Articles
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It's time for VITA 47: Raise the bar on defining ruggedization, reliability
How rugged is "rugged"? The answer to that question should have a clear and consistent answer that gives system integrators the confidence and surety that a specific module from a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) supplier will perform and survive in the conditions their application requires. All too often though, claims made by COTS vendors that their module will meet a certain range of durability (temperature, shock, and vibration) are not based on a common, industry standard that enables the customer to make meaningful comparisons between different boards from different vendors.
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Creative uses of FMC
The FPGA Mezzanine Card (FMC) standard has become the defacto mezzanine standard for anyone wanting a modular solution for platforms using an FPGA [field-programmable gate array]. The convenience of having modular I/O for any FPGA family makes it hard to not use an FMC as the I/O front-end. Consequently, the FMC standard, VITA 57, has gained worldwide acceptance and is endorsed by the major FPGA manufacturers.
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VPX evolution drives ever greater capabilities
As VPX completes its first decade since ratification, it is clear this standard is here for the long haul. A healthy competitive marketplace has driven product adoption in actual programs, which have been proven in real combat operations. However, the true strength of VPX is its continuing evolution to keep pace with technological advancements.
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Embedded Tech Trends 2017 wrap-up
In January, Embedded Tech Trends 2017 was held at the wonderful Bourbon Orleans Hotel in the heart of the New Orleans French Quarter. Bordered by Bourbon Street to the west with Jackson Square and the mighty Mississippi River to the east, the attendees...
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VITA 47, environmentally sound
The standards developed by the members of the VITA Standards Organization typically fall into one of two categories. The first are hardware standards, which define the hardware parameters for some type of form factor, interconnection, or other mechanical features such as cooling. Hardware supplier companies that have expertise in a specific aspect of that technology typically leads the creation of hardware standards, while the user community provides inputs guided by their real-life design experiences.
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VITA Standards Organization activity updates
The March VITA Standards Organization (VSO) meeting was held in Salt Lake City, Utah. 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:...
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Advances in MIL-D-38999L connectors lead to smaller, lighter, and greater bandwidth
The military circular connectors have been around since the beginning of time, or so it seems. They were developed in the 1930s for Army and Navy severe applications. The "AN" Series of Circular connectors, as they were known, originated in the 1930s a...
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Initiative fever
Embedded Tech Trends 2017 wrapped up in New Orleans at a great venue in the heart of the French Quarter right on the infamous Bourbon Street. The agenda was packed with great presentations centered on the theme of "The Voodoo Behind Critical and Embedd...
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Using the updated VITA 65 Standard to build faster high performance systems
Over the past five years, 3U OpenVPX has been the architecture of choice to implement rugged military electronic systems. Application areas include Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR), Electronic Warfare (EW), radar, and network communications. Current technology roadmaps show that signaling rates for PCIe and Ethernet are rapidly increasing and that the mentioned applications are sure to utilize all of the incremental bandwidth.
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Hall of Fame
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...
Ivan Straznicky, Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions
