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Today's complicated military electronics systems require I/O that moves data from sensors to commanders in real time. In embedded computing circles I/O solutions primarily revolve around two switched fabrics - Serial RapidIO and Gigabit Ethernet.
Many program managers in the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) say they are constantly looking for ways to reduce the time between sensor and shooter, which improves warfighter survivability by helping him kill the other guy first.
There is a tremendous amount of data being produced by sensors on the ground, in the air, and on the sea that provides commanders, pilots, and ground soldiers with situational awareness. The sheer volume of information being transmitted requires high-bandwidth systems to move the data at high speeds throughout the network.
As systems in military platforms "become more electronic there will be a greater need for I/O capability," says Fred Haber, director of sales and marketing at North Atlantic Industries in Bohemia, N.Y. It ranges from electronic doors in large aircraft to the complicated systems of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), he adds. I/O is short for information input/output. The increased amount of data from these sensors, especially video, requires greater and greater bandwidth for I/O systems, he continues.
In the past, most I/O in aircraft was centralized; today, the trend is toward distributed I/O, says Paul Feldman, chief engineer of the I/O division at North Atlantic Industries. The electronic heart of most platforms was centralized and all data was routed through that central node, Feldman continues. Now, embedded I/O boards are designed into the wings of aircraft - in other words, distributed around the platform - providing more and more connectivity.
For distributed I/O solutions, systems integrators want high-speed and high- density solutions that are low power and low cost, Feldman says. Data is sent via several standards, such as 1553, Fibre Channel, and on the embedded side through Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, Serial RapidlO, PCI Express, etc., he adds.
One of North Atlantic's high-density VME I/O boards is the 64C2, Haber says. It is a one-slot, 6U VME multifunction I/O and serial communications card with a mother board that contains six independent module slots, each of which can be populated with a function-specific module, according to the North Atlantic...