Systems inDesign - Signs of Success - December 2013 by Avnet EPublications

SYSTEMS

12.2013

Signs of Success

next-generation digital signage

ADVANTECH

AMD

AUO

Omni-Channel Retailing & Hospitality

Panoramic Multimedia Immersion

Bringing You the Ultimate Display Solutions

GATEWORKS

Next Generation of Digital Signage Applications

INTEL

Enhanced User Experiences in Retail Environments

RED HAT

Build End-to-End Intelligent Systems

Avnet, Inc., a Fortune 500 company, is one of the world’s largest industrial distributors of electronic components, enterprise computing and storage products and embedded subsystems, creating a vital link in the technology supply chain. Avnet connects over 300 of the world’s leading electronic component and computer product manufacturers and software developers with a global customer base of more than 100,000 customers.

ABOUT AVNET In addition to its core distribution services, Avnet markets, adds value and creates demand for the products of the world’s leading electronic component suppliers, enterprise computing manufacturers and embedded subsystem providers. The company brings a breadth and depth of service capabilities, such as supply-chain and design-chain services, logistics solutions, product assembly, device programming, and computer system configuration and integration. From adding an asset tag all the way to the assembly, integration, configuration and test of complex computing solutions, Avnet offers a complete menu of services to support customer requirements. Avnet has two primary operating groups – Electronics Marketing and Technology Solutions. Both groups have operations in each of the three major economic regions of the world: the Americas; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and Asia/Pacific (consisting of Asia, Australia and New Zealand). With a line card that features more than 300,000 unique parts for sale, Electronics Marketing markets and distributes a broad array of components, including semiconductors, interconnect, passive and electromechanical (IP&E) devices; embedded processing platforms, related peripherals and operating systems and embedded subsystems. Technology Solutions markets enterprise and embedded technology products and services from the world’s premier computer manufacturers and software suppliers. In an effort to leverage the combined embedded technology product and service offerings of Electronics Marketing and Technology Solutions, Avnet created a new Avnet Embedded division. Avnet Embedded integrates the Electronics Marketing and Technology Solutions Americas Embedded Solutions’ offerings, along with the acquired embedded business in North America of Bell Microproducts Inc. This division focuses on providing the most comprehensive suite of embedded solutions available from a distribution partner – from storage, computing, software and networking products, to disk drives, flat panels and embedded boards. It also exemplifies Avnet’s innovative and entrepreneurial spirit, and a passion for customer service, assuring customers and suppliers that they have chosen the right partner to accelerate their success. For more information about Avnet Embedded, visit www.em.avnet.com/embedded. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Avnet has been in business since 1921 and was incorporated in 1955. Visit www.avnet.com for more information.

ABOUT SYSTEMS INDESIGN This quarterly publication offers insight into the embedded computing industry’s latest technologies, advancements, events and practices. Each issue will feature an informative theme article high-lighting Avnet Embedded’s go-to-market strategy as well as feature articles from our top suppliers and present them in an engaging and interactive online magazine.

SYSTEMS

09.2013

Building in control and flexibility

with advanced HMI technologies

ADLINK

AMD

Flexibility and Reliability for Rail Transportation Systems

Achieving Processor Platform Scalability

INteL

Retail Client Manager

WINDOWS eMbeDDeD

Platform for HMI

AvNet eMbeDDeD

Launches Rorke Global Solutions™

ReD HAt

Speed Time-to-Market

Cover Story

Signs of Success

Features 13

Intel速 Transforms the Shopping Experience

More Density, More Efficiency for LTE Deployments

Build End-to-End Intelligent Systems

Omni-Channel Retailing & Hospitality

Achieving Panoramic Multimedia Immersion with AMD Eyefinity for Digital Signage

Gateworks Ventana Single Board Computers

AU Optronics: Teaming with Avnet Embedded to Bring You the Ultimate Display Solutions

Total Cost of Ownership: Long Term Cost Reduction Through ATP Value Added Services

Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry

December 2013 | Systems inDesign

AVNET SPOTLIGHT

Avnet Embedded Signs Three New Distribution Agreements in the Americas Enhancing Avnet Embedded’s industry leading product portfolio in strategic growth areas. Avnet Embedded, a division of Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas, a business region of Avnet, Inc. announced recently the addition of three new distribution agreements to expand its current product offerings in the industry’s key growth areas.

Avnet Embedded will now offer TechNexion’s low-cost, highvalue embedded System-on-Modules and systems to its original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customer base. TechNexion manufactures a wide range of embedded boards and System-onModules following the popular Embedded Design Modules (EDM) standard featuring ARM-based processors from Texas Instruments, Freescale, and x86 processors from Intel. The company supplies turn-key embedded systems, and touch-interface panel PCs and fanless systems, as well.

“By bringing our products to Avnet Embedded’s wide technology product portfolio and integration expertise, we expect to enable a greatly expanded customer base that is looking for modular solutions and our EDM based product lines,” said Marcel vandenHeuvel, Managing Director of TechNexion. “Together with Avnet Embedded we can enable more OEMs to find cost-effective embedded computer solutions without having to sacrifice quality.” As an advocate of open hardware and opensource software, TechNexion provides original design manufacturer (ODM) engineers with easy-to-use EDM evaluation kits that include sourcecode and demo versions of Linux, Yocto and Android and include detailed high-quality documentation, schematics and application implementation examples to assist engineers at ODMs to quickly implement and take advantage of the latest technology in their end equipment. Industries using TechNexion products include ODM/OEM, automation and process control, gaming, digital signage, multimedia streaming and advertising, communications, network communication and security industries.

Gateworks Corporation, the leading supplier of powerful ARM-based single board computers (SBCs) for transmitting and receiving audio, video and data in embedded wireless and wired network systems has signed a distribution agreement with Avnet Embedded.

“Adding TechNexion’s low-cost embedded system products gives us a great tool to help our customers reduce costs and shorten their product development cycles,” said Jeff Ittel, Senior Vice President of Embedded Marketing, Avnet Embedded. “Their support for popular CPU architectures and their flexible, interchangeable CPU modules, make the products ideal for a wide variety of market segments.”

This agreement provides customers in the Americas access to Gateworks’ product portfolio of hundreds of SBC variations that serve across a wide variety of markets and applications. Applications include systems for digital signage, kiosks, point of sales, medical monitoring, security/access control, smart phones and tablets, networking, wireless hotspots, military communications, military robotics, unmanned area vehicles and drones, video and communications surveillance, border monitoring, first responder, fleet tracking, energy exploration/

Systems inDesign | December 2013

Avnet Embedded Signs Three New Distribution Agreements in the Americas

Avnet

Swissbit strives to create innovative technologies for future market opportunities utilizing a highly skilled in-house product research and development team. Swissbit maintains a marketing edge by continuing to manufacture world-class, high quality memory products and providing customers with both high value and low cost of ownership achieved through efficient processes and procedures. Swissbit offers a Controlled-Bill-of-Material on 100 percent of its product offering. “Swissbit is a perfect complement to our already deep memory and SSD offering,” said Jeff Ittel. “Our Avnet Embedded OEM customers will benefit from Swissbit’s broad product line and exceptional quality.” mining, agriculture, electric grid and the exploding machine to machine (M2M) market. Gateworks offers wireless and wired embedded system designers hundreds of SBC choices which provide the fastest time to market, lowest design risk and lowest design cost, saving the customer six to 18 months in time-to-market and $300,000 to $1.5 million in design cost. “By adding the Gateworks portfolio to our line card, our integration experts can help our embedded system design customers fast track their designs with a very wide variety of proven ARMbased single board computers,” said Jeff Ittel. “With an extensive configuration of SBCs, Gateworks supports nearly every market and application that we serve.” “By working with Avnet Embedded, Gateworks is accelerating the adoption of our products in the exploding M2M and Internet of Things (IOT) markets. Avnet Embedded’s extensive sales force, customer relationships and services will provide customers in the Americas greater access to Gateworks products. We look forward to a long and very successful partnership with Avnet Embedded,” said Orlando Gallegos, Vice President of Sales and Business Development at Gateworks.

Avnet Embedded’s newest distribution agreement is with Swissbit, a global leader in the design, development, and manufacture of DRAM and Flash memory products. Avnet Embedded will now offer Swissbit’s high quality memory solutions to the industrial, embedded, communications and networking, military and aerospace, transportation, casino gaming, and medical equipment markets in the Americas.

Said Vincenzo Esposito, President Americas of Swissbit, “This is a perfect addition to our sales network and for our customers. We are confident that this cooperation will create more opportunities and help customers with their designs.” Swissbit unites Swiss precision with German perfectionism in order to achieve above average, high quality results. As a manufacturer of high reliability products, such as 2.5” SSDs, SD™ & Micro SD™, Compact Flash™, USB & eUSB and CFast™ Flash form factors, Swissbit guarantees these ideal results through our use of both internal/external testing and compliance laboratories. Swissbit’s product development and manufacturing processes have been established, maintained, and certified in accordance with ISO 9001:2000 quality management system standards. Check out Avnet Embedded’s full product portfolio

December 2013 | Systems inDesign

FEATURE COVER STORY

Signs of Success Avnet Embedded is here to help you deliver next-generation digital signage solutions that show off your innovation and skill! Digital signage is focused on providing audiences with enhanced experiences and relevant information, allowing businesses to get their message across effectively, conveniently, specifically and cost-efficiently. It is characterized these days by personalized, rich-media experiences and directed ads through devices at the edge (ATM, kiosks, signs) that deliver customized offers and product information in real time. Avnet Embedded can help enhance and expedite your most sophisticated digital signage solutions, by simplifying and streamlining the development and delivery process, enabling you to deliver solutions with enhanced security, superior manageability and breakthrough performance.

Systems inDesign | December 2013

Signs of success

Avnet

THE MARKET This sector continues to experience significant growth. According to the ABI Research report “Digital Signage Market and Business Case Analysis,” the digital signage market will expand to almost $4.5 billion in 2016. The retail sector general manager for Intel, Jose Avalos, has said the industry has been growing at a 40 percent compounded annual growth rate, and he projects there will be 22 million digital signs worldwide by 2015.

TAKING INNOVATION TO THE NEXT LEVEL Technological advancements and innovations are enabling exciting new opportunities in the digital signage realm. Here are just some of the newest developments and the ingenious ways they’re being deployed:

Interactive and super-targeted Outdoor advertising gets interactive with intelligent systems from Intel and Microsoft Kinect for Windows embedded in Inwindow Outdoor Experience Stations. Digital signage has traditionally been a one-way, passive encounter. Today, it is an interactive experience that places the viewer at the center of attention, in a setting such as a game or movie trailer. When people approach, Intel AIM Suite determines their gender and age bracket and subsequently plays customized advertising based on these audience demographics, allowing advertisers to get the right message to the right people at the right time. This application also uses gesture control! Have a look here and here.

A great deal of audience appeal One of the difficulties associated with video walls is that they often look great from afar, but even a 1080p display at 55” can reveal pixelation and not look very good to a user who is up close. If you want to provide a user experience that is personal and not across the room, 4Kx2K technology is a great display decision, despite the extra expense and effort associated with the content creation and the need for a more expensive media player. The result is certainly attention-grabbing! This technology also bodes well for interactivity, so look forward to LFD touch at 4K as the next natural step. For more information, click here.

Better, smarter, faster An acronym for Long Term Evolution, LTE is a 4G wireless communications standard that’s designed to provide up to 10 times the speed of 3G networks. 4G technologies provide IP-based voice, data and multimedia streaming at speeds of at least 100 Mbit per second and up to as fast as 1 GBit per second. 4G-enabled smart displays can be deployed or moved easily, enabling up-to-date content to be rapidly distributed and updated. The faster connection provided by LTE will bring more advanced forms of advertising, such as customer-profiled advertising with

December 2013 | Systems inDesign

face recognition. A number of businesses are deploying 4G M2M solutions where they need highly resilient, high-data rates. 4G is a natural technology for digital signage and other interactive and smart services. For more information, click here.

Mind mapping Indoor mapping makes store locations easier to navigate and presents obvious benefits for both shoppers and retailers, saving everyone time and streamlining sales. But the potential of indoor mapping doesn’t stop there: the multimedia capabilities of modern smartphones offer retailers unparalleled access to consumers inside their space. In-store specials, customer loyalty benefits, advertising new products, and surveying purchasing habits are all within the orbit of apps designed to guide consumers through indoor retail spaces. And intelligent digital signage, based on customer data collected through this interaction, could be part of a uniquely targeted customer experience! Read more here.

Magical New York New York’s high-end retailer Barney’s has just unveiled A New York Holiday, a series of unique windows facing Madison Avenue and an interactive in-store gallery brought to life using digital display technologies. The third floor of the store’s Madison Avenue location has been transformed into the BNY SCC Gallery, an immersive 1,200-square-foot space with a seamless 360-degree projection that uses projection mapping, exclusive content, lights, and movement to transport customers into the world of New York. A 70-foot long “hall” with floor projection will guide visitors from the third floor elevator to the gallery. For images and info, click here.

FEATURE Signs of success

Touching greatness This solution draws on the strengths of interactive technology but removes the touchscreen from the equation. It uses light and motion sensors to activate and project digital content onto a retail display table. The technology re-imagines the product sample table itself as the interactive element for shoppers to utilize. Digital content is activated when a shopper picks up a display item. As the shopper investigates the product in their hands, they can access information, video, social media and images to reinforce their connection with the product. For more information, click here.

The Big Picture The world’s largest high-definition video wall has gone live at Suntec Exhibition and Convention Centre in Singapore. The video wall, called The Big Picture, stands over 15 meters tall and 60 meters wide, and is located inside the main lobby and entrance to Suntec. The Big Picture is designed to support a resolution of 32,051 pixels wide by 7,941 pixels high, which is 84 times the resolution of HD. A combination of media such as still images, animations and video clips can be displayed at the same time, or a single media image in native format can be shown over the entire wall. Interactive features include RFID tracking systems and sensors on the escalators located just in front of The Big Picture allowing the ability to show welcome messages or specialized content alongside escalator riders. Read more here.

Digital signage solutions take to the high seas Cruise line Royal Caribbean International’s new Quantum-Class ships are getting massive new entertainment venues – called Two70 for the 270-degree panoramic sea views provided by floorto-ceiling glass walls that reach almost three decks high at the stern of the ship – in which even the venue’s glass walls become part of the entertainment, displaying projections that encircle the room. Two70’s ceiling will house six robot arms controlling 100-inch LED screens that will extend down and into the venue, featuring video and imagery that can jump from screen to screen. The new ship class also features other high-tech touches including Virtual Balcony displays that provide real-time views of the ocean to interior staterooms that normally would not have an ocean view. For more on this, click here and here.

VENDOR PARTNERS IN THIS ISSUE Offering the most comprehensive line card in the distribution industry, Avnet Embedded delivers a host of products designed to optimize your digital display solutions, including: Advantech Advantech’s UTC-series touch computers offer interactive displays and real-time data, and can deliver personalized content with flair. The systems are stylish, and designed to fit in upscale environments. Data can be delivered to them from a local data

Avnet

server or from cloud-based storage extending the merchant’s reach to global levels. UTC-series touch computers enable retailers to deliver a powerful message, with mixed content to immerse shoppers and engage them in a fun and informative way. The UTC-532 and UTC-520 both support a variety of peripherals, allowing them to be completely customized to fit specific environments. They are a great tool to promote brand awareness and deliver customized retail and hospitality applications. AMD Whether your application requires basic 2D graphics with a single display or 3D graphics and high-definition video on multiple displays, AMD embedded processors help deliver the performance, features and scalability you need to develop amazing, new visual experiences for digital signage and retail systems. Supporting multiple independent display outputs simultaneously, AMD’s newly introduced Eyefinity technology delivers innovative graphics display capabilities enabling massive desktop workspaces and ultra-immersive visual environments for the ultimate panoramic computing experience. ATP Electronics ATP designs and manufactures high-performance, high-quality DRAM modules and NAND flash storage products. Focusing on mission-critical applications where high levels of technical support, expertise, consistency of performance and manufacturing quality are required, ATP continues to expand its product portfolio with unique features such as PowerProtector, which manages and ensures the completion of NAND flash operations during a power failure, and enterprise-grade DRAM modules that feature elevated temperature burn-in testing. AU Optronics A TFT-LCD manufacturer for various public information display (PID) applications, AUO offers customers a full range of products for general information bulletin boards and digital advertisement displays. AUO offers advanced display solutions covering 4K2K ultra-high resolution, 3D, ultra-slim, super narrow bezel (SNB) and transparent displays, as well as LTPS, OLED and touch solutions. Intel Intel’s 4th generation Intel Core processors support intelligent retail in a multitude of ways. They deliver built-in visual technologies for market-leading video playback, enable speedy data encryption and decryption for securing personal data without compromising performance, offer simplified security and management of unattended systems, and supply fast anonymous analytics and decisions for directed promotions, while also offering a smooth, responsive interactive experience. Kontron Kontron is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of embedded computer technologies and offers a full range of computer-

Systems inDesign | December 2013

Signs of success

on-modules, embedded motherboards, box-PCs, customized embedded computer systems and application-ready solutions. The Kontron DSEK-12 is designed to help streamline the digital signage development and evaluation processes, to reduce cost and time to deployment. The Kontron 10G ATCA open modular platform is enhanced for designing 4G LTE-based digital signage solutions.

Avnet

that improve the human-machine interface experience, and solutions that are adaptable for kiosk and handheld applications.

Capabilities

Gateworks Gateworks offers wireless and wired embedded system designers hundreds of single board computer choices that provide the fastest time to market, present the lowest design risk and vastly reduce design costs. Gateworks Ventana Network Processor Boards were developed to deliver the very high-performance requirements of digital signage and other applications requiring HD video input and output. Red Hat Red Hat is the world’s leading provider of open source software solutions, using a community-powered approach to reliable and high-performing cloud, Linux, middleware, storage and virtualization technologies. Enterprise-ready, open and extensible Red Hat products feature the small footprint, high performance, built-in security, messaging capabilities, scale-out data storage and cloud options that enable the ultimate intelligent digital signage solutions. Windows Embedded Designed specifically for industry devices within intelligent systems, Windows Embedded 8.1 Pro brings advancements in user experience, manageability, connectivity, security, mobility and networking to a range of devices for any application where powerful line-of-business applications and the ability to perform specialized functions in a secure and reliable way is paramount.

More information Avnet has sponsored two white papers that give in-depth information about developing digital signage solutions: Four Steps to Smarter Digital Signage (here) and Managing the Digital Signage Lifecycle (here). Download them now!

AVNET EMBEDDED DISPLAY SOLUTIONS SERVICES Avnet Embedded offers a complete portfolio of display, peripheral and support accessories from world-class manufacturers and combines them with state-of-the-art integration services to deliver solutions tailored to our customers’ applications and business models. Our technical specialists are recognized subject matter experts, trained in the latest technologies, whose practical real-world experience provides customers with cost-effective, customized solutions for all of their display requirements. We offer a complete range of size and performance options, touch technologies

December 2013 | Systems inDesign

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Engineering Services

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Film Enhancements

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LED Backlighting

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Optical Bonding

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Standard Products

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Our expertise and experience in display solutions has enabled us to be a strategic partner for major OEMs including those in the pro A/V, medical and military/aerospace fields. We help create, offer and deliver complete solutions through the provision of services that include: ``

Hardware

Software

Content Creation

Content Management

Custom Integration

Logistics

Installation

Warranty Services

Asset

Finance

Avnet Embedded simplifies and streamlines the solution development and delivery process and enables customers to maximize existing resources, operate more efficiently and reduce costs associated with new product development. These services and capabilities can be leveraged at select stages or throughout the complete solution lifecycle.

WE’RE HERE TO HELP YOU SUCCEED Avnet Embedded can ensure that you are ideally placed to take advantage of the wealth of opportunities available with digital signage. Our many services will help you develop and deliver innovative solutions that will increase the profits and productivity of both you and your customers.

DESIGN ZONES

Instant Access to the Materials & Information You Need As an engineer, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your job to bring innovative products and solutions to market quickly. To help make this happen, Avnet Electronics Marketing has created new Design Zones that bring you instant access to rich product details, selector guides, technical resources and up-todate industry trends in key market areas such as:

Discover the endless possibilities of designing with Avnet!

www.em.avnet.com/designzones

What’s New Avnet Embedded

Intel® NUC Next Unit of Computing Boards The Intel® NUC family puts the world in the palm of your hand. Powered by either Intel® Celeron® processors or 3rd generation Intel® Core™ processors on a four-byfour-inch motherboard and enclosed in a tiny case, this next-generation compute kit is big on performance yet surprisingly small in size.

Learn More: em.avnet.com/sid_dec1

Advantech Fanless Embedded Box PCs The next generation of Advantech Fanless Embedded Box PCs bring the latest advancements in appearance, cooling, structural strength, power supply, temperature range, and module expandability featuring compact size, durability, eco-friendliness, and low-noise designs,

Learn More: em.avnet.com/sid_dec2

Intel® Atom™ Processor E3800 and EcoSystem The Intel® Atom™ processor E3800 product family is an important tool in helping address the challenges and opportunities of IoT, providing the end-to-end scalability sought by companies looking to capitalize on today’s increasingly connected world. Learn More: em.avnet.com/sid_dec3

Brocade® Networking Solutions Brocade® networking solutions help the world’s leading organizations transition smoothly to a world where applications and information reside anywhere. From data centers and enterprise campus networks to the service provider core, these solutions are based on a strategy for simplifying network infrastructures through innovative technologies. Learn More: em.avnet.com/sid_dec4

Intel® Atom™ Processor C2000 Family The Intel® Atom™ processor C2000 product family, codenamed “Rangeley” is a multicore SoC featuring high levels of I/O integration and an Intel® QuickAssist Technology hardware acceleration engine. This product family is ideal for smaller footprint, thermally constrained communications and infrastructure systems, including fanless embedded designs. Learn More: em.avnet.com/sid_dec5

December 2013 | Systems inDesign

Signs with a digital IQ. Managed directly from HQ. Digital signage solutions based on Intel® Core™ processors are equipped with Intel® vPro™ technology that enables remote management capabilities such as content updates, diagnostics, and troubleshooting, all without sending a single truck into the field. And that adds up to lower costs, and a higher ROI.

Learn more at intel.com/go/digitalsignage. Copyright

FEATURE

Intel Transforms the Shopping Experience Driving enhanced user experiences in retail environments with the 4th generation IntelÂŽ Coreâ&#x201E;˘ processor family

CHALLENGES ``

Retail is changing, with modern shoppers empowered as never before by greater choice and access to data about everything from products to pricing.

SOLUTIONS ``

Brick-and-mortar business now competes head-to-head with smartphone comparison shopping in-store.

One-size-fits-all print advertising is replaced by personalized, rich media experiences and directed ads through devices at the edge (ATM, kiosks, signs) that bring online experiences into the store.

Exciting new models of engagement like touch, gesture, and voice make shoppers expect retail interactions to be rich, engaging, and immersive.

Traditional customer loyalty cards and coupon schemes are replaced by customized offers and product information in real time, for maximum shopping value.

Enhanced security and manageability, and breakthrough performance allow customers to check out anywhere in the store, or use their phones for tap-and-pay transactions.

Connecting and managing disparate in-store devices puts pressure on retail staff and can result in inconsistent consumer experiences.

December 2013 | Systems inDesign

FEATURE Intel Transforms the Shopping Experience

Intel

Captivating visuals are vital for attracting retail customers, and the built-in visual technologies on 4th generation Intel® Core™ processors boast market-leading video playback and up to 60 percent1 graphics improvement The 4th generation Intel® Core™ processors enable tools for real-time customer response

Enabling a new world of shopping experiences, the 4th generation Intel® Core™ processor family enhances intelligent retail through improved media and graphics, enhanced security and manageability, and breakthrough performance to transform retail: ranging from point-of-sale (POS) devices, interactive kiosks, and intelligent vending to digital signage and automated teller machines (ATMs). This new generation of processors delivers improved media and graphics capabilities, enhanced security and manageability, and breakthrough performance, enabling OEMs and SIs to develop enhanced user experiences and drive intelligent retail. ``

Captivating visuals are vital for attracting retail customers, and the built-in visual technologies on 4th generation Intel Core processors boast market-leading video playback and up to 60 percent1 graphics improvement, for rich interactive 2D/3D graphics and compelling interactive digital experiences.

Secure, fast transactions at point-of-sale devices are a must-have during peak selling times. The 4th generation Intel Core processor family delivers security enhancements when compared with the previous generation processor, such as Intel® Advanced Encryption Standard New Instructions (Intel® AES-NI), which provides faster data encryption and decryption for securing personal data, without compromising performance.

Unattended retail device deployments require the enhanced remote manageability features of the 4th generation Intel Core processor family. Intel® vPro™ technology, enabled when processors are paired with the Intel® Q87 chipset, simplifies the security and management of unattended systems. Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT) 9.0 allows retailers to roll back firmware images and ease the provisioning of end devices at a lower cost, without compromising features or security.

Anonymous viewer analytics are the foundation of directed promotions, and the compute power of the 4th generation Intel Core processor family delivers faster anonymous analytics and decisions for directed promotions, while also offering a smooth, responsive interactive experience, with CPU performance improvement of up to 15 percent when compared with the 3rd generation Intel® Core™ processor family.2

SHOPPERS EXPERIENCE THE RESPONSIVE STORE What will shopping at a brick-and-mortar store be like five years from now? The future may be closer than you think. Technology already available from the 4th generation Intel Core processor family is at the heart of new tools to help customers find what they need exactly when they need it. These new tools help people make sense of the dizzying choices laid out in front of them through a more engaging shopping experience that can offer instant, just-in-time incentives based on expert suggestions. Here’s how. DIGITAL SIGNAGE INNOVATIONS Whether incorporated into a point-of-sale end-cap display, used as a stand-alone marketing system at an airport, or designed to draw customers to interactive vending systems, digital signage is expanding rapidly with the help of 4th generation Intel Core processors. Point of sale is moving away from passive marketing and promotions to engaging, two-way experiences that actively change shopping behavior. From the moment consumers enter a store to the point at which they make a purchase, new innovations enhance variety, convenience, and personal service.

Systems inDesign | December 2013

Intel Transforms the Shopping Experience

As vending technology evolves, new machines are going well beyond dispensing snacks and drinks. Intel helps transform these machines into intelligent, seamless systems with a multitude of new features – including HD digital signs, interactive touch screen controls, even cashless payment mechanisms – to create a fuller, more engaging shopping experience that motivates consumers to buy. Intel® technology is driving this transformation. Intel®-based digital signage can interact intelligently with consumers via a range of digital media – from HD and 3D video to touch-enabled displays to gesture-controlled screens. WEB, MOBILE, AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION When in-store digital signage connects to the Web, social media, and mobile devices, it becomes an engaging access point to a wealth of information – for consumers and retailers alike. Consumers get the experience of shopping online along with the chance to physically compare products and services. Best of all, they can start enjoying their purchases on the spot. Increasingly, these digital signs can go further – delivering coupons, shopping lists, recipe suggestions, and product information to customer mobile devices.

NEW TOOLS FOR RETAIL ASSOCIATES The benefits of networked signage also extend to retail employees. Sales associates can use intelligent digital signage to demonstrate products to customers, provide training, check inventories, and more. These all contribute to better overall customer satisfaction and loyalty. CENTRAL MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL Digital signs with Intel AMT can deliver rich multimedia content while enabling remote management, advanced security, energy savings, and lower total cost of ownership. The benefits are both practical and measurable. For example, systems can be scheduled to automatically turn on and off, dramatically reducing power consumption. Plus, as more and more systems operate over Wi-Fi networks, implementation gets even easier.

December 2013 | Systems inDesign

Intel

THE OPEN PLUGGABLE SPECIFICATION The OPS specification benefits both digital signage system manufacturers and users.3 When manufacturers employ the OPS specification, their products will be compatible with more systems – installed and future – which opens up new sales opportunities. Users can upgrade their infrastructure more easily because components will be interchangeable by design. Additionally, installing digital signage equipment based on Intel® architecture helps users implement scalable applications that can network easily with other equipment. This approach further safeguards interoperability and simplifies application upgrades in a way that allows users to future-proof their technology investments. OPS defines standards for a pluggable computing module used in media players and a docking board in display panels, as well as the connector and signals that link them. Digital signage systems using OPS pluggable modules have several advantages over proprietary and built-in solutions: ``

Development and implementation cost can be spread over higher volumes, thus reducing cost per unit

Fewer cables, smaller space requirements and no additional hardware brackets

Lower power consumption

Easier installation

OPS-compliant systems are modular in nature, which provides significant operational benefits. For instance, a media player with a hardware fault can be repaired quickly by simply replacing the entire pluggable module. This is a significant advantage over built-in solutions, which require the replacement of the entire display unit in case of a PC failure. Modularity also provides more lifecycle management flexibility compared to built-in solutions because upgrades can be performed at a subsystem level. As a result, it is possible to exchange out short lifecycle components, like the control unit, to incorporate the latest technology, while leaving in long lifecycle components, such as the display panel, user interface, and sensors. Likewise, OPS-defined pluggable modules can be easily upgraded when newer technology is available, thus keeping a digital signal system up-todate in a cost-effective manner. Getting maximum value from OPS digital signage is pushing the envelope of computing technology, particularly with the emergence of sophisticated applications, such as anonymous facial recognition and audience response measurement. Defined with these applications in mind, OPS supports today’s high performance Intel® Core™ i7 processors and Intel® Core™ i5 processors, and paves the way for future pluggable modules based on next-generation Intel® processors. Developers can download the Open Pluggable Specification, as well as detailed design guides for pluggable modules and docking boards, at http://edc.intel.com/Applications/Digital-Signage-Solutions/OPS.

FEATURE Intel Transforms the Shopping Experience

Intel

SIGNAGE INTERCHANGEABILITY WITH OPS Intel developed the Open Pluggable Specification (OPS) to simplify the installation, usage, maintenance, and upgrade of digital signage infrastructure.3 The OPS helps make digital signage devices more intelligent and connected while reducing costs by ensuring that components are interchangeable by design. What’s more, installing Intel-based digital signage gives retailers a way to implement scalable applications that can network easily with other equipment. This approach further safeguards interoperability and simplifies application upgrades in a way that allows users to future-proof technology investments. Intel® Embedded Design Center Get technical resources and tools that software and hardware developers can use for embedded designs in retail. Visit the Intel Embedded Design Center Keep up with Intel innovations Get the latest news and stay current with Intel® technology in the retail space. Register to receive regular newsletter updates. Register today

Projected performance based on 3DMark Vantage* Performance Profile Scores.

Software and workloads used in performance tests may have been optimized for performance only on Intel microprocessors. Performance tests, such as SYSmark* and MobileMark*, are measured using specific computer systems, components, software, operations, and functions. Any change to any of those factors may cause the results to vary. You should consult other information and performance tests to assist you in fully evaluating your contemplated purchase, including the performance of that product when combined with other products. 2

3 Open Standard Simplifies Digital Signage Development and Deployment: Intel creates specification that increases compatibility and interoperability: http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/ documents/solution-briefs/open-standard-simplifies-digital-signage-development.pdf

INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH INTEL PRODUCTS. NO LICENSE, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, BY ESTOPPEL OR OTHERWISE, TO ANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IS GRANTED BY THIS DOCUMENT. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN INTEL’S TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE FOR SUCH PRODUCTS, INTEL ASSUMES NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER, AND INTEL DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY, RELATING TO SALE AND/OR USE OF INTEL PRODUCTS INCLUDING LIABILITY OR WARRANTIES RELATING TO FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY, OR INFRINGEMENT OF ANY PATENT, COPYRIGHT OR OTHER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHT. UNLESS OTHERWISE AGREED IN WRITING BY INTEL, THE INTEL PRODUCTS ARE NOT DESIGNED NOR INTENDED FOR ANY APPLICATION IN WHICH THE FAILURE OF THE INTEL PRODUCT COULD CREATE A SITUATION WHERE PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH MAY OCCUR. Intel may make changes to specifications and product descriptions at any time, without notice. Designers must not rely on the absence or characteristics of any features or instructions marked “reserved” or “undefined.” Intel reserves these for future definition and shall have no responsibility whatsoever for conflicts or incompatibilities arising from future changes to them. The information herein is subject to change without notice. Do not finalize a design with this information. The products described in this document may contain design defects or errors known as errata which may cause the product to deviate from published specifications. Current characterized errata are available on request. Contact your local Intel sales office or your distributor to obtain the latest specifications and before placing your product order. Copies of documents which have an order number and are referenced in this document, or other Intel literature, may be obtained by calling 1-800-548-4725, or by visiting Intel’s website at www.intel.com. © 2013, Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, the Intel Inside logo, Intel Core, and Intel vPro are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. Printed in USA 0813/TB/CMD/PDF Please Recycle 329356-001US

Systems inDesign | December 2013

90% OF FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES RUN ON RED HAT Learn more about the Red Hat Embedded Program.

redhat.com/avnet/oemsolutions embedded@redhat.com

Copyright © 2013 Red Hat, Inc. Red Hat, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the Shadowman logo, and JBoss are trademarks of Red Hat, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Linux® is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the U.S. and other countries.

FEATURE

Build End-to-End Intelligent Systems With the Red Hat® Embedded Program Red Hat recognizes that your customers need to unlock the intelligence behind their data to gain insight and make informed business decisions. Intelligent systems make this a reality by seamlessly interconnecting devices to create a connected system to manage data. In addition to connectivity, intelligent systems demand reliability, security, stability, and performance to ensure the manageability of free-flowing data. Red Hat is the only open source technology company that provides an end-toend solution for intelligent systems – from the embedded device to the datacenter to the cloud – all using a common architecture. Red Hat provides more than an open, secure, and enterpriseready platform for your customers to manage data. Through the Red Hat Embedded Program, you can build a supportive relationship with the open source leader in intelligent systems and benefit from a stable partnership that offers individualized business terms, flexible distribution rights, and partner resources so you can bring higher-revenue products to market. The Red Hat Embedded Program offers both the technology and support you need to compete in this market. Red Hat brings its technical leadership to every layer of the intelligent system, from the data hub and controllers to the intelligent devices themselves. Appliances and intelligent system solutions built with enterprise-ready, open, and extensible Red Hat products have the certifications, small footprint performance and security, messaging, scale-out data storage, and cloud options you need to deliver an end-to-end intelligent systems solution. ``

Certifications: Red Hat Enterprise Linux is certified and supported on more than 3,000 hardware devices and nearly 9,000 different applications from 1,400 ISVs – and the momentum continues to grow. The Red Hat Hardware Certification Program offers an automated test suite, support during testing, and access to online updates while results are reviewed. Performance: Red Hat Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) holds the top performance scores on the SPECvirt benchmark, including the top two-socket and four-socket server scores, and the only published 8- and 16-socket scores (www.spec.org/osg/virt_sc2010/results)

Security: Military-grade security technologies and certifications prevent intrusions and protect data. Red Hat product certifications include: EAL4+(SLPP, RBACPP, OSPP), FIPS 140-2, DOD IPv6, and more.

Messaging: Red Hat JBoss A-MQ is a small-footprint messaging platform that reliably delivers information, even for devices that are temporarily off-grid. It also supports realtime messaging.

Cloud extension: OpenShift Online by Red Hat provides a secure, multi-tenant Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) architecture, so you can deploy in the cloud now or in the future.

PRODUCTS IN THE RED HAT EMBEDDED PROGRAM �

Red Hat Enterprise Linux® and Add-Ons

�

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization

�

Red Hat JBoss® Middleware

�

Red Hat OpenShift

Red Hat Embedded Program: redhat.com/embedded Red Hat security certifications: red.ht/govcert Custom Engineering Services: redhat.com/services/custom/embedded Meteorcomm intelligent systems success: red.ht/meteorcomm

Systems inDesign | December 2013

Build End-to-End Intelligent Systems

Red Hat

SUPPORTIVE PARTNER RELATIONSHIP

To complement the technology, Red Hat offers a compelling business model that addresses the unique economics of an intelligent system spanning thousands of devices, field controllers, datacenter, and cloud. Red Hat offers subscriptions designed for intelligent systems that adapt to the inherently complex deployment scenario while protecting profitability.

Extended support: You provide front-line support to customers, backed by Red Hatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world-class service organization: access to a 24x7 global network of support engineers that escalate and quickly resolve priority problems.

Software releases: Access to major upgrades, minor updates, maintenance, security fixes, and pre-releases for early certification, providing additional control over your solution.

Custom engineering: Time and materials based Custom Engineering Services help you assess your requirements and customize and optimize Red Hat technology for your solution.

Individualized partnership: Red Hat works with its partners to help them offer competitive pricing and terms designed to address the particular business requirements around delivering embedded and intelligent systems to market.

Easy to do business with. No stickers, no IP address limitations, and click-through contracts.

Flexible distribution rights: You ship Red Hat software as an integrated component of your turnkey solution, as needed to meet demand. The number of shipped units is reported to back to your appliance vendor on a quarterly basis.

Marketing and training resources: Red Hat provides cobranding resources, marketing and sales enablement tools (training, case studies, newsletters), and Red Hat sponsored events, as well as possible eligibility for exclusive discounts on Red Hat training courses.

As part of the program, Red Hat supplies you with resources to integrate, certify, bundle, and support innovative Red Hat technology into your solutions. ``

Red Hat Customer Portal: Access the Red Hat Knowledgebase, forums, references architectures, FAQs, and documentation.

Development tools: You can purchase development subscriptions for access to Red Hat software and support.

December 2013 | Systems inDesign

CONCLUSION With the Red Hat Embedded Program you maintain control of your relationship with the customer while taking advantage of the innovative technology and cost benefits of Red Hat solutions. You can focus on adding strategic business value and bringing solutions to market faster while Red Hat focuses on the underlying technology. The program offers you the software, support, and other valuable resources you need to be successful. For more information about Red Hat Embedded Program, please visit www.redhat.com/embedded

FEATURE

Achieving Panoramic Multimedia Immersion with AMD Eyefinity for Digital Signage Advanced multi-monitor video and graphics versatility delivers stunning visual experiences Today’s digital signage system designers are afforded more resources and flexibility than ever before to deliver stunning, ultra-immersive HD visual experiences for a wide range of gaming and signage applications. Whether the goal is to entertain, promote, or inform, high-performance, low-power processing platforms and advanced supporting technologies are facilitating a new era of digital display versatility, transforming the way we consume and interact with visual media in all manners of signage and retail environments. But many designers remain challenged to unlock the full promise of multi-display signage systems, and are therefore limited in their ability to transcend conventional ‘single screen’ visual experiences in favor of panoramic, ‘surround sight’ display configurations. AMD’s Eyefinity technology is helping designers overcome this challenge with minimal design complexity, facilitating new and innovative digital display capabilities that engage users and grab the audience’s attention.

WHAT IS AMD EYEFINITY? The ability to support multiple independent display outputs simultaneously is a critical requirement for realizing ultra-

immersive video displays for digital signage systems. AMD Eyefinity technology can enable a single AMD Embedded R-Series accelerated processing unit (APU) or AMD Radeon™ E6760 or E6460 discrete GPU to support multiple independent display outputs simultaneously, delivering an intense multimedia experience. With AMD Eyefinity multi-display technology, system designers can connect several high-resolution displays, flexibly configured in various combinations of landscape and portrait orientations, to achieve a large integrated display surface that enables windowed and full-screen 3D applications, images and video to span across multiple displays as one visual plane. Designers can also utilize AMD Eyefinity to architect multi-display configurations that present unique multimedia content on each individual screen.

AMD EYEFINITY FOR MULTI-DISPLAY DIGITAL SIGNAGE APPLICATIONS The battle for consumer pocketbooks is intensifying in retail environments, where the product brands that most effectively command shoppers’ attention are best positioned to command their spending. By bringing rich multimedia digital displays to high-traffic shopping locales, retailers can more effectively

AMD Eyefinity Usage Scenarios 3x1 Landscape Display Group

6x1 Portrait Display Group

3x1 Display Group Plus 1 Extended

December 2013 | Systems inDesign

1x3 Portrait Display Group

3x1 Landscape Display Group Plus 3 Extended

FEATURE Achieving Panoramic Multimedia Immersion with AMD Eyefinity for Digital Signage

promote their products and drive sales. New ‘smart display’ technology, which can incorporate integrated cameras for capturing movement and gestures, promises to make future retail displays all the more interactive. But the plain video, bland two-dimensional graphics and simple scrolling text that currently dominates the digital signage landscape is no longer effectively catching the attention of consumers who have become accustomed to high-definition video and 3D graphics in their home media experience. With multi-display digital signage systems, retailers are enabled to immerse shoppers with visually-arresting promotional content that stands out from conventional static and/or single-screen signage systems.

HOW AMD EYEFINITY WORKS AMD Eyefinity is enabled by two or more display outputs operating simultaneously and independently from each other, depending on the processing platform1. Support is available for Duplicated (Clone) and Extended multiple monitor modes, with support for the capability to group displays into a single large surface spanning across multiple displays. AMD’s support for multiple displays works with applications that support non-standard aspect ratios, which is required for panning across multiple displays.

AMD

The Video Electronics Standards Association’s (VESA) royalty-free DisplayPort connectivity standard is built upon a micro-packet architecture that enables the ability to address and drive several displays through one DisplayPort connector, a feature commonly referred to as daisy-chaining. Where DVI and HDMI both require a dedicated clock source for each display, DisplayPort only requires a single reference clock source to drive as many DisplayPort streams as there are display pipelines in the processing platform, yielding incredibly efficient multi-display digital signage system designs.

SUMMARY Leveraging AMD Embedded R-Series APUs and/or AMD Radeon E6760 or E6460 GPUs, system designers can take advantage of AMD Eyefinity technology to achieve outstanding gains in video and graphics immersion, yielding versatile, highperformance digital signage systems that enthrall viewers and entice consumers. Visit www.amd.com/embedded to learn more about AMD Eyefinity Technology

AMD Eyefinity technology is closely aligned with AMD’s DisplayPort implementation, providing the flexibility to configure up to two DVI, HDMI™, or VGA displays in combination with DisplayPort outputs for the possibility of up to six monitors, depending on the underlying processing platform1.

AMD Eyefinity technology works with applications that support non-standard aspect ratios, which is required for spanning across multiple displays. AMD Eyefinity technology can support up to four displays using a single enabled AMD R-Series APU or up to six DisplayPort displays using a single enabled AMD graphics card with Windows Vista® or Windows® 7 operating systems – the number and type of displays may vary by board design. To enable more than two displays, or multiple displays from a single output, additional hardware such as DisplayPort-ready monitors or DisplayPort 1.2 MST-enabled hubs may be required. Maximum two active adapters supported. See www.amd.com/eyefinityfaq for full details. SLS (“Single Large Surface”) functionality requires an identical display resolution on all configured displays. ©2013 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. AMD, AMD Radeon, the AMD Arrow logo, and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and DirectX are registered trademarks of Microsoft. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners. 1 AMD Eyefinity technology supports up to six DisplayPort monitors on an enabled graphics card. Supported display quantity, type and resolution vary by model and board design; confirm specifications with manufacturer before purchase. To enable more than two displays, or multiple displays from a single output, additional hardware such as DisplayPort™-ready monitors or DisplayPort 1.2 MST-enabled hubs may be required. Maximum two active adapters supported. See www.amd.com/eyefinityfaq for full details.

Systems inDesign | December 2013

FEATURE

Total Cost of Ownership: Long Term Cost Reduction Through ATP Value Added Services Reducing Enterprise and Mission Critical NAND/DRAM Memory Costs for Long Term Project Life Cycles By Samina Subedar – Marketing Manager, ATP Electronics A manufacturer of high performance DRAM and NAND flash memory products, ATP is committed to providing customers with high quality products while minimizing costs for their long project life cycles. With the dynamic nature of the memory industry come inherent, but less obvious management costs encountered by mission critical applications such as automotive, industrial, medical and multi market segments that typically have project life cycles of five or more years.

TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP The Total Cost of Ownership or TCO reflects the cost over an entire project life cycle and all aspects of a memory device’s ownership and usage. This includes the design, production and sustaining phase of the project. As companies become increasingly efficient in a global economy, TCO becomes an important factor to consider in order to ascertain the “true” cost of a product. Apart from the unit cost of a product, there are five TCO contributors to consider. The first obvious contributors are the business terms and lead times which are both supply chain considerations and are fixed costs for TCO and cannot be minimized. Failure, design phase qualification, sustaining phase re-qualification, and last time buy contributors to TCO will be examined in this article along with how ATP is using its own value added services as tools to mitigate these four variable costs or contributors. See Figure 1.

COMMON TCO CONTRIBUTORS – FAILURE RELATED COSTS Failure related costs found in the field and dead on arrival costs greatly impact production schedules and operating efficiency. Field failure related costs are determined by the number of unit failures multiplied by the number of modules per system and then multiplied by the sum of system level returns, maintenance, downtime and replacement costs. Dead on arrival costs are determined by the unit failure rate and the operational mitigation cost. The operational mitigation costs include production lead time delays due to system production line reflow and replacement buffer inventory costs. Unit failure rate on the other hand is 24

Figure 1 Common TCO Contributors Besides Unit Cost.

commonly related to quality related failures, compatibility related failures and wear issues due to incorrect product selection. In order to reduce quality related failures and associated TCO, a system for data collection, review and analysis on unit population DPM must be performed along with a continuous corrective action plan. This proactive approach to quality will result in experience accumulation, which short term fosters DPM quality improvement via screening/process improvement, and long term promotes improvement in validation and design processes.

COMMON TCO CONTRIBUTORS – DESIGN PHASE QUALIFICATION During a New Product Introduction (NPI), design costs must bet taken into consideration and are built in costs for any new project. Qualification costs are determined by two factors. The first factor includes fixed engineering/operations resources associated with the qualification such as industry certifications and long qualifications cycles. Although this cost factor is necessary, the second factor, the number of BOMs (Bill of Materials) qualified, Systems inDesign | December 2013

Total Cost of Ownership: Long Term Cost Reduction Through ATP Value Added Services

can be adjusted by reducing the number of unnecessary BOMs qualified. Unnecessary BOM qualification and in turn TCO can be reduced by qualifying the new product at the correct time and also by choosing the correct solution the first time. New product qualifications are much longer in mission critical applications, typically 18-24 months. Due to the long period and the likelihood of die changes, it is imperative that the roadmap of the product and product change notifications on all configurations are reviewed and communicated. ATP provides this information on all qualifications to avoid redundant qualifications and thus avoiding schedule delays. ATP can also work by project with customers to help determine the most cost effective, yet reliable solution for their application and longevity requirements. ATP valued added services such as the Endurance/TBW Evaluation and Long Term Reliability Evaluation are examples of such services. With the Endurance/TBW (Total Bytes Written) Evaluation, ATP proposes the most cost effective option to meet the project lifetime requirement with several variable factors which are taken into consideration. NAND flash memory devices inherently have a finite endurance which can be quantified in both program/erase cycles and in TBW. This endurance level varies due to factors on both the ATP and customer side. On the ATP side the variable factors include the type and controller component of the NAND flash. On the customer side the variable factors include the usage model and the lifetime requirement of the device. The Long Term Reliability Evaluation focuses on the reliablity of the NAND flash device with respect to data integrity based on the cutomer model and usage envrironement. Again, based on these variables the most cost effective solution is recommended to meet the project lifetime requirement.

COMMON TCO CONTRIBUTORS – SUSTAINING PHASE RE-QUALIFICATION AND LAST TIME BUY In the industrial/embedded space typical project cycles can be upwards of five years with even longer requirements for field service. This is a stark contrast to consumer applications which have a very short sustaining phase. See Figure 2 below.

ATP Electronics

Long product life cycles coupled with continuously changing revisions of the memory IC results in added re-qualification cost at both the supply chain and engineering levels. In addition to re-qualification there are costs associated with a last time buy situation. During a last time buy scenario a customer is forced to buy enough inventory to sustain the lifetime needs of the project before the end of life of the product. ATP offers alternative solutions which focus on BOM stability and availability over only unit cost. For example, ATP’s strategic partnership with Micron with their Product Longevity Program (PLP) allows for a guaranteed supply of industrial grade DRAM and NAND flash memory modules for extended product life cycles for up to ten years. The longer life cycles are intended to address the supply chain requirements of industrial/ embedded applications and reduce the frequency of qualification and redesign costs needed to sustain long term projects. The PLP also allows for extended availability on product form, fit and function which reduce the risk of costly mid-project last time buy scenarios.

ABOUT ATP ATP Electronics is a leading manufacturer of high performance, high quality and durable NAND flash memory solutions and DRAM memory modules. With over twenty years of experience in service based memory products, ATP continues to focus on mission critical applications such as industrial, telecom, medical and enterprise computing where high levels of technical support, performance consistency and wide operating temperature ranges are required. ATP offers unique flash technologies such as PowerProtector, Secure Erase and SMART Life Monitor and recently introduced the Elevated Temperature Burn In Testing system to screen for SMT related assembly issues and IC infant mortality. ATP also offers extensive supply chain support with controlled/fixed BOMs and long product life cycles, with components sourced from the Micron’s Product Longevity Program with a guaranteed life cycle of up to ten years. For more information, please visit the ATP Electronics Web site

Figure 2 Consumer vs. ATP Support Focus.

December 2013 | Systems inDesign

Intelligent Systems

Better Business

The traditional embedded market has recently seen the emergence of a dynamic new category â&#x20AC;&#x201C; intelligent systems. Intelligent systems enable an unprecedented flow of data from the device where it is generated, through employees and customers connected to back-end systems and services where it is translated into strategic insight. This insight is informing business decisions across retail, manufacturing, medical, and other industries. One Trusted Platform Microsoft is focused on helping companies use intelligent systems to glean deep insight and business intelligence. Windows Embedded extends the power of Windows and the cloud to intelligent systems. Encompassing operating systems, tools, and systems and services, Windows Embedded enables enterprises to generate tangible, real-time benefits with anytime, anywhere access to executable data.

To learn more or see what an intelligent system can do for your business, email MSTEAM@avnet.com or call 1-800-474-3044.

FEATURE

Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry Features At A Glance INTRODUCTION In order to help OEMs and their customers maintain a competitive edge, Microsoft extends the power of Windows 8.1 to industry devices to help OEM Partners address today’s most challenging business needs. Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry is full Windows 8.1 plus embedded capabilities that powers unique and modern industry devices and enables their users in innovative and powerful ways.

Create Differentiated Devices Assisted by latest innovation from Microsoft Windows 8.1, OEM Partners have an opportunity to amaze their customers with a new class of products that deliver rich, more immersive and natural user experiences to make their devices truly stand out. Utilizing the next generation of embedded technologies can bring a variety of new device possibilities to life.

Build on Technologies you Trust Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry brings the latest security technologies from Windows to help protect your customers’ sensitive business information on your specialized devices. By building on Windows Embedded 8.1, OEMs can ensure desired device experience and predictable functionality for secure and highly reliable devices.

Extend Enterprise-wide Business Intelligence By building with Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry, device makers can ensure their devices are optimized for the enterprise-wide intelligent systems, utilizing business critical information. Thanks to seamless enterprise integration and management capabilities, these specialized devices can be efficiently managed alongside Windows PCs and Servers to ensure their customer’s data translates into actionable insight.

Key Benefits

Improve mobility and access with new power management and wireless technologies

Access IT systems and the cloud to keep devices connected to the information that matters most

Use the enhanced security technologies to protect your device, data and network

Reduce custom development with advanced lockdown features and secure your device from unintended interactions

Build and deploy industry devices through streamlined OS installation experience

Manage the device alongside PCs and Servers with Microsoft System Center

DIFFERENTIATED DEVICES Experience Touch Windows Embedded 8.1 devices enable a more natural user experience through fast, fluid and responsive controls, supporting multipoint touch capabilities. New experience includes updated charms and improved multi-monitor support.

Benefit from support for Line-of-Business applications Windows Embedded 8.1 supports your existing and new Windows 8 style applications ``

Develop new Windows 8 style applications utilizing the clean, modern design

Extend the value of your existing Windows line-of-business solutions through Application Compatibility

Benefit from a Broad Developer Ecosystem Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry offers embedded-enabled features which allows broader development opportunities for a consistent and predictable platform.

Take advantage of Full Windows 8.1 to provide a high degree of cross-platform application compatibility

Harness Connectivity

Run your existing Windows line of business applications or create a new experience with Windows 8 style apps

Integrate multitude of connectivity options to keep devices portable and connected to networks and business critical data

Deliver an immersive, natural user experience with multi-touch and Kinect for Windows

Easily implement retail peripherals with built-in plug and play capabilities

December 2013 | Systems inDesign

New and improved connectivity options include Near Field Communication printer support, enhancements to USB, Bluetooth 4.0 and Roaming Enhancements

FEATURE Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry

WINDOWS EMBEDDED 8.1 INDUSTRY DIFFERENTIATING FEATURES Full Windows 8.1 plus embedded capabilities that extend the Windows experience to industry devices and allows for greater Line-of-Business application flexibility

Windows Embedded

BitLocker technologies ensure data protection and hard drive encryption

Trusted Boot and Measured Boot guarantees that only verified operating system image can boot and adds early malware protection thus preventing malicious software from running

Windows Defender and System Center Endpoint Protection help protect devices from malware providing a solution for businesses of all sizes

Enable a Consistent Application Experience with Windows Embedded Lockdown Features Fully control the device configuration and user experience

Lockdown features ensure intended and predictable device experience every time Plug-n-Play Retail peripheral support enables easy retail scenario integration

Connected Standby uses very low power when in idle state to ensure a device remains connected to the internet, ensuring applications are always current

Take advantage of Improved Power Management ``

Ensure consistent touch interactions with the Gesture Filter

Protect application and operating system by writing data to abstraction layer using Unified Write Filter

Leverage deeper lockdown control options with new USB and Hardware Buttons lockdown

Keyboard Filter protects consistent user experience by blocking special key-combinations on both physical and virtual keyboards

Suppress Windows system dialogs with the Dialog Filter

Hibernate-Once-Resume-Many feature restarts devices the same way every time

Application Launcher allows devices to boot directly into a line of business application and allows the users to access the desired device experience directly

Easily Manage and configure lockdown technologies remotely with Embedded Lockdown Manager

Smart power management extends the usable life of the embedded device

Leverage Streamlined OS Installation Experience

Developers will be able to build more energy-efficient applications to reduce overall power consumption and improve on green IT

Take advantage of Full Windows 8.1 out of box experience and existing familiar IT tools for deployment and management

Plug-n-Play Peripheral Compatibility POS for .NET provides an architecture that is based upon the Unified Point of Service (UPOS) industry standard to enable seamless peripheral integration. Expanded capabilities in Windows Embedded Industry 8.1 include support for:

EXTENDING BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE Access Enterprise Networks Easily integrate industry devices with streamlined identity and access management tools

Windows 8 App Magnetic Stripe Reader

Windows 8 App Barcode Scanner

Utilize Microsoft Active Directory to ensure identity-based access

Deploy Microsoft Group Policy for access management

Benefit from a support for a wider range of VPN clients

TRUSTED PLATFORM Build with Trusted technologies ``

Windows Embedded 8.1 is built with security, management, availability and reliability in mind

Employ Enterprise Management Tools Windows Embedded devices can be efficiently managed on Enterprise IT infrastructure and from a single management solution

Systems inDesign | December 2013

Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry

Use System Center Configuration Manager to manage embedded operating systems like any other IT asset

Harness the Power of Business Critical Data Enable streaming data connection to intelligent systems throughout the enterprise where the data can be translated into insights and actions to create further business value. Integration with infrastructure services like Windows Server, SQL databases, Azure and other cloud services is a fundamental capability ``

Extend business intelligence by accessing business critical data from On-Premise IT Systems

Ensure cloud connectivity to infrastructure services such as Windows Azure Storage and SQL Azure Database for a highly available, highly scalable, fault-tolerant data service

December 2013 | Systems inDesign

Windows Embedded

Learn more about Windows Embedded 8.1 at www.avnetmssolutions.com or contact Avnet Embedded by phone at 1-800-474-3044 or by email at msteam@avnet.com

FEATURE

More Density, More Efficiency for LTE Deployments 40G ATCA Application-Ready Platforms: the right fit for LTE Evolved Packet Core (EPC) Network Deployments By Sven Freudenfeld â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Business Development Telecom, Kontron It is clear that Long Term Evolution (LTE) is the fastest-growing mobile network technology, with the wide assortment of ecosystem vendors accelerating an evolution of products and services. More than 184 LTE networks were in service as of August 2013, with 159 either in the works or already deployed, as reported by Informa Research.

latency less than 10 ms per device today, while future releases intend to be 3 times the speed per device.

From the end-user side, global LTE subscriptions are anticipated to reach 1.36 billion by 2018, which is slightly higher than expected but can be attributed to the success mobile operators have had in their LTE roll-outs of networks and corresponding devices and services.

with the 3GPP standard based eNodeB and the non-3GPP based access network. The eNodeB provides the radio interfaces to the user equipment (UE) and therefore the mobile end device itself.

LTE provides the network infrastructure and radio interface for a multi-device based network infrastructure for an all IP network that supplies packet based voice, video and content transcoding from any device to any device. LTE supports 100 Mbps with

The core network elements in the LTE Evolved Packet Core (EPC) are the Mobility Management Entity (MME), Serving Gateway (S-GW) and Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW) and interface

The MME (Mobility Management Entity) provides the primary control for the LTE access-network. It tracks the User Equipment (UE) is responsible for authentication, mobility, and interconnectivity with legacy access 2G/3G access networks. The MME also supports lawful intercept of signaling.

Systems inDesign | December 2013

FEATURE More Density, More Efficiency for LTE Deployments

The SGW (Serving Gateway) routes and forwards user data packets, while also acting as the mobility anchor for the user plane during inter-eNodeB handovers and as the anchor for mobility between LTE and other 3GPP technologies. The PGW (Packet Data Network Gateway) manages the connectivity from User Equipment (UE) to external Packet Data Networks. A UE may have simultaneous connectivity with more than one PGW for accessing multiple PDNs. The PGW performs policy enforcement, packet filtering for each user, charging support, lawful Interception and packet screening.

Kontron

PROCESSOR SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE Multicore processing architecture with full DPI support, compression engine and crypto security is driving the performance for P-GW functionality. The capability to provide multiple native 10GbE interfaces and high speed inter-processors communication with less overhead processing is the framework for P-GW component developments. The fact that the power consumption combined with a power optimizer functionality remains at a level where it can fit a 200W â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 300W per blade design, makes it an ideal candidate for an ATCA blade design to provide flexibility to the overall system design. In addition to the technical requirements, the aggressive timeline to sustain the increase in demand over the next 5 years opens the question about where the focus should be. For the TEM, hardware is not their key for differentiation, since ATCA is a open hardware architecture, with an existing framework, provides the TEM a head start in the system development cycle. In addition to the hardware components, performance optimized standard software and protocol components can speed up the design cycle and introduce the readiness to the bandwidth and processing demand on time to the network.

The key network element that is driving the processor and bandwidth requirements in the network is the Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway. A majority of the functionality of the P-GW is UE IP address allocation, per-user-based packet filtering, Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) and Lawful interception. The driving bandwidth and processing performances for the P-GW implementations are primarily the security requirements in the core network infrastructure with high bandwidth interfaces beyond 10GbE. As DPI is one component of the P-GW implementation with up to 40GbE I/O, multicore processing with high speed interconnect between processors is the key driver to sustain the traffic flow and balance processor utilization in the platform. IPsec, KASUMI and SNOW 3G are the key elements as security engine for Packet filtering, Packet Marking and legal intercept. As for the transport mechanism in the P-GW platform, Layer 3 processing at 40GbE per processor blade is required to sustain traffic demand with a protocol structure what can route dedicated packets to the dedicate socket or core of the blade. The lower common level of the above diagram shows an example of the protocol support required.

December 2013 | Systems inDesign

To be in a position to create an LTE network element the underlying hardware platform must meet certain requirements: ``

Standards-based for time to market advantage

Scalability and extensibility

Intrinsic low latency packet switching

IPv6 support

Beyond 10GbE backplane support to incorporate Network Processing

IPsec protection of the control plane and the user plane

MPLS support

Sync. E and IEEE1588 support

Dedicated or shared Protection for (1+1,1:1, M:N)

The capabilities of numerous ATCA vendor platforms have been able to meet most of these requirements for some time. And, thanks to enhancements in the PICMG standard and work undertaken by the open standards ecosystem, new key capabilities have been added to the ATCA arsenal that ensures all the needs for LTE applications can be met.

More Density, More Efficiency for LTE Deployments

Kontron

KONTRON PROVIDES 40G ADVANCEDTCA PLATFORMS Kontron is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of embedded computer technologies and has a full range of 10G and 40G ATCA blades and platforms for Telecom Equipment Manufacturers (TEMs) to accelerate their LTE development. For example, the 14-slot OM9140-40G ATCA platform is a field-proven standardized hardware that offers:

Chassis/mechanical, power and cooling;

Data Transport for Base and Fabric interconnectivity;

and, Platform Manageability such as Shelf Management and System Management with a standard-based HPI implementation.

Kontron offers the AT8940 40GbE Switch, plus a selection of compute and packet processor blades, including the 40G AT8070 Processor blade featuring support for the Intel® Xeon™ E5-2600 v2 10-Core Processors, and the 2-socket AT8242 32-Core (64-core total) OCTEON II Packet Processor blades. Also included is redundant Shelf Management with interoperabilitytested Shelf Manager Cross Connects as per PICMG specification, and optional systems management functionality based on the COMexpress form factor – 25 GB and 50 GB SATA MO-297 or 16 GB eUSB system management storage option – which resides on the AT8940 hub for centralized system management. A Telco Alarm panel provides telecom grade external system alarm notification.

MORE CARRIER GRADE PLATFORMS FROM KONTRON Kontron’s Carrier Grade Communication Rackmount Servers are all NEBS-3 and ETSI compliant and are used for a variety of telecom applications in central office environments, and are

Systems inDesign | December 2013

FEATURE More Density, More Efficiency for LTE Deployments

a perfect complement to ATCA-built network elements, often deployed together in the same cabinet. Some applicable highavailability scenarios include unified messaging, call control, media or signaling gateways, and BSS/OSS platforms. The CG2200 Carrier Grade Server is Kontron’s flagship server, which combines performance, ruggedness, reliability, and long life in a NEBS-3 and ETSI-compliant 2U chassis. Similarly to the ATCA platform line, the CG2200 has been designed to withstand extreme heat, humidity, altitude and zone 4 earthquake shock and multiple other extreme environmental conditions in compliance with NEBS-3/ETSI requirements. Also important for the rigid requirements of the telecom central office, the server includes advanced server management and telco alarm management features that provide visual, audible (optional) and SNMP event indications of faults.

Kontron

This ensures faster time to market and therefore faster time to revenue. Avnet Embedded will tailor the right hardware and software component configurations to meet the requirements of the client’s application. Does the application require a full 14-slot chassis, or will a smaller 3U suffice? Where will this application fit in what type of network? The type of application that will be supported by the platform will determine the building blocks used in the system. In addition to LTE elements, ATCA platforms are equally suited for HLRs, IMS, GPON/EPON and Optical Transport Network Elements, and, QoS and Test Platform Network Elements. With the right hardware and software mix, a final system will provide a highly dense feature set of functionalities in a small footprint as a fully NEBS compliant integrated system. Avnet Embedded offers expert assistance by providing quality, product engineering and integration services that help achieve objectives and deliver world-class solutions. Avnet integration centers are ISO 9001-2008 certified facilities and the centerpiece of Avnet’s quality controlled logistics operation. Avnet’s integration center facilities and resources enable world-class services by focusing on quality, cycle time and delivery. The integration center provides a wide range of technical expertise to serve Avnet’s diverse customer base. These capabilities are delivered in state-of-the-art facilities and processes that include ISO, Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement.

For TEMs seeking a 1U solution, Kontron offers the CG1200 Carrier Grade Server, featuring Dual Intel® Xeon® E5-2448L 8-Core Processors. It is optimized for Gen3 PCI-E IO card implementation with: 1x PCI-e x16 riser (FH/HL card3 – configuration dependent); Intel I/O module option; up to four hot-swappable 2.5” SAS HDDs/SATA SSDs; integrated SAS/ SATA interface with SW RAID 0/1/10; and dual redundant AC/ DC hot-swappable power supplies.

AVNET EMBEDDED INTEGRATION SERVICES – HW/SW VALIDATION AND INTEROPERABILITY Kontron has teamed up with Avnet Embedded to leverage their world-class system integration services. Avnet Embedded simplifies and streamlines the solution development and delivery process by enabling customers to maximize existing resources, operate more efficiently and reduce costs associated with new product development. These services and capabilities can be leveraged at select stages or throughout the complete solution lifecycle.

December 2013 | Systems inDesign

BIGGEST WINNERS: ATCA IN TIER-2 AND TIER-3 TEM SEGMENTS These equipment manufacturers typically are heavily resourced in application development and cannot fully engineer new platforms in-house. The combined approach of Kontron designed ATCA hardware pre-integrated by Avnet Embedded as a turnkey solution ensures TEMs dramatically reduce their go to market schedules and benefit from the advantages of a common platform supplied by a large interoperable ecosystem of ATCA system components. For more information about Kontron’s AdvancedTCA platforms visit the Kontron Feature page on the Avnet Embedded Web Site

Embedded Devices: Customization Made Easy Every device type has its own unique requirement—and each device within a product line has its own strategy for market success. Avnet Embedded is here to act as your trusted advisor and help you navigate the costs associated with customizing a Windows Embedded device. At Avnet Embedded, we help you: • Meet security standards • Integrate into existing applications • Choose which codecs, languages and inputs are required

Avnet - 2013 - Systems inDesign - Dec - v4.pdf 1 11/6/2013 12:06:32 PM

Interactive Digital Signage Bringing Digital Content to Life Engage Your Audience

Advantech’s ubiquitous touch computers are all-in-one systems that offer flexible choices, high performance, and durability. With an innovative side groove design for easy integration of peripherals and accessories, the UTC-5 Series ensures the successful delivery of dynamic content for any application.

Advantech Applied Computing Group 13 Whatney, Irvine, CA 92618 Tel: 949-420-2523 Email: ACGInfo@advantech.com

www.advantech.com

UTC-5 Series

Optional Modules

Optional Accessories

• 15.6”, 21.5”, and 32”

• 2D Barcode Scanner • Magnetic Stripe Reader • 2.0M Camera • RFID Reader • Smart Card Reader • 4 in 1 - Coming Soon!

• Floor Stand (UTC-K01) • Desktop Stand • Floor Stand (UTC-K02) • Wall Mount - Coming

available • Provides Natural Viewing Experience with 16:9 True Flat display • Scalable computing options including AMD® T40E, Intel® Atom D2550, and Intel® Core™ i7

soon! • Floor Stand (UTC-R01)

FEATURE

Omni-Channel Retailing & Hospitality Advantech Provides a Seamless Approach to Consumer Experience Omni-Channel marketing is an approach which aims to design seamless consumer experiences across all marketing channels – social networks, e-commerce, catalogs, flyers, smartphones, TV and radio, in-store digital signage, traditional brick-andmortar, or any other channel a consumer might tap into. And it is becoming more important for merchants in retail and hospitality to remain competitive. From the point of view of the consumer, there is no difference between these channels. A shopper will be checking out products; price and feature comparing with a smartphone from inside the store (a phenomenon known as showrooming), looking at a friend’s recommendations on Facebook, watching TV commercials, and looking for a deal in the store. They’ll expect to be able to place orders online and handle returns at the brick-and-mortar location. They’ll want easy access to continuous inventory, which can be managed by providing an endless-aisle display in-store. If the business owner is not ready with the right products and policies, and they can’t deliver a consistent experience across the myriad of marketing channels, the business risks being left behind. And it’s a moving target as well; new technologies are putting tools into the consumer’s hands at record pace. No longer is the merchant calling the shots – the market belongs to the consumer.

SAVVY SHOPPERS SPEND MORE Research shows that the more knowledgeable a customer is the more they spend, from 15-30% more. The majority of omni-customers are reviewing before purchase, and using a smartphone and checking things out after viewing print and TV ads. Everyone is looking for a deal, particularly as the economy has put the squeeze on disposable income. Shoppers are even researching small ticket items. Deals can come in all forms, from mobile ads to in-store promos. A key is having all the channels unified and able to deliver economic value consistently and seamlessly to the customer, no matter where they begin their product search. Why should a business care? Here’s a good reason: the “new” markets (social media, email and mobile) are huge and their value will almost triple between now and 2016. Another reason is that the competition is already doing it. To outpace the competition requires an active and thoughtful omni-channel campaign, as well as a commitment to investing in technology: digital signage displays, table-top and interactive touch computers, internet, and software development.

December 2013 | Systems inDesign

Showrooming – The ability to comparison shop right from the sales floor, checking recommendations and prices from the convenience of a smart device, has turned the table of power from the merchant to the consumer. But merchants can level the field, simply by installing digital displays with content-rich information next to the product. This shift from the consumer’s small display to the merchant’s full-size display can give the merchant more control – if the content is right! Endless-Aisle – A digital display on an end cap can feature products not carried in the store. If the consumer can interact and complete the transaction from the store with delivery to their home, an endlessaisle can be an effective boost to in-store sales.

STEPS TO SUCCESS Plan, practice, measure and stay flexible. Look for the proof of economic value to the consumer, create a roadmap and once defined, begin a careful implementation. Follow what the customer is doing, and move in the same direction, while testing the success or failure of each campaign. Keep in mind that data and content are critical. Content development should have the

FEATURE Omni-Channel Retailing & Hospitality

goal of increasing customer engagement with the brand. Experts recommend that businesses start by looking inward. Building internal collaboration between departments instead of pockets of information is a good way to begin. Once information is being freely shared, content and context can be developed that spans departmental boundaries. And make sure the in-store sales force is up to speed; they should be equipped with access to real-time data and be expert at answering customer queries.

PERSONALIZE IT! Build interactive, customer-facing technology that invites the customer to participate. In-store this can be done with interactive displays. Encourage game-playing and gesturebased technology; the customer should enjoy the process so much that they forget there is a marketing campaign behind it. Digital signage can create endless-aisles, but retail infrastructure has to allow for in-store ordering and home

Advantech

delivery as well as for online ordering and in-store returns. Personalized coupons can be sent to mobile subscribers; indeed customers who opt in to such communications are good friends; they’ll be “likeing” your promos on social network sites which will spread brand awareness by word-of-mouth advertising. Listen to the customer as well – from soliciting interactive feedback applications on table-top displays, to watching comments on Facebook. The bottom line is that retailers need to encourage shoppers by understanding them, their behavior, and how and when to contact them. Customers will say what they like and more importantly what they don’t like, so that the business owner can adapt.

CUSTOMER DEMAND IS DRIVING DIGITAL SIGNAGE INTEGRATION Even though the majority of purchases are still made in traditional brick-and-mortar stores, keeping the experience fresh

Systems inDesign | December 2013

Omni-Channel Retailing & Hospitality

and building brand loyalty is the key to long term profitability. Integrating interactive digital technology with smart omnichannel campaigns, providing consistent experience and consistent branding, and personalizing the shopping experience will keep customers engaged, and go a long way to building sales and loyalty.

ADVANTECH PROVIDES EXPERT PLATFORMS FOR RETAIL AND HOSPITALITY APPLICATIONS Advantech’s UTC-series touch computers are perfect examples. The UTC-532 and UTC-520 offer interactive displays, real-time data, and can deliver personalized content with flair. The systems are stylish, and designed to fit upscale environments. Data can be delivered to them from a local data server or from cloud-based storage extending the merchant’s reach to global levels. UTC-series touch computers enable retailers to deliver a powerful message, with mixed content to immerse shoppers and engage them in a fun and informative way. UTC-532 and UTC-520 both support a variety of peripherals allowing them to be completely customized to fit specific environments. They are a great tool for retailers to promote brand awareness, and deliver customized retail and hospitality applications.

Advantech

THE BOTTOM LINE Staying ahead of the game in retail and hospitality involves a lot more than having a great product. Today’s smart merchants are listening to their customers, studying their behavior, and designing applications to deliver personalized content, in real-time, that is interactive, informative and engaging. Building customer loyalty requires thinking outside the box; meeting the customers with a consistent message, look and feel on whatever channel they choose to query. It also means bridging the brick-and-mortar world with digital applications in-store so that the entire shopping experience is a seamless one. Digital technology in-store is a means to reaching this goal. Lastly, realizing that omni-channel marketing is a fast-pace, evolving strategy is important: knowing the customer and keeping in-sync with them is as important as keeping stock on the shelf. For more information on the UTC-series of touch computers, or the complete range of Advantech services and solutions, please visit www.advantech.com Visit the Advantech Interactive Digital Signage Page on the Avnet Embedded Web Site

December 2013 | Systems inDesign

VENTANA The Next Generation Platform for

Digital Signage

Is Here!

Gateworks introduces VENTANA Family of Single Board Computers (SBC’s) designed to deliver to Designers of Digital Signage an enhanced and comprehensive set of hardware and software that enables superior next generation Digital Signage. Ventana enables leading edge features: • High-Definition multimedia graphics • On-the-fly selection/change of message • Real time audience interaction • Video analytics • ‘Distributed Signage’ to a large set(s) of multiple displays • Lower Price-points to expand market penetration • Faster time to market Ventana offers multiple advantages: • Configurable video connectivity with multiple inputs & outputs; HDMI Input & Output, LVDS output and Composite inputs &output. • Lowest power (1/3 of X86 designs). • Miniature board sizes (35X100mm to 140X100mm) (make possible “Distributed Digital Signages” where each display has its own minitature SBC for driving HD video and camera inputs to provide audience interaction. • Wireless (WiFi, 3G/4G cellular) and wired networking options on every SBC. Remote Loading or initiating content suited for your target audience is easily done on the fly. • Rugged-operate in high vibration and high shock environments. • Fully spec’d over the industrial temp-range (-40 to +85 ºC) operate over temp extremes, indoors or out doors. • Expansion modules provide over a hundred variants which are available now. • All Ventana SBC’s are manufactured in the USA in a very cost effective Surface Mount Technology (SMT) facility.

Transform your signage solutions now with Ventana SBC’s.

Order your Development Kit Today! Contact Gateworks at www.gateworks.com or Call 805-781-2000

I N N O V A T I O N S

F O R

E M B E D D E D

D E S I G N S

FEATURE I N N O V A T I O N S

F O R

E M B E D D E D

D E S I G N S

Gateworks’ Ventana Single Board Computers For the Next Generation of Digital Signage Applications By Ron Eisworth – Executive VP Sales and Marketing, Gateworks Corporation Demand for Digital Signage is exploding. The latest market research shows the Digital Signage market at over $13 billion in sales by 2016. Digital Signage is working its way into a wide variety of applications in the consumer, industrial, medical services and transportation markets. New innovative applications appear daily from exterior advertising displays on busses and taxis to interactive outdoor digital billboards. The number of applications for Digital Signage has become unbounded as the popularity of smart phones and tablets has created the expectation of a rich, interactive user experience in all aspects of our lives. A common requirement for these new application areas is a small, powerful and very low power Single Board Computer (SBC). The hardware must be rugged, able to handle severe shock, vibration and extreme temperatures. In addition to having rich display capabilities, the hardware must be full-featured to allow connection with sensors and other user inputs. Below are some of the hardware features and considerations required for supporting the next generation of Digital Signage applications.

Small Size and Weight – Size and weight are crucial requirements as many of the new applications require the electronics to be embedded inside the actual display or embedded into a vehicle. Traditional OEM hardware is not optimized for size or weight. Distributed implementations are becoming more popular where each

December 2013 | Systems inDesign

display is self-contained and includes all the Digital Signage electronics. This also adds an extra level of redundancy for large deployments. Low Power and Wide-Input Operating Voltage – Digital Signage applications are rapidly expanding into non-traditional areas such as the outside of a vehicle or at a remote location where standard AC power is not available and the hardware must run on batteries or solar panels. These applications require very low power operation. Additionally, hardware that can support a wide-input voltage range is ideal to allow use with batteries, solar or direct vehicle power. Most OEM solutions cannot support wide-input voltage ranges along with the load dump transients found in these types of applications. Typically, costly power conditioning circuitry must be used to handle these types of applications.

Rugged: Vibration & Shock – As Digital Signage applications migrate to all types of vehicles, shock and vibration become big considerations. Designs that allow for secure mounting of all hardware, expansion modules and connectors should be used. Designs should also avoid using large and heavy components which are susceptible to being damaged. Locking connectors should also be used to secure all cables. Industrial Temperature Operation – Environments encountered in these new application areas require operation over extreme temperature ranges. The hardware must be able to handle the low temperatures in the middle of the winter and high temperatures in the heat of summer. Artic and desert environments also create additional restrictions. Industrial temperature operation

Gateworks Ventana Single Board Computers

Gateworks

(-40 to +85 ºC) is needed in many cases. Additionally, industrial rated hardware can allow for a fanless design which helps to increase reliability by eliminating another potential point of failure (fan).

drives can be used to address these requirements. mSATA drives use the Mini-PCIe form factor which provides for secure mounting in a very compact form factor.

Network Interface (Cellular, Wi-Fi, Ethernet) – Remote locations and areas without easy access to the internet create challenges for Digital Signage applications. Cellular and Wi-Fi connections are becoming more common to allow unwired operation. Ethernet is still widely used for hardwired interfaces or for communication over a network in multi-sign deployments. Hardware that provides Mini-PCIe expansion connectors allows the OEM to choose a radio to meet their needs. Many times OEMs will want to support multiple cellular and Wi-Fi radios to allow for expanded coverage with failover should one communication channel go down or in areas where one cellular provider may have limited service.

Expansion Capability – As applications become more complex, hardware that can be easily expanded is essential. Expansion can be provided through different common interfaces such as Mini-PCIe slots or other mezzanine interfaces. Mini-PCIe has many advantages in that it provides both PCIe and USB signaling which are widely supported by different peripherals. It is also compact in size and securely mounts to the board. A wide variety of vendors provide Mini-PCIe expansion cards that cover a wide range of interfaces ranging from digital I/O to graphics cards.

Communication and Interface Ports (RS485, RS232, CAN Bus, USB, Digital I/O) – New interactive applications require inputs and outputs to various sensors for tailoring the signage content and providing additional user interaction. Many of these sensors use standard interfaces so a platform that can support a wide variety of interfaces can simplify the overall design, thus reducing overall power, cost and size.

Unfortunately, many of today’s Digital Signage solutions are based on standard solutions not designed specifically to address the above requirements. This forces OEMs to make design compromises or to add in additional hardware to compensate for the sub-optimal hardware.

Position & Orientation Info (GPS, Accelerometer/ Magnetometer) – As applications become more mobile, positional information is essential for tailoring signage content. As an example, a city bus, may display a location based ad for a restaurant when it is within a specified distance from that restaurant. Integration of these sensors into the hardware reduces the overall size and cost.

To address these tough requirements, Gateworks has developed the Ventana Family of Single Board Computers (SBCs). These SBCs have been designed to specifically address these needs and provide OEMs a platform for expanding into these next generation applications. The Ventana Family of SBCs are based upon the Freescale i.MX 6 Cortex-A9 ARM processor and consists of six standard board

Video Inputs & Outputs (HDMI, Composite, LVDS) – Multiple video inputs and outputs are becoming popular as new features and capabilities are added to Digital Signage applications. It is now very common to have an input camera which allows advanced software to identify the viewer and determine age, sex and level of interest. Many applications also need to drive multiple monitors; for example, a local console is used to drive a small LVDS touchscreen which in turn controls the content on a larger HDMI LCD display. Watchdog and System Monitors – Down time cannot be tolerated for many applications where critical information is being provided to the user. Hardware which supports monitoring of critical system parameters, such as voltage and temperature, can be used with watchdog circuitry to provide increased reliability and advanced service notification should problems arise. Robust Media Storage – A robust method to store local media content is essential for high shock and vibration mobile environments. Industrial temperature rated solid state mSATA

Gateworks GW5400 Ventana Full Featured SBC

models ranging from a miniature 35 x 100 mm up to a full featured 140 x 100 mm board size. Features and performance increase as the board size increases allowing OEMs to choose a SBC which meets their exact needs. Some of the key features of the Ventana Family are:

Systems inDesign | December 2013

FEATURE Gateworks Ventana Single Board Computers

Gateworks Miniature GW5100 A full featured SBC at only 35 x 100 mm size ``

Freescale i.MX 6 ARM Cortex A-9 processor up to 1.2G Hz quad core

Up to 2GBytes soldered onboard Flash for rugged media

Up to 4Gbytes soldered onboard DDR3 DRAM memory

Support for multiple video inputs/outputs – HDMI In/Out, LVDS Out, CVBS In/Out

Support for audio input/output

Up to six Mini-PCIe expansion connectors for radio and peripheral support, Wi-Fi, cellular, mSATA, Digital I/O, etc.

Up to two Gigabit Ethernet ports for hardwired network interfaces

Wide variety of interface ports – USB, CAN, RS485/RS232, Digital I/O, etc.

Advanced system monitoring for board status and preventative maintenance

Onboard SIM socket for LTE/GSM cellular radio support

December 2013 | Systems inDesign

Gateworks

All models come standard industrial temperature rated (-40 to +85 ºC)

Small size and weight – Sizes ranging from 35 x 100 mm to 140 x 100 mm

Very low power – Typical operating power ranging from 3 W to 5 W with dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) power management

Rugged design for use in high-shock and high-vibration environments

Wide-input voltage range ranging from 8 to 60 VDC with transient protection

GPS & Magnetometer/Accelerometer for location and positional information

Android and OpenEmbedded Yocto Open Source Linux BSP’s

Long life, 10 year product availability

Made in USA

The Gateworks’ Ventana family raises the bar and gives OEMs a standard yet flexible hardware platform that is powerful enough to drive the next generation of Digital Signage applications. With six standard models the OEM can select a price/performance solution to meet their needs. Gateworks easy customization program also allows OEMs to cost and feature optimize the Ventana boards for volumes starting as low as 100 pieces. Low cost development kits are available for all models to help OEMs start developing quickly. For more information on the Ventana Family, see the Gateworks website at: www.gateworks.com For pricing, availability and additional technical information please contact your Avnet Embedded Account Manager today!

FEATURE

AU Optronics: Teaming with Avnet Embedded to Bring You the Ultimate Display Solutions AU Optronics Corp. is a manufacturer of a full line of advanced TFT-LCD and flat panel display products, with a focus on delivering top-notch quality and cost effectiveness to its customers. PUBLIC INFORMATION DISPLAYS With a history of making significant advancements in the public information display (PID) market, AUO delivers on-time high-quality panels across many applications and sizes to give their customers an edge. The company currently develops technologies to meet the market demand for thinner, lighter displays with power-saving features while responding to the need for environmental responsibility. Providing the widest range of products and panel sizes from 1.2” to over 65”, AUO delivers the latest application technologies and innovative quality test TFT-LCDs. With AUO, your products will be more environmentally friendly, more appealing and more competitive. AUO’s PID products have been applied in many international airports, and its 65” Photo-Sensor In-Cell Touch E-boards have been adopted by many educational facilities. AUO’s 46” high resolution super-narrow bezel panels have a bezel-to-bezel distance of just 5 mm. The AUO 50” FHD transparent display features high transparency and high color saturation. Suitable for many kinds of commercial display applications and delivering several innovative features, the transparent display will really capture the attention of consumers.

SWITCHABLE MIRROR DISPLAYS New from AUO is a 55” switchable mirror display offering two views: a clear mirror image and a 350 nit, 1080p, HDMI full color display. It’s switchable via a USB input. An infrared touch option is available as well. Typical installations include clothing stores, hair salons, gym change-rooms and more.

DUAL-SIDED DISPLAY The AUO 55” dual-side display product has a super slim design to save a significant amount of space. Separate images can be shown on each side of the unit. This display could be deployed successfully in public spaces such as shopping malls, retail outlets, airports, metro stations, financial institutions, museums

Systems inDesign | December 2013

AU Optronics: Teaming with Avnet Embedded to Bring You the Ultimate Display Solutions

and exhibition halls. The product also has dual brightness, with one display at 450 nits and the other at 700 nits, making it good for environments such as the bright window of a storefront.

4K BY 2K The AUO 4K by 2K display offers ultra high resolution in a variety of sizes from 27” to 65”. AUO UHD 4K wide color gamut panels offer ultra high resolution, fine and stereoscopic images. They feature quad HD resolution of 2560x1440 and ultra HD resolution of 3840x2160 with a 120 Hz frame rate, and boast true colors with a 3D-like effect to deliver exquisite images that transform the viewer experience. Target market applications include medical imaging, conference rooms, military surveillance and broadcasting.

AU Optronics

GREEN SCREENS To help protect the environment, AUO constantly makes Improvements to its manufacturing processes, including reducing the number of steps and components involved in the manufacturing process, and making good use of automation and robotics to improve efficiency and reduce human contamination in the clean room.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AUO’s research and development activities are principally directed towards advancing its manufacturing processes, technologies and products, including improving product features and working with customers to design items that are tailored to their specific requirements. There is a product development team dedicated to each of the company’s primary categories and a centralized research and development team that works to improve manufacturing processes, as well as a team of technical support personnel that focuses on computer integrated manufacturing.

AUO HAS ACHIEVED MANY FIRSTS:

VENDING EXCELLENCE For vending machine and product display solutions, AUO high offers transparent panels that integrate touch functions and multimedia content. Merchandise can be displayed together with colorful and captivating product information. Available for various kinds of commercial display applications in the near future, AUO’s transparent displays come in a variety of sizes.

AUO Technology Center, Taiwan’s largest R&D facility, was established in 2002

Since 2002, AUO has been the leading patent holder in Taiwan’s flat panel industry.

AUO was the first to produce reflective TFT-LCD panels for use in small-sized wireless applications requiring low power consumption.

AUO was the first to integrate connectors onto glass substrates (COG technology) to reduce raw material costs and improve product quality and reliability.

AUO mass produces TFT-LCD panels by means of 3.5th, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7.5th and 8.5th generation substrates.

AVAILABLE THROUGH AVNET EMBEDDED “Avnet Embedded is pleased to be able to offer digital display solutions that utilize the range of excellent products available from AU Optronics,” said Joe Fijak, vice president, display solutions, Avnet Embedded. “The wide array of AUO display options combined with the expertise of the Avnet Embedded display solutions team will provide exciting new capabilities for our clients who develop digital display solutions.”

December 2013 | Systems inDesign

FEATURE AU Optronics: Teaming with Avnet Embedded to Bring You the Ultimate Display Solutions

Avnet Embedded offers a complete portfolio of display, peripheral and support accessories from world-class manufacturers and combines them with state-of-the-art integration services to deliver solutions tailored specifically to your applications and business model. We offer a complete range of size and performance options; touch technologies that improve the human-machine interface experience, and solutions that are adaptable for kiosk and handheld applications. Avnet Embedded technical specialists are recognized subject matter experts, trained in the latest technologies, whose practical real-world experience will provide you with cost-effective, customized solutions for all of your display requirements.

AU Optronics

For more information about AU Optronics PID solutions, please visit www.aou.com For more information about Avnet Embeddedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Digital Display services and solutions, please contact your Avnet Embedded customer service representative or email us at ask-lcd@avnet.com

Avnet Embedded simplifies and streamlines the solution development and delivery process, enabling our customers to maximize existing resources, operate more efficiently and reduce the costs associated with new product development.

Systems inDesign | December 2013

TAilored. AvneT SoluTionS MeeT Your unique needS From big to small – we do it all. Even big products begin small, with millions of sizes in between. We see them all. Here at Avnet, no order is too small. Avnet provides products and services to match your needs. No matter the location; whether you are in the new product introduction phase or extending a product’s life. If you need design support, or supply chain assistance – we’re here to help. With Avnet, you determine the scale of interaction – or complexity – and we will support you every step of the way, so it’s a perfect fit! What can we do for you? www.avnetembedded.com

Accelerating Your Success!™ 1 800 332 8638 | www.avnetembedded.com |

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integRAteD. integRAteD. eMbeDDeD eMbeDDeDSOlUtiOnS SOlUtiOnSFROM FROMAVnet AVnet

Design, Design, source, integrate, test, deploy – –Avnet Avnet does ititall. all. Design,source, source,integrate, integrate,test, test,deploy deploy– Avnetdoes doesit all. When When your core competence isissystem system and software design and time totomarket market isiscritical, critical, Whenyour yourcore corecompetence competenceis systemand andsoftware softwaredesign designand andtime timeto marketis critical, you don’t have time to worry about the make or buy question. Relax. Avnet Embedded you youdon’t don’thave havetime timetotoworry worryabout aboutthe themake makeororbuy buyquestion. question.Relax. Relax.Avnet AvnetEmbedded Embedded offers expert support and a afull full suite ofofhighly highly integrated solutions – –from from storage, offers offersexpert expertsupport supportand anda fullsuite suiteof highlyintegrated integratedsolutions solutions– fromstorage, storage, computing, software and networking computing, products totodisk disk drives, flat panels and embedded computing,software softwareand andnetworking networkingproducts productsto diskdrives, drives,flat flatpanels panelsand andembedded embedded boards. boards. So, before you start pondering that question again, get inintouch touch with the experts boards.So, So,before beforeyou youstart startpondering ponderingthat thatquestion questionagain, again,get getin touchwith withthe theexperts experts at Avnet first. You’ll be glad you did. atatAvnet Avnetfirst. first.You’ll You’llbe beglad gladyou youdid. did. What www.avnetexpress.com www.avnetembedded.com Whatcan canwe wedo dofor foryou? you?www.avnetembedded.com

Accelerating Your Success! ™™ ™1 1 Accelerating AcceleratingYour YourSuccess! Success! 800 332 8638 1 800 332 8638| |www.avnetembedded.com | www.avnetembedded.com www.avnetexpress.com| | 800 332 8638

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