Product News - Embedded-Control-Europe.com

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Dear Readers, 

Unlike other publishing houses ICC 

Media is still convinced of the value 

of print magazines. Therefore Boards 

& Solutions and ECE will continue 

to appear as printed magazines. But 

as response to the changed market 

environment we have decided to 

combine Boards & Solutions and 

ECE in a single print issue, while 

the digital versions of the magazines 

will stay separate. 

In the last two years the market environment for technical magazines 

has changed dramatically: Many printed magazine have disappeared 

completely, others have been converted into digital-only magazines. 

Mailing costs and printing costs are the two items which make print 

magazine much more expensive than digital ones. And this is the 

reason why many publishers are on the road to “digital-only”. But this 

purely cost-driven strategy is not in-line with what the readers want – 

at least not in Europe. The majority still prefers to read on paper. 

I am convinced that in 5 years there will still print magazines be 

around in Europe - less than today, but print will stay alive. It is especially 

the 40+ generation that on one hand uses the Internet for 

searching for information and collecting information, but prefers 

reading on a piece of paper, rather than on a computer screen. 

The first half of this combined print issue is the Boards & Solutions 

Magazine. The cover story introduces new embedded computing platforms 

with extraordinary CPU and graphics performance. With the introduction 

of new processor generations, over the past three months the chip manufacturers 

Intel and AMD have renewed their embedded computer technology 

offering with the second-generation Intel Core i3/i5/i7 processor 

series, the FPGA-configurable processors of the Intel Atom E6x5C series 

and the new AMD Embedded G-series. An other article of this issue introduces 

Emerson’s new board customization program RapiDex which 

requires no special contracts, no statements of work and no project 

supervision, but leads to cost-effective customized COTS solutions. 

The ECE Magazine part of this issue starts at page 29. In this issue our 

editor Wolfgang Patelay reports about microcontrollers and tools highlights 

from Embedded World 2011 which ended beginning of March 

successfully with more than 800 international exhibitors, 10% up on 

last year, and 19,022 trade visitors, 4% up. Another article covers the 

security challenge for connected industrial devices. The mitigation of 

security risks is a large and growing problem for the industrial sector. 

As more and more systems are interconnected, and as ever-larger machines 

are controlled by ever-smaller embedded devices, the impact of 

intrusion and malware grows exponentially. Lighting is one of the 

focus topics of this issue of ECE Magazine. For example more and 

more towns and cities are turning to environmentally friendly LED 

street lighting. Among the groundbreakers was Remchingen in the 

south-west German state of Baden-Württemberg, where Rutronik 

installed an array of 13 dimming LED street lights as far back as 2008. 

Now, working together with Osram Opto Semiconductors and 

Portuguese solid-state lighting (SSL) specialist Arquiled, the distributor 

has developed the next generation of LED street lighting. 

Yours sincerely 

Jürgen Hübner 

Publisher 

VIEWPOINT 

3 March 2011

CONTENTS 

Viewpoint 3 

Cover Story 

Embedded platforms with extraordinary 

CPU and graphics performance 6 

Highlights from Embedded World 

Embedded World highlights: latest 

developments in embedded computing 10 

COTS 

Board customization program 

for embedded Intel processor users 13 

Enhanced vector graphics and S-RIO 

boost Intel in DSP applications 18 

Designing and manufacturing rugged 

COTS assemblies 20 

Industrial Computing 

Embedded Building Blocks – a new 

initiative 24 

Digital Signage 

Digital signage display systems 

with integrated control computer 27 

Product News 28 

March 2011 4 

Cover Story: 


CPU and graphics performance PAGE 6 

Over the past three months, embedded 

computer technology has gone through a 

renewal, as a range of new processors has 

become available. Added value has resulted 

from increased CPU performance, 

increased graphics per watt, and a higher 

degree of integration. Manu facturers are 

also working to create significant added 

value for OEMs. 


for embedded Intel processor users PAGE 13 

A new board customization program 

requires no special contracts, 

no statements of work and no project 

supervision, but leads to costeffective 

customized COTS solutions. 

The service is straightforward 

to use and the customer need make 

no commitment on production volume, 

the minimum order quantity 

being only 100 units. 


initiative PAGE 24 

This article introduces the Embedded 

Building Blocks initiative, launched by 

congatec in cooperation with TQ- 

Group and apra-norm, and under the 

auspices of Intel Corporation, to make 

it easier for small and medium-sized 

businesses to gain access to embedded 

computer technology and entry 

into the industrial computer market.

COVER STORY 


CPU and graphics performance 

By Norbert Hauser, Kontron 

Over the past three months, 

embedded computer technology 

has gone through a renewal, 

as a range of new processors 

has become available. Added value 

has resulted from increased CPU 

performance, increased graphics 

per watt, and a higher degree 

of integration. Manufacturers 

are also working to create 

significant added value for OEMs. 

n With the introduction of new processor generations, 

over the past three months chip manufacturers 

such as Intel and AMD have totally 

renewed their embedded computer technology 

offering. One look at the innovations which 

are featured in these platforms – namely, the 

second-generation Intel Core i3/i5/i7 processor 

series, the FPGA-configurable processors of 

the Intel Atom E6x5C series and the new 

AMD Embedded G-series – shows the clear 

and ubiquitous trend to higher integration. 

Along with the CPU, all these platforms also 

integrate the graphics unit (GPU), a PCI Express 

and a memory controller into one die. 

In addition, the Intel Atom E6x65C processors 

integrate a configurable Altera FPGA on a 

multi-chip module. 

But what does the increasingly high level of 

integration bring to the individual markets 

and applications? First of all, energy savings 

are once again significantly improved due to 

more performance per watt, which in turn 

facilitates, for example, new applications in 

the mobile area. Furthermore, increasing integration 

makes higher-performance graphics 

for more vivid 3-D visualization possible, 

and this also applies to extremely energyefficient 

embedded devices. Driven by larger 

screen diagonals, higher panel resolutions 

and modern operating concepts with multitouch, 

the need for more graphics perform- 

ance is also on the rise in the embedded 

sector. Especially areas such as medicine, 

digital signage, gaming, infotainment, kiosk 

and mobile applications, but also GUIs in 

industrial applications profit greatly from 

the features of the new processors. 

The second-generation Intel Core i3/i5/i7 

processor series doubles the graphics performance 

as compared to its predecessors and - for 

the first time in the embedded market - offers 

2-D and 3-D graphics performance with 

OpenGL and DirectX10 support on the level 

of dedicated graphics cards. These support up 

to three monitors and can even decode HD 

videos and 3-D BluRay videos with minimal 

CPU utilization. They are thus positioned as 

an ideal starting basis for high-performance 

digital signage applications with several panels, 

to name just one example. And since not only 

the general performance but the performance 

per watt of this new generation are of great 

interest for many embedded applications, 

Kontron is making it available on more than 

10 platforms. The first product based on this 

highly integrated processor series with improved 

graphics performance is the COM Express 

basic Computer-on-Module ETXexpress-SC. 

At the Embedded World exhibition, embedded 

motherboards followed in the mini-ITX 

(KTQ67/mITX) and Flex-ATX form factors 

(KTQ67/FlexATX), as well as the 6U Compact- 

March 2011 6 

ETXexpress-SC Computer-on-Module 

(left) in the COM Express basic format 

integrates the second generation of Intel 

Core i3/i5/i7 processors. Thanks to the 

AMD G-series implementation, the 

Kontron microETXexpress-OH (right) 

in the smaller COM Express compact 

format offers extreme graphics performance 

and GPU functionality. 

PCI processor board Kontron CP6003 and the 

3U VPX board VX3035. Further platforms 

which are planned for 2011 include 3U 

CompactPCI, as well as several industrial PCs. 

In terms of increasing graphics performance, 

AMD has topped this. The graphics performance 

of the new so-named accelerated processing 

units (APUs) has increased several 

times over as compared to previously available 

solutions in this performance-per-watt class. 

The AMD Embedded G-Series is positioned 

beneath the general computing power of Intel 

Core i7 processors and offers a clear advantage 

for graphics all the way to the Intel Atom 

processor technology performance class. It is 

thus positioned as a high-performance graphics 

platform – even with Direct X11 and Open 

CL support – for especially compact, fanless 

SFF applications. It will become available at 

Kontron, for example, on COM Express Compact-compatible 

Computer-on-Modules, Mini- 

ITX and Flex-ATX motherboards, as well as 

Pico-ITX and PCI/104express single-board 

computers. 

However, even applications that rely on high 

computing power profit from the new platform: 

both the Intel Core i3/i5/i7 processors as well 

as the accelerated processing units of the AMD 

Embedded G series speed up applications that 

rely on parallel processing of vectorial data

COVER STORY 

Figure 2. The 6U CompactPCI Board Kontron CP6003 with the new Intel Core i5/i7 generation 

is attractive due to high power density with improved efficient thermal design compared to the 

first generation. The new 3U VPX board Kontron VX3035 with second-generation Intel Core 

i3/i5/i7 processors is a 100% drop-in replacement for the VPX board Kontron VX3030. 

Figure 3. Mini-ITX and a Flex-ATX embedded motherboard with the new Intel Core i3/i5/i7 

generation offer best-in-class quad-core processors, with the highly increased performance- 

per-watt ratio of the predecessor platforms and double the graphics performance. 

Figure 4. The Kontron PCIe/104 SBC Microspace MSMST (left) with the configurable Intel Atom 

E6x5C processor series implements customized interfaces via an Altera Arria II GX FPGA. The 

COM Express FPGA starter kit with Altera Cyclone IV GX FPGA has two HSMC cards with 

I/Os for automation, communication and video interfaces. 

March 2011 8 

streams. They include applications such as 

radar, sonar, industrial and medical image processing, 

video monitoring with face recognition 

and computer-aided diagnostics (CAD). They 

take on the tasks of number crunchers in 

these applications, which the x86 processors 

up to now have not been able to perform 

ideally. Though the approaches taken by the 

individual processor manufacturers are different, 

both however lead to more added value 

for x86 technology; each according to its performance 

class. For acceleration of data-intensive 

applications, Intel is introducing the Intel 

Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX) in the second 

generation of Intel Core i3/i5/i7 processors. 

AMD uses the new Fusion technology on its 

APUs of the Embedded G-Series platform and 

allows vectorial calculations to be carried out 

via the integrated graphics unit. Using OpenCL 

or DirectCompute, high-powered vectorial calculations 

in particular can be programmed 

that previously could only be implemented 

with elaborate multi-processor designs. 

In addition, the x86 FPGA tandem, which became 

available with the configurable Intel 

Atom E6x5C processor series, has opened up 

a completely new dimension of embedded 

computing. The possibility of obtaining FPGA 

flexibility paired with x86 performance as a 

standard product means that for the first time 

customers are able to implement a compact 

platform with extremely flexible I/O designs, 

and/or fast algorithms, with noticeably reduced 

design risks. Moreover, not only does the 

processor building block itself become available 

as an integrated product, but also board-level 

products such as the Kontron Microspace 

MSMST PCIe/104 single-board computer or 

the COM Express starter kit with Altera Cyclone 

IV GX FPGA. The design outlay for 

OEMs is thus significantly reduced and everything 

is now available from one source. However, 

the precondition for this is that the board 

or system provider also has a comprehensive 

solution offer with the corresponding FPGA 

stacks and IP cores. 

OEMs no longer want a separate contact for 

each individual partial solution. Ideally they 

will look for a central contact from a provider 

that is - thanks to its broad product portfolio - 

in a position to always deliver a suitable 

solution for each project. Apart from the hardware 

itself, more extensive services are consequently 

in demand. A key example is the support 

of hardware-optimized software in order 

to be able to keep up with the rapid developments 

in the market. OEMs and application 

developers cannot and do not want to occupy 

themselves with the basic software down to 

the smallest detail. The more they are freed 

from individual, low-level hardware and software 

management by the embedded partner,

the easier and faster their application development 

is. For this reason, with the introduction 

of the first FPGA solutions Kontron has already 

provided complete development platforms including 

suitable FPGA implementation with 

HSMC cards, and is now further extending 

these solutions, working in the direction of 

I/O functionalities. The latest development is 

the Kontron cooperation with Softing, as announced 

at Embedded World, to support realtime 

Ethernet solutions such as PROFINET, 

EtherCat, EtherNet/IP and MODBUS TCP. 

Thus customers can obtain complete solutions 

directly from one source and via a single 

contact. Licensing of the FPGA stacks and IP 

cores is also done from one source. In addition, 

Kontron offers more services in the case of licensing, 

for example, operating systems. Thus, 

for some time now customers have been able 

to get their own Linux distribution from 

Kontron for the ThinkIO top-hat rail PC, for 

instance. Everything in connection with the 

Wind River offering, such as VxWorks licenses, 

is available. And this offering is now also being 

extended to Microsoft operating systems such 

as the new MS Windows Embedded Compact 

7 or Windows Embedded Standard 7. Customers 

can thus streamline the entire procurement 

logistics chain, and source everything 

required for their embedded computing solution 

as an application-ready platform from 

one provider. 

In order to reduce the R&D outlay as well as 

the costs and launch times for customers, the 

Kontron EAPI (embedded application programming 

interface) cross-platform middleware 

has also been developed. Regardless of 

whether an OEM is developing for example 

multi-media applications on the basis of the 

AMD G-Series, or on Intel Core i3/i5/i7 processors, 

thanks to the EAPI it can use its software 

on both platforms and significantly lower the 

development costs and time-to-market – starting 

directly with the first design-in. Moreover, 

with Kontron EAPI, future migrations will 

also become even more efficient. With EAPI, 

OEMs can move to new platforms for access 

to the hardware functions of a processor board 

without any code adaptations, because the 

software interfaces with the hardware remain 

identical. That lowers the engineering and 

implementation costs for new hardware by up 

to 40%. 

Along with standardized cross-platform middleware, 

however, OEMs also need other 

software services to be able to integrate new 

technologies in their applications as quickly 

and efficiently as possible. For this reason, 

Kontron provides support for the respective 

basic technologies with all software-related 

development work. Among the services is the 

porting of drivers and middleware, porting, 

adaptation and validation of existing applications 

onto new hardware, including porting 

of existing single-threaded software onto multicore 

designs or virtualized systems. 

The validation of the entire hardware and 

software solution with regard to the interaction 

of the hardware platform with the OEM application 

is a further service. This means that 

OEMs can concentrate entirely on designing 

the applications themselves, which ultimately 

benefits their quality as well. By adding these 

services, a hardware offering becomes an 

application-ready platform – regardless of 

COVER STORY 

whether it is a module, board, IPC or system 

and regardless of whether it is a standard 

product or a semi-custom or full-custom 

design. On request, all required hardware 

components and hardware-optimized software/middleware 

implementation for the 

respective target application are included and 

are ready for use with the customer’s application 

software. And if the customer so wishes, 

they are even certified for the intended target 

market. So OEMs only have to integrate the 

application-ready platform in their application. 

That shortens time-to-market, lowers the total 

cost of ownership and is the foundation for 

high quality. n 

9 March 2011

HIGHLIGHTS FROM EMBEDDED WORLD 

Embedded World highlights: latest 

developments in embedded computing 

By Wolfgang Patelay, Editor 

The Embedded World Exhibition & 

Conference 2011 attracted 

an increased number of visitors 

and exhibitors. More than 800 

international exhibitors, 

10 per cent up on last year, 

and 19,022 trade visitors, 

4 per cent up, from all over the 

world confirmed the success 

of this year’s event. Suppliers 

of embedded computing 

products showed many 

new developments. 

n Beckhoff has extended its range of IP 67 I/O 

modules with the EP4374 EtherCAT Box, which 

combines two analog inputs and two analog 

outputs in one device. The versatile combination 

I/O box offers a scalable solution that empowers 

machine manufacturers to plan ahead 

based on demand, and therefore more cost-effectively. 

The input and output channels can 

be parameterised independently for the standard 

signals 0…10 V, ±10 V, 0…20 mA and 

4…20 mA. With the combination of parameterisable 

inputs and outputs in a single housing, 

users benefit from increased flexibility and 

can utilise the existing signals in an optimal 

manner. The EtherCAT Box features two input 

channels and two output channels. Each channel 

is configurable individually for current or 

voltage measurement or output. The resolution 

for the current and voltage signals is 16-bit 

(signed). The EP4374-0002 module has a direct 

EtherCAT connection, so that the high Ether- 

CAT performance of 100 Mbit/s is retained 

right down to each IP 67 box. The compact dimensions 

of the EtherCAT Box of only 126 x 

30 x 26.5 mm make it ideal for applications in 

confined spaces. 

Eurotech demonstrated a complete wireless 

gateway solution based on an Intel hardware 

and software development kit, allowing M2M 

devices, applications and services to get to 

market quicker. The demo showed a live de- 

velopment environment based on the Intel 

Atom processor M2M reference platform with 

a software development kit from Wind River 

and Eurotech. Based on Intel Atom processor 

technology, Wind River Linux, and Eurotech 

Everyware Software Framework, this new class 

of hardware incorporates the density of a complete 

appliance with the flexibility of an embedded 

industrial computer to enable mission 

critical applications. The Intel Atom-based 

M2M gateway reference platform demonstrates 

the disruptive notion of providing dense, flexible 

hardware platforms that reside on the 

edges of the network. 

The embedded module TQMP2020 manufactured 

by TQ is the next generation of the PowerQUICC 

III module family TQM85xx. The 

Freescale QorIQ processor family P1 and P2 

opens up the possibility of new applications 

in industry and communications. With one or 

two e500 cores and a clock speed ranging 

from 533 MHz to 1.2 GHz, the TQ module 

with its QorIQ processors offers an balance 

between data processing speed and power dissipation. 

Thanks to the 45nm technology, 

power consumption is markedly lower that in 

comparable PowerQUICC III modules. This 

along with the extended temperature range 

means that it can be fitted to fanless systems. 

The minimodule is well suited to industrial 

applications where long-term availability, out- 

March 2011 10 

Figure 1. The EtherCAT Box modules in 

protection class IP 67 extend the Beckhoff 

Fieldbus Box system. 

door ambient temperatures and small sizes 

are important factors. In this respect, the module 

provides an excellent basis for quick and 

efficient networking by means of interfaces 

such as Gigabit Ethernet, PCIe and USB 2.0. 

In addition, the integrated flash memory and 

up to 2 GBytes of DDR3 SDRAM provide an 

excellent basis for applications with high data 

processing rates and large data volumes. ECC 

and NOR flash memory enable the currently 

greatest degree of data security. All the most 

important processor interfaces are made available 

on the robust 360-pole connector assembly. 

As in all TQ modules, the TQMP2020 constitutes 

a completely independent unit and is 

housed in an area of 50 x 80 mm2 the size of a 

credit card. All the necessary voltages are generated 

on the module itself thus ensuring a 

safe boot-up of the system under any conditions. 

The universal starter kit STKP2020 

means operations can commence in the shortest 

possible period of time, thus enabling time 

and money to be saved during the evaluation 

phase of projects. 

TQ additionally launched the MB-COME-1 

motherboard combined with a standard COM- 

Express module, resulting in a very compact 

hardware kit that can be used as a freely 

scalable embedded-PC platform owing to its 

modular design. The modular design concept 

ensures long term availability on one hand,

Figure 2. The TQMP2020 is the next generation 

of the PowerQUICC III module family. 

Figure 3. The Corona multi-function 

SUMIT-ISM I/O module, combining WiFi, 

dual Ethernet, USB, and solid-state disk 

expansion capabilities 

while on the other the system can be equipped 

with the latest technology. At the same time as 

the official launch of the second generation of 

Intel’s Core Technology Sandy Bridge, TQ has 

shown a running prototype. At 170 mm x 170 

mm, the dimensions of the motherboard correspond 

to the mini-ITX form factor, and 

even the mount points correspond to those of 

a mini-ITX board. Thus, the entire infrastructure 

of broadband casings and mechanical solutions 

offered in the market can be utilized. 

Even on the supply side, the MB-COME-1 

relies on the standards in order to utilize the 

advantage of the various power supply solutions 

offered. It features a large number of interfaces 

as standard, with 4x USB 2.0, 2x Gigabit Ethernet, 

DVI-I (analog and digital) and RS-232 

routed outward. For internal interfaces, 1x 

SATA for direct, wireless connection of an internal 

2.5“ hard drive/SSD, 1x SATA to connect 

an external hard drive/DVD drive, a Compact- 

Flash slot, a CFast slot, MiniPCIe interface, 

Dual Channel LVDS including touch connection 

via USB or COM, as well as 1x USB 2.0, 

for example to connect a USB flash disk, are 

available. If these interfaces are not sufficient 

or if special interfaces are required, two additional 

extension options are available. The proprietary 

IO extension interface offers another 

USB, PCIe x1, high definition audio, SVDO 


and I²C interface. This allows for example an 

additional DVI-I /HDMI interface, or field 

buses such as CAN, to be implemented on application- 

or sector-specific additional daughter 

boards. The patent-pending TQ riser interface, 

which is integrated in the motherboard, is one 

of the key solutions of the system. 

Besides the PCI bus, the TQ riser system makes 

two extra PCIe x1 available on the riser. The 

concept allows an extension either down or 

sideways so that the thermal connection of 

the CPU module on the top of the motherboard 

remains unaffected. With an extension 

card to the bottom, the system even stays 

within the standard I/O window and thereby 

fits into extremely compact standard mini- 

ITX casings in spite of the expansion card. By 

using different riser adaptors (such as 1x PCIe 

x1, 1x PCI or 1x PCIe+PCI), the user is completely 

free to select the expansion cards and 

can thus choose from the abundance of cards 

offered on the market. 

At Embedded World, Emerson released its 

first OpenVPX single board computers to provide 

excellent performance, power efficiency, 

graphics, memory and I/O for high bandwidth 

military/aerospace, first responder and rugged 

industrial applications such as mining. The 

6U iVPX7220 and 3U iVPX7223 boards feature 

the dual-core 2.20 GHz Intel Core i7 2655LE 

processor with integrated graphics and memory 

controller, and the Intel QM67 PCH chipset 

for advanced I/O functionality. The iVPX7220 

also supports the quad-core second generation 

Intel Core i7 2715QE processor. Both the products 

released at Embedded World are rugged 

SBCs for extreme environments with extended 

shock, vibration and temperature ratings, and 

conduction cooling. 

The iVPX7223 and the dual-core variant of the 

iVPX7220 feature up to 8GBytes DDR3-1333, 

while the quad-core processor variant of the 

iVPX7220 is designed to support up to 16 

GBytes DDR3-1333 memory. Fabric connectivity 

includes Gigabit Ethernet to the control 

plane and PCI Express to the data plane, while 

the iVPX7220 also offers PCI Express to the expansion 

plane. The iVPX7220 also offers 4 

GBytes of embedded USB flash and 256KBytes 

of non-volatile ferroelectric random access 

memory. Additional connectivity includes up 

to nine USB 2.0 ports, five serial ports, five 

SATA ports, ten GPIOs, three DisplayPort connections, 

VGA and dual XMC sites for maximum 

flexibility. An optional 2.5-inch SATA 

solid-state disk is also available. The iVPX7223 

offers 4 GBytes of embedded USB flash and 

256 KBytes of non-volatile F-RAM. Additional 

connectivity on this board includes three USB 

2.0 ports, two serial ports, three SATA ports, 

eight GPIO, one DisplayPort connection, one 

11 March 2011


VGA and one XMC site. Software support on the 

products includes UEFI BIOS for an improved customer 

experience, and a wide range of operating systems 

including VxWorks and Linux from Wind River, 

Windows XP Embedded, Red Hat Fedora Linux, 

Green Hills INTEGRITY and LynuxWorks LynxOS. 

Emerson Network Power also introduced the innovative 

RapiDex board customization service. The 

Intel Atom processor is the first to be supported, 

with other Intel embedded processors being added 

during 2011. Users of the RapiDex service specify 

the processor, memory, I/O and connectors, and 

boards are built to the exact dimensions desired for 

ease of mounting in custom enclosures. With Emerson’s 

RapiDex service, customers simply pay a small 

manufacturing set-up fee to receive first article 

boards. A simple specification procedure and a new 

Emerson Network Power manufacturing process 

enable fast execution of customer requests. Customers 

receive first article boards in as little as four weeks 

from order. On approval of these first article boards, 

customers can order volume shipments with a low 

minimum order quantity of only 100 units. Unit 

prices are competitive with prices of equivalent standard 

motherboards. 

Diamond Systems unveiled the Corona multi-function 

SUMIT-ISM I/O module, combining WiFi, 

dual Ethernet, USB, and solid-state disk expansion 

capabilities. The compact, rugged module is engineered 

to meet the wide operating temperature, 

high shock and vibration, and mission-critical reliability 

requirements of fixed and mobile application 

environments, whether indoors or exposed to the 

elements. The onboard 802.11a/b/g WiFi function 

is based on a socketed wide-temperature mini-PCI 

card, which implements a dual-channel/dual-antenna 

WiFi radio and supports 108 Mbps transmit/receive 

rates, average power of 23 dBm, and peak power of 

up to 28 dBm. The onboard SDVO-to-VGA converter 

can be used for converting the SDVO output signals 

of Diamond’s Aurora SBC into standard analog 

VGA format. The optional onboard 2.5-inch SATA 

SSD accommodates local data storage prior to its offload 

via either Corona WiFi or Ethernet communications 

functions. 

Diamond board-level 2.5-inch SATA SSD modules, 

also announced at Embedded World, further simplify 

system integration and reduce size, weight, power, 

and cost. Corona derives its PCI Express and USB 

host interface signals from the host SBC SUMIT-A 

connector, but does not use signals or power from 

its PC/104 bus stackthrough connector. The two 

types of stackthrough buses enable SUMIT and 

PC/104 modules to be stacked above Corona in systems 

supporting those buses. To support the temperature 

extremes of fixed and mobile applications in 

both indoor and outdoor environments, the Corona 

module – including its onboard WiFi and SATA SSD 

card options – is rated for the extended operating 

temperature range of -40 to +85°C. Device drivers 

for Windows XP and Linux 2.6 are available. n 

March 2011 12 

Product News 

n Eurotech: Everyware Software Framework 

Eurotech demonstrated a complete wireless gateway 

solution based on Intel’s hardware and software 

development kit that allows for M2M devices, 

applications and services to get to market quicker. 

Based on Intel Atom processor technology, Wind 

River Linux, and Eurotech Everyware Software 

Framework, this new class of hardware incorporates 

the density of a complete appliance with the 

flexibility of an embedded industrial computer to 

enable mission critical applications. 

News ID 13370 

n Axiomtek: 3.5-inch Embedded board 

with Atom D425/N455/D525 

Axiomtek announced CAPA801, a new 3.5-inch 

embedded board, equipped with the new Intel 

Atom processor D525 dual core 1.8GHz, D425 

single core 1.8GHz, and N455 single core 1.66GHz. 

The low power CAPA801 has a 204-pin DDR3 

667/800MHz SO-DIMM max up to 4GB capacity. 

Dual displays are supported by an 18-bit single 

channel LVDS port and VGA port. It also comes 

complete with several I/O like six USB 2.0 ports, 

four COM ports, PCI Express Mini card, two 

Gigabit Ethernet, and HD audio. 


n Kontron: AMCs with Freescale Power 

Architecture processors 

Kontron announces support for Freescale Semiconductor’s 

advanced QorIQ family of communication 

processors, which deliver best-in-class 

energy efficiency and a broad range of performance 

and integration capabilities on AdvancedMC 

processor modules. With these two Power Architecture 

based communication processor platforms, 

designed for networking and control applications 

with general processing needs, Kontron extends 

its portfolio of single-width midsize AdvancedMCs 

both for low-power and high-performance packet 

processing applications. 


n Eurotech: Everyware Device Cloud solution 

at embedded world 

Eurotech presented its Everyware Device Cloud 

(EDC), solution at Embedded World. EDC is a 

platform that represents the most effective way 

for customers to design and deploy device-tocloud 

solutions that deliver valuable data between 

distributed devices and business applications. 

With EDC, M2M solutions that connect embedded 

devices to a network and capture valuable data 

can be deployed in minimal time. Before EDC, 

this kind of deployment could take months or 

even years to plan, procure and execute. 

News ID 13307


for embedded Intel processor users 

n The market for commercial off-the-shelf 

(COTS) embedded computer motherboards 

is vigorous, healthy and competitive. The range 

of choices available to system designers is very 

wide, and many different combinations of 

processor, memory and interface options are 

available as standard products. For many designs, 

the choice of standard parts is adequate. 

Normal embedded design procedure is to define 

system architecture and derive a desired 

motherboard specification from this. Then 

the design team will scan the COTS motherboard 

market, looking for the standard part 

that best fits the desired specification. In many 

instances, this best fit is a good enough fit; it 

is, though, rarely a perfect fit. 

Unfortunately, the alternative – commissioning 

a unique, custom board – has in the past been 

commercially unattractive. Custom boards 

made to the user specification provide a perfect 

fit for the design requirement, but customization 

services have been slow, inflexible, burdened 

with complex legal provisions and, 

above all, expensive. For the vast majority of 

embedded design projects, a custom board 

has been out of reach. OEMs have learned to 

work around the design compromises that go 

along with accepting COTS motherboard with 

a good enough fit. To address the need for optimized 

board designs when a COTS board is 

not suitable, Emerson Network Power has introduced 

the RapiDex service, a rapid board 

customization program that allows OEMs to 

specify processor, I/O, connector and other 

options within a custom board form factor. 

The service is available for boards using Intel 

embedded processors. The RapiDex service is 

fast and remarkably straightforward for the 

customer to use: no special contracts, no statements 

of work and no project supervision are 

required. And unlike conventional customization 

engagements, the customer need make 

no commitment on production volume numbers, 

and the minimum order quantity is merely 

100 units. 

The RapiDex service is also priced to reflect 

the resources of the vast majority of embedded 

design projects: the customer pays a small 

manufacturing setup fee, no non-recurring 

engineering (NRE) fees, and unit costs per 

board shipped are comparable to the price of 

a standard part. 

This new service is the result of innovative developments 

in design and manufacturing automation 

pioneered by Emerson Network 

Power, and it brings the advantages of board 

customization to a far wider range of embedded 

OEMs than could previously benefit from it. 

At the start of an embedded design project, 

COTS 

By Rod Anliker, Nigel Forrester and Shlomo Pri-Tal, Emerson Network Power 

A new board customization 

program requires no special 

contracts, no statements 

of work and no project 

supervision, but leads to 

cost-effective customized 

COTS solutions. The service 

is straightforward to use 

and the customer need 

make no commitment on 

production volume, the 

minimum order quantity 

being only 100 units. 

the preference of the team is to find a standard 

embedded computer motherboard that fits 

into its end-product architecture. A standard 

part can be shipped immediately, and the only 

cost the customer pays is the unit price per 

board. This method of sourcing an embedded 

motherboard or computer is the fastest and 

cheapest available. Indeed, embedded computing 

manufacturers such as Emerson Network 

Power succeed in meeting the common needs 

of the majority of users with their standard 

parts designs. 

But certain classes of design requirement are 

not well served by standard boards. These designs 

fall into one of two categories. 1) Outliers: 

design projects with uncommon requirements. 

The specifications are in limited 

demand, so it is not economical for embedded 

board manufacturers to make a standard part 

to meet them. 2) Long-lived platform products: 

it is difficult to maintain uniformity of 

board specifications over time and over multiple 

product variants when sourcing from 

board manufacturer standard parts, since the 

specifications of these change frequently to 

keep pace with changes in technology and 

customer demand. In both cases, the use of 

standard boards from a catalogue is disadvantageous. 

It can result in one or more of 

the following drawbacks: compromised design, 

13 March 2011

COTS 

Figure 1. Timeline of the RapiDex service from Emerson/powerBridge 

Figure 2. Example of a customized board designed by RapiDex service 

Figure 3. Various examples of RapiDex boards 

reduced functionality, impaired performance, 

increased design time, increased design risk, 

increased materials cost and deviation from 

a product marketing specification. 

The RapiDex service from Emerson Network 

Power, then, eliminates the drawbacks and 

work-arounds associated with using either inappropriate 

standard boards, or conventional 

March 2011 14 

board customization. It is fast, straightforward 

and competitive. In fact, Emerson Network 

Power has reinvented board customization, 

with the goal of creating a service in tune with 

customer needs. To this end, it has developed 

and deployed new business processes and new 

technology in the provision of the RapiDex 

service. 

The conventional approach to developing and 

manufacturing embedded computing boards 

involves a series of discrete steps that cross a 

number of distinct process ‘islands’. The revolutionary 

impact of the RapiDex service is 

due to the bridging of these islands into one 

seamless process. At the start of the chain is 

the customer specification, which defines the 

board requirements in terms of form factor, 

processor, I/O and so on. The chain leads first 

to tools implementing the circuit design and 

the board layout. This then generates a materials 

requirement, which links to the Emerson 

Network Power supply chain (to supply parts) 

and to the enterprise resource systems (to 

manage payments to suppliers, to provide information 

to an Emerson Network Power factory, 

to generate invoices and so on). The system 

also links to a separate manufacturing 

process system, which is required to receive 

and store incoming parts, assemble and ship 

the custom boards, notify the enterprise resource 

system of shipments and so on. Conventionally, 

all of these systems are discrete, 

and commands to initiate or approve actions 

as they cross from one system to another must 

be issued by a human being. 

Technology developed by Emerson Network 

Power has enabled the RapiDex service to be 

automated at every point, eliminating the 

delay, cost, and risk of error or inconsistency 

associated with human involvement in processes. 

Crucial to the implementation of this chain 

of processes is a modular implementation of 

board functions; the design rules developed 

by Emerson Network Power enable these functions 

to be integrated, using advanced design 

software, into tens of thousands of configurations 

of processors, I/Os, peripherals and connectors. 

Together, this combination of technology 

and process innovations enables the 

delivery of a service that is faster, more responsive, 

extremely scalable and cheaper by 

far than any board customization service in 

the history of the embedded market. 

By choosing the RapiDex service, you benefit 

from a customization service that offers: Optimised 

design: Using an embedded Intel processor, 

you can specify a choice of I/O configurations, 

memory specifications and peripheral 

capabilities (such as wireless communications) 

in any rectangular form factor. Emerson Network 

Power will design and produce a planar

COTS 

board to your specification with a high-performance board layout. 

Fast turnaround: The innovative design of the RapiDex process has 

also produced an accelerated ordering schedule: after defining the 

board specification from a menu of options, the unit price quotation 

is delivered to the customer within two working days. From the date 

on which the customer places its order, RapiDex will produce first article 

boards (1-12 units) within four to eight weeks. Volume orders 

(minimum order quantity: 100 units) follow Emerson standard turnaround 

times, with forecasted orders fulfilled within eight weeks of 

order date. 

Low costs: Customers of the RapiDex service pay no NREs. A flat 

production set-up fee plus unit costs pays for the first sample boards 

(1-12 units). In volume production, the customer simply pays the 

unit price as quoted at the start of the customer engagement. Unit 

prices are very competitive, and are comparable with the prices of 

equivalent standard products. 

Straightforward terms: Since the customer does not pay for the provision 

of a design service, it is not required to negotiate the complex 

legal provisions that normally bedevil custom board engagements. 

Using the RapiDex service is a simple two-step process: 

1) The customer issues a purchase order for sample boards, based on 

the customer choice from a menu of processor, memory, I/O and peripheral 

options, at a flat cost plus the unit price of the boards. 

2) The customer issues a purchase order for a production run (minimum 

order quantity: 100 units). There is no need for a complex contract, 

a statement of work, provision for penalties or clawback arrangements 

in case production volumes fall short of expectations. The two 

steps are not legally coupled: a customer who takes shipment of 

sample boards has no obligation to order production volumes. 

Conventional board customization services are slow, expensive and 

unwieldy. 

Innovative technology developed by Emerson Network Power, and 

process improvement that has bridged the systems implementing 

board design, materials supply and manufacturing, mean that the 

RapiDex service is fast and affordable enough to be used by almost 

any embedded OEM; the design requirements that govern the choice 

between a standard board and the RapiDex service are outlined below. 

In order to decide whether the RapiDex service is a suitable option, a 

design team should ask the following three questions. Will the design 

be significantly compromised by the selection of a standard embedded 

motherboard? Could these design constraints be eliminated with an 

optimal selection of memory, I/O, peripheral and connector specifications 

and by specifying a rectangular form factor? Is the design 

based on a current Intel embedded processor, such as the Intel Atom? 

If the answer to all questions is yes, a motherboard sourced through 

the RapiDex service should be considered. When specifying a board 

through the RapiDex service, the OEM system designer will be given 

the opportunity to select from a menu of options, as follows. 

The RapiDex service follows the Intel embedded processor roadmap, 

and currently supports the Atom embedded processors. Choose a 

standard outline, such as COM Express, Mini-ITX or MicroATX. 

Custom form factors can also be chosen by the customer. MicroSD, 

PCI Express, COM Express Expansion slots options are available. 

Specify the exact combination of I/O you require, from a range including 

Ethernet, SATA/eSATA, HDMI, LVDS, USB 2.0 and CAN. A 

wide range of options for internal connectors are available, including 

USB, RS-232, LVDS and TPM 1.2. I/O connector options include 

USB, HDMI, VGA, eSATA, and Mini DB-9. External connectors can 

be routed to any point on the board edge. The process of engaging 

15 March 2011

COTS 

with Emerson Network Power for the supply 

of an optimized embedded motherboard has 

been designed for speed and simplicity. The 

engagement starts with a meeting between an 

Emerson Network Power representative (either 

a technical sales executive of Emerson Network 

Power, or a franchise representative from authorized 

distributor powerBridge Computer). 

At this meeting, the customer will specify the 

board requirements, choosing from a wide 

range of options supported by the RapiDex 

service. 

Within two business days, the customer will receive 

a comprehensive quotation package. As 

well as stating the guaranteed unit price for the 

required production volume (minimum 100 

units), the package includes a datasheet, a user 

manual and a 3D rendering of the proposed 

board configuration. This quotation package 

confirms the specifications of the board that 

Emerson Network Power will manufacture. 

Within eight weeks (and potentially within as 

little as four weeks) of receiving the purchase 

order, Emerson Network Power will ship sample, 

or first article, boards (1-12 units) for acceptance 

testing by the customer. These boards 

are produced according to the specification 

laid down in the quotation package. Within 

another eight weeks of receiving a forecasted 

volume order, Emerson Network Power will 

begin production shipments. (Volume orders 

follow Emerson standard turn-around time.). 

The process is simple and fast, and is similar 

to the process of ordering a standard embedded 

motherboard from a supplier catalogue. 

The RapiDex service is the embedded motherboard 

customization capability from the Embedded 

Computing division of Emerson Network 

Power. Emerson Network Power is itself 

an operating unit of Emerson, a global manufacturing 

company that produced $21bn in 

revenues in the financial year 2009/10 from 

products and services in fields such as process 

management, industrial automation, distributed 

power and appliances and motors. Emerson 

is one of the leading manufacturing companies, 

operating from 250 manufacturing locations 

(165 outside the US). Emerson gained 

730 patents in 2009, and invested $686m in 

engineering and development. The Embedded 

Computing division is a powerful force in important 

embedded markets such as telecoms 

and network equipment, military and aerospace 

and process control. Standard products available 

from Emerson Network Power include 

ATCA blades and platforms, embedded motherboards 

compliant with a variety of standards, 

and power modules and bricks for use in 

medium- and high-voltage applications. Emerson 

Network Power is a Premier member of 

the Intel Embedded Alliance. n 

March 2011 16 


n GE: rugged SBCs based on ‘Sandy Bridge’ 

processors 

GE Intelligent Platforms announces two 

new rugged single board computers based 

on 2nd Generation Intel Core i7 ‘Sandy 

Bridge’ processors. Both the XCR14 and 

XVR 14 provide a choice of either dual- or 

quad-core 2nd Generation Intel Core i7 

processors operating at up to 2.5GHz, offering 

a range of four performance/watt 

options, and up to 16GBytes of soldered 

DDR3 SDRAM with ECC. 


n Kontron: enhanced VPX/OpenVPX 

ecosystem accelerates time-to-market 

Kontron announced several additions to its 

VPX/OpenVPX ecosystem including the Kontron 

3U VPX PCI Express and Ethernet hybrid 

switch VX3905, the Kontron 3U FMC carrier 

board VX3830, the Kontron 3U XMC/PMC 

carrier board VX3800 as well as OpenVPX 

backplanes. With these building blocks, alongside 

of the new VXFabric IP socket API for 

data management, Kontron provides a comprehensive 

VPX ecosystem. The focus of these 

additions to Kontron’s VPX/OpenVPX ecosystem 

surrounds the optimization of the data 

plane in VPX/OpenVPX multiprocessor systems 

and to relieve OEMs and developers 

from the complex, low level hardware and 

data management. 


n AMP: full frame rate H.264 video cards 

for PC/104-Plus and mini PCI 

Advanced Micro Peripherals has introduced 

two H.264 frame grabber / video codec boards 

for the PC/104-Plus and mini PCI markets - 

both supporting 4 analog input channels with 

full frame rate video acquisition at full resolution 

NTSC / PAL image size. H.264 based 

video codec technology offers significantly improved 

compression and video quality at lower 

bit rates and is quickly becoming the standard 

of choice for new digital video recorder and 

video streaming applications. 


n Curtiss-Wright: 48-Port 10GbE physical 

layer switch port card 

Curtiss-Wright has announced the availability 

of its RT11000 48-port 10 Gigabit 

Ethernet card designed for use with its 

GLX4000 and SLX4000 physical layer switches. 

Designed to maximize system switching 

flexibility, the high port-count RT11000 

enables users to economically scale their 10 

GbE performance as their requirements 

change. 

News ID 13204

n MEN: PICMG CompactPCI Serial standard 

release and product presentation 

During Embedded World, the PICMG officially 

released the new bus standard CompactPCI 

Serial. MEN Mikro Elektronik together 

with PICMG Europe and other PICMG 

members uses this opportunity to present 

CompactPCI Serial at the trade show and in 

a press conference. 


n N.A.T. and Signalion: tunable RF module 

in AMC form factor 

Signalion and N.A.T. will show a tunable RF 

module in AMC form factor, the AMC-SRRM, 

at N.A.T.s booth on MWC2011. Signalion’s 

Software Defined Radio Wide Range Radio 

Frequency module AMC-SRRM combines a 

complete tunable RF transceiver with digital 

base band interface for realization of different 

wireless communication systems. 


n Axiomtek: IP4X-rated standalone fanless 

digital signage player 

Axiomtek releases a stand alone robust IP4X 

dust-proof digital signage player, the DSB- 

300, featuring IP4X-rated enclosure, hardware 

decoder, 1920 x 1080 resolution, and an Intel 

AtomTM processor D525 1.8 GHz with 4GB 

DDR3 system memory. With an IP4X-rated 

dust proof enclosure that prevents dust and 

dirt from entering the system, users can be assured 

that the DSB-300 is durable and will 

run smoothly without interruption. 


n Curtiss-Wright: Hybricon rugged fan 

controllers for chassis management 

Curtiss-Wright has announced the availability 

of its new family of Hybricon rugged 

intelligent fan controllers for chassis management. 

These MIL-STD-461F, MIL-STD- 

810G and MIL-STD-704F fan controllers 

provide intelligent nodes for use in PMBusbased 

chassis management systems, enabling 

system designers to easily integrate system 

fan monitor and control functions into a 

Built-In-Test strategy for rugged air- and 

conduction-cooled systems. 


n Schroff: rugged enhanced VPX systems 

with upgradable cooling 

Schroff has developed a family of rugged enhanced 

VPX systems that satisfy VITA 48.2. 

The Titan series consists of a modular case 

with a suitable backplane and upgradable cooling 

solutions and allows subsequent expansion 

and/or upgrading of the systems. The systems 

are also flexible in terms of dimensions, the 

cooling solution and the EMC and IP protection. 

The housing of the rugged enhanced 

VPX systems is constructed from separate alu- 

COTS 

minium parts. Different aluminium alloys can 

be used according to customer specification 

(EN AW6062, 6082, 7075, etc.). A variety of 

finishes are also available: black anodised, 

nickel-plated, yellow chromated etc. 


n Emerson: OpenVPX SBCs feature 2nd 

generation Intel Core processors 

At Embedded World, Emerson released its 

first OpenVPX single board computers to 

provide excellent performance, power efficiency, 

graphics, memory and I/O for high bandwidth 

military/aerospace, first responder and 

rugged industrial applications such as mining. 

The 6U iVPX7220 and 3U iVPX7223 boards 

feature the dual-core 2.20 GHz Intel Core i7 

2655LE processor with integrated graphics 

and memory controller, and the Intel QM67 

PCH chipset for advanced I/O functionality. 


n Bicker: ATX DC converter for fanless 

box computers 

The ATX DC converter DC80W by Bicker 

Elektronik is extremely small, very slim and 

thus space-saving. The unit has been especially 

developed for installation in closed and fanless 

box computers. At 12VDC input voltage this 

converter supplies output voltages of +3.3volts, 

+5volts, +12volts and -12volts. It is further 

provided with a standby output of 5Vsb. Despite 

its small dimensions of only 146 x 28 x 

22 mm3 and a (net) weight of 0.12kg the converter 

supplies up to 80watts performance. 


n Seco and Arrow Electronics sign 

distribution agreement 

Arrow Electronics has reached an agreement 

for the entire EMEA region with the Italian embedded 

products manufacturer Seco. Seco, which 

has been active in the market for 31 years and is 

headquartered in Arezzo, manufactures singleboard 

computers and computer on-modules. 


n powerBridge: rapid board customization 

program 

To address the need for optimized board designs 

when a COTS board is not suitable, 

Emerson Network Power introduces the new 

RapiDex service, a rapid board customization 

program that allows OEMs to specify the Intel 

embedded processor, I/O, connector and other 

options within a standard or custom board 

form factor. For many designs, the choice of 

standard computing platforms is adequate. 

The design team can find a standard part that 

best fits the desired specification from the 

COTS embedded motherboard market. In 

many instances, this ‘best fit’ is a good enough 

fit; however, it is rarely a perfect fit. 


17 March 2011

COTS 

Enhanced vector graphics and S-RIO 

boost Intel in DSP applications 

By Ian Stalker, Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing 

The introduction of the new 

Intel Core i7-2715QE 

next-generation quad-core 

processor with the new AVX 

processing unit means 

the design of x86-based 

embedded military digital 

signal processing (DSP) 

systems can take 

a great leap forward. 

n The new Intel Core i7-2715QE processor, 

which is faster and more power efficient than 

its previous generation, also features the new 

256-bit wide Intel Advanced Vector Extensions 

(AVX) floating-point instructions. DSP algorithms 

rely heavily on the throughput of vector 

instructions and so will benefit greatly. Before 

the introduction of Intel AVX, vectorized signal 

processing functions were limited to 128-bits. 

Of equal interest to signal processing system 

designers is the fact that with this platform, 

Serial RapidIO (S-RIO), the preferred fabric 

for the types of processor-to-processor communications 

required by demanding DSP 

systems, is now for the first time supported, 

thanks to the upcoming IDT PCIe Gen2 to 

S-RIO Gen2 protocol conversion bridging 

semiconductor products. This brings S-RIO, 

the fabric of choice, well supported by the 

OpenVPX/VITA 65 standard, to Intel-based 

open architecture system designs. 

Now the latest x86 processor can be used in a 

RapidIO based network, supporting reliable 

packet transmission, any architecture, while 

also delivering low and predictable latencies 

and providing the benefits of RapidIO messaging 

which are ideal for large peer-to-peer 

clusters of processors used in complex signal 

processing applications. For embedded DSP 

designers, the most recent Intel micro-architecture 

(codenamed micro-architecture Sandy 

Bridge) further establishes the x86 architecture 

as the leading candidate for the most demanding 

compute-intensive multiprocessor systems. 

The Intel quad-core processor boasts numerous 

micro-architecture enhancements and design 

features over previous Intel processors. For example, 

the new processor is faster at the same 

clock speeds as earlier processors, because of 

its more sophisticated caching and branch prediction. 

This platform also delivers quad-core 

processing with power levels that match the 

stringent requirements of rugged embedded 

military environments: 4 cores at 45 watts. 

But the single greatest improvement for DSP 

system performance delivered by the latest 

Intel platform is the new AVX processing unit. 

In recent years Intel has demonstrated its ongoing 

commitment to high-performance vectorized 

processing by investing in continual 

enhancements to the AVX predecessor, Intel 

Streaming SIMD Extensions (Intel SSE), a 128bit 

wide processing unit capable of simultaneously 

operating on four 32-bit floating-point 

values. Intel SSE also featured support for 

double-precision floating point, a feature that 

was not available in AltiVec. In Intel multicore 

processors each core was given its own SSE 

unit, so the raw floating-point performance 

scaled with the number of cores. In the new 

platform Intel has upgraded the SSE approach 

with AVX, doubling the size to 256-bits wide. 

This doubling of vector processing performance 

is a significant milestone in DSP system design. 

March 2011 18 

DSP algorithms used in critical military applications 

such as radar, SIGINT, and image processing, 

depend on the precision achieved with 

floating point numbers along with speed of 

processing. The new Intel Core i7 effectively 

doubles that performance over previous approaches. 

For typical size 1D and 2D FFTs the 

improvement gained by AVX is in the 1.5 to 

2X range (approximately) over SSE. The AVX 

instruction set was designed to support future 

extensions, which hints at wider implementations 

in the future. 

Further helping to establish Intel as the ideal 

platform for DSP applications is the addition 

of S-RIO support. For embedded and high 

performance applications S-RIO as of yet has 

no peer when it comes to multiprocessor 

system processor-to-processor communications. 

But prior to this generation of Core i7, 

there was no support for S-RIO for Intel platforms, 

which of course limited the viability of 

Intel architecture use in DSP multiprocessor 

systems. Solutions have been available to support 

Infiniband, which is popular in the cluster 

computing world but is not embraced in military 

applications, and for Gigabit Ethernet. 

For single board computers, where the requirement 

is typically a single processor communicating 

with I/O, these fabrics have been 

sufficient. The lack of support for S-RIO, however, 

deprived would-be Intel-based DSP system 

designers of the ability to select the multi-

processor fabric of choice. The upcoming IDT 

PCI Express (PCIe) Gen2 to S-RIO Gen2 

bridge provides the first solution for S-RIO 

support on Intel-based platforms. The new S- 

RIO Gen 2 switches provide three times the 

aggregate bandwidth and are twice as fast as 

the earlier RapidIO 1.3 based switches per 

port. The signaling rate increase is from 3.125 

Gbps to Gen2 6.25 Gbps for switch ports, resulting 

in 20 Gbps per second per port in the 

switch fabric. The IDT bridge will provide a 

mapping from PCIe Gen2 into this S-RIO 

Gen2 based switch on board and into the 

backplane. This bridge will support the two 

main S-RIO transfer modes, memory-mapped 

transfers and S-RIO messaging. S-RIO bridges 

implemented in FPGAs do not support highperformance 

messaging, a feature which directly 

maps to higher-level software APIs such 

as MPI. Another plus offered by the IDT 

silicon is the inclusion of DMA engines that 

speed computation while off-loading the host 

processor. Intel processors typically do not 

have DMA engines on-chip, but depend instead 

on the peripheral chip to move data. Without 

a DMA engine, moving data can require a 

large amount of the host processor attention, 

with the result that a multicore processor 

might have one of its cores (and associated 

power) largely consumed by moving data, 

which is all the more burdensome because it 

has to be done in code. 

The IDT bridge is physically much smaller 

and lower power than the 10 Gigabit Ethernet 

(10 GbE) alternatives today, while being 1.6x 

faster, which is great for SWaP-constrained 

systems. For in-the-box processor-to-processor 

connections, 10 GbE is over-featured, making 

both the controller and switch chips larger 

and slower than the equivalent S-RIO devices. 

Moreover in a 10 GbE network, reliable endto-end 

packet transmissions with reliable transport 

could take several milliseconds. 

Another advantage of S-RIO for space-constrained 

military systems is the ability to support 

all topologies,including either distributed 

switch or centralized switch architectures. Distributed 

switch systems (an example is the VITA 

65 BPK6-CEN05-11.2.5-n backplane profile) 

make use of the local S-RIO switch and thus 

avoid the need for a separate switch card. For 

example, if the system was using a ½ ATR short 

enclosure (four 1” slots) this capability saves 

25% of the space and a considerable amount of 

power. For large systems, centralized switch architectures 

are often preferred, and S-RIO is 

COTS 

equally adept at this approach. Many leading 

vendors offer S-RIO switch card solutions. An 

example of a high-performance DSP engine designed 

to take full advantage of the latest offering 

for Intel Core i7 is the new CHAMP-AV8 from 

Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing. 

The CHAMP-AV8 is the first rugged, high-performance 

OpenVPX DSP (digital signal processing) 

engine based on the Intel Core i7- 

2715QE. It also supports the upcoming IDT 

Gen2 PCIe-to-S-RIO protocol conversion bridge. 

The rugged CHAMP-AV8 pair of quad-core 

processors delivers performance, rated at up to 

269 GFLOPS. With the IDT bridge chip, the 

CHAMP-AV8 supports Gen2 S-RIO and Gen2 

PCIe interfaces, which enables it to deliver triple 

the bandwidth of first-generation VPX products 

with up to 240 Gbps of fabric performance, 

thus ensuring that application performance can 

scale commensurately with the much higher 

CPU performance. The CHAMP-AV8 is supported 

with an extensive suite of software including 

support for Wind River VxWorks and 

Linux operating environments. Additional software 

support includes inter-processor communications 

(IPC) and the Curtiss-Wright Control 

Continuum Vector AVX-optimized signal 

processing library. n

COTS 

Designing and manufacturing rugged 

COTS assemblies 

By Herb Bethoney, GE Intelligent Platforms 

For military embedded COTS 

products, the designation 

“rugged” requires board and 

system vendors to consider a 

host of variables - thermal, 

mechanical and functional. 

This article demonstrates how 

cursory or superficial attention 

to these details could have a 

detrimental effect on product 

reliability and performance. 

n Rugged, when applied to computing devices, 

can have many meanings. Often, it is no more 

than a marketing word for “reliable” or “shockproof” 

or “better than consumer grade”. In 

the context of military embedded COTS computing, 

rugged has – or should have – a very 

specific meaning. Rugged military systems are 

required to withstand extremes of temperature, 

shock, vibration, particle ingress, and so on: 

their failure to do so will often be, literally, a 

matter of life and death. So: what are the characteristics 

of truly rugged embedded COTS 

boards? 

A key aspect of a rugged COTS board that 

may be deployed in a tank, helicopter or submarine 

is that it will likely be deployed in a 

confined, hard-to-cool space – so it must run 

as cool as possible. Thermal analysis is a generic 

term covering a range of design tasks associated 

with the thermal behaviour of a system or 

board, its components and its cooling configuration. 

This analysis includes consideration 

of heat conduction, air convection and thermal 

radiation in all three dimensions to identify 

hot spots and high-power components on the 

board (figure 1). Typical solutions to manage 

thermal characteristics of a board include the 

addition of heat sinks, thermal pads and thermal 

vias, thicker ground or power planes and 

relocation of key components closer to the 

board edge to optimize the thermal interface. 

Thermal management techniques have evolved 

and improved significantly over the last few 

years from through-hole components, to surface-mount 

technology (SMT), to the incorporation 

of full-size aluminium heat plates, 

copper layers and advanced thermal shunts. A 

modern rugged board should stand up to a 

rigorous review of its thermal characteristics 

and performance. The following considerations 

can serve as a guide. 

The path from the exterior case into the printed 

circuit board (PCB) is through its mounting 

features. These may be leads soldered into 

holes or surface-mount solder pads. On highpower 

components, special attachments (conductive, 

adhesive or soldering to case) may be 

made to decrease the thermal resistance between 

the component and PCB. The placement 

of a component on any PCB determines the 

conductive distance to cooler heat sinks. This 

may be critical due to the high relative conductive 

resistance which may occur through 

thin (.002”) thermal planes. High-power components 

should be placed close to heat sinks 

when possible. 

Plated-through holes under components provide 

a direct heat conduction path through 

gold and copper to large thermal planes inside 

the PCB. For high power components, as 

many vias as possible should be put under 

March 2011 20 

Figure 1. The purpose of 

thermal analysis at the board 

level is to identify hot spots. 

the component. PCB internal solid copper 

thermal layers are one of the primary routes 

of heat flow through circuit cards. Two layers 

of copper almost the full height and width of 

each card carry heat from vias under components 

to larger vias which connect to surface 

copper/gold pads. For processors, another 

conductive path is added from the top of 

high-power components through flexible gap 

pads and onto the inside of the aluminium 

heat sink. 

Items between the surfaces of the PCBs and 

the chassis are aluminium, which conducts 

heat well. However, there are multiple interfaces 

in any given heat flow path. Under vacuum, 

these interfaces increase thermal resistance as 

a function of pressure and surface finish. Some 

of the interfaces are from PCB to heat sink, 

from heat sink to back plate, from back plate 

to chassis ledge. Once the heat is at the inside 

wall of the chassis it is easily distributed to top 

and bottom due to the low resistance of the 

aluminium. 

Finite element analyses (FEA) and other calculations 

should be used to help work through 

the system-level thermal considerations (figure 

2). It is important to establish an operational 

assembly FEA steady state thermal analysis. 

The first step of this analysis is a chassis-level 

finite element model. 3D CAD geometry is

Figure 2. Thermal analysis needs to be undertaken at the system level. Figure 3. Mechanical reliability can affect electrical stability. 

transferred to analyses design space and acts 

as the basis for the analytical model. Other inputs 

are power, ambient fluid temperature, 

fluid type, fluid velocity, and chassis materials. 

The results are rail temperatures (chassis surfaces 

interfacing with circuit card assemblies). 

The rail temperature results should be corrected 

for thermal interfaces. Variables on thermal 

interface resistance are surface area, clamping 

force, surface finish, and fluid pressure. 

Corrected rail temperatures are used as inputs 

for a board-level computer-aided analysis. 

Specifics of the PCB such as layer count, copper 

coverage, copper thickness, via count, interface 

areas should be input into this model. Specific 

power locations must also be loaded, and the 

results are board temperatures. Starting with 

board temperatures, board-to-case and caseto-junction 

temperatures should be added to 

obtain junction operating temperatures. This 

is compared to vendor-published operating 

maximums. These temperatures are also used 

in MTBF and FMEA calculations. To survive 

severe levels of shock and vibration, mechanical 

integrity of a board – its strength, lifetime me- 

chanical reliability and electrical stability (figure 

3) – must be considered by the mechanical engineering 

designers from the early stages of its 

design. Tighter rules in PCB design, such as 

sub-nanosecond timing budgets, microvias, 

fine pitch BGAs and high lead count devices, 

make mechanical integrity an increasingly important, 

and difficult, challenge for rugged 

boards. 

As a card flexes under vibration, the normally 

flat surface of the PCB curves, stressing the 

leads of the ICs until eventually the joints fail. 

Fortunately, the buried thermal vias and thermal 

layers in the PCB, incorporated as features to 

improve power dissipation, also increase PCB 

rigidity. The mechanical integrity of solder 

joint interconnects in PCB assemblies, as well 

as solderability, also needs to be addressed. 

A stiffening frame can be used to provide additional 

rigidity, although the frame does add 

extra weight. During PCB manufacture, the 

individual PCB layers are pressed together 

using a high pressure and temperature lamination 

process. Selection of PCB substrates 

COTS 

must consider the mechanical durability of 

the chosen material to withstand these manufacturing 

processes, as well as the PCB lifecycle 

deployment. The mechanical engineering design 

team often uses mechanical design software 

and finite element analysis (FEA) to ensure 

the final product’s mechanical integrity has 

been thoroughly simulated and characterized. 

Knowledge of anti-fungal, non-outgassing materials 

is critical in saving time in research; 

thereby reducing design time. Special consideration 

must be given if a system is to be fully 

sealed or to have features for condensation 

drainage. Chassis design and joint construction 

should assure EMI protection, and use of conductive 

gaskets or extra bends in line-of-sight 

at joints is critical. Understanding where and 

when to use proper military connectors is essential. 

Internal connectors are always fastened 

securely and strain relieved. One of the trickiest 

portions of any rugged package is the harnesses, 

especially the trade-offs of signal count maximization 

versus routing, volume, weight, and 

assembly issues. Strain relieving must always 

be taken into account.

COTS 

Figure 4. Appropriate choice of fasteners is essential. 

Figure 5. The ability to withstand shock and vibration is key to rugged embedded computing 

systems. 

Proper choice of fasteners (figure 4) assures 

components and subassemblies stay put during 

structural testing and provide proper grip 

forces for thermal interfaces. Design engineers 

should be familiar with machining processes 

and create designs based on cost/lead time/precision/quantity. 

A lot of thought should be 

put into how the sub- and top assemblies will 

go together. Assembly instructions provide 

formal documentation of the processes. Features 

ought to be incorporated into the system 

to allow for ease of maintenance. 

The most important part of the structural 

analysis/design is avoiding resonant coupling 

(figure 5) between the chassis and the circuit 

card assemblies. Resonant coupling occurs 

when the natural frequencies of two objects 

fastened together are close. Extreme amplifications 

can occur in the system. In an electronic 

system, the items usually at highest risk are 

solder joints. To avoid resonant coupling, 3D 

CAD models should be fixed as they will be in 

operation, and natural frequency analysis done 

March 2011 22 

on chassis and circuit card assemblies. Industry 

experience suggests a 2-octave separation between 

the circuit card assembly and the chassis 

in their first mode. Through design changes, 

the chassis, and potentially the circuit card, 

can be modified to change stiffness and thereby 

the associated natural frequency. Vibration 

and shock profiles should be input into the 

FEA solver. Results of the natural frequency 

analyses described must also be input into the 

analysis. Results from these analyses are stresses 

in parts and deflection amplitudes. Stresses 

should be checked (with proper factor of 

safety) against material property data. Component 

deflections from the above analysis 

are compared to acceptable deflections using 

Steinberg equations. 

Ensuring the functional integrity of rugged 

equipment is really the acid test for a board 

destined for demanding military applications. 

Does the product perform its intended function 

under all conditions? Calibrating submarine 

sonar at 500 fathoms and 200 miles from

shore is no time to learn that the equipment 

you thought was rugged doesn’t work. Ensuring 

the functional integrity of a rugged product 

requires extensive up-front analysis, coupled 

with an investigative attitude trying to think 

of ways a product can fail and then implementing 

corrective actions to ensure it does 

not happen. Has the product been tested for 

cold-starts? hot starts? in high humidity? Have 

sufficient design tolerances been applied? Does 

it demonstrate frequency stability over all temperatures? 

In short, will the card work reliably, 

in all circumstances, throughout its lifecycle? 

Test plans must be approved by the customer 

n Axiomtek: IEC 61850-3 and IEEE 1613 

compliant Ethernet switch 

Axiomtek introduced iCON-47000 8-port 

10/100Base-TX unmanaged hardened Ethernet 

switch, which fully complies with IEC 61850-3 

and IEEE 1613 standards for electric utility 

applications. The iCON-47000 comes with the 

flexibility of four to eight 10/100Base-TX RJ-45 

ports and two 100Base-FX ports. 


n Moxa: hardware-based IEEE 1588v2 

Ethernet switches 

Accurate timing and synchronization is essential 

to achieving next-generation Smart Grids 

technologies for the power industry. Moxa’s 

PT-7728-PTP series switches, which support 

the IEEE 1588v2 protocol with hardware time 

stamping to deliver nanosecond-accurate synchronization 

over Ethernet networks, are the 

newest addition to the PowerTrans series of 

IEC 61850-3 Ethernet switches. 


n Emerson: cost-effective 10G ATCA 

switch blade 

Emerson Network Power announced its latest 

and most cost-effective 10G AdvancedT- 

CA switch blade, the ATCA-F125. The architecture 

of the ATCA-F125 is complementary 

to the recently launched 40G ATCA 

switch blade, the ATCA-F140, allowing a 

common software environment to be used 

for both. Offering multiple functional options 

to optimize its use, the new switch 

blade enables customers to maximize cost 

effectiveness for a wide range of telecom 

network and communications infrastructure 

applications. 



COTS 

prior to the specific test performance. Tests 

should be conducted to verify compliance with 

customer requirements, as well as to collect 

test data to verify the accuracy of the design 

under operating extremes. Each system should 

be acceptance-tested prior to delivery. Each 

deliverable module should be subjected to 

configuration/workmanship inspections, functional 

performance tests, and environmental 

stress screening tests, conducted in accordance 

with customer-specified test plans and procedures 

in order to verify that each system operates 

properly, meets workmanship standards, 

and is ready for delivery. n 

n Kontron: 64-core Cavium dual OCTEON II 

40G ATCA packet processor blade 

Kontron unveiled the 40GbE ATCA packet processor 

blade AT8242 designed with two OCTEON 

II cnMIPS64 multi-core processors from Cavium 

Networks, each one integrating 32 enhanced cn- 

MIPS64 v2 cores with up to 48GHz of 64-bit 

computing power in a single chip. It also combines 

over 85 L3-L7 application acceleration engines, 

virtualization features, 100Gbps of connectivity, 

and a new Real Time Power Optimizer that dynamically 

adjusts power depending upon the application-level 

processing requirement. 


n Interface Masters: 10GbE PCIe smart 

network adapter 

Interface Masters Technologies announced 10 

Gigabit Ethernet Smart Network Adapters. The 

Niagara 710 fully offloads secure network services, 

packet classification and network protocols 

processing from the host CPU to handle high 

speed network traffic up to 10 Gbps. The Smart 

Network Adapter comes in PCI-e form factor 

and is targeted at Networking and Security 

Appliances, Servers and Storage Systems. 


n Diamond Systems: I/O module provides 

WiFi, Ethernet, USB and SSD expansion 

Diamond Systems unveils the Corona multifunction 

SUMIT-ISM I/O module, combining 

WiFi, dual Ethernet, USB, and solid-state disk 

expansion capabilities. The compact, rugged 

module is engineered to meet the wide operating 

temperature, high shock and vibration, and 

mission-critical reliability requirements of fixed 

and mobile application environments, whether 

indoors or exposed to the elements. 


More information about each news is available on 

www.Embedded-Control-Europe.com/bas-magazine 

• You Y You 

have to type yp in 

the “News ID”. — 

23 March 2011

INDUSTRIAL COMPUTING 


initiative 

By Siegfried Weigert, congatec 

This article introduces 

the Embedded Building Blocks 

initiative, launched by 

congatec in cooperation with 

TQ-Group and apra-norm, 

and under the auspices of 

Intel Corporation, to make it 

easier for small and mediumsized 

businesses to 

gain access to embedded 

computer technology 

and entry into the industrial 

computer market. 

n Life nowadays seems impossible without 

computers. Anywhere we look we meet many 

different kinds of computing devices. Some of 

them are big and obvious like desktop PCs or 

gaming consoles, while others are built into 

specific machines in medical, household, or 

industrial devices, or gadgets like smartphones. 

Such systems, with a more or less hidden computing 

function, are described as „embedded 

systems“. Borderline cases of embedded systems 

include industrial PCs. These are typically 

general-purpose PCs, possibly modified, for 

example made rugged for use in harsh environments, 

or simply built of better components 

to last longer than the expected three to four 

years of a typical home or office computer. 

This article focuses on high-performance computers 

with dedicated applications for specific 

purposes including industrial PC operation. 

Mainstream PCs are built in high numbers 

and are meant to be extremely flexible in their 

daily use. They are typically available only for 

a limited time window of six to twelve months 

before being replaced by successors with newer 

features and technology. Their primary value 

lies in their general computing capabilities, 

and their failure penalty is usually unavailability 

until repair or replacement. With industrial 

applications the situation is different. Most 

embedded computers are only one part of an 

overall solution, which means that failure here 

will have more a more significant cost due to 

the breakdown of an entire system or even 

process chain. However as they are part of a 

more complex solution, even simple changes 

in the basic computing configuration may 

result in consequences up to fatal function 

disturbances. 

That is why in medical applications a change 

of hardware components is simply not allowed 

without running through a tedious recertification 

process. In many other applications, the 

enduring availability of identical hardware is 

as important as longevity. Further requirements 

for industrial and embedded PCs are special 

I/O interfaces and the support of specific realtime 

operating systems. Here as well changes 

in hardware can be fatal to functionality. Possible 

solutions can be custom-designed embedded 

hardware (which takes long and expensive 

effort for design and test), or industrial 

computers and expensive rack-based computer 

systems with specific interfaces with the adequate 

longevity. 

Common industrial and mainstream PCs share 

the benefits of low prices and quick availability 

on demand. Distribution companies have built 

up excellent logistic channels to provide their 

customers with the required number of devices 

quickly, no matter whether one or one thousand 

pieces are needed. However this is only 

March 2011 24 

Figure 1. Computer-on- 

Modules conzept of 

the IBB initiative 

true while these devices are still within their 

specific availability window. Obviously purchasers 

want the benefits of both worlds, meaning 

the ability to buy high quality and highly 

reliable embedded computers at mass prices 

using channel logistics. Plus the comfort of a 

long-lasting procurement availability period 

of at least five to seven years. 

One major problem here is to find a “one-fitsall” 

concept which is flexible enough to enable 

wide scalability for embedded demands. Another 

is to find the know-how to achieve embedded 

quality in a mass-production process. 

These problems can only be solved by bringing 

world-class companies with respective proofof-performance 

together to jointly develop the 

respective concept and technology. The basic 

idea to implement the required flexibility and 

scalability is the approach of dividing the computing 

system into three hierarchical levels: a 

Computer On Module (COM) as the basic 

computing set; a baseboard with standardized 

I/O peripheral support (e.g. I/O, mass storage, 

etc.) to hold the COM; and a set of further expansion 

cards (optional) for highly specialised 

dedicated interfaces if required. Key to compatibility, 

exchangeability and integration are 

clearly defined and integrated hardware and 

software interfaces, here COM Express and 

MiniPCIe or PCI/PCIe featuring the PCI-Express 

bus system. Blending the different blocks

Figure 2. Apra housing defined by the IBB initiative 

into an easy-to-integrate, application-ready 

platform also requires a robust, EMC-proof 

housing and a selection of standard and realtime 

operating systems to be pre-integrated. 

COMs are not a new invention. They have 

been going through a long evolution from the 

early PC-104 boards to today’s state-of-theart 

COM Express boards. COMs come with 

many advantages. One major advantage is 

their wide usability, resulting in high numbers 

across companies and applications leading to 

higher product maturity and lower prices per 

unit. There are two major trends in the electronic 

industry. The first is outsourcing everything 

which is not the core competency of the 

business. The second is the trend to modular 

systems with application-ready platforms, enabling 

shorter time-to-market cycles. Both 

trends are emerging in the embedded industry 

too, nevertheless time and effort must still be 

spent to build a carrier board. Under the auspices 

of Intel Corporation, and in cooperation 

with TQ-Group and apra-norm, congatec AG 

has launched the Embedded Building Blocks 

initiative. This joint effort makes it easier for 

small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) 

to gain access to embedded computer technology 

and entry into the industrial computer 

market. As a best-fit-approach for SMEs, and 

to support a wide variety of computer platforms 

without need for a fan, TQ Systems 

have chosen to start their part of the Embedded 

Building blocks initiative with a new motherboard 

based on the well-established mini- ITX 

form factor. A specific feature of this baseboard 

is an upside-down integration of the supporting 

COM boards, to enable direct thermal coupling 

with standard mini-ITX enclosures. To be even 

more flexible and to share the interface world 

with conventional mainstream and industrial 


PCs, TQ-Group has designed a revolutionary 

new riser card concept (patent pending). With 

this adapter traditional standard PCI and PCIe 

cards can be added to expand the system if 

necessary (see figure 2). Standard features of 

the baseboard include standard I/Os like 4x 

USB 2.0, 2x Gigabit Ethernet, DVI and RS- 

232, with SATA, CompactFlash and CFast slots 

available for internal mass storage. A mini- 

PCIe interface has been integrated to allow 

flexible expansion. In case that is not enough, 

a proprietary I/O interface is available that offers 

additional USB, PCIe x1, High Definition 

Audio, Siemens VDO and I²C interface extensions. 

This allows designers to implement, for 

example, an additional DVI-I interface or field 

buses such as CAN in applications or industry-specific 

add-in boards. A seamless integrated 

heat-spreader and apra-norm’s highquality, 

robust and EMC-proven enclosure 

complete the Embedded Building Blocks to a 

high-quality overall solution. 

SMEs can now focus on their core competencies, 

which are not usually computer hardware 

development and debugging. The latest computing 

and memory interfacing technology is 

indeed overburdening even sophisticated development 

departments. Expensive upgrading 

of development tools and production equipment 

will not pay off for most companies 

building their own hardware. Outsourcing the 

“tough” part is a logical first step, as the strong 

rise of COMs over recent years shows. Other 

reasons to build own proprietary hardware 

have been the demands for adequate quality 

and the downsizing of designs to the absolute 

necessary feature minimum for cost reasons. 

The Embedded Building Blocks initiative addresses 

these issues also. Using the highest 

level of chip integration offers a rich feature 

25 March 2011


Figure 3. Computer-on-Module with assembled back side 

set on the COM device without extra cost, 

and the quality and longevity of the featured 

embedded building blocks exceed common 

industry standards by far. As opposed to many 

other vendors, congatec AG’s development effort 

has been focused on computing modules 

(COMs) since its incorporation. This knowledge 

has been vital for the capability to deliver 

mainstream numbers of designed-in-Germany 

embedded computing modules with their 

excellent quality and reliability. 

Traditional users of embedded systems can 

drastically decrease their development effort 

and reduce their time-to-market by using the 

modular and widely scalable concept of the 

Embedded Building Block initiative. Figure 3 

shows the wide range of congatec AG’s COM 

Express modules, featuring long-availability 

embedded processors from Intel Intel® Atom 

up to the recently-announced second generation 

i7TM. Thorough integration of all building 

blocks provides the developer with an application-ready 

platform. Availability of multipleproject 

proven hardware from the beginning 

significantly reduces software development 

and total development times and simplifies 

debugging. The high flexibility of baseboard 

and COM blocks enables large numbers of 

boards and applications already in an early 

stage of the lifecycle, resulting in highest maturity 

and quality. With the patented riser concept, 

customer-specific hardware expansions 

can now be added via traditional PCI/PCIe or 

mini-PCIe cards without changing the basic 

platform. With successful projects, once the 

necessary volume has been reached, standard 

baseboards can be switched at a later stage 

against custom baseboards with inbuilt extensions 

functionality for maximum efficiency. 

The same applies for the enclosure. Off-theshelf 

enclosure blocks from apra-net can be 

used for instant availability of prototypes and 

small to medium production quantities. For 

mass-production and specific requests custom 

enclosures can be tailored without hassle at 

the commercially right point in time. The possibility 

of upgrading an application by a simple 

change of compatible COMs endows SME 

March 2011 26 

customers with a rich choice of variants and 

upgrade paths at virtually no cost, with all the 

other embedded blocks being reused unchanged. 

All COMs and baseboards come with a five to 

seven years availability, which may be even further 

extended by upgrading the respective embedded 

system with backward-compatible modules 

once a COM has come to the end of its 

life. The use of standardized Embedded Building 

Blocks available through channel distribution 

highly simplifies procurement and lifecycle 

management. This reduces maintenance effort 

and total cost of ownership significantly. Instant 

availability of application-ready embedded platforms 

which will stay on the market for many 

years without changes clearly reduces project 

risks. So with Embedded Building Blocks everybody 

can take advantage of the current market 

upturn and start embedded projects. Target 

applications include virtually all possible industry 

segments, in particular automation and 

medical technologies, digital security, digital 

signage and even retail business. 

Scalable Embedded Building Blocks will create 

a new trend in embedded computing. Bringing 

the trends in outsourcing and applicationready 

platforms together results in significant 

cost and time-to-market benefits. For current 

users of industrial PCs and mainstream PCs, 

the upgrade is easy: they simply replace their 

current platforms with complete, ready-to-use 

and easy-to-configure Embedded Building 

Block platforms. Benefits are highest quality 

and perfect scalability at a typically significant 

smaller form factor and with fanless operation. 

Long availability and higher robustness reduce 

maintenance risk and total cost of ownership 

considerably. This makes Embedded Building 

Block computers a perfect fit for system integrators, 

opening an easy entry to embedded 

technology and projects. Up-to-date fanless 

COM technologies enable easy transition to 

battery-buffered and mobile applications and 

open further business opportunities. n 

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Technical Articles and Product News about: 

• Boards & Modules 

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www.embedded-control-europe.com/bas-magazine 

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Digital signage display systems 

with integrated control computer 

By Christian Lang, DSM Computer 

DSM Computer GmbH and 

the display specialist ABLE 

Design GmbH have merged after 

many years of close cooperation. 

With the integration of ABLE 

Design, DSM Computer 

strengthens its core competency 

in the industrial public display 

systems area, and can offer 

complete solutions for 

industrial process visualization 

and professional digital 

signage systems. 

n The intensive cooperation of both companies in the 

past months has already allowed the first jointly-developed 

innovations to be presented.The new ABLE 

public displays from DSM Computer are currently 

available in four variants with screen diagonal sizes of 

140 cm (55 inch), 119 cm (47 inch), 107 cm (42 inch) 

and 81 cm (32 inch). As an option, the professional 

display systems are offered with an integrated industrial 

PC or as monitor version with an analog/digital video 

interface. The industrial TFT displays have an anti-reflection 

screen made of laminated safety glass or optionally 

a single-layer hardened safety glass, and are 

well-suited for both indoor and outdoor applications. 

The 140 cm diagonal display provides a typical brightness 

of up to 700 cd/m² (in front of the filter), while 

the three smaller variants provide a maximum brightness 

of 500 cd/m². The high brightness and the large viewing 

angle of typically 176 degrees make the display systems 

suitable for daylight applications. The high-quality displays 

are characterized with a full HD resolution of 

1920 x 1080 pixels. Depending on the model, the maximum 

contrast is 6000:1. An integrated brightness sensor 

adapts the backlight illumination to the ambient light. 

On request, the display systems are also available with 

sunlight-conform panels for outdoor deployment. The 

ABLE public displays can be delivered in three different 

variants. Fans are installed in the standard version, although 

the range also offers fanless systems as an 

option. Furthermore, models that satisfy the IP54 

degree of protection and are specially designed for outdoor 

applications are available. All four displays with a 

modular construction and a robust metal housing are 

conceived for deployment in the industrial environment. 

The systems can be delivered with a powder-coated 

surface in various RAL colors or also as a stainless-steel 

variant. An interface cover prevents unauthorized access 

to connections for applications in the public sphere. 

The display system can be optionally equipped with intelligent 

heating for operation in temperatures as low 

as -20°C. On request, the display system is available 

with an integrated audio amplifier (2 x 15 W) and a 

WLAN connection or a GPRS/GSM connection. 

The application areas of the large-area ABLE public 

display systems are extremely wide-ranging. In addition 

to sophisticated digital signage applications, the display 

systems can serve as multimedia terminals, video-conference 

systems, information and advertising displays. 

The robust displays are also suitable for process visualization 

in factory buildings. Industrial PCs from DSM’s 

high-performance NanoServer family or robust Book- 

Size family, or computers developed to customer specifications 

for these applications, can be used as external 

control computers for the ABLE public displays. 

DSM produces all current and newly-introduced 

products at its own production sites in Munich. ABLE 

Design will continue as brand name for high-quality, 

industrial display systems under the leadership of 

DSM.The service for previously delivered displays will 

also continue in the usual manner. To profit from the 

many years of consulting and development expertise of 

ABLE Design in the display technologies, interface solutions, 

display controller and housing technology areas, 

DSM has taken over all the ABLE Design employees. n 

27 March 2011 

DIGITAL SIGNAGE

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