By Hermann Strass

The Flying Helicopter Simulator (FHS) is an advanced airborne testbed funded by the German Ministry of Defense, the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), and industry. It is based on the widely deployed Eurocopter EC135 and refitted with fly-by-light technology, the first helicopter in the world with this type of flight control system.

By Curtiss-Wright (Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing)

OpenVPX expands on the VPX Base and Dot Specifications and provides a System Specification to address interoperability issues between VPX modules and Chassis. OpenVPX is an extensible specification that addresses the current and future needs for computing in harsh environments.

By Jeff Milrod (BittWare)

Jeff Milrod, BittWare President & CEO, shares his company's perspective on OpenVPX.

By Steve Edwards (Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing)

Steve Edwards, CTO, shares his company's perspective on OpenVPX.

By Dr. Ian Dunn (Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.)

Dr. Ian Dunn, Chief Technology Officer, Advanced Computing Solutions at Mercury Computer Systems, shares his company's perspective on OpenVPX.

By Frank T. Willis (GE Intelligent Platforms)

Frank T. Willis, Director, Military/Aerospace Product Management at GE Intelligent Platforms, shares his company's perspective on OpenVPX.

By Dirk Finstel (Kontron AG)

Dirk Finstel, CTO at Kontron AG, shares his company's perspective on OpenVPX.

By Bill Kehret (Themis Computer)

Bill Kehret, President and CEO at Themis Computer, shares his company's perspective on OpenVPX.

Find out the company's perspective on OpenVPX.

By Chris A. Ciufo (Editor)

What’ll the next decade bring for this uber-successful trade organization and its leader?

By Ray Alderman (VITA)

VITA's exec director predicts the embedded industry's future: the four "next big things."

By Fred Joerger (Joerger Enterprises, Inc.)

While many have turned away from VME in favor of VXS, VPX, and even PC-based “computer motherboard” modules, among other iterations, this case study shows that VME is still a viable candidate in FPGA-based data acquisition systems. The primary reasons: Its high pin counts and additional P0 connector – plusses that came in handy when Joerger Enterprises designed its new module’s basecards and daughtercards.

By Rob Kraft (AdvancedIO Systems Inc.)

If you thought Ethernet was only a command and control fabric, think again. At 10 Gbps, Ethernet is now ready to serve as the high-bandwidth data plane. VITA 42.6 defines the 10 GbE standard for the XMC platform, giving benign and rugged military applications access to the king of fat data pipes.

By Leslee Schneider (Quantum3D, Inc.)

With changing political and even social environments driving demand for the latest “run-faster, jump-higher” processing wares, GPUs – combined with GPPs, DSPs, and/or FPGAs – just might make the “miracle” supercomputing system a reality. Variables to consider include power consumption, compute power, life-cycle extension, and physical environment.

By Paul Dillien (High Tech Marketing)

Theft of sensitive military designs is not a new problem, but new technology development is providing a novel way to identify IP ownership and trace FPGA design theft with a noninvasive, nondestructive test. This is accomplished via an IP tag that emits coded thermal signals. The thermal signals can only be detected by authorized users to provide a discrete way of signaling internal conditions from a working chip. In addition, it can be adapted to help fight the growing problem of fake devices and monitor system status more effectively than RF tags or electrical signaling.

By Chris A. Ciufo (Editor)

Says OpenVPX’s founder Mercury Computer Systems: “interoperability – as planned.”

By Melissa Heckman (Elma Bustronic)

VITA 41 (VXS) is a vital player in the VITA ecosystem, but why?

By Ian Stalker (Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing)

As multiprocessor systems such as those used in military DSP applications continue their rise in performance and power, it becomes increasingly critical to obtain accurate data on per-slot power dissipation. This can be a real challenge unless boards are provided with advanced power management and temperature monitoring capabilities.

By Ben Daniel (GE Intelligent Platforms)

Time-triggered Ethernet represents a path to giving Ethernet networks the determinism they need to be viable in mission-critical, high-reliability, real-time applications such as avionics. It assigns different levels of priority to message types, ensuring the on-time delivery of critical information and optimizing bandwidth usage. How time-triggered Ethernet works and how it supports heterogeneous networks is described, in addition to the operational role of switches and the concepts of safety and fault tolerance.

By David Pursley (Kontron)

VPX has a bright future in the defense arena, considered by many as next-generation VME. Mil/aero designers now have the flexibility to evaluate both when looking at their design requirements, assessing the legacy environment and considering rugged application demands and the types of data being processed now and moving forward. Key considerations include power-efficient performance and bandwidth.

By John Rynearson (VITA)

A roundup of VITA/VSO study and working group activities

By Hermann Strass (European Representative)

The European navigation system Galileo is intended to provide more precise measurements than those available through Global Positioning System (GPS) or Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), including the altitude position.

By Andrew Reddig (TEK Microsystems Inc.)

A hybrid PMC/XMC module melds past and future standards without the need to upgrade and requalify I/O interfaces.

By Thomas Schultz - Director of Product Strategy (Coverity)

Gain insight into how to successfully overcome strict compliance and testing requirements, and increasing demand for increasingly complex functionality with Coverity software integrity products for organizations with zero tolerance policies for software failures and security breaches. Results summarized alongside Deloitte, VDC Research, and other studies.

By Chris A. Ciufo, Editor

It’s all over folks: OpenVPX becomes VITA 65; vendors announce boards and systems. The next generation of the venerable VMEbus is born.

By Ben Chelf - CTO (Coverity)

Review the most common pitfalls that software developers face when creating multi-threaded applications, and how innovative new software analysis capabilities are emerging that will help development organizations capitalize on the exciting new world of multi-core hardware.

Designing SONAR systems for littoral and horbor environments poses unique challenges that depart from traditional blue-water applications.

By Rodger Hosking (Pentek, Inc.)

Now in its 4th 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.

By Hermann Strass (European Representative)

The development of clean and power-efficient diesel engines is of great importance in the United States. Consequently, several North American OEMs are now using 3U VME board-based test boxes in an effort to develop, test, and implement these new auto technologies in the shortest possible time.

By Chris A. Ciufo (Editor)

When you read the title above, do you think about VME? Maybe, but there are other choices – and they’re influencing VPX Gen 2.

By Ray Alderman (VITA)

VITA's executive director takes a close-up look at how SECDEF Robert Gates' recently proposed 2010 defense budget will affect VPX and VME sales.

By John Rynearson (VITA)

Find out the latest VITA standards development happenings.

By Steve Cecil (NSWC Crane)

While assembly-level information for COTS systems is integral in managing obsolescence, this kind of insight was not available before the VITA 53 (Commercial Technology Market Surveillance) standard was born.

By Ben Brosgol (AdaCore)

When developing safety-critical software, the language chosen is vital. However, common candidates such as C, C++, Java, and Ada are too complex in their entirety. Thus, language subsets are meeting the challenge.

By Tim King (LynuxWorks)

Safety- and security-critical system functions are evolving simultaneously. However, the two system types have different yet similar requirements. Thankfully, modern RTOSs are stepping up to meet their respective needs.