Rodger Hosking Pentek, Inc.

The SOSA (Sensor Open Systems Architecture) Consortium is developing common open standards for designing, building, and deploying hardware, software, and firmware components of new military electronic systems. Contributing members to SOSA include the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) – including the Army, Navy, and Air Force – along with key representatives from industry and universities. The Sensor Open Systems Architecture [...]

Jerry Gipper Editorial Director

Since the announcement of VMEbus in 1981, there have been a great number of people and ideas that have had an impact on the development and advancement of open standards used in critical embedded computing systems. The intention of the VITA Technologies Hall of Fame is to honor and preserve the remembrance of those people [...]

Jerry Gipper Editorial Director

In January, Embedded Tech Trends 2020 was held in Atlanta, Georgia at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center in midtown Atlanta, home of Georgia Tech University. The theme for 2020 was “Inventing! Con­necting! Inspiring! Thriving!” The presenters were encouraged to weave this theme into their presentations. Embedded Tech Trends is a small but extremely [...]

Jerry Gipper Editorial Director

The November VITA Standards Organization (VSO) standards meeting was held in Tempe, Arizona. This update is based on the results of that meeting. Contact VITA if you are interested in participating in any of these working groups. Visit the VITA website (http://www.vita.com) for details on upcoming VSO meetings. ANSI accreditation Accredited as an American National [...]

Jerry Gipper Editorial Director

It has been several years since the introduction of a new mezzanine form factor for low-profile applications. The VITA membership has been doing some soul-searching to determine what should be next. Plenty of controversy is in the air, with everything from simple right-angle edge connections and optical links to the carrier being thrown into the fray. [...]

Jerry Gipper Editorial Director

The original work on VPX started in 2004 with the formation of the VITA 46 working group. Since then, many enhancements have been added to the family of standards supporting the VPX architecture. Features such as advanced cooling schemes and connectivity – for RF and optical – have greatly extended the capability of VPX-based platforms, enabling them [...]

Rick Hearn, Curtiss-Wright Defense Systems, Michael Slonosky Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions , Geoffrey Waters, NXP Semiconductors, and Lisa Sarazin, Curtiss-Wright Defense Systems

In recent years, Arm processors have made a quiet, understated entry into the military/aerospace market. With a well-established reputation in commercial markets for bringing high performance to low-power mobile devices – such as smartphones, tablets, and wearables – it’s no surprise that Arm’s potential was recognized in an industry where size, weight, and power (SWaP) constraints [...]

Jennifer Keenan Mercury Systems

Almost 5,000 artificial satellites orbit our planet with just over 1,900 of them operational. These satellites provide us with communication networks, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) coverage, technological research, as well as scientific and Earth observation data. Historically, our military forces utilized geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO) satellites for their reconnaissance and communications networks. These satellites orbit at an altitude of [...]

Jerry Gipper Editorial Director

In January, Embedded Tech Trends 2019 was held San Diego, California at the Andaz. Located in the heart of the famous Gas Lamp district, the attendees had ready access to great dining and local SoCal activities like the San Diego zoo and the USS Midway. The theme for 2019 was “The Future is Now!” The [...]

Jerry Gipper Editorial Director

I was saddened in February with the news from NASA that the Opportunity Rover mission on Mars was formally concluded. What was originally supposed to be a 90-day, 1,000-meter, exploratory excursion had turned into a nearly 15-year, 28.4-mile odyssey across the surface of Mars, far beyond the expectations of anyone. This mission has held a special [...]