Technology Feature
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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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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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Digital meets RF
In the not too distant past, computers and RF were not to be in the same room, let alone the same piece of computing equipment. Then over the years the two became friendlier as microprocessors were used to control radios and eventually led to the creation of soft radios and today’s highly popular smart phone.
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Cost benefits of FPGA and FMC for embedded systemsdevelopment
The FPGA Mezzanine Card (FMC), as defined by industry standard VITA 57.1, can be used to greatly improve project risk management and bring products to market faster due to its flexibility and performance. FMCs are very effective for system upgrades and technology insertion, and using them makes it easier to incorporate new technologies such as higher resolution A/Ds and D/As as they become available.
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Bringing LTE to OpenVPX
Reliable communications are critical in defense applications, and the ability to set up ad hoc networks where existing communications are absent or damaged is key to future combat systems. When assessing the next generation of technology with which to upgrade existing military communications infrastructure, it's difficult to ignore standards-based solutions such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE) systems.
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Chassis management for VPX systems
Systems built to VITA standards, such as VME, have not traditionally needed the high reliability of many of the telco systems, and have relied upon front panel LEDs to indicate fan failure, voltage monitoring, and thermal issues with the boards and chassis. While VME has long been the preferred architecture of the military and aerospace industry, as higher speeds and increased reliability became more critical to system operation, it was apparent that these older architectures just wouldn’t cut it. VPX, or VITA 46.0, was VITA’s answer to implement modern high-speed interconnects, real-time monitoring, and remote mitigation of certain system parameters in harsh environmental applications.
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Validating the interoperability of VITA 46.11-based system management elements
VITA 46.11 was adopted by the VITA Standards Organization (VSO) as a Draft Standard for Trial Use in November 2013. VITA 46.11 aims to enable the creation and integration of standardized, independently implemented, chassis and plug-in module system management components, reducing integration time and cost, as well as time to theatre. The article “System management on VPX: Leveraging VITA 46.11 for VPX plug-in modules,” in the Spring 2014 issue of VITA Technologies introduced the standard, with an emphasis on its plug-in module level.
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Small form factors get deployed
Several key DoD programs (DARPA, VICTORY, MOSA, etc.) are driving standards where Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) are key considerations. Small Form Factor (SFF) boards and systems are key components in many of the programs.
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Processors in VITA technology
The original VMEbus specification was tightly coupled to the Motorola 68000 bus architecture; since then, the open architectures defined by the various VITA standards are no longer restricted to any specific processor technology. This feature takes a look at the status of the current choice of processors.
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VITA technology SBCs of the future
Almost every backplane-based embedded computing system in existence has a board that is considered the controller. Over the years, the industry has often used the term Single Board Computer (SBC) to describe that board. The term is used because all of the basic computer functionality is integrated onto that one board: microprocessor, memory, and I/O. The functionality of SBCs has evolved in step with the advancements made in computer technology, with both the performance and functional density increasing many-fold since the first boards were introduced in the mid 1980s.
