Mercury Computer Systems unveils compact rugged computer with more than 100 GFLOPS of processing power
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., 16 May 2008.Mercury Computer Systems, Inc., in Chelmsford Mass., unveiled its smallest embedded system at the Critical Embedded Systems (CES) MediaFest 2008, at the Hilton Scottsdale Resort and Villas in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The Mercury PowerBlock 50 system is a high-performance, compact embedded computer designed for small platforms in the 6- to 10-pound range. Optimized for real-time image, sensor, and signal processing and ruggedized for harsh environments, it is integrated and programmable, with state-of-the-art liquid cooling, Mercury officials say.
The system's modular architecture enables flexible configurations of multiple processors, delivering more than 100 GFLOPS of processing power in a small, lightweight package. A fully configured PowerBlock 50 weighs less than 10 pounds, measuring approximately 4" x 5" x 6" -- and can be held comfortably in one hand.
"The PowerBlock 50 was specifically designed to help our customer base pursue 6- to 10-pound payloads, and revolutionizes the ability to perform extreme computing in space- and weight-constrained applications," says Brian Hoerl, vice president of sales for Advanced Computing Solutions at Mercury Computer Systems.
The system is available now as the PowerBlock 50 EDK (engineering development kit), which is a software development platform. The EDK includes a PowerBlock 50 system, Linux BSP development environment, and a desktop heat rejection unit (HRU) to support the PowerBlock 50's cooling requirements. As the first in a series of small form factor platforms, the PowerBlock 50 EDK is designed for desktop use in a laboratory or software development environment, for development and optimization of runtime software deployable on PowerBlock 50 systems.
The PowerBlock 50 EDK is customizable into configurations that include PowerQUICC, Virtex-4, and Intel processors, and SATA storage. Each configuration includes Gigabit Ethernet and RS-232 I/O interfaces.
The PowerBlock 50 EDK is available today. For more information, visit www.mc.com.
