Rugged COTS high-performance embedded computer (HPEC) for military uses introduced by Aitech
CHATSWORTH, Calif., 6 Jan. 2015. Aitech Defense Systems Inc. in Chatsworth, Calif., is introducing the A191 rugged, compact commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) high-performance embedded computer (HPEC) for a variety of aerospace and defense applications.
The integrated subsystem combines a multi-core central processing unit (CPU) to process overhead functions with an advanced general-purpose graphics processing unit (GPGPU) that focuses on executing heavy duty system requirements.
The embedded computing system is for applications ranging from C4ISR, SIGINT, COMINT/ELINT, guidance and autonomous flight control to electro-optic visual, IR and SAR sensor fusion, static and moving target recognition, on-board weapons management, and fire control.
This integrated design delivers performance of nearly an order of magnitude greater than would be accomplished with CPUs alone, using roughly the same power consumption, Aitech officials say.
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The A191 comes with the operating system and drivers pre-installed, so it is ready to boot on power up. It is designed to withstands severe elements found in several critical military environments, and its efficient use of power makes it for manned and unmanned applications, alike.
The RediBuilt rugged HPEC has a 4th Generation Intel Core i7 processor on Aitech's C873 single-board computer or Freescale's latest QorIQ multi-core SOC processors on the C912 single-board computer. Users can choose either an NVIDIA GeForce or AMD/ATI Radeon GPU to be incorporated onto a C530 GPGPU board. An embedded frame grabber provides video input capture, coupled with a large, internal solid state SATA disk.
I/O includes video formats, Ethernet, serial and USB ports, and the on-board 1 TB of Flash-based SATA mass storage eliminates the need for external storage or mechanical/rotating media drives.
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Finned for ambient free-air cooling or a cold plate, the unit measures 6.1 by 10.26 by 4.96 inches and weighs less than 15 pounds. Internally, the A191 uses conduction cooling.
A two-slot 3U VPX backplane and a proprietary Aitech front panel I/O board provide system interconnections and filtering circuitry. The modular power supply ensures reliable operation over a wide range of input voltages. Predefined interconnect and power cables are available to connect to industry-defined, commercial standard I/O.
For more information contact Aitech online at www.rugged.com.
John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
