Technology Feature
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When half isn't exactly half: 3U vs. 6U VPX
VPX has returned to defining both a 3U and 6U format, allowing designers to choose the best for their application. But the choice is not as simple as it seems on the surface. We learned in grade school that 3 is half of 6, but is 3U half of 6U?
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Automated CDC verification protects complex electronic hardware from metastability failures
FPGA and ASIC design complexity is becoming an issue for many safety-critical industries. What was once a discrete component is now merely a block in a bigger system, but all within a single chip. Each block has its own function and likely its own clocking requirements. Because the number of independent (and asynchronous) clock domains is on the rise, the probability of bugs due to CDC issues is also growing. Metastability is a resulting problem, but automated tools for CDC verification can overcome the shortcomings of manual approaches and ensure complete resolution.
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Eclipse helps overcome development challenges in modern safety-critical IMA systems
While IMA systems solve a number of operational and environmental problems for aircraft manufacturers, they present a number of issues that span the entire development cycle: the ability to transition the environment during development, integrate multiple vendors, support multiple connection methods, and ensure a partition-safe environment. However, using both software- and hardware-based tools utilizing a common Eclipse-based IDE is proving a viable remedy.
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COTS Ethernet and USB I/O solutions provide bus independence
The addition of general purpose I/O to both VME and PMC system buses has historically had its challenges: limitations in COTS I/O module diversity and insufficient slots for I/O. However, USB and Ethernet I/O options are effectively eliminating these hassles.
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The Little BEAR that could: The robot that saves lives
Field commanders might feel a moral dilemma when faced with whether to risk the life of a healthy soldier in order to rescue an injured one. However, a new Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot (BEAR) is gearing up to prevent these casualties by rescuing injured soldiers from dangerous battlefield venues.
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VXS and VPX: Cooling these hot (literally) new architectures in ATRs
VPX and VXS mean higher power levels, but they also mean hotter enclosures. However, conduction and liquid cooling methods are helping designers face the challenge, but both methods have their trade-offs.
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Critical systems on small platforms need ultra-compact computing
A new generation of real-time, ultra-compact, rugged, and powerful computers is starting to appear on the critical systems horizon, ideal for transforming unrelenting sensor data streams into information that is usable at data transmission bandwidths.
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VXS versus VPX: Either -- or both?
VXS and VPX are providing an alternative path for VME-based embedded subsystems users, providing higher performance via switched serial fabrics. However, both VXS and VPX have their own pros and cons.
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VME gaining momentum: VITA's new state-of-the-industry whitepaper reveals strong VME market growth
Editor Terri Thorson provides an overview of VITA's “2008 State of the VME Technology Industry” whitepaper, which delves into topics including technology, mergers and acquisitions, forecasting, risk management trends, and market fragmentation.
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Revamping MIL-HDBK-217: Weíre ready for it
The new VITA 51 open standard is adding practical and quantitative reliability prediction recommendations to the military's venerable MIL-HDBK-217.
David Compston, GE Intelligent Platforms, Inc.
Terri Thorson, OpenSystems Publishing