News and New Products

Embedded computer aids military missions

By Warren Webb, Technical Editor -- EDN, 11/1/2007

Targeting military embedded-system applications, such as mission-management computers, heads-up-display controllers, radar-signal processors, and IED (improvised-explosive-device) vehicle-protection subsystems, Aitech Defense Systems recently announced the C108 single-board computer. The rugged, 6U, single-slot VME computer offers as much as 1.4 GHz of processing power through the G4+ PowerPC MPC7448 processor, along with multiple memory options for design flexibility. In addition to the 1 Gbyte of onboard SDRAM, the C108 features 128 Mbytes of flash memory for user-application storage, 32 Mbytes of boot-flash memory, and as much as 4 Gbytes of high-density flash memory for mass data storage.

The C108 supports new and legacy systems through a host of I/O interfaces, including a GbE (Gigabit Ethernet) port, two Fast Ethernet ports, two dual-redundant military-standard-1533B interfaces, two USB ports, eight serial ports, 16 discrete I/O channels, and an optically isolated CAN (controller-area-network) bus 2.0B interface. Two PMC (PCI mezzanine-card) expansion slots accept standardized plug-ins to increase the board’s performance. The C108 also features two independent PCI (peripheral-component-interconnect) buses to maximize PCI-bus usage and to enable various configurations. The first bus can operate at 33 or 66 MHz, and the second operates only at 33 MHz to help separate fast and slow devices and enable each to operate at its maximum speed. Both buses support 64-bit operation and fully comply with PCI Revision 2.2. A board-support package for the new C108 is available for Wind River’s VxWorks and Green Hills Software’s Integrity, and other real-time operating systems are available upon request. Prices for the C108 start at $6640.