be transferred to installed in places that are difficult to access,

May 2013 24 MAINBOARDS

authorisations (console redirection). The range of functions further encompasses remote boot- ing from a remote drive or image file (media redirection), changing the BIOS settings (BIOS management), monitoring the components of the system (remote system health monitoring), and others.

Thanks to the integrated alert system, users can receive information about the state of the system without actively monitoring it. This makes it possible to implement preventive remote management on demand. Developed and produced by Fujitsu, the PCIe GbE card D2907-A with its DASH-compliant Ethernet controller by Broadcom reliably reacts to out- of-band access via DASH 1.1, supported by Figure 2. The precision and control scale the BIOS of the D3003-S. Apart from this out- BM5 has load capacities and features touch of-band management functionality, further technology. features guaranteeing safe operation of the board and hence of the scales include the watchdog, which not only monitors the operating system but also the boot process, and which performs a restart or shutdown in case of malfunction.

After a number of tests on a variety of mainboards, Balanças Marques decided in favour of Fujitsu due to the test results and the accuracy of fit regarding the product specifications of the BM5. The design-in was completed six months later, with production delivery of the mainboards starting on 9 May 2012. It is tools such as LVDS Settings (for unassisted adaptation of the video BIOS to an LVDS panel), Silent- FanConfig (for adapting the ventilation to the customer specifications), and CDV Adapt (for Figure 3. Mini-ITX-Mainboard D3003-S1 is flashing customer-specific BIOS parameters specifically designed for demanding applica- without manual settings) that conveniently sup- tions in an extended temperature range and port design-in and system production proce- therefore complies even more precisely with dures. The contact between manufacturer and the requirements of the customer. supplier was established by distributor Rutronik, who has been a supplier to Balanças Marques which is the case with scales, out-of-band in other product areas for years. Balanças Mar- manageability significantly facilitates the de- ques already see a significant reduction of costs tection and fixing of errors. because introducing the Fujitsu mainboard al- lowed to reduce some components which are Remote administration of PC systems is not a now powered by the board. This did away with new technology. So-called in-band manage- the need for an external DC/DC transformer ment, for example, refers to the remote main- or a complex mains adapter. A large number of tenance of a fully functioning computer with cables have also become unnecessary. By elimi- its operating system up and running. Out-of- nating these components, the product has be- band technologies, on the other hand, are ca- come more reliable, and the possibility of faults pable of remote interventions into a system has decreased. The end customers are also more that is switched off, stuck, or in stand-by satisfied because the cost of service and mainte- mode, for maintenance or trouble-shooting nance has decreased sharply. purposes. The D3003-S1 platform is equipped with the DASH out-of-band management tech- The mainboard comes with an additional nology. The current DASH 1.1.specification LVDS controller supporting 24-bit dual channel contains a number of useful functions, such LVDS for operating display sizes of more than as switching on and off the system from a re- 12” in HD quality. This was a very important mote management console (remote power aspect – being able to operate two monitors control), or a standardised interface for adding simultaneously in the best possible resolution, users, changing passwords, or assigning access because the monitors of the scales are equipped

25 May 2013 MAINBOARDS

with a 15” display with touch-screen for em- available for the longest possible term and ability of components is one of the biggest ployees and a second one at a size of 12” or 7” users should be informed as early as possible problems with regard to follow-up costs. Al- for customers. Both monitors can be operated about any changes the manufacturer may in- most every PC system requires some sort of with the board at the best possible resolution. tend so they can react in time. In addition to adaptation of the software. This produces costs Model D3003-S1 supports the AMD FT1 (eOn- the long-time availability of their mainboards, for the adaptation itself, but also its evaluation. tario) single-core T44R (9W) processor. The Fujitsu also offer a strict lifecycle management Thanks to long-term availability, it is possible CPU comes with an integrated high-perfor- guaranteeing users that they receive early in- for our customers to achieve an economically mance ATI graphics controller. formation about any changes. The needs of sound ROI within the lifecycle. The D3003-S1 users from the field of embedded computing board used here has an extended lifecycle of Long-term availability and lifecycle manage- are usually different from those of the consumer up to five years – compared to a lifecycle of no ment are another crucial concern of the Por- market. For manufacturers of embedded ap- more than 12 or 15 months for a conventional tuguese company with regard to their products plications, the indispensable condition for desktop board. Balanças Marques are satisfied aimed at the food industries. In contrast to working with a supplier is the long-term avail- with the responses they have received from the consumer electronics sector, retailers in ability of components, not a yearly release of their customers so far and have already placed the food sector do not demand new equipment new platforms with a huge diversity of new an order with Fujitsu for another production every year. Thus, components should remain processors and chipsets. This is because avail- delivery. Product News

DFI: full size PICMG 1.3 board with testing of COM Express modules. The modules Acrosser: all-in-one gaming board with H61 Express chipset are plugged into the usual COM Express con- AMD Embedded G-Series T56N APU DFI launches PIC-H61, a new Full Size PICMG nectors. Due to the limited number of mating ACROSSER launches a new all-in-one gaming 1.3 board in its cost-reduced Intel H61 product cycles of the COM Express connectors, the board, the AMB-A55EG1. Acrosser AMB- line. It is powered by the 3rd/2nd Gen Intel main boards have to be replaced after 30 to 40 A55EG1 is powered by AMD low power G-Se- Core processor family paired with the Intel test cycles. The replacement of the 220 pin ries T56N dual core platform that uses an H61 Express chipset. PIC H61 is cross com- connector with a pitch of 0.5 mm is considered AMD Radeon HD 6320 graphic controller. patible with the new 3rd Gen Intel Core proces- as very difficult and unreliable. The DirectX 11 support lets you enjoy awesome sors built on 22-nanometer process technology News ID 17071 graphics performance, stunning 3D visual ef- and with the 2nd Gen Intel Core processors fects and dynamic interactivity. Discrete-level built on 32-nanometer process technology. Micron: PCIe I/O accelerator in 2.5-inch GPU with OpenGL 4.0 and OpenCL 1.1 sup- This cost-effective board is powerful and yet form factor port device provides the tools to build the de- energy-efficient. Micron announced a new PCIe all-flash I/O signs of tomorrow, today. News ID 17041 accelerator to improve overall performance in News ID 17126 enterprise servers, appliances and storage plat- Pentair: embedded systems from standard forms. The new Micron P420m combines con- Schroff: new air baffles provide efficient components for various requirements sistent performance with the inherent power heat dissipation With its systems based on the Schroff branded efficiency of an all-flash system to deliver im- The MicroTCA.4 sub-specification, Enhance- modular 19“ subracks, Pentair Equipment Pro- proved economics for enterprise data centers. ments for Rear I/O and Precision Timing, has tection offers an ideal platform on which var- The P420m accelerates performance of today’s been defined in order that experiments carried ious demands can be satisfied. Drawing on a demanding data center applications, including out by physics research centers can also be wide portfolio of standard components, systems online transaction processing, data warehous- used in other market segments in industry, can be assembled for every necessary level of ing and virtualization. such as in Test & Measurement. This requires, ruggedness. News ID 17234 on the one hand, additional rear transition News ID 17043 modules to accommodate the large number Wind River: Yocto project compatible of I/Os on the rear front panels and to physi- Curtiss-Wright and CoreAVI announce carrier grade Linux cally separate digital and analog I/Os. partnership Wind River has introduced the Wind River News ID 17165 Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense Solutions Linux Carrier Grade Profile for the latest version has partnered with Channel One and its sub- of Wind River Linux. Formally registered for IBASE: PICMG 1.0 full-size CPU card with sidiaryCore Avionics & Industrial (CoreAVI) the CGL 5.0 specification with the Linux Foun- Q77 Express chipset to provide the defense and aerospace embedded dation, the profile is the first delivery of Carrier IBASE has launched the IB970 PICMG 1.0 COTS market with a 15-year lifetime support Grade Linux functionalities on top of a Yocto full-size CPU card. The latest IB970 is based guarantee for the XMC-715 graphics controller Project Compatible product. With Wind River on the Intel Q77 Express Chipset, a single- and future generations of AMD Radeon-based Linux as a base, the Wind River Linux CG Pro- chipset designed to support 3rd generation embedded Graphics Processing Units. file gives customers a turnkey platform that al- Intel Core and Pentium processors that pro- News ID 17059 lows them to meet their CGL requirements. vides improved performance as well as in- Additional profiles for Wind River Linux will creased bandwidth and stability. Intel® Q77 Yamaichi: test system for COM Express continue to be developed to address a variety Express Chipset enables the iGPU function, to modules of market specific needs. The mix and match support integrated graphic performance with Yamaichi Electronics presents a new test system nature of these profiles for Wind River Linux latest Intel Core Processor through IB970’s for COM Express modules developed in the offers developers flexibility and choice to meet graphics interfaces for VGA CRT, DVI-D and European Design Centre. In many production a diverse range of specialized needs. 24-bit dual channel LVDS displays. facilities the regular main board is used for News ID 17082 News ID 17196

May 2013 26 Kontron is M2M partner of extreme reliability is required. Designed and micro computer features a small footprint, ei- Deutsche Telekom tested for industrial temperature operation, ther performance computing or low power Kontron announced its cooperation with the rugged VL-COMm-26 meets MIL-STD- consumption, intelligent management, security Deutsche Telekom. The goal of this partnership 202G specifications to withstand high impact and longevity. Each comes with Advantech’s is the promotion of Kontron’s M2M solutions. and vibration. Soldered-on RAM (up to 2 SUSIAccess software for intelligent monitoring For distributed systems requiring cellular net- GB) and fanless thermal solutions provide ad- and control. work connection, Kontron offers the matching ditional protection within harsh environments. News ID 17060 industrial grade nodes to connect the terminal News ID 17097 devices to the cloud applications and the In- X-ES: Core i7 based fanless embedded ternet-of-Things. ADLINK: high capacity 18-slot Box PC News ID 17219 PXI Express chassis Extreme Engineering Solutions has introduced ADLINK announced a new PXI Express chassis the XPand6103 rugged Fanless Embedded Box MEN: IRIS certification confirmed for applications requiring enhanced bandwidth PC utilizing the Intel Core i7 processor. The MEN Mikro Elektronik has obtained an above- and higher density and capacity. ADLINK’s XPand6103 is a reliable and maintenance-free average result in the IRIS reaudit. In order to PXES-2780, an 18-slot PXI Express chassis high-performance computing platform ideally successfully acquire orders from the trans- with ten hybrid peripheral slots provides a suited for environmentally challenging and portation market the IRIS certification is of configurable PCIe switch fabric, enabling con- space constrained situations. The XPand6103 great importance. The train manufacturers as- figuration with two-link x8, and four-link x4 maximizes processing performance, thermal sociated to the IRIS (International Railway PXI express deployments, allowing full uti- performance, and modularity while minimizing Industry Standard) commit to only place orders lization of the PCIe gen2 bandwidth. cost and size by integrating support for the with subcontractors which have been certified News ID 17137 latest industry standard components. according to the IRIS standards. News ID 17080 News ID 17227 Sealevel: eI/O-170E and eI/O-170PoE multifunction modules DSM: 2U 19-inch industrial computer VersaLogic: rugged CPU module with Sealevel Systems announces two new eI/O provides one 5.25 inch slimline and two optional IPC class 3 assembly products available with and without Power 3.5 inch bays VersaLogic announced the VL-COMm-26 – over Ethernet. Featuring analog and dry contact DSM Computer’s robust 2-U 19-inch 96I2380- an extremely small, extraordinarily rugged inputs and solid state relays, Sealevel’s eI/O MBQ67 system has an installation depth of Computer on Module board. The product is products provide system designers with a com- only 380 mm. Despite its compact construction, based on the industry-standard COM Express pact, cost effective alternative for monitoring the flexible Infinity industrial computer provides mini form factor. About the size of a credit and control. They are perfect for a wide one 5.25 inch slimline bay and two 3.5 inch card, the VL-COMm-26 is a highly-integrated variety of applicatio ns including process con- bays. This allows, for example, the installation embedded computer that combines the Intel trol, facility management, security, and broad- of four 2.5 inch hard disks in two 3.5 inch re- Atom E6x0T low power processor with an op- cast automation. movable frames. A 500 GB 3.5 inch SATA II tional TPM security chip and a Type 10 COM News ID 17241 300 hard disk (or larger) is integrated as stan- interface. It is designed for high reliability in dard. A DVD-RW drive (slimline) or a 2.5 demanding environments that include extreme Advantech: compact micro computer inch SSD drive can be installed as an option. temperature, impact, and vibration.The VL- systems for machine automation Two PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots, one of which COMm-26 is available manufactured to IPC- Advantech has released a series of AiMC com- with four lanes, and two PCI slots (32 bit, 33 A-610 Class 2 standards. As a first in the in- pact micro computer systems for machine au- MHz) are available for system extensions. dustry, Class 3 assembly is also available where tomation applications. Each self-contained News ID 17064 PRODUCT NEWS

IEI: advanced Industrial Panel PCs with designed to meet advanced communication DSM: robust industrial server with Atom N2600 processor application requirements for Ethernet-based dual Intel Xeon E5 IEI introduced an advanced low power con- network installations on both linefit and retrofit An industrial ATX mainboard with the Intel sumption Industrial Panel PC, the PPC 37 se- aircraft. C602 chipset and two Intel Xeon E5-2418L ries, featuring the 3rd generation Intel Atom News ID 17114 processors (2.0 GHz, 10 MB cache, four N2600 processor to provide high performance cores) has been integrated in the extremely with reduced power consumption for industrial IEI: Panel PCs with Windows Embedded 8 powerful 4-U 19-inch industrial server In- computing. The PPC 37 series, PPC-3708A- support finity S4 from DSM Computer. There are six N26, PPC-3710A-N26, PPC-3712A-N26, is IEI Technology introduces the AFOLUX GEN DIMM slots available on the board for up to available in three sizes, 8.4”, 10.4” and 12.1”. II series with Windows Embedded 8 support. 96 GB per CPU. DDR3 memory modules The PPC 37 series uses the high-brightness The innovative product design of the AFOLUX with a capacity of 16 GB are equipped as TFT LCD panel with LED backlight. GEN II series includes advanced technology standard. The main memory can be expanded News ID 17099 such as projected capacitive multi-touch and up to 192 GB. For high-demanding applica- resistive single touch screen options, LED dash tions, a server based on two Intel Xeon E5- Ecrin and Barco team up to distribute system for eye-catching notification, integrated 2448L processors (1.8 GHz, 20 MB cache, rugged displays EM or Mifare RFID reader, and light fanless eight cores) can be supplied. Barco and Ecrin Systems have signed an agree- design to enhance system stability by the auto News ID 17230 ment on the distribution of rugged displays on/off fan. for the defense and aerospace markets. Besides News ID 17140 IPC2U: XEON ATX board for servers and distribution & VAR activities, ECRIN Systems industrial applications integrates and manufactures embedded solu- VersaLogic: Mini PCIe modules for IPC2U presents with the IMBA-C604EN an tions by customizing its own range of products full industrial temperature ATX mainboard, which was particularly de- to fit customer-specified requirements and VersaLogic announced a new portfolio of Mini signed for deployment in data centers and work environments. PCIe modules. Mini PCIe modules provide a high-performance company servers. This in- News ID 17101 simple, economical, standardized way to add dustry board is equipped with a LGA 1356 I/O and storage functions to embedded com- socket for high powerful Intel Xeon E5-2400 NEXCOM: compact low power puter products. Unlike typical expansion CPUs produced with 32nm technology with ARM-based vehicle terminal boards, Mini PCIe allows additional functions up to 8 cores and Intel XEON C604 chipset. NEXCOM has launched the mini ARM-based to be added to a system with almost no increase In 6 different memory sockets up to 192GB vehicle terminal VTC 100 which can run telem- in overall package size. VersaLogic’s new Mini 1333/1600MHz memory can be installed, atics applications on 8 watts of power and boot PCIe modules are unique in that they are all whereas the board meets almost all require- in 10 seconds. The VTC 100 features low power designed for high reliability in demanding en- ments for demanding applications. ARM Cortex-A8 processor, pre-installed oper- vironments. News ID 17102 ating system, various wireless and CAN bus News ID 17173 communications and smart power management. Kontron: SAMRC kit comes cable-connected, This vehicle terminal can step up mobility and GE: latest AMD processors in new ready to plug-and-evaluate assist with driver hours of service compliance industrial computing modules With the introduction of Kontron’s ready-to- for a variety of dispatch service, including taxi, GE Intelligent Platforms announced that it use SMARC Starterkit, the company enables truck, airport shuttle, and ambulance. will develop a range of rugged COM Express developers to gain fast entry into the world of News ID 17108 modules based on the new AMD Embedded embedded ARM processors, which is now G-Series SOC processors. First shipments are highly scalable thanks to SMARC Computer- Kithara: image acquisition and expected in late2013. Including AMD proces- on-Modules. The SMARC kit comes in a sturdy processing in real-time sors in the new products will enable GE to de- transport case, has all the cables already con- Kithara Software closes a gap and creates a co- velop more compact ‘Type 10’ modules in the nected and is equipped with all the necessary herent real-time cycle with image acquisition, so-called ‘mini’ format, measuring just 84 x components, including a display and power image processing and output under Windows 55m and allowing customers to deploy them supply. through the new Vision Module. The new in a broader range of environments. News ID 17129 software component now enables the imme- News ID 17184 diate image processing in real-time by user’s Cadia: Embedded SBC features Freescale image processing algorithms, as well as by the Rutronik: industrial SATA II SSDs from Cortex A9 CPU comprehensive image processing library HAL- 16GB to 512GB Cadia Networks, an innovative global sup- CON from MVTec. The X 500 Series Industrial SATA II SSD from plier of application specific board level News ID 17135 Swissbit achieves a data rate on SATA II of up products and systems for a wide range of to 240MB/sec and an impressive 15,000 IOPS embedded computing applications, intro- Kontron: airborne servers for high-speed with 4k random accesses. It is available at dis- duced its latest ARM product. The ESBC- networking requirements on aircraft tributor Rutronik. To ensure the absolute reli- 3200 is a highly integrated single board Kontron launches its next-generation of the ability of the power fail protected X 500 Series, computer based on Freescale’s Cortex A9 ACE Flight 600 general purpose airborne Swissbit combines sophisticated mechanisms i.MX6 processor. Simply plug-in 9-24VDC servers product line, helping avionics systems and augments these with the S.M.A.R.T. (self- power and this small form factor SBC boots developers fast-track the design to deployment monitoring, analysis and reporting technology) right out of the box with its native Android process of best-in-class flight communication protocol, the lifetime monitoring tool or SDK or Linux operating system from the 8GB of and wireless server applications. The ACE and an efficient BCH-ECC (error correction iNAND flash and the onboard 2GB of system Flight 600 is a complete, highly integrated ap- code) unit. memory. plication-ready platform that is specifically News ID 17220 News ID 17209

May 2013 28 PRODUCT NEWS

Wind River: VxWorks MILS platform WinSystems: PC/104-Plus two-channel compliant to separation kernel Gigabit Ethernet card supports POE COMPANY PAGE protection profile WinSystems introduces the PPM-GIGE-2- Wind River has introduced the latest version POE PC/104-Plus module integrating two of Wind River VxWorks MILS Platform, a se- independent Gigabit Ethernet ports with AAEON 13 cure separation kernel that is compliant to the Power Sourcing Equipment circuits. It is Separation Kernel Protection Profile (SKPP). ideal to source two remote tethered 802.3af/at Part of the Wind River portfolio of trusted compliant POE devices supporting up to ARROW 7 systems, the Type 1 hypervisor–based, multiple 25W each from an external DC source. Ap- independent levels of security platform is ready plication areas include security, transporta- Artila 23 for use in security-critical systems that may tion, and industrial control where centralized require system-level high assurance evaluation power can simplify integration and reduce or certification and accreditation. wiring costs. congatec 21 News ID 17182 News ID 17077

MSC: starter kit for COM Express modules RoweBots: availability of wireless Digi-Key 2 with AMD Embedded R-series APUs components on the Embedded Software For quick evaluation and prototyping of em- Store bedded systems based on COM Express mod- RoweBots announced the availability of its E.E.P.D. 11 ules with AMD Embedded R-Series Accelerated Unison OS wireless components on the Em- Processing Unit, MSC offers a complete starter bedded Software Store. These components Advertisers Index kit. The intelligent starter kit MSC C6-SK-A7- provide out of the box support for WiFi, Ecrin Systems 19 T6T2 contains a COM Express Type 6 base- Bluetooth, UHF, cellular networks and 6loW- board, an active heat sink with fan and two PAN for wireless connectivity in just 10 min- DDR3 memory modules. utes for either free evaluation or commercial Elma Electronic 14 News ID 17232 licensing. News ID 17022 Green Hills 5 LDRA: compliance management system details steps to certification Green Hills: INTEGRITY-178B RTOS selected LDRA releases the LDRA Compliance Man- for flight management system MEN Mikro Elektronik 25 agement System to help companies develop Green Hills Software has announced Esterline the infrastructure to become DO-178B/C, DO- CMC Electronics’ selection of the INTEGRI- 278A, and DO-254 compliant. LDRA Certifi- TY-178B single-core operating system as the MSC 3 cation Services experts, fully accredited across basis for their CMA-4000 Flight Management all aviation disciplines, walk customers through System. CMC will leverage the DO-178B the fully compliant plans, standards and other Level A robust partitioning capabilities of msi 27 lifecycle documents, process checklists, and the INTEGRITY-178B real-time operating problem reports to help customers manage system in support of delivering the Flight certification planning, development, verifica- Management System for an avionics upgrade PowerBridge 9 tion, and regulatory activities. program. News ID 17167 News ID 17092

29 May 2013 PRODUCT NEWS

Texim offers slim bezel Panel PC with Curtiss-Wright adds NIST FIPS 140-2 Intel Atom D2550 from Avalue encrypted memory storage to its rugged Texim Europe introduces the BFC-10W7 from NAS solution Avalue, a 10.1“ 16:9 slim bezel panel PC. The Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense Solutions Editors BFC10W7 features a stylish metal housing has announced that its Vortex Compact Net- Jürgen Hübner along with Projected Capacitive Touch screen work Storage rugged network attached storage phone +49(0)8092-2477413 supporting multi-touch. The front of this solution now supports solid-state Flash Stor- fax +49(0)8092-2477429 panel PC is IP-65 dust and water proof. The age Modules that are certified to NIST FIPS [email protected] BFC-10W7 is powered by the Intel Atom 140-2 for secure data encryption. When con- Wolfgang Patelay D2550 dual-core processor and Intel NM10 figured with one or more Curtiss-Wright wp@iccmedia.com express chipset, having low power consumption Vortex FSM modules, the CNS provides a accompanied by good performance. scalable, low risk solution for deploying Tony Devereux News ID 17170 AES256-bit encrypted data in demanding [email protected] defense and aerospace applications. For Reader Inquiries and Address Changes CES adds PCIe over P0 capability to its News ID 17156 please contact: RIO6 VME64x SBCs [email protected] Creative Electronic Systems announced the Kontron: starter kit for embedded high-end RIO6-8096, the latest member of the RIO6 graphics based on COM Express Type 6 Sales & Marketing Director Manfred Blumoser family of 6U VME64x single board computers Kontron announced the new COM Express phone +49(0)8092-2477411 featuring the Freescale QorIQ P2010 or P2020 Starterkit Reference T6 for the accelerated fax +49(0)8092-2477429 processor, with an optional user-programmable development of a broad range of Small Form [email protected] Xilinx Spartan-6 FPGA. The RIO6-8096 pro- Factor (SFF) multimedia applications, pro- Claudia Mellein vides a PCIe x4 link over the standard VME-P0 viding a rich user experience ranging from [email protected] connector on any existing VME64x backplane. battery-powered portable solutions up to News ID 17056 stationary multi-display installations. Fol- Christiane Lockner [email protected] lowing the launch of the Kontron COM Ex- Pentek: line of AMC products for signal press Starterkit Eval T6, the new Reference Sales Office - UK and USA, Benelux, processing I/O T6 Starterkit was compiled specifically for Scandinavia Pentek has launched the 56xxx family of Advanced OEMs which need to design fully featured Blue Sky Communications Mezzanine Card products giving customers instant SFF applications using COM Express. Malcolm Cameron 21 Cliffe Avenue access to the extensive line of signal processing News ID 17141 Westbrook, products in the Pentek catalog. Pentek is leveraging Margate, Kent CT9 5DU, UK their modular product architectures to bring a Hectronic: industrial temperature range phone +44 (0)77 88-10 84 11 large array of options to market in a very short Qseven module with AMD Embedded G fax +44 (0)80 82-8010 57 time. The Pentek 56xxx products fill a major I/O Hectronic has announced an industrial op- [email protected] product gap in the AMC ecosystem by offering erating temperature range version of the ex- Sales Office - Asia 15 different modules. isting product H6059, a CPU module based Jean Cheng, [email protected] News ID 17062 on AMD Embedded G-Series APUs. An APU Vivian Hung, [email protected] is a combination of a low-power CPU and an Innovative Media Information & Services 7F-3, No. 26, Sec. 2, Ming-Quan East Rd. Curtiss-Wright brings 10-bit 25 GS/s DAC advanced graphics processing unit integrated Taipei 104 Taiwan to OpenVPX COTS systems into a single embedded device. The new phone +886 2 2563 1186 Curtiss-Wright will bring the data conversion H6059 version addresses the demand for CPU performance of Tektronix’ newly introduced modules for harsh environments. Head Office TDAC-25 10-bit 25 GS/s DAC ASIC to the de- News ID 17143 fense, aerospace, telecom, commercial, and medical markets on its new CHAMP-WB fam- CASwell: “T-type Aluminum-Extruded ily of rugged OpenVPX modules. Curtiss- Track” desktop appliance ICC Media GmbH Wright will first deliver the TDAC-25 on the CASwell has released the all new design fanless Rauwagnerstr. 5 85560 Ebersberg / Germany recently announced CHAMP-WB-DRFM card network security desktop appliance, CAF-1000. set featuring the Tektronix 12.5 GS ADC/DAC- The CAF-1000 is not a regular fanless appliance. Editorial Office UK based TADF-4300 module. The TADF-4300 It features a fantastic cooling design, “T-type 36a Blackacre Road was jointly developed by Curtiss-Wright and Aluminum-Extruded Track” and powered by Theydon Bois Tektronix for use with the CHAMP-WB Xilinx the new AMD ultra-low wattage platform. Essex, CM16 7LU

Virtex-7 based 6U VPX card. News ID 17098 Copyright© All rights reserved. News ID 17085 No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior express written permission of ICCMedia. Although we make every effort to present up-to-date, accurate information, boards&solutions will not be responsible for any errors or omissions or for any results obtained from the use of ore information about each news is available on such information. The magazine will not be liable for any loss caused by the reliance on information obtained on this site. www.Embedded-Control-Europe.com/bas-magazine Furthermore, boards&solutions does not warrant the accuracy M or completeness of the information, text, graphics in this maga- You just have to type in the “News ID”. — zine. The opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors and not necessarily the opinions of the publisher.

May 2013 30