Last week, I attended the Embedded Tech Trends event in sunny Phoenix. Looking out my window at the snow that’s coming down fast and furious, that seems like a long time ago. But I digress…

If you’re not familiar with Embedded Tech Trends – and why would you be – it’s a gathering of mostly vendors and press people, where we can tell each other our visions as to where our embedded industry is headed. It gave me the opportunity to meet with lots of folks, see some old friends, and make some new ones. Here are some products I learned about while I was there.

Elma Electronic now offers a modular, high-performance embedded computer that’s housed in a box suited for mobile applications. The modular S50G-1 is a COM Express-based platform that includes a Cisco-certified routing engine as well as Intel’s 2.7 GHz Core i5 processor, CANbus support, and all the I/O you’d expect.

Curtiss-Wright introduced a single-slot commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) module that integrates the elements needed to implement the U.S. Army’s VICTORY (Vehicular Integration for C4ISR/EW Interoperability) standard on legacy and future ground vehicles. The VPX3-671 Ethernet switch and single-board computer (SBC) is a rugged 3U VPX module that contains a 12-port managed Gigabit Ethernet switch and offers the features needed to implement high-speed advanced in-vehicle network architectures and supports connectivity for 10- and 100- and 1000-Mbps Ethernet systems. The VPX3-671 comes with all network management software.

TechwaY’s TigerFMC, available in both rugged and commercial versions, features ten full-duplex links at a rate of up to 10 Gbps for an aggregate bit rate of 200 Gbps. This high density optical FMC can be installed on legacy hardware, either to create high-density signals on the front-end or to expand existing VPX configurations with a VITA 66 fiber-optic backplane. The TigerFMC, which is 100 percent compliant with VITA 57, allows system integrators to easily integrate new broadband protocols on their legacy hardware (Gigabit Ethernet, sFPDP, Fiber Channel, Aurora, ARINC818).

Concurrent Technologies released its VP B1x/msd, a 6U VME board based on the iCore i7/i5 processor. All versions of the board include the Intel HD Graphics 4600, which has 20 execution units and can support three simultaneous display outputs. A front or rear VGA port provides backwards compatibility. Up to two DVI-D interfaces and a DisplayPort connection are available as options for applications needing high-resolution digital display support. Board support packages are available for popular embedded operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and VxWorks.

Finally, Pentek added a new recorder to its family of Talon recording systems – the model RTR 2736A multi-channel serial FPDP (sFPDP) rugged portable recorder. The system is suited for military and aerospace, radar, and communications applications. It can capture up to eight sFPDP data streams in real time to solid state drives. It fully complies with the VITA 17.1 specification and supports sFPDP baud rates up to 4.25 Gbaud. The RTR 2736A’s chassis offers a smaller, lighter footprint and provides double the storage capacity, number of channels, and recording rates of previous generation Talon portable recorders. It also supports AC and DC power options.