October 2019, Volume 21 – Number 10 • cotsjournalonline.com
The Journal of Military Electronics & Computing
JOURNAL
Is Xilinx’s Vitis a game changer? This Unified Software unlocks a New Design Experience for Developers New Ways to Build a Business Bedrock for the IOT Age
The Journal of Military Electronics & Computing COTS (kots), n. 1. Commercial off-the-shelf. Terminology popularized in 1994 within U.S. DoD by SECDEF Wm. Perry’s “Perry Memo” that changed military industry purchasing and design guidelines, making Mil-Specs acceptable only by waiver. COTS is generally defined for technology, goods and services as: a) using commercial business practices and specifications, b) not developed under government funding, c) offered for sale to the general market, d) still must meet the program ORD. 2. Commercial business practices include the accepted practice of customer-paid minor modification to standard COTS products to meet the customer’s unique requirements.
JOURNAL
—Ant. When applied to the procurement of electronics for he U.S. Military, COTS is a procurement philosophy and does not imply commercial, office environment or any other durability grade. E.g., rad-hard components designed and offered for sale to the general market are COTS if they were developed by the company and not under government funding.
SPECIAL FEATURES 16
Is Xilinx’s Vitis a game changer? This Unified Software Platform unlocks a New Design Experience for Developers
By John Reardon, Contributating Publisher COTS Journal
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT 20
DEPARTMENTS 6
Publisher’s Notes;
Powering Machine Intelligence at the Edge
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The Inside Track
New Ways to Build a Business Bedrock for the IOT Age By Haydn Povey, CEO and Founder, Secure Thinz
COT’S PICKS 24
Editor’s Choice for October
Cover Image Black Sea Sky The USS Carney transits the Black Sea, Aug. 21, 2018. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Ryan U. Kledzik
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The Journal of Military Electronics & Computing
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PUBLISHER
John Reardon, johnr@rtc-media.com VICE PRESIDENT Aaron Foellmi, aaronf@rtc-media.com
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
John Reardon, Publisher
Powering Machine Intelligence at the Edge As the demand for edge devices to be both powerful AI compute Engines along with being low power took the talents of a very creative group at ETA Compute. ETA Compute founded in 2015, was driven by the exciting world of AI at the edge. In the short time since their inception, the company has been able to obtain a number of Patents that have address power and performance in a very novel way that is claimed to be 10 times more efficient then others. How this is done Most digital processors in use today are synchronous, which is to say various elements within the digital processor operate synchronously in response to a common clock signal. The power consumption of synchronous digital processor may be estimated by the formula p=0.5fcv2, Where: p=power consumption, f=clock frequency, c=average internal capacitance charged or discharged on each clock cycle, and v=power supply voltage. For example, assume that a synchronous digital processor can be operated with a 1 GHz clock frequency at a power supply voltage of 1.0 volt. Further assume that, when operated at 1 GHz and 1 volt, the power consumption of the processor is 0.5 watt. With these assumptions, a processing task that requires 1 million clock cycles can be completed in 1 millisecond with an energy cost of 0.5 wattĂ—1 millisecond=0.5 mill joules. However, suppose that a time period of 1 second was actually available to complete this processing task. The task could be performed by operating the processor with a clock rate of 1 MHz. A power supply voltage of only 0.4 volts may be sufficient 6
COTS Journal | October 2019
to run the processor with a 1 MHz clock. In this case the power dissipation of the processor ( fcv^2) would drop to 0.5(1/1000) (0.4)2=0.08 mW. However the processor would run for a full second to complete the task, so the energy cost of the task would be =0.08 mW*1 second=0.08 mJ. In this example operating the processor at a lower clock speed and commensurate lower voltage reduces the energy consumption by a factor of about 6x better compared to intermittent full speed operation. In general, the energy cost of a processing task will be minimized if the task is completed over the maximum available time period at the slowest possible clock speed and power supply voltage. Current production processor integrated circuits are synchronous and the methodology and tools for designing synchronous processor circuits are well developed, so long as the processor circuit is designed to operate from a power supply voltage substantially above the threshold voltage of the transistors comprising the processor. While research papers have shown that near-threshold operation of synchronous processors (i.e., operation with a power supply voltage near the transistor threshold voltage) may be possible, process variations and operating temperature variations can cause the delay of near-threshold circuits to vary by a factor of up to 100. Additionally, for near-threshold operation, transistor leakage currents are neither well-modeled nor well-controlled in production processes. Thus modeling delay accurately in circuits for near-threshold voltage operation is challenging, and current design tools are not suited to the design of near-threshold synchronous processors. As a consequence, near-threshold voltage operation in synchronous designs has been limited to research only. It is possible to dynamically change the clock speed and/or power supply voltage for a synchronous processor in response to varying processing demand. However, an additional problem with synchronous processors is a need to reset/pause the processor whenever the clock frequency or voltage is changed. This results in wasted power and time that limits the benefits
of dynamically changing the clock speed and/or power supply voltage.
the power efficiency of inferencing use less resource across the chip.
The Market Reaction In a recent collaboration between ROHM and Eta Computer, the combination of ROHM’s sensor expertise and the Eta’s low power MCU is focused at bringing about a Wi-SUN compatible sensor node to deliver one of the highest performing, lowest power solutions for smart networks.
The power management techniques employed position this as the only viable solution that can operate at <5uA. This allows for creative solar or other energy harvesting techniques to be used for continues use. Battery operation in many applications exceeds the life expectancy of the application at more than 10 years using a small coin cell.
The nodes coming from the ROHM and Eta Compute partnership will be designed for frequent, low-latency communication that draws less than 1 µA when resting and, more importantly, only 1 mA while sensing. This enables customers to configure devices to sense frequently and still maintain a long-life. The nodes will be compatible with Wi-SUN technology, which is based on the IEEE 802.15.4g standard and backed by the Wi-SUN Alliance.
As latency and real-time response become more important to the application, the EtaCore offers a perfect solution at the edge.
Applications such as speech and image recognition are the most obvious, but there are many that would benefit by the ASIC that operates in an asynchronous mode for the highest energy efficiency. This architecture is more desirable for edge device applications where the amount of resources (both memory and compute) is limited. It also offers a solution for protecting securing personal information without the need for relying on the cloud for inferencing. ETACore is a perfect compliment to low power wans that is energy constrained. Initial traction for the devices has come in four areas: 1. Always-on Speech – EtaCore has a power efficiency that opens the door of many OEM applications for voice recognition that are constrained by power. 2. Video and Imaging – Techniques for video and image classification, clustering and sequence analysis is perfect for threat analysis and fire control systems. 3.Sensor Fusion – For motion and environmental sensors based on accelerometers, chemical sensors and gyros. EtaCore enables sensors hubs to perform more comprehensive algorithms for real-time updates. 4. Digital Health – Sensors and machine learning from bedside diagnostics to predictive modeling.
ETA Compute as assembled a team of leading Machine Learning, CPU and SoC architects, analog and digital designers to issue 4 key patents in dynamically controlling power by modulating processor clock speed and thus power. The leadership team is rich with talents that may seem familiar, as they have had successful lives at other noted companies. Gopal Raghavan, Co-Founder is an expert across many disciplines in and around chip design having recently let up Cadence Design as CTO. His life experience ranges from large defense contractors to other start-ups such as Inphi Corporation. Paul Washkewicz, Vice President and Co-Founder also came to the company with extensive and diverse experience. He held senior positions at Intel, HP and General Dynamics before joining Inphi were he met Gopal Raghavan. Ted Tewsbury, although new to the company, Mr. Tewsbury brings a wealth of industry experience. Having held numerous executive management and Board positions across the industry, Mr. Tewsbury is a perfect choice in guiding this technically dynamic company to a successful future.
The Eta ECM3531 is based on the ARM Cortex-M3 and NXP Coolflux DSP processors. The SOC includes a power-leading Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) senor interface and highly efficient PMIC circuit. EtaCore’s dynamic voltage scaling logic automatically drives the ECM3531 to the lowest energy possible for a given workload. This combined with COTS Journal | October 2019
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Mercury Systems Announces Appointment of Dr. William Conley as Chief Technology Officer Mercury Systems, Inc. announced today that William Conley, Ph.D., will join the Company as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, effective Sept. 30, 2019. In this role, Dr. Conley will direct and accelerate Mercury’s technology vision and leadership in innovative technology that provides state-of-the-art solutions to the aerospace and defense industry. “I am thrilled to welcome Bill to Mercury’s leadership team,” said Mark Aslett, Mercury President and CEO. “He is a proven leader and innovator with extensive experience building world-class technology teams and developing highly-successful products and platforms in the defense industry. His expertise in envisioning the future will help keep Mercury at the forefront of delivering innovation that matters.” “It’s a privilege to join Mercury at such a pivotal time in our industry and to be with a company at the intersection of technology and defense,” said Dr. Conley. “I look forward to working with the leadership team and all my new Mercury colleagues to continue driving technological change, charting our future, and bringing innovative products and services to our valued aerospace and defense industry customers.” “Dr. Conley’s expertise in anticipating and implementing new and emerging technology trends, especially in electronic warfare, aligns
Boeing Awarded $2.6 Billion for Fifth KC-46A Tanker Production Lot The U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing] a $2.6 billion contract for 15 KC-46A tanker aircraft, spares, support equipment, spare engines and wing air refueling pod kits. With this fifth production lot, Boeing now is on contract for 67 KC-46 tankers. Boeing received its first two production lots, for 7 and 12 aircraft, in August 2016. The third lot, for 15 aircraft, was awarded in January 2017; the fourth lot for 18 aircraft in September 2018. “We’re honored to build the Air Force’s next-generation tanker and appreciate the importance of this program for our nation,” said Jamie Burgess, Boeing KC-46A tanker vice president 8
COTS Journal | October 2019
perfectly with Mercury’s strategy to deliver safe, secure and trusted solutions to the defense industry, and ensure our customers’ success,” said Didier Thibaud, Mercury’s Chief Operating Officer. “With his unique understanding of Department of Defense needs, he will also help us accelerate the process of bringing new technology to our defense customers as we bridge the gap between commercial technology and defense applications. I am looking forward to Bill joining our team.” Dr. Conley brings to Mercury a wealth of experience in research, development, weapon system acquisition, technology road mapping, strategy development & implementation, and government. Prior to joining Mercury, he was a member of the Federal Senior Executive Service, serving as the Director for Electronic Warfare in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. In that role, he led the $7 billion annual investment to develop and acquire electronic warfare weapon systems, while also serving as an executive secretary for the Electronic Warfare Executive Committee. Earlier in his civilian career, he was a program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), where he led an innovative investment portfolio focused on electronic warfare. He began his civilian career as an engineer for the Navy, where he co-founded the Laboratory for Spectrum Technology Advanced Research at the Naval Surface Warfare Center – Crane Diand program manager. “This has been a milestone year for KC-46 and a big reason for that is our great partnership with the Air Force. We expect to accomplish great things together in the years to come.” Boeing plans to build 179 of the 767-based refueling aircraft for the Air Force to replace its legacy tanker fleet.
vision. He has been recognized with numerous distinctions and awards. He was the sole Navy civilian recipient in 2011 for the prestigious Department of Defense Outstanding Employee with a Disability award for his work on countering improvised explosive devices. In 2016, he and his team received the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition Technology, and Logistics Award for Excellence for their contributions for addressing critical electronic warfare capability gaps. He was individually recognized by the Association of Old Crows in 2018 with their Gold Award, the highest award the organization bestows, for his contributions to electronic warfare leadership. Bill and his direct reports were recognized in 2018 by the Association of Old Crows – Capitol Chapter with their annual Team Award for their contributions in advocating and securing funding for future programs. Dr. Conley earned a Bachelor of Arts from Whitman College and a Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Philosophy from Purdue University, both in Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Conley will report to Didier Thibaud, Mercury’s Chief Operating Officer.
The
INSIDE TRACK Astronics SATCOM Antenna Technology Selected for Collins Aerospace and SES’s LuxStream Business Aviation Connectivity Service
Astronics Corporation (Nasdaq: ATRO), a leading provider of advanced technologies for global aerospace, defense, and other mission critical industries, announced that it recently executed an agreement with Collins Aerospace’s to provide its Ku-band tail-mounted satellite communications (SATCOM) antenna technology for the Collins Aerospace KuSAT-2000 solution. Astronics AeroSat, a wholly owned subsidiary of Astronics Corporation, will supply the technology for this system.
Lockheed Martin Skunk Works®’ Project Riot Demonstrates Multi-Domain Operations Demonstration Further Proves F-35’s Role as the Keystone of the Joint Force and U-2’s Ability to Rapidly Field Capabilities for the Future
Lockheed Martin Skunk Works®, the Missile Defense Agency and the U.S. Air Force successfully connected an F-35, U-2 and a multi-domain ground station in a ground-breaking test demonstrating multi-domain operations and the secure distribution of sensitive information across multiple platforms. During the demonstration, called Project Riot, an F-35 detected a long-range missile launch with its onboard sensors and shared the information through the U-2 to the air defense
“We are excited to provide our industry-leading tail-mounted antenna technology to Collins Aerospace as it teams with leading satellite operator SES to offer LuxStream, a high-speed broadband connectivity service for the business aviation market. Astronics is committed to supporting Collins Aerospace’s worldclass sales and support teams,” said Matthew Harrah, President of Astronics AeroSat. Collins Aerospace will be the primary point of contact for all sales and technical support requirements, giving dealers and customers an expedited and unified response to all questions concerning the LuxStream service and hardware solution. Collins Aerospace will receive direct support from Astronics’ technical team to address any customer requirements. commander on the ground, enabling the commander to quickly make the decision to target the threat. This next-level connectivity reduces the data-to-decision timeline from minutes to seconds, which is critical in fighting today’s adversaries and advanced threats. In partnership with the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, and the Missile Defense Agency, Skunk Works’ Project Riot builds on a series of open systems architecture demonstrations proving how incremental increases in capability can be rapidly fielded to enable a connected network across air, ground, sea, space and cyber domains. “This demonstration continues our commitment to provide complete battlespace awareness and seamless interoperability to enable multi-domain operations,” said John Clark,
vice president of ISR & UAS at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. “With its long-range standoff sensors, on-board processing and ability to operate in and around contested environments, the U-2 continues to play a critical role in demonstrating new capabilities today, while transforming operations for tomorrow’s battlespace.” Leveraging common industry standards to drive down cost and shorten schedules, the team achieved four mission critical data points in less than four months: • Demonstrated the ability to leverage F-35 sensor data for missile defense • Leveraged the modernized U-2’s extensive payload capacity, modular design and open architecture to provide beyond line of sight communications between the F-35 and a multi-domain ground station • Established two new data paths to securely transmit 5th generation sensor data at multiple levels of security to the warfighter, enabling a multi-domain network of legacy and 5th generation systems • Disseminated 5th generation data using the Air Force’s Universal Command and Control Interface and Open Mission Systems standards for faster capability deployment and seamless connection between systems • “The F-35, with its advanced sensors and connectivity, is able to gather and seamlessly share critical information enabling the joint force to be safer and more effective,” said Greg Ulmer, Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager for the F-35 program. “No other fighter jet in the world has this capability – and this test was a critical step on the path to unlocking its full potential for multi-domain operations.” COTS Journal | October 2019
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AM General and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Partner to Develop New Light Tactical Concept Vehicle – Jeep Gladiator XMT
As a leading manufacturer of light tactical vehicles, AM General, together with the Jeep
Brand of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), today introduced a new light tactical concept vehicle at the Annual Meeting and Exposition of the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA). The Jeep Gladiator Extreme Military-Grade Truck (XMT) by AM General is the first phase of a collaboration that reunites two companies whose histories trace back to World War II. In creat-
ing the Jeep Gladiator XMT, AM General leveraged the Gladiator’s class-leading capabilities and customized the truck to meet global customers’ needs for a light-weight military truck. “We are extremely excited to partner with FCA and introduce the Jeep Gladiator Extreme Military-Grade Truck at AUSA,” said AM General President and CEO, Andy Hove. “This new venture gives us an opportunity to showcase our expertise in light tactical vehicles and help FCA maximize the Gladiator’s global reach and potentially enter new military markets.” AM General identified the all-new 2020 Jeep Gladiator – the most capable midsize truck ever, with 7,650 pounds of towing capacity and up to 1,600 pounds of payload capacity – as the ideal platform on which to develop the Extreme Military-Grade concept vehicle. “The Jeep brand has an important military heritage, so we couldn’t be happier that AM General expressed interest in creating the Gladiator XMT,” said Jim Morrison, Head of Jeep Brand – North America. “The all-new Jeep Gladiator boasts unmatched functionality, versatility and especially capability – including two advanced 4x4 systems, locking differentials, skid plates, tow hooks, and incredible approach, break over and departure angles – the perfect foundation for this ultra-capable military concept vehicle.”
Meggitt Awarded $48 million contract for supply of Aerial Weapons Scoring Systems to the US Army Meggitt PLC, a leading international company specializing in high performance components and sub-systems for the aerospace, defence and energy markets, has secured an IDIQ contract valued at $48million for the supply of Aerial Weapons Scoring Systems (AWSS) to the US Army. This full-service contract will be supplied by Meggitt’s specialist defence division in Irvine, California, and includes product development, training, installation, field and cyber support, maintenance and repairs. AWSS provides essential gunnery training for defence customers worldwide, ensuring safe, efficient operation of targeting systems. 10
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Elistair integrates unmanned ad-hoc networking from Silvus into its tethered UAV platform
Elistair and Silvus technologies united their expertise to provide mobile-networked multiple input and multiple output (MN-MIMO) networking by embedding a Silvus Streamcaster 4200 MIMO radio into an Elistair ORION tethered UAS. The tethered UAs provides ad-hoc networking for the battlefield, to enhance situational awareness and facilitate communications and surveillance missions. With the integration of Silvus MANET technology, Elistair tethered drones will help create rapidly deployable C3 networks, enabling users to share voice and data over greater distances and obstacles. Powered from the ground and flying at up to 100 meters, the ORION tethered drone now provides a combination of persistent ISR and tactical communications to increase situational awareness and connectivity. Automated, secure and with a small lo-
gistical footprint, Elistairâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ORION tethered UAS is designed for extended flight times and austere environments. Silvus Technologies Mesh technology provide wireless communications systems that work in challenging conditions for military and law enforcement and help with video and data transmission in urban, remote, mobile and high-scatter environments. MN-MIMO is an RF waveform that operates in limited-range, poor-performance outdoor- and interference-laden environments. It is a blend of coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (COFDM), MIMO antenna techniques, and mobile ad-hoc networking (MANET) for digital communications. During recent trials and demonstrations, the Streamcaster equipped Orion was critical in connecting dismounted troops, vehicles, air assets and waterborne assets together over distance. This enabled voice, body cam video and asset trackers to be fed into a single control room during the scenario.
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Groundbreaking AI-based Software Automation Platform for Chip Development Secures $3M Investment
Transforming a slow and expensive development flow to boost R&D productivity 100X and unlock massive growth opportunities
Celera Incorporated announced today the closing of a $3M seed investment to develop and commercialize a revolutionary new AI-based software automation platform to accelerate the development of Analog/Mixed-Signal Integrated Circuits (AMSIC) by 100X. The AMSIC segment is a $60B slice of the overall $500B IC industry. Historically its time and resource-intensive
L3Harris Technologies Introduces New Medium-Sized Robotic System for Security Operations in Urban and Space-Constrained Environments Highlights: • T4TM robotic system ideal for HAZMAT, EOD and SWAT missions • First medium-sized robot with human-like dexterity, haptic feedback from arm to remote controller • Smaller, lighter T4 provides same ruggedness as company’s larger, military-grade T7TM robot L3Harris Technologies has introduced a new medium-sized robot ideal for security operations in urban and space-constrained environments – such as hazardous material (HAZMAT) cleanup, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and special weapons and tactics (SWAT) missions. The company is conducting hands-on demonstrations of the prototype robot at its stand, #S-7 310, during DSEI 2019, September 10-13 in London. The Robot provides operators with unmatched capabilities in a compact, rugged package. Its integrated controller interface provides ease of use for operators and unmatched command and control. L3Harris’ robot provides operators with human-like dexterity and haptic force feedback from the robot arm to the remote-control handgrip – a first-of-its-kind capability for a medium-sized robot. This built-in precision control and dexterity shorten task completion time and improve mission effectiveness. A rugged track system provides 12
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R&D workflow has been a $8.5B/year burden with typical 12 to 24 month development times. The result, compounded by a persistent scarcity of engineering talent, is limited growth, profitability and ROI.
Celera’s fully automated AMSIC development platform frees the industry by enabling existing opportunities to be captured with dramatically less development investment and
outstanding mobility and maneuverability required for small spaces, which uniquely positions T4 for security and police forces worldwide. A variety of attachments enable use of standard-issue sensors, disruptors and tools that support a wide range of missions, including the ability to disable and defeat improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in urban environments inside tight spaces, such as automobiles, buses, trains and aircraft.
opens up a vast array of newly viable opportunities for custom AMSIC development in many end markets. Additionally, the platform will empower non-semiconductor experts to define, create and realize their own custom AMSIC’s skipping the huge investments and risk previously required. “For decades the chip industry has been limited by the time and cost of developing new products. Celera has applied patented groundbreaking AI-based software and over two-hundred combined years of hands-on chip design experience to deliver the ‘impossible:’ Fully automated custom Analog/Mixed-Signal IC design,” said Abid Hussain, Co-Founder and CEO.
“T4 brings life-saving technology to the medium-sized robotics market and reaffirms the importance of highly reliable, precise and easyto-use systems for security forces worldwide,” said Ed Zoiss, President, L3Harris Space and Airborne Systems. “T4 combines strength, reach, intuitive control and robustness to deliver uncompromised performance anywhere – even in the most challenging urban environments.”
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Curtiss-Wright and L3Harris Technologies to Demonstrate Breakthrough Advancements in ISR Data-at-Rest Encryption
Curtiss-Wright’s Defense Solutions division, a trusted leading supplier of ruggedized data storage systems, in collaboration with L3Harris Technologies, will provide the first live demonstration presenting certification-ready encryption of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) data with a read/write throughput of 10/17 Gbps (nominal/maximum) per data channel. The encryption device is designed to support two data channels which can be used simultaneously to deliver an aggregated throughput of 34 Gbps. This breakthrough technology provides system designers with an unprecedented combination of highspeed data recording and secure encryption. Curtiss-Wright and L3Harris have teamed to develop a family of Classified Data-at-Rest tactical data storage systems that use Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) over Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe Gen 3) certification-ready
encryption technology to support classified data storage up to U.S. Top Secret. The demo features L3Harris’ new certification-ready PCIe Gen 3-based DataCrypt NVMe Cryptographic Module running on Curtiss-Wright’s high-performance hardware. The DataCrypt module has been designed and developed to achieve full NSA Type-1 certification. The combined solution delivers a near 50 percent improvement in encryption bandwidth compared to earlier SATA-to-SSD systems. The fully integrated demo system automatically monitors the RF spectrum to detect, isolate and classify ISR communications signals for secure situational awareness of mission environments. The resulting signal classification data is encrypted and securely stored, allowing for signal analysis and machine learning training. The demo will be hosted in Curtiss-Wright and L3Harris’ adjacent booths in the SOSA area at the 2019 U.S. Air Force FACE / SOSA Exposition and Technical Interchange Meeting, on Sept. 17, in Dayton.
“Working in collaboration with Curtiss-Wright, we are focused on supporting the need for the highest possible data throughput in fielded ISR systems,” said Don Hairston, President, L3Harris C5 Systems. “Our new DataCrypt cryptographic module leverages high-speed PCIe3 communications and high-performance NVMe storage technology to deliver up to 50 percent faster bandwidth than achievable over previous SATA-based architectures.”
Lynn Bamford, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Defense and Power.
“We are very excited to team with L3Harris
Mercury Systems Completes Acquisition of American Panel Corporation
and net debt adjustments, which was entirely funded with cash on hand.
Mercury Systems, Inc. today announced the completion of its previously reported acquisition of American Panel Corporation (APC).
“We’re pleased that this transaction was completed; the next step is executing a seamless integration,” said Mark Aslett, President and CEO of Mercury. “The acquisition is consistent with our strategy and will expand our position in the growing avionics market while providing important new capabilities for our customers. We welcome the APC team to the Mercury family.”
Pursuant to the terms of the purchase agreement applicable to the acquisition, Mercury acquired APC for a purchase price of $100 million, subject to net working capital
to demonstrate unprecedented high-speed crypto and recording technology for the encryption of ISR data in a rugged, deployable COTS system,” said Lynn Bamford, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Defense and Power.
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Raytheon to help Jet Propulsion Lab explore the universe
Raytheon Company will develop new space systems and flight software, and provide engineering, training and operations support for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, managed by Caltech, under a fiveyear, $150 million contract. The contract could potentially be worth $300 million over 10 years if all options are exercised.
begin in October, though Raytheon has supported JPL since the 1960s, when the company developed the Mars Infrared Radiometer for the Mariner missions. The company currently manages the lab’s data systems, testing and developing software and providing on-call technical
support during critical events like Mars rover landings.
“JPL’s pioneering spacecraft and rovers have led to groundbreaking discoveries of our solar system and beyond,” said Dave Wajsgras, president of Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services. “This is an incredible opportunity to continue enabling the future of space exploration.”
“For the past 20 years, we’ve worked sideby-side with JPL’s engineers and scientists,” said Todd Probert, vice president of Raytheon IIS. “Helping JPL explore the mysteries of our universe is something most of our team literally dreamed about when they were kids.”
Work on the new contract is expected to
As part of the new contract, Raytheon will
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also be supporting a number of classified missions. In addition to supporting JPL, Raytheon IIS manages a large portfolio of space programs for the U.S. government, including the Neutral Buoyancy Lab, a 6.2 million gallon instrumented pool at NASA Johnson Space Center where astronauts learn to work in space and train on a submerged full-size mockup of the International Space Station. The company manages NASA’s earth science data network — which makes critical climate data available to researchers — and developed and sustains the Joint Polar Satellite System ground station, which tracks storms. Raytheon IIS also operates the United States’ two primary space launch facilities.
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Eurotech’s Dynatem™ to Focus on Designing and Building Rugged COTS Products for Defense and Aerospace Programs Dynatem to Operate as an Independent Business Unit within Eurotech Inc.
Eurotech has announced that its Dynatem business unit is being re-focused to specialize in the design and build of rugged COTS-based boards and systems for use in defense and aerospace applications. Acquired by Eurotech in 2011, Dynatem specializes in the rapid design and manufacturing of rugged embedded boards and systems that are Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) optimized for use in ground vehicles, aircraft, and maritime installations worldwide. The organization has extensive custom engineering,
system integration, and program management expertise. As a Qualified Small Business supplier of engineering services and systems to the Defense and Aerospace market, Dynatem will operate as an independent business unit within Eurotech Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Eurotech Group. “Dynatem has a rich history of delivering world-class technology solutions for use in mission-critical applications,” said Dusty Kramer, CEO of Eurotech Inc. “This announcement demonstrates Eurotech’s commitment to extending the Dynatem legacy as a well-respected long-term supplier to the Defense and Aerospace community.” The Dynatem business unit will be tasked with leveraging open architecture COTS technologies to deliver highly reliable and cost-effective embedded boards and rugged subsystems to meet the needs of demanding programs and applications such as Command, Control, Communications, Compute, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR). Initial product offerings will include ruggedized Tactical Mission Computers, IP Networking solutions, and High Performance Embedded Computing (HPEC) systems. Dynatem products are designed to be customizable to meet specific program requirements. By leveraging in-house engineering expertise, Dynatem can quickly tailor its standard system offerings to meet specific customer demands, reducing schedule risk and minimizing non-recurring engineering (NRE) fees.
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SPECIAL FEATURE
Is Xilinxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Vitis a game changer?
This Unified Software Platform unlocks a New Design Experience for Developers By John Reardon, Publisher COTS Journal
After investing over a 1000 man-years over and 5 years, Xilinx released the highly anticipated Vitis unified software platform. The Vitis platform plugs into common software tools and has a rich set of open source libraries that enable developers to focus on their algorithms. As the complexity of FPGA continues to grow with the addition of more and more features, the promise that Vitis brings to the software and hardware engineer is significant. This platform, although many have made comparisons with Cuda and Nvidia, seems to bring a more advance prospective
Victor Peng, CEO of Xilinx 16
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by bringing together tools as well as a platform that will dynamically address new features through time. Vitis is free of charge and is supported by a large team and community through a web based platform. “With exponentially increasing the computer needs, engineers and scientists are often limited by the fixed nature of silicon,” said Victor Peng, President and Chief Executive Officer during his key note at XDF. “Xilinx has created a singular environment that enables programmers and engineers from all disciplines to co-develop and optimize both their hardware and software, using tools and
frameworks they already know and understand. This means that they can adapt their hardware to their applications without the need for new silicon.”
The Vitis Stack The Vitis platform is built on a stack-based architecture that plugs seamlessly into opensource standard development systems and build environments, but most importantly, it includes a rich set of standard libraries. The base layer is the Vitis target platform, which includes a board and preprogrammed
I/O. The second layer, called the Vitis core development kit, encompasses the opensource Xilinx runtime library to manage the data movement between different domains, including the subsystems, the AI Engine in the forthcoming Versal ACAP™, as well as an external host, if required. This layer also includes the core development tools such as compilers, analyzers and debuggers. While Xilinx provides a world-class design environment, these tools are designed to integrate seamlessly with industry-standard build systems and development environments. In the third layer (see diagram on next page) are more than 400 optimized and opensource applications across eight Vitis libraries. These include the Vitis Basic Linear Algebra Subprograms (BLAS) library, the Vitis Solver library, the Vitis Security library, the Vitis Vision library, the Vitis Data Compression library, the Vitis Quantitative Finance library, the Vitis Database library and the Vitis AI library. These enable software developers to call pre-accelerated functions using a standard application programming interface (API).
The Vitis platform COTS Journal | October 2019
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The Vitis third layer
Vitis AI and Domain specific Architectures The fourth and most game-changing element of the platform is Vitis AI, which integrates a domain specific architecture (DSA). The DSA configures Xilinx hardware to be optimized and programmed using industry-leading frameworks like TensorFlow and Caffe. Vitis AI provides the tools to optimize, compress and compile trained AI models running on a Xilinx device in about one minute.
It also delivers specialized APIs for deployment from edge to cloud, all with best-inclass inference performance and efficiency. Xilinx will soon be releasing another DSA, called Vitis Video, to enable video encoding directly from FFmpeg for the same, ultra-simple, highly powerful end-to-end solution. DSAs available from partner companies include Illumina, which integrates with GATK for genome analysis, and BlackLynx, which integrates with Elastic Search for big data analytics, along with proprietary DSAs.
Xilinx claims World Largest FPGA Featuring 9 Million System logic Cells Xilinx announced the expansion of its 16 nanometer (nm) Virtex® UltraScale+™ family to now include the world’s largest FPGA — the Virtex UltraScale+ VU19P. With 35 billion transistors, the VU19P provides the highest logic density and I/O count on a single device ever built, enabling emulation and prototyping of tomorrow’s most advanced ASIC and SoC technologies, as well as test, measurement, compute, networking, aerospace and defense-related applications. The VU19P sets a new standard in FPGAs, featuring 9 million system logic cells, up to 1.5 terabits per-second of DDR4 memory bandwidth and up to 4.5 terabits per-second of transceiver bandwidth, and over 2,000 user I/Os. It enables the prototyping and emulation of today’s most complex SoCs as well as the development of emerging, complex algorithms such as those used for artificial intelligence, machine learning, video processing and sensor fusion. The VU19P is 1.6X larger than its predecessor and what was previously the industry’s largest FPGA — the 20 nm Virtex UltraScale 440 FPGA. 18
COTS Journal | October 2019
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
New Ways to Build a Business Bedrock for the IOT Age By Haydn Povey, CEO and Founder, Secure Thingz
Security is every developer’s business, but not for the reasons you may think. Things working together are bringing us the next tsunami of innovation. For example, if I have a connected car and the dynamics of the road or cityscape change around me because of a burst water main, that will automatically impact the car’s suggested route. The car being smart on its own doesn’t help much. It is understanding the context of how these systems are going to work together which will really drive innovation. However, there’s a downside to this tsunami of IoT connected devices, which, as ResearchAndMarkets notes, will hit 25.1 billion in 2025, compared to 2017’s 7.5 billion. There are the threats, which come in many forms, and the ability to accidentally or purposely poison data, to reroute cars, or to impact organizations’ performance. There have been ransomware examples with PCs, and this is expected to continue within the IoT; a recent OT system example is the cyberattack on the Norsk Hydro aluminum plant, estimated to cost them more than 50 million dollars. The cloning and counterfeiting of OECD numbers is already a 500-billion-dollar-a-year industry with a high proportion of that in electronics and electronic equipment—which amounts to the GDP of Ireland and the Netherlands combined. And these threats will take place at a time when the rise of edge computing is broadening the attack surface. Edge computing allows engineers to complete analysis and other tasks outside the cloud, but it also expands vulnerability, giving hackers more ways to get into a system. Every edge computing point is a system in its own right and must be protected. And then there are the events that remind us that in this connected world, you want to talk to your specific device instead of all your devices. Philips had an identity issue to resolve when re-searchers found that the company’s Hue light bulbs were alarmingly hack-able. Because all the Hue light bulbs used the same key, once a hacker had broken one 20
COTS Journal | October 2019
key, he had broken them all. Philips acted, and now every Hue light bulb has its own unique identity.
The Differentiation Engine Hiding in Plain Sight Yet for all the awareness of issues like those just cited, and despite the spotlight often being on security, its role is not fully understood, and especially its function as the bedrock upon which in-novation in the IoT era depends. To understand security in this era is to understand that security is the strongest differentiation en-gine at your enterprise. This engine is hiding in plain sight, mistakenly seen as a “cost.” Consider just some of the reasons to move security to the value column on the spreadsheet rather than the cost category: • Security protects IP. The first value of security is not in stopping something from getting hacked; it’s in protecting the investment put into your software design and engineering. Increasingly, IP software is in the shape of a car, a washing machine, etc., gaining more and more value whereas the value of the actual hardware is decreasing. IP aggregates a lot a company’s knowhow and contains typically several man years of development efforts. The last thing you want to see is this IP stolen, put on GitHub or ending up on the black market. • Security is a bedrock enabler for next generation services. One of the most important best practices covered in the IoTSF recommendations is the capability to update the software of an IoT device. This update capability goes beyond adding greatly to the security and life of the device; it also enables the service provider to add new services over the product’s lifespan. As technology moves quickly, services that were unthinkable during initial development can simply be added later. New security services have the potential to generate revenue over the entire life cycle of a product. For example, smart city lighting may initially start out as the simple selling of bulbs. This may be the initial
design criteria for the smart bulbs. However, later the provider may change the landscape and add a new service to sell you lighting as a service. The value point changes quite substantially from simply the cost of bulbs and the in-house resource to fit and maintain them, to an annual fee where the bulbs and in-house resources are no longer considered. • Security leverages your application’s capabilities. For example, taking the security step of as-signing connected devices a unique identity upfront makes it possible to tailor applications to leverage the identity properly. That’s becoming easier and less time-consuming to do with the arrival of new tools on the market. For example, it’s now possible to leverage a security development environment which can capitalize on the secure hardware that the latest microcontrollers have. The elements of this security development environment include integrated identity and certificate management; scalable secure boot management; secure deployment with in-tegrated manufacturing mastering; and release management with versioning and update infrastructure. • Security fosters ongoing customer relationships. It’s the rails upon which continued communica-tion with your customers runs. There’s also a more generous amount of time over which customer relationships can develop than in the past. Traditionally, 10-, 15-, 20-year life cycles have been found only in military or aerospace domains. Now however, sectors leveraging the IoT, smart cities, and smart homes are also demanding these longer life cycles from embedded systems. Throughout those cycles security will be paramount. And security will be your opportunity to differentiate in how your devices, for example, securely and seamlessly onboard to Azure, to AWS, to Google Cloud, etc.
Beginning the Security Journey Security is a journey. It won’t be an instant leap from “Security is not core to the application; I will try to fit that in at the end of the project, or perhaps in version 2 or 3 or 4,” to the understanding that leveraging security effectively means bringing security to bear at the start of the design process. One of the current challenges to this journey is the dauntingly greater number of cybersecurity job postings than individuals available to fill them. Frost & Sullivan expects 1.5 million cybersecurity job postings by 2020. But these statistics also serve to point out that in everything we do, whether it is Information Technology, Operating Technology or IoT, security has become central. On the positive side, embedded systems OEMs today are in a better position than ever to begin this journey. For one, the other two parties present at the design inception—the chip vendors and the tools vendors—have continued to strengthen their security solutions. Mainstream widely available chips can be leveraged. For example, Arm’s TrustZone-M makes it possible to create a virtual secondary processor to handle some of the security domain. On the tools front, it’s important to use a set of tools which can scale as migration between architectures takes place. Also helpful is working with a tools vendor who can support different platforms and support mainstream devices as well as newer, security-orientated chipsets. Consider a vendor who can offer tools specifically designed to help in following all 13 of the IoT Security Foundation (IoTSF) best
COTS Journal | October 2019
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practices for the gateways, actuators, and sensors used for consumer IoT devices.
update the user application in order to quickly fix any vulnerabilities that are discovered and ensure security over the life of the product.
The tools and the availability of security as a service are there to make bringing security to the front of the development cycle a reality and to help even where clean sheet design is not possi-ble. One example, the IAR Embedded WorkbenchÂŽ, is a toolchain with a complete IDE, including Embedded Trust from Secure Thingz.
Of course, the bad guys will then step up the network attacks mov-
Design Hygiene To get started, begin with basic design hygiene, which alone probably inhibits 90 to 95 percent of the attacks that we see today. One hygiene measure is instead of having fixed passwords, move to a standard identification platform which utilizes a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). PKI has been around for a long time in the IT domain, but not been brought to bear in the em-bedded domain. But it is a best practice. We know it works. We know the cryptography works. What is needed is to ensure developers can leverage PKI to create a set of proper identities with a proper certificate authority, so it is known and trustworthy. The use of PKI would enable the creation of intermediate certificates, which may be OEM-specific certificates, and then device certificates, which means that every single device is uniquely identifiable and uniquely addressable. Design hygiene measures also include: i) switching off debug; making sure that when the device is booting up it is set into a secure space before the bad guy can start coming in and rooting around inside the code base; ensuring that identity can be fused into those devices in an immutable way. ii) memory protection; making sure that the user application is isolated from the immutable bootloader memory and that the bad guys cannot inject any malware that could tamper with the bootloader code. iii) software update; making sure there is a mechanism to securely 22
COTS Journal | October 2019
ing forward. Nevertheless, if we can take out the random attacks, then it is a pretty easy win for the industry. It also shows to legislative organizations, to governments, to whomever that the OEMs are taking security seriously and at least putting in the minimal hygiene.
On the Legislative Front Even though noted above that security’s role is not yet fully understood, progress is being made within industry and within governments. One of the first legislative efforts will be the state law that goes into effect this January in California. It will require that when something goes wrong with a connected/IoT device there is an absolute requirement to be able to fix, patch, and recover it if hacked. Legislation such as this indicates that the industry needs to move in the direction of having a standard solution as opposed to something which is unique for every device, which means custom updating for every light bulb, every car, every refrigerator. While this cybersecurity legislation may be first out of the gate, expect more to follow. Industry groups, such as the IoTSF, and governmental agencies in Europe, the UK, the U.S., and Asia have begun building legislative frameworks based on best practices for cybersecurity in consumer, medical, and other sectors. The frameworks will support legal requirements to ship devices which are secure. And these laws will also speak to the manufacturers’ obligation to ensure that when things go wrong—and they will, because developers have to be right 100 percent of the time while hackers only need to get lucky once—that devices and networks can be remediated and that people and businesses can be protected over the long term.
Conclusion and Recommendations The complexity of software that we have on PCs, servers, and the cloud means it is difficult to protect it, and that is why we typically see so many compromises and the need for running very deep layers of anti-virus software and anti-malware. But difficult is not impossible, and as an industry we can do better than less than four percent of new devices having embedded security. Broader proliferation and adoption of IoT devices can take place as security is designed in from inception. As an industry we have to back legislation; we also have to drive it at the global level. In the U.S., in the EU, by setting the market rules for what can be sold, we are going to improve design hygiene and take out the easy targets. Secure Thingz, together with IAR Systems, is helping to assure that the devices talking to one another are inherently trustworthy. Yes, there still has to be an on-boarding process; they still need to get used to each other, but fundamentally if you use our tools those things will be inherently more secure and more trustworthy. Ultimately it will mean that it is harder and harder for the bad guys to find a way into the system. As the mathematician George Polya advised in his First Principle, “Understand the problem.” Becoming aware of the best security practices out there, via the plentiful free advice at iotsecurityfoundation. org and other sites is a step in the right direction.
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October 2019
COT’S PICKS BeagleBoard.org® Launches BeagleBone® AI, Offering a Fast Track to Getting Started with Artificial Intelligence at the Edge
The BeagleBoard.org® Foundation today announces general availability of the newest, fastest, most powerful BeagleBoard.org® BeagleBone® low cost development board yet, and it’s driving a whole new AI revolution. Built on our proven open source Linux approach, BeagleBone® AI fills the gap between small single board computers (SBCs) and more powerful industrial computers. Leveraging the Texas Instruments Sitara™ AM5729 processor, developers have access to powerful machine learning capabilities with the ease of the BeagleBone® Black header and mechanical compatibility.
BeagleBone AI is your fast track to embedded artificial intelligence at the edge. The fastest and most flexible BeagleBone yet builds on a decade of success in open hardware single board Linux computers built to educate and help you automate your home, office, lab or manufacturing floor.
• USB Type-C for power and superspeed dual-role controller; and USB Type-A host • Gigabit Ethernet, 2.4/5GHz WiFi, and Bluetooth 4.2/ BLE • microHDMI video and audio output • Zero-download out-of-box software experience
BeagleBone® AI makes it easy to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning can be used in everyday life. Through BeagleBone® AI, developers can take advantage of the TI C66x digital-signal-processor (DSP) cores and embedded-vision-engine (EVE) cores on the Sitara AM5729 processor. Machine learning is supported by an optimized TI Deep Learning (TIDL) software framework and pre-installed software tools. Downloading and running the latest examples of edge inference algorithms and applications is only a few clicks away.
TI Sitara™ AM5729 processor with: • Dual 1.5GHz Arm® Cortex®-A15 microprocessor subsystem • 2 C66x Floating-Point VLIW DSPs • 4 Embedded Vision Engines (EVEs) supported by the TIDL software framework library for machine learning •2x Dual-Core Programmable Real-Time Unit (PRU) subsystems (4 PRUs total) for ultra-low latency control and software generated peripherals • 2x Dual Arm® Cortex®-M4 co-processors for real-time control and subsystem management • IVA-HD subsystem with support for 4K at 15fps H.264 encode/decode and other codecs at 1080p60 • Vivante® GC320 2D graphics accelerator •Dual-Core PowerVR® SGX544™ 3D GPU
“This board is the answer to our community’s request to see the next major advancement in the BeagleBone® family,” says Jason Kridner, co-founder of the BeagleBoard.org® Foundation. “Its feature set is jam packed and offers capabilities unparalleled by any other single board computer, open hardware or not.” BeagleBone® AI has a feature set that includes: • BeagleBone® Black mechanical and header compatibility • Works with existing BeagleBoard.org® BeagleBone® cape add-on boards and many available third-party cape add-on boards and enclosures • 1GB RAM and 16GB on-board eMMC flash with a high-speed interface
Rugged, multi-domain cybersecurity solution answers Army’s technology modernization objectives
and chassis intrusion detection in addition to being NIST compliant and meeting strict U.S. Department of Defense quality and security requirements, such as MIL-SPEC for environmental performance.”
Crystal Group’s customizable NAS solution delivers rugged, reliable data storage at the tactical edge. As the U.S. Army focuses squarely on modernization to maintain a technological edge over potential adversaries, Crystal Group’s new Network Attached Storage (NAS) solution is ready to deliver with hardware-level protection of data classified as top-secret and below in dynamic environments and across multi-domain battlefields.
Equipped with FIPS 140-2 data encryption, key management, near-zero latency, chassis intrusion detection and instant data destruction, customers gain a modern, easy-to-use NAS solution to protect mission-critical data at rest and data in transit. The system’s real-time data processing and tamper-evident security coatings are critical to ensuring immediate threat response.
“This versatile cybersecurity fly-away-kit brings rugged and reliable cutting-edge storage, compute capacity and technology to the tactical edge,” said Jim Shaw, executive vice president of Engineering at Crystal Group. “Given the vital nature of these operations, our solution incorporates CSfC elements with IPsec and AES256 encryption, 24
COTS Journal | October 2019
Crystal Group, Inc., a leading designer and manufacturer of rugged computer and electronic hardware, will feature this exciting new fail-safe solution in booth 844 at AUSA—The Association of the United States Army’s Annual Meeting—in Washington D.C., October 14-16. Their display and product demos will integrate several of their key
“We believe this board will excel in everyday automation in industrial, commercial and home applications,” stated Christine Long, Executive Director of the BeagleBoard.org® Foundation. “And at an extremely competitive price point we’ve made this board available to everyone. It’s an industry game changer.” BeagleBoard www.beagleboard.org
partners, including CommScope—formerly Ruckus, Racktop, Seagate and PIC Wire & Cable. Crystal Group, Inc., www.crystalrugged.com
October 2019
COT’S PICKS EIZO Releases Chip Down NVIDIA Quadro P2000 (GP107) 3U VPX Graphics/GPGPU Card for Rugged Mil/ Aero Applications
• EIZO’s new Condor GR5-P2000 3U VPX card offers exceptional graphics and GPGPU capability while delivering up to 2.3 TFLOPS of CUDA processing power; chip down implementation improves thermal dissipation profile and can extend product availability • The Condor GR5-P2000 3U VPX features two output configurations to cater for SingleLink DVD-D and DisplayPort++ outputs, the latter providing support for high resolution monitors up to 4K at 120Hz Altamonte Springs, Florida, October 10, 2019 – EIZO Rugged Solutions Inc., a provider of ruggedized graphics and video products, has introduced the Condor GR5-P2000 3U VPX graphics and GPGPU card, offering exceptional graphics and GPGPU capability while delivering up to 2.3 TFLOPS of CUDA® processing power. The Condor GR5-P2000 3U VPX card features a chip-down implementation of the NVIDIA® Pascal™ Quadro® P2000 (GP107) technology to improve the card’s thermal dissipation profile and offer extended availability for military and aerospace customers designing products for the embedded/rugged market.
This new 3U VPX card offers higher power tolerance and hence higher performance compared to smaller rugged form factors. The MIL-STD-810G certified card features two output configurations: two DisplayPort++ and two Single-Link DVD-D or four Single-Link DVD-D outputs – all available from the rear P2 VPX connector. DisplayPort++ gives the option to support higher resolution monitors up to 4K at 120Hz. The board can consume up to 80 W, depending on the application. The Condor GR5-P2000 3U VPX is a conduction-cooled or air-cooled 3U VPX card that support PCI Express 3.0 (16, 8, or 4 lane) when mated with compatible single board computers. The card also features H.265 encode and decode capability, supports NVIDIA CUDA 10 and OpenCL™ 1.2, and offers 4 GB GDDR5 graphics memory with NVIDIA GPUDirect™ DMA. EIZO Rugged Solutions has built a reputation for its flexibility and responsiveness to customer requirements, offering engineering support pre- and post-sale as well as a genuine willingness to modify designs to fit specific and unique customer needs. EIZO can also customize cards to support DVI, SDI, Composite, STANAG 3350, RS-170, RS-343, and VGA outputs.
EIZO www.eizoglobal.com
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October 2019
COT’S PICKS Announcing Fanless Embedded Computer with Intel Denverton Processor, 6x GbE LAN, SFP and LTE/5G Wireless Capability
Fanless Embedded Computer with Intel Denverton Processor, 6x GbE LAN, SFP and LTE/5G Wireless Capability
Key Features Intel® Denverton Series Processor, up to 25W 2x DDR4 SO-DIMM: up to 32GB Intel QAT (Quick Assist Technology) 6x RJ45 GbE (one pair bypass), 2x SFP 1x Mini PCIe slot
2x M.2 B/E key for LTE/5G/WiFi module with 3 x SIM cards On-board TPM (optional) 8GB eMMC up to 64GB (optional) WIN Enterprices www.win-ent.com
PL-82000 is a fanless, high-performance networking system based on the Intel® DenvertonNS ™ Processor. This new generation platform provides high CPU computing power from 2/8 core processors. With 6 GbE LANs, wireless capability, and 2x USB ports, it is an ideal unit for small call centers that demand quiet, but high performance. Ask WIN about any further processing core expansion you may require. Network expansion is through PCIe interface modules. The PL-82000 provides enhanced computing performance, system responsiveness with Intel® Denverton-NS™ Processor, 1x RJ45 Console DDR4 ECC/Non-ECC SODIMM (up to 2133 MHz) and maximum memory capacity up to 32GB. PL-82000 supports 1x mini PCIe, 2x M.2 port, 1x RJ45 Console port, 2x USB 2.0 and 2x SFP ports to provide flexibility in networking options. In addition, PL-82000 supports mSATA. The Intel advanced features that are supported include: Intel Quick Assist Technology (QAT).
New Horizontal Mount Chassis from Pixus Facilitates Multiple Backplane Architectures Pixus Technologies, a provider of embedded computing and enclosure solutions, now offers a highly versatile 5.25” tall chassis that accepts 3U or 6U boards mounted horizontally
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of various backplane types. With Pixus’ modular design that accepts various card guide and rail options, one can incorporate OpenVPX, cPCI Serial, VME64x or other Eurocard architectures in the new horizontal mount chassis. The chassis typically accepts up to six 6U modules at a 0.8” pitch or five 6U modules at 1.0” pitch. A divider can be placed to split the opening
to accept dual rows of 3U modules or a mix of 3U and 6U boards. The chassis supports multiple pluggable (or fixed) power supplies in various voltage/wattage options. Side-to-side cooling is standard, but frontto-rear versions are available upon request. Pixus Technologies pixustechnologies.com
October 2019
COT’S PICKS
Compute Intensive 3U VPX Server Board
Concurrent Technologies announces a rugged 3U VPX™ board for compute intensive applications that has been developed to align with a new OpenVPX profile based on feedback from the SOSA™ Consortium. TR H4x/3sd-RCx is the first processor board from Concurrent Technologies with a 40G Ethernet data plane connection, providing a significant interconnect performance boost. It has a front panel graphics and USB connection for ease of setup and operates from a single +12V power rail to simplify the creation of system level solutions. By default, TR H4x/3sd-RCx is fitted with a 12-core Intel® Xeon® processor D-1559 and 64GB of soldered down DDR4 memory making it suitable for workload consolidation tasks in highly challenging environments. Thermal qualification is scheduled for Q2 to confirm that the processor device can be operated at 100% loading, maximizing performance within a single slot like the company’s previous generation TR G4x/3sd-RCx.
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Concurrent Technologies is offering variants fitted with either 512GB or 1TB of direct-attached FIPS-197 encrypted storage. This is achieved using an M.2 module carrier while maintaining a single slot solution. These M.2 modules are supplied factory-fitted for ease of use and further storage options are planned for later in 2019. Concurrent Technologies offers several security options including TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, Sanitization Utilities and a bespoke enhanced security package for specific customer needs. Jane Annear, Commercial Director of Concurrent Technologies, commented: “We are ramping up our efforts to provide innovative solutions to meet the expectations of key users and partners. In this case we’re providing one of the first 3U VPX processor boards with 40G Ethernet connectivity that aligns with new profile requirements from the standards community augmented with a range of appropriate security and storage features.”
Concurrent Technologies Corporation www.ctc.com
October 2019
COT’S PICKS New Graphics and Video Capture XMC from Abaco Maximizes Performance, Minimizes Size, Weight, Power • Latest NVIDIA Pascal GPU technology delivers 2.3 TeraFLOPS of performance • Support for multiple inputs, outputs provides optimum flexibility • Designed for advanced electronic warfare applications
“We believe that the XMC form factor is perfect for the power- and space-constrained environments that typify today’s armored vehicles, fighter aircraft, submarines and unmanned platforms – but until now, they have not offered the processing capability necessary for the most advanced graphics and video applications,” said Peter Thompson, Vice President,
Product Management at Abaco Systems. “The NVP2102 changes that, leveraging the capabilities of NVIDIA’s state-of-the-art GPU technology to deliver the functionality and performance that would have previously required a separate graphics card.” Abaco Systems Inc. www.abaco.com
Abaco Systems today announced a powerful new rugged XMC graphics and video capture board. The NVP2102 takes advantage of the high performance of the NVIDIA® Pascal P2000 GPU with its 768 cores and 4 GBytes of GDDR5 memory to deliver 2.3 TeraFLOPS of peak performance with support for both CUDA® and OpenCL™. It is the first Abaco video/graphics XMC product to offer high performance input and output. Developed for deployment in the harsh and cramped conditions typical of battlefield platforms, the NVP2102 provides an optimum choice for all forms of graphics/video processing input/output. Typical applications include situational awareness, signals intelligence, ISR and radar, while the Pascal GPU’s high degree of parallelism also makes it an ideal fit for GPGPU applications including machine learning and autonomy.
The NVP2102 is designed for graphics and video generation, input and output, supporting four 3G-SDI inputs, capable of 1080p60; two 3G-SDI outputs, also capable of 1080p60; two DisplayPort 1.4 ports capable of 4K resolution @ 60Hz; and VGA. Support for H.265 (HEVC)/H.264 (MPEG-4 AVC) encode/decode is provided. For electronic warfare applications in which minimal latency is an essential requirement, the NVP2012 provides a solution not only by virtue of its direct interface to the host computer (as opposed to card-to-card connectivity) but also provides direct video capture direct to GPU memory – again, minimizing latency. COTS Journal | October 2019
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October 2019
COT’S PICKS
Evaluation Boards Now Available for Flex Logix EFLX® 4K eFPGA on GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ Most Advanced FinFET Platform
While the Flex Logix validation chip was fabricated in GF’s 14LPP, the GDS is also compatible with GF’s 12LP and 12LP+ because the design was done with GF standard cells and register files.
Flex Logic Technologies, Inc announced that it has received working first silicon of its validation chip for the EFLX 4K eFPGA IP cores running on GLOBALFOUNDRIES (GF) 12nm Leading-Performance (12LP) FinFET platform and newly announced 12LP+ solution.
The evaluation boards will be available for customers for short-term evaluation or for purchase. All boards come with documentation, examples, test benches and the EFLX Compiler.
A validation chip consisting of 4 EFLX cores (2 DSP and 2 Logic, for a total of 14K LUT4s and 80 DSP MACs) with integrated RAM has been fabricated and is fully
functional at GHz speeds. The chip is partway through a full suite of characterization over process, temperature and voltage, and a validation report will be available shortly. EFLX evaluation boards on GF’s 12LP/12LP+ and 14nm Low Power Plus (14LPP) platform are available now for customers to run their RTL at full speed using on-chip PLLs and RAMs to verify performance and power. “Flex Logix already has multiple licensed customers for EFLX on GF’s 12/14nm FinFET platforms with several in design, one who has already completed a risk tape-out, and many more in evaluation,” said Geoff Tate, CEO and co-founder of Flex Logix. “These customers benefit from the ability to have reconfigurable accelerators for critical workloads or for updating changing algorithms and protocols. This is particularly important in aerospace and communications applications where customers need the ability to accelerate critical workloads and reconfigure for changing algorithms and customer needs.” 30
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“Having eFPGA available on our most advanced FinFET platform is a major competitive advantage to chip designers because it provides them with reconfigurability and flexibility,” said Michael Mendicino, vice president of Digital
Technology Solutions at GF. “We believe that Flex Logix’s eFPGA is one of the leading solutions on the market and we look forward to bringing this innovation into production.” The EFLX4K is based on Flex Logix’s Gen 2 architecture, which includes 6-input-LUTs, an improved interconnect for large-array performance, greater MAC pipelining, special logic for test acceleration, and configuration readback. The Gen 2 architecture has been implemented on multiple processes from 180nm to 12nm, all of which are supported by the same EFLX Compiler software tool. Flex Logic Technologies, Inc flex-logix.com
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Index
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Company Page# Website Amsterdame Drone Week ...................................... 19 ...................... www.amsterdamedroneweek.com Annapolis Micro Systems ...................................... 22 ........................................ www.annapmicro.com Avalex Technologies .............................................. 29 ................................................. www.avalex.com Behlman Electronics ............................................ BC ............................................. www.behlman.com Chassis Plans ........................................................ 27 ...................................... www.chassisplans.com Fairview Microwave ................................................ 18 ............................. www.fairviewmicrowave.com Interfacece Concepts ............................................. 30 ................................................... www.elma.com Kingston Technology ............................................. IBC ............................................. www.kingston.com New Wave DV ......................................................... 13 ......................................... www.ewwavedve.com OSS ........................................................................ 5 ................................. www.onestopsystems.com Pasternack ............................................................ 15 ......................................... www.pasternack.com Pentek .................................................................. IFC ................................................ www.pentek.com PICO Electronics, Inc ............................................. 11 ................................... www.picoelectronics.com Sealevel ................................................................. 4-14 .............................................. www.sealevel.com Supermicro ............................................................ 23 ........................................ www.supermicrol.com Systel ................................................................... 28 ............................................ www.systelusa.com Vicor Cororation ..................................................... IBC ............ www.vicorpower.com/defense-aero.com Vocal Technology Ltd.............................................. 23 .................................................. www.vocal.com COTS Journal (ISSN#1526-4653) is published monthly at; 3180 Sitio Sendero, Carlsbad, CA. 92009. Periodicals Class postage paid at San Clemente and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to COTS Journal, 3180 Sitio Sendero, Carlsbad, CA. 92009.
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