Articles
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VITA Standards activity updates
The March VITA working groups meeting was held in Las Vegas. 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 face-to-face meetings. ANSI accreditation Accredited as an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) developer and a submitter [...]
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Sizing the market – risk management
We just wrapped up the latest VITA working group updates and meetings in Las Vegas, right at the beginning of March Madness. Walking the Strip and through the casinos got me to thinking about why people visit Las Vegas. Many are there for the shows and people watching. Many, many others are there for the [...]
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Milestone in abstracting the hardware: Realizing the promise of FACE
The Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) Consortium, part of The Open Group, was formed to establish a standard common operating environment to support portable capability-based applications across Department of Defense (DoD) avionics systems. Key to the common operating environment envisioned by FACE is the definition of an interface for operating systems and board support packages [...]
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Keep pace with a standardized development process
Standardization has been an objective in test organizations for decades. In 1961, D.B. Dobson and L.L. Wolff of Radio Corporation of America (RCA) published a paper, “Standardization of Electronic Test Equipment.” The paper presented the principles, criteria, and techniques used in the investigation and prototyping of multipurpose missile system test equipment. The goal of most [...]
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High voltage power supply standard
The popular VPX for high performance computing is a multifaceted, multilayered family of standards covering everything from modules to chassis to systems to architectures. The range of applications targeted by this technology require many dot standards to cover all cases. A recently fast-tracked standards effort illustrates type of work underway at VITA to make the [...]
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SpaceVPX-enabling the next generation of satellite constellations
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 [...]
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Embedded Tech Trends 2019 Wrap-up
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 [...]
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Mars Exploration Rover
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 [...]
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FPGA based PCIe-to-VME bridge
Since the VME bus is no longer natively supported by current processors, it is essential to implement bridging technologies that take over these functions for this form factor standard. MEN Mikro Elektronik developed a PCIe-to-VME bridge based on FPGA ...
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VITA 57.4: FMC+
Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are utilized in many applications, with the range expanding as new variations of FPGAs emerge. By design, FPGAs are easily reconfigured as application needs change. But sometimes a change to the front-end hardware...
Nick Butler, National Instruments
Phil Keohen, Rantec
