The VITA 65 (aka OpenVPX) specification has introduced a number of standardized backplane topologies. The major addition brought by VITA 65 is the standardization of systems that employ one or more centralized switch cards. For systems based on Ethernet, a central switch is the norm. For Serial RapidIO (SRIO), VITA 65 adds central switched architectures to the list of possible topologies that includes switch-less mesh implementations.

In the past decade digital video recording and distribution has been made much more viable by the introduction of new video compression and decompression techniques. Analog video applications have traditionally typically needed large investments in infrastructure to be able to provide any useful recording and distribution functionality (even at very low channel counts), even with the older generation of standard definition (SD) PAL/NTSC video.

In the same way as one might strip out unnecessary weight in a car aimed for racing, the FMC is a performance solution that strips away unnecessary generic interfaces for direct FPGA driven I/O. But that requires knowledge to achieve the desired performance and to ensure the host and FMC module will work well together. This paper outlines some of the considerations in order to assess and the ensure that the host and module will integrate.

It is becoming evident that embedded computing solutions used in mil/aero applications will need to provide high assurance computing in order to ensure overall mission safety and high availability systems, and specifically safeguard the integrity, confidentiality and security of the data within and between systems. With increased interest in foreign military sales, it is becoming more and more important to protect IP from compromise or alteration.

Like every other military and aerospace component, wire and cable is under increased scrutiny as engineers look for weight and space savings in their designs. This is particularly true given the increasing amounts of data and coaxial cable needed to support advanced electronic systems. This white paper discusses how material and design innovations are resulting in smaller, lighter-weight cables that meet exacting military and aerospace standards for electrical, mechanical and environmental performance, while also providing appreciable size and weight advantages over conventional cable designs.

Discussion of four options for cooling electronic/electrical equipment housed in enclosures and transit cases. These options include thermoelectric air conditioners, compressor-based AC, vortex coolers and air-to-air heat exchangers. Each cooling method is explained and the advantages of thermoelectric air conditioners are examined as compared to the other cooling methods.

Contained within our publication, ESOM SF – 2.0 is our step- by- step solution to proactively managing the program thru its life cycle.  The framework also provides an important tool for ensuring consistency of approach for all obsolescence responses on a project and for communicating both within the company and with end customers.  This tool was created as document to be used at the program management level.  

Calculating the cost of an obsolete component goes beyond the component purchase cost at the LOT buy. The LOT buy consolidates into a single purchase many years’ worth of components and, as such, there is a considerable required expenditure to finance components that will be purchased today but not used for 5 to 7 years.   Do you have this cost included in your program budget?  www.ch1group.com

By moving real-time control away from specialized hardware into multi-core software, developers can lower costs, raise quality, and increase differentiation. To access these opportunities, developers can use IntervalZero¹s RTX, a hard real-time symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) extension to Microsoft Windows.

The new Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (Intel® AVX) can double the peak floating-point performance of Intel® Streaming SIMD Extensions (Intel® SSE), opening up new possibilities for applications like radar detection, video analytics, and medical imaging. Download this informative article from the Spring 2011 Embedded Innovator newsletter to learn more.

Designers of FPGAs for military and aerospace applications need to increase the reliability and availability of their designs. This is particularly true in the case of mission-critical and safety-critical electronic systems. This paper provides brief definitions of key concepts: mission-critical, safety-critical, high-reliability, and high-availability. It then considers the various elements associated with the creation of high-reliability and high-availability FPGA designs including: FPGA design and verification flows, methodologies, processes and standards, architectural and algorithmic exploration, geographically distributed design teams, IP selection and verification, DO-254 compliance and much more.

Author: Angela Sutton, Staff Product Marketing Manager, Synopsys

Through heat dissipation, thermally conductive adhesives and potting compounds play a pivotal role in the protection of today’s electronic circuitry.  In tandem with the great growth of the technological sector comes the need for a new generation of innovative, highly advanced solutions capable of reliable performance in the ever increasing temperatures of electronic devices. Master Bond’s white paper examines the challenges design engineers face as chip makers up the ante on microprocessor power and density, and how thermally conductive adhesives and potting compounds can manage heat while solving other application issues.

Now in its new 4th edition, this handbook reviews the development of gigabit switched serial fabrics to enhance the VMEbus and PMC mezzanines; the role of FPGAs to implement this technology; and finally, how some of the latest VXS, XMC and VPX products can be used in high-speed data acquisition, recording and software radio systems. Download the free copy.

The folks at Pentek, who wrote the book on software radio, are pleased to announce their recently released and expanded Software Defined Radio Handbook. Now in its 8th edition, the handbook covers the principles of sampling, the inner workings of the SDR, actual board- and system-level implementations, and available COTS products. Downloaded thousands of times, this handbook has proved to be a useful technical reference for engineers. Download the free copy.

Now in its new 5th edition, this handbook reviews the application and advantages of FPGAs for implementing software radio functions such as DDCs (Digital Downconverters). Some of the advantages include design flexibility, higher precision processing, higher channel density, lower power and cost per channel. Pentek SDR products that utilize FPGA technology and their applications are also presented. Download the free copy.

Now in its 6th Edition, this handbook focuses primarily on A/D converters with sampling rates higher than 100 MHz. Sampling techniques are reviewed, as well as FPGA technology and high-speed serial fabrics. The latest Pentek high-speed A/D products and applications based on such products are also presented. Download the free copy.

Applications that must meet stringent outgassing requirements now have more adhesive options than ever. If you suspect outgassing could potentially pose a problem in your application, specifying adhesives that comply with the ASTM outgassing standard makes sense.

Engineers often want to know whether an adhesive is low outgassing or generic. And while there are cases when nothing but a low outgassing product will do, the truth is that many so-called generic adhesives inherently have low outgassing levels. What's more, most bonding, potting, encapsulation and sealing applications don't need to meet a defined outgassing specification. Here's a guide to understanding when low outgassing adhesives are the right choice.

The aerospace industry has long been perceived as slow to adapt to new wire harness engineering technologies and processes. Many enterprises rely on systems created in-house, with each tool being structured to support a very specific design/build process. Departments and divisions responsible for defining the electrical content of vehicles and integrating the electrical systems have one of the most demanding jobs in vehicle design.  While these organizations are often understaffed relative to the scope of their task, they have the distinction of being expected to manage the highest number and rate of design changes. Companies, especially OEMs, are finding it difficult to adopt new wire harness technologies and processes while maintaining the quality of their deliverables. Until recently, electrical system and wire harness development tools have not been viewed as an adequate solution for developing complex electrical wiring systems. Now aircraft systems and wiring designs are making a transition from traditional mechanical and pneumatic systems to electrical, and the entire electrical architecture of the vehicle is becoming more complex. Companies are finding that their existing solutions do not provide the needed engineering capability. But powerful new technologies are emerging and many companies are taking another look.  Entrenched beliefs are changing.

Aircraft Electrical Wiring Interconnect Systems (EWIS) regulatory requirements are stringent and can be expensive to fulfill. Specifications encompass harness naming conventions, physical wire spacing, and much more. While manual design approaches have long sufficed, increasing complexity is driving an industry-wide move to automated design solutions. By applying rules and constraints, commercial off-the-shelf tools can help designers manage complex system designs while simultaneously building databases for compliance, manufacturing, and maintenance documentation.

In this paper, the problem of wiring complexity that confronts electronic and electrical (EE) design engineers in the automotive, trucks and off-road industries will be discussed. The forces driving growing complexity in designs will be identified, including the pace of technological advancement, increasing legislative safety and environmental mandates, and escalating consumer demand. The consequences of escalating complexity for automotive EE designs and total manufacturer product cost will be analyzed. Areas needing improvement in current practices will be suggested and a suite of tools focused on the design-to-build-and-service flow will be described. Transportation platforms such as automobiles, trucks and off-road vehicles have contained electrical systems for decades. However, the last few years have seen a discontinuity in the nature of these electrical systems. Rapid growth in on-board electronic content and embedded software is putting huge demands on electrical design complexity. Put simply, the number of signals flowing around each vehicle is rising rapidly. Naturally this has a profound effect on harness design and construction.

This paper addresses the issue of increasing complexity of today's automotive and aerospace electrical systems. Manufacturers now seek a high degree of integration between their business and design tools.  MCAD, ECAD, PLM, PDM, Workflow and ERP systems are no longer selected purely through their individual functionalities, they must also integrate - and the integration must include all data in the process

Manufacturers of off-highway vehicles are faced with the same challenges as companies in other sectors reducing design and manufacturing costs, reducing lead times, and improving product quality. Today, many of these companies create their electrical and wire harness designs using basic drawing packages. This paper describes how off-highway vehicle manufacturers can gain significant productivity and quality improvements in their electrical design process by using dedicated electrical design software tools.