Additional 2018 Intelligent Aerospace Technology Innovation Awards announced for aerospace and defense industry
NASHUA, N.H. – Military & Aerospace Electronics and Intelligent Aerospace are announcing additional awardees for their 2018 Technology Innovation Awards to recognize companies offering substantial military, aerospace, and avionics design solutions.
Awards are in three tiers -- ranging from platinum, the highest, to the gold awards, and finally to the silver awards -- and are based on the recommendations of an independent panel of industry judges.
Platinum awards
The S1U-MD Cyclone 1U rack-mount multi-domain rugged computer system from General Micro Systems (GMS) in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., is two complete Intel Xeon-based rugged computer server subsystems, each with as many as 18 cores. The server subsystems are packaged together, but electrically isolated, including their separate power supplies and APUs. Cyclone is intended for military and aerospace Red/Black networks that also require storage-such as found on platforms with SIPR/NIPR networks.
The Axon Miniature Data Acquisition Unit from the Curtiss-Wright Corp. Defense Solutions Division in Ashburn, Va., is an ultra-compact and lightweight data acquisition system that works as a remote node or as a stand-alone chassis. Axon uses a 1-gigabit-per-second serial backplane to support high data rates. This design also enables designers to place off-the-shelf data acquisition modules in ultra-miniature "Axonite" housings and locate them remotely. It helps decrease the installation time and cost of the instrumentation while simultaneously reducing wiring weight.
Gold awards
The OpenVPX CMOSS Convergence Development Platform from Elma Electronic Inc. in Fremont, Calif., is a complete test environment that supports OpenVPX embedded computing" target='_blank'>embedded computing application development where compliance with the hardware convergence requirements of the military CMOSS (C4ISR/EW Modular Open Suite of Standards) initiative is the goal. At the heart of the system is Elma’s 12-slot CMOSS backplane, with 12 payload and two power supply slots. The backplane features high-speed RF and optical I/O connectivity. The platform includes OpenVPX computer and networking modules, support for IEEE1588 precision timing, dual high-wattage pluggable VITA 62 compliant power supplies, and support for air- and conduction-cooled modules.
The BuiltSAFE GS Software Multi-core Graphics Renderer from Mercury Systems in Andover, Mass., is for safety-critical applications, and enables advanced graphics on devices without a graphics processing unit (GPU), rendering purely in software, to eliminate the need for a GPU. This results in less hardware, less complexity, and lower certification costs for many applications. The high-performance safety-certifiable rendering engine is for applications ranging from avionics,to automotive displays. Data items required to achieve the highest levels of safety certification are available.
The VPX3-1260 3U VPX 8th Gen Intel Xeon E-2176M single-board computer from Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions, offers a leap in performance over previous generations of Core i7 and Xeon processors in the smallest 3U form factor. Leveraging Intel’s first-ever six-core processor, the VPX3-1260 is designed to deliver more than 50 percent more processing power than previous for-core designs. The VPX3-1260 offers 10-Gigabit and 40-Gigabit Ethernet connectivity for fast data transfer and high network productivity. It has a local NVMe local solid-state drive, and is built to VITA 47 standards. It provides high non-throttling performance, and offers Intel’s latest Trusted Computing features, such as Intel Boot Guard and UEFI Secure Boot, and offers Intel Software Guard Extensions (SGX) for secured run-time software enclaves.
The Rugged Video Gateway Range product family from Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions provides a flexible building block for complex video management and integration. It’s interoperable with the Curtiss-Wright RVG range enabling complex, scalable, solutions. For example, the format converter can combine in a video management system with the RVG-SD1 digital video switch and/or the RVG-SA1 analog video switch. Other elements are available for configuring a complete VMS -- include rugged LCD touchscreen mission displays, and digital HD video recorders.
The EnsembleSeries LDS3517 3U AI OpenVPX blade with BuiltSECURE technology from Mercury Systems is a 3U OpenVPX single-board computer powered by an eight-core Intel Xeon D processor with FPGA co-processing, Ethernet fabrics, and mezzanine site. It offers a PCI Express data and expansion plane for high speed I/O or module interconnect, dual 10 Gigabit Ethernet control plane interfaces, support for Linux and VxWorks operating systems, and a BuiltSECURE foundation for system security engineering support.
The Apex rugged server from General Micro Systems is for today’s energy-conscious data center, where efficient server design pays big total cost of ownership dividends by balancing power consumption, performance, and shelf/floor space. Apex combines military reliability, security, and SWaP into a rackmount server. A 22-inch 2U short rack modular blade server system is designed for subsystem modularity, maximum performance at 8-gigabit-per-second speeds, flexible add-in, and add-on options -- all based upon VPX interconnects. Apex can replace as much as 17U of equipment in a 2U height. Add-in I/O is available ranging from M.2 and XMC, to U.2 and PCI Express. An internal four-slot and external two-slot x16 PCI Express chassis support GPGPU deep learning and super computing modules from AMD and Nvidia, or FPGA and ASIC coprocessors.
Silver awards
The RESmini XR6 rugged enterprise-class server from Mercury Systems is a tactical cloud that can host sensitive missions in theater and operate on almost any power source. It packages one Intel Xeon scalable processor socket with as many as 28 cores in a 15-pound subrack. An optional FAA-compliant UPS power case provides more than 100 minutes of autonomous operation. The SWaP-optimized RESmini meets military specifications and brings next-generation integrated enterprise-class server technology to mission-critical military, industrial, and commercial applications.
The OpenVPX System Manager from Elma Electronic monitors the health of an OpenVPX chassis and its boards, reports anomalies, and takes any necessary corrective action. It maintains an inventory of the components and sensors in the chassis and receives event reports and failure notices from boards as well as any intelligent field replaceable units in the chassis. It negotiates power needs before powering up, and uses E-Keying to instruct the boards only to enable compatible links, reducing improper board insertions. Monitoring features include power management, cooling control, event sensor logging, electronic keying, and card hot-swap monitoring. A Web server interface provides a graphical representation of the chassis. Complete sensor information can be obtained with a mouse click on the image of the FRU to query.
The Themis HDversa Computing Platform from Mercury Systems has 12 module bays that accommodate seven to 12 single- and double-slot modules, which function in a plug-and-play fashion and can be mixed and matched according to application needs. It is designed for applications that require minimum size, weight, and power (SWaP) for standardized compute, storage, PCI Express expansion, networking, and management modules. Users can mix more than five module types, each sharing common attributes to enable users to plug and pull modules according to specific system needs.
The Qorvo QPM1002 from Qorvo in Greensboro, N.C., is a gallium nitride MMIC front-end module designed for X-Band radar applications within the 8.5-to-10.5 GHz range. The MMIC combines a T/R switch, low-noise amplifier, and a power amplifier. The receive path offers 25 dB gain with a low noise figure of 2.2 dB. The transmit path has a small signal gain of 33 dB, delivers 3 Watts of saturated power with a PAE of 32 percent, and has 25 dB of large signal gain. The FEM is robust up to 2 Watts of input power into the ANT port eliminating the need for a limiter. The QPM1002 is fabricated on Qorvo's QGaN25 0.25-micron GaN-on-SiC process. It is packaged in an over-mold encapsulated 5-by-5-millimeter QFN surface-mount package, and performs well in a high temperature environment.
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