Thierry Wastiaux Interface Concept

Latest-generation active electronically scaled array (AESA) radar systems can have thousands of TX/RX modules. High bandwidth is needed to connect each array element data converter to the FPGAs that process incoming and generate outgoing data streams. New software-defined radio systems use advanced reconfigurable modulation schemes that increase channel bandwidths and deliver unprecedented wireless data rates. To increase the performance of software radio and electronic warfare systems, it has become critical to use efficient, low-power, low-pin-count, FPGA-connected converter interfaces.

Jerry Gipper Editorial Director

Designers creating the next generation of embedded defense systems face several challenges getting their solutions off the ground. The newly launched Modular Open Radio Frequency Architecture (MORA) aims to enable the development of true open standards-based radio frequency and microwave modules and small form factor subsystem designs to reduce costs, foster commonality, and enable new communications capabilities.

Jerry Gipper Editorial Director

Lyman Hevle was the founding executive director of the VMEbus International Trade Association (VITA). He held that role from its inception in 1984 until 1993. During his career Lym was focused on the business and market growth of VMEbus. He passed away in January 2016, and his legacy will live on in the industry. Lym’s own words best describe his involvement with VMEbus and how he came to be the founding executive director of VITA. The following discourse is an excerpt from his autobiography.

Jeremy Banks Curtiss-Wright and Jim Everett Xilinx

The updated FPGA Mezzanine Card (FMC+) specification has been developed and refined over the past year, promising unparalleled I/O density and backward compatibility. The VITA 57.4 working group has approved the spec and will present it for ANSI balloting in early 2016. The following article takes a closer look at this important new standard to see its implications for advanced embedded design.

Martijn de Gouw Prodrive Technologies, Eric van Uden Prodrive Technologies, and André van Herk, Prodrive Technologies

The proposal: Develop a high-performance machine vision design for use in an industrialized environment, requiring overall high availability and reliability. The challenge: To develop a high-density imaging platform that could scale up to multiple 42U racks.

Jerry Gipper Editorial Director

Many companies tout the functional density of their single board computer (SBC) products, often stating that they have the highest functional density within a class of product. But what does this mean? How do you measure functional density? While performance can be measured with industry-accepted benchmarks, similar benchmarks for functional density do not exist.

Bill Ripley, Creative Electronics Systems (CES) and Wayne McGee, Creative Electronics Systems (CES)

The VNX VITA 74 specification is substantially derived from the VPX and OpenVPX standards and adapts the technology to a smaller form factor. System designers looking to utilize the specification can gain from examining the evolution of VNX as well as observing the various Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) comparisons between VPX and VNX.

Jerry Gipper Editorial Director

It's that time of year again to stick out my neck and make predictions for 2016. The pace of embedded technology for critical embedded systems moves quite slowly, often taking years to advance very far. For this reason it takes a special breed of company to be patient and stay the course. Because the trends I discuss span over many years, providing an update might seem a bit repetitive, but some things have changed and new developments have emerged. I will try to point out some of those that I have observed this past year and forecast how these will play out in the industry in the year ahead.

Mark Overgaard Pigeon Point Systems

VITA 46.11, System Management on VPX, was adopted as a draft standard for trial use (DSTU) in late 2013. Since then, the VITA 46.11 working group has pursued a systematic plan to complete a fully ratified ANSI/VITA 46.11-2015, which was accomplished in June. This article describes that maturation work and highlights some of the key improvements made to the specification.

Jerry Gipper Editorial Director

FPGA Mezzanine Cards (FMCs) are solidly established as a key mezzanine and carrier strategy in high-performance embedded computing platforms. Because FMCs are so firmly established, it is critical to the continued success of this technology that it remain relevant by keeping current with evolving performance demands of the computing industry. To this end, the FMC Marketing Alliance members launched an effort to step up the performance of FMCs.