16 Situational awareness – the 21st Century Warfighter
By John Reardon,
Publisher
18 FPGAs’ Benefits to SDRs
By Brandon Malatest, Founder Per Vices
Cover Image
Stryker’s View Soldiers drive a Stryker vehicle over a temporary floating bridge during wet gap training on the Imjin River, South Korea, March 13, 2023. During training, soldiers honed skills for crossing water obstacles while strengthening the U.S. and South Korean combined defense posture.
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.
—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.
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High-density power modules enable acute surveillance networks leveraging AI to deter crime
The concept of automated policing began as a science fiction concept years ago, but today it is real and impactful. The sophistication of robot-powered security is actually even more interesting if you spend a few minutes talking to Stacy Stephens, the co-founder and chief client officer of Knightscope, Inc.
Launched in 2013, the Mountain View, CA, public safety technology services company was the first in the world to deploy mobile, fully autonomous security robots (ASRs) in public spaces such as malls, parking lots, and neighborhood parks. The Knightscope vision was to find a more effective means of deterring crime while minimizing risk to law enforcement officers.
Knightscope is a leading public safety tech company rather than a robotics organization with expertise in a fusion of robotics, self-driving technology, vehicle electrification, and artificial intelligence. Combined, they yield an agile platform upon which numerous sensing capabilities and other technologies can be integrated to provide actionable intelligence.
ASRs are equipped to scan for known threats, allowing companies to reduce workplace violence by recognizing terminated employees or those who have been issued criminal trespass warnings. ASRs also provide parking lot security by using exception monitoring to ID the license plates of cars that don’t belong on site. With their audio feature, ASRs offer two-way communication, allowing the robots to act as a public address system with broadcast capability. This enables them to engage with perpetrators to de-escalate hostile situations.
“The ASR’s ‘talk-down’ feature takes the danger off the human and puts it on the robot,” Stephens said. “Robots are nondescript objects that allow a conversation to occur without having a
person in front of a hostile suspect that could unintentionally escalate the situation. They also lower operating overhead,” Stephens added. “ASRs never get sick, and they don’t take a vacation.”
Knightscope’s mobile robots are entirely autonomous, using a system of LIDAR, GPS, sonar, IMUs, 4K cameras, and high-fidelity audio. The robot has five sensor types (similar to humans) to manage its surroundings. In most cases, the robot’s senses are more acute than a public safety officer’s.
In all, 21 LIDAR lasers map the surrounding area every 25 milliseconds. That data is used to create a 3D map of the area around the robot out to a 100-meter radius, which enables the ASR to “see” its environment. Additionally, sonar sensors provide proximity sensing, allowing the robot to tell when something is close. GPS is a tertiary input for internal navigation and helps track the machine if someone attempts to move or steal the robot.
Odometry sensors calculate wheel rotation to indicate whether the robot moves or tracks left or right. Finally, an inertial measurement unit, or IMU, provides six-degrees-of-freedom spatial awareness to determine if the robot is upright or tilted, which could signal it has become
stuck or immobilized.
Power efficiency is paramount for ASRs
The intense level of computing, communications, and sensing places a tremendous burden on the ASRs’ power delivery networks. They must be compact and have high efficiency. Because the ASRs have no airflow or venting, Knightscope searched for a pure conduction-cooled solution that could use the aluminum skin as a heat sink. The company adopted a Vicor DC-DC converter module (DCM3623) because its unique ChiP™ packaging was thermally adept and very small. The DCM’s power density also helped to route the wiring and cable assembly and increased battery efficiency, performance, and runtime.
On the electrical side, the robot required isolation from all the different power rails. Because so many sensors have different EMI signatures, the Vicor DCM™ helped minimize EMI and noise interference.
“The more we’re able to reduce the burden on the battery, the longer runtime we will get,” Stephens said. “So, power’s always, always going to be a consideration. And ultimately, all of this will help us achieve our vision for the company. When an architect sits down to plan a commercial development or a mixed-use space, we’re part of the security checklist, smoke detectors, and fire suppression systems.”
dSPACE has joined the Scalable Open Architecture for Embedded Edge (SOAFEE) project as a voting member. dSPACE will bring more than 30 years of experience in simulation and validation to the project, drive solutions for system development and system integration, and help shape the future of the software-defined vehicle.
The initiative addresses the challenges of increasingly complex vehicle software development. It aims for unified and scalable architecture for the cloud-based development and deployment of automobile software.
dSPACE has a deep understanding of the complexity of software development in the automobile industry and already offers relevant solutions for developing and testing ECU software.
Vehicles in the future will have a completely new ECU architecture; more and more vehicle functions will be implemented with the help of software. This will also change the way software is developed and
tested. As an active participant in the SOAFEE initiative, dSPACE will contribute its comprehensive experience in the field of developing and testing ECU software and develop relevant solutions and tools for software-defined vehicles.
“We look forward to working with the partners in the SOAFEE community. To-
gether, we will pave the way to cloud-based development and significantly contribute to bringing software-defined vehicles onto the roads faster,” said Andre Rolfsmeier, Director of Strategic Product Management for Automated Driving and Software Solutions at dSPACE.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. held a ceremony marking the delivery of the submarine Hakugei to the Japan Ministry of Defense (MOD) at its Kobe Shipyard Nishihama Quay at 11:55 AM. A delegation of top MOD officials attended the ceremony.
The submarine is the second Taigei class submarine and the 30th built at Kawasaki Kobe Shipyard after World War II.
It provides superior submerged operation, propulsion performance, and high water pressure resistance by using highstrength steel for its pressure hull. It also has lithium-ion battery systems for increased underwater endurance, various automated systems, improved surveillance capabilities using high-performance sonar, increased stealth capabilities, enhanced safety measures, and several facilities for the female crew.
The US Department of Defense has awarded a multi-year, multi-million-dollar contract to IAI to develop and deliver the new hybrid electrooptically-guided missile.
IAI has unveiled its POINT BLANK electro-optically guided missile that can be carried in a soldier’s backpack. The system answers the battlefield requirement to provide tactical units ranging in size from small tactical teams to battalion level, with an independent and organic capability to increase their lethality.
POINT BLANK allows these units to attack various targets in real time with great precision and high lethality without needing support. The missile is hand-launched, operated by a single soldier, and can take off from and land vertically back to the soldier’s hand.
IAI, as prime contractor, has been competitively awarded a multi-million-dollar contract by the Irregular Warfare Technical Support Directorate (IWTSD) of the US Department of Defense (DoD) to rapidly develop and deliver “ROC-X” a version of the POINT BLANK system that meets specific US DoD requirements to increase the organic preci-
sion strike lethality and survivability of small tactical teams. IAI will provide the prototypes and training to DoD for Operational Testing & Evaluation in FY 23.
POINT BLANK weighs about 15 lbs and is about 3 ft long. The missile can fly at altitudes above 1,500 ft, at a maximum speed of 178 mph (186 kph), and hover or loiter in the air while the target’s nature and exact position is confirmed before the attack. The missile can carry electro-optical systems to validate and collect surveillance information in real-time thanks to IAI’s advanced manufacturing technologies. It is also being developed to be equipped with a warhead to destroy the target.
IAI’s Executive VP of Systems, Missiles & Space Group, Mr. Guy Bar Lev, said: “POINT BLANK joins Israel Aerospace Industries’ family of missiles to provide ground-based tactical forces with more precise capabilities to undertake offensive operations, especially against short-lived targets. We wish to thank the IWTSD for its support and cooperation in precision munitions, confirming, yet again, the importance of tactical missiles to the modern army. IAI continues to develop and improve a wide range of offensive systems which provide precision operational solutions and stands firmly to support our US customers.”
”Open architecture and rigorous system engineering enable consistent evolution and innovation.”
During a recent flight test, USS Daniel Inouye (DDG 118) successfully intercepted a Medium Range Ballistic Missile (MRBM) target using upgraded Aegis software. This marks the first Aegis Baseline 9.C2.0 (BMD 5.1) intercept of an MRBM target using the Standard Missile–6 Dual II with a software upgrade, bringing improved performance against evolving threats.
The United States Navy, Missile Defense Agency, Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), and other partners supported FTM-31 E1a deployed a real-world scenario to test the Aegis Weapon System, which was able to better target, identify and
The ultimate maritime security and special forces RHIB, the Zodiac Hurricane, is built for situations where mission failure is not an option. The ability to communicate loud and clear at top speed while exposed to extreme wind and climate conditions is paramount to mission success.
The INVISIO Intercom enables clear communication with the boat crew and central command and operates seamlessly with connected devices onboard. It is submersible until 2 meters, MILSPEC compliant, and can withstand harsh operating environments.
Team members can access all boat communication directly from their INVISIO personal system (control unit and headset). This allows for safe and seamless inter-group communication and connection to onboard devices.
The INVISIO Intercom System delivered the best speech clarity and intelligibility results ever heard on a maritime vessel going 63-64 knots, 118 KPH, or 74 MPH into a direct headwind!
The INVISIO Intercom System bridges the gap between the mounted and dismounted team members, making it possible for multiple users and radios to connect simultaneously us-
intercept the threat due to the software update.
“The shield and spear of the fleet, Aegis has evolved to counter air, ballistic missiles and evolving threats across multiple domains from all regions, ranges and during all phases of flight,” said Joe DePietro, vice president and general manager of Naval Combat and Missile Defense Systems at Lockheed Martin. “We realize it is critical to developing capabilities that allow the United States, its partners, and allies to adapt to constantly-changing mission needs quickly.”
Lockheed Martin has a long history of suc-
ing their existing dismounted personal communication system.
The user can access all vehicle communications directly from their INVISIO control unit, so
cessfully applying its combat system expertise worldwide to deliver complex weapon and sensor capability through the Common Source Library, a permanent library for all Aegis system computer programs that allow customers to access software required to meet mission requirements. Aegis can rapidly deliver new capabilities, including solutions integrating SPY-1 and solid-state radars and the growing SPY-7 family of radars. Due to its open architecture, Aegis provides capability today and is flexible to grow with the demands of an ever-changing environment.
there is no need to disconnect or connect other equipment when entering or exiting a vehicle. This allows for a safe and seamless connection to the vehicle intercom system.
Leonardo DRS, Inc. announced it is introducing its next-generation power conversion technology in the company’s Pivotal Power Solutions line of products to ensure available and reliable electrical power for mission-critical systems on U.S. Navy ships.
The new Leonardo DRS 6KVA Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) provides conditioned backup power to command, control, and communication systems where a clean, reliable power supply is mission-critical.
The system is based on proven fielded technology developed by Leonardo DRS, providing dependable backup power in a smaller, lighter package and meeting the demanding electrical requirements in MIL-DTL-24765. This new tech-
nology also provides more robust power than many current systems.
“We are proud to continue our legacy of providing the highest-reliability power conversion solutions to support our naval warfighters in the United States, Canada, and other allies worldwide,” said Cari Ossenfort, senior vice president general manager of the Leonardo DRS Naval Electronics business unit. “Qualified to the Navy’s MIL-spec gold standard, the new 6KVA AC UPS technology is steeped in our long legacy of providing ship-board power conversion systems, providing even stronger performance than our current product line.”
This cutting-edge UPS is form, fit, function, and backward compatible with existing DRS UPS systems with upgraded technology reducing lifecycle and maintenance costs. It is designed for longer battery life and is optimized for use with valve-regulated lead acid (VRLA) and lithium (LiFePO4) battery chemistries sig-
nificantly reducing battery maintenance over the life of the equipment.
With the advances in electrical performance and power density, multiple loads can be powered by one robust and maintainable source monitored and integrated with the ship’s machinery control system. This allows integrators to increase computing density on board Naval vessels by removing point-of-use rackmount UPS systems and making room for the increase in networking equipment.
Leonardo DRS is a leading provider of next-generation power conversion and propulsion technology for the U.S. Navy, with major systems for next-generation submarines and surface ships. The company’s experience and proven performance with electric conversion systems continue to provide mission-critical support for the increased power requirements of current and future naval platforms.
Raytheon Technologies completes delivery of 23 Joint Precision Approach and Landing Systems to the U.S. Navy
Raytheon Technologies delivered all 23 contracted Joint Precision Approach and Landing Systems low-rate production units to the U.S. Navy on time or ahead of schedule.
JPALS is a software-based GPS navigation and precision approach landing system that guides aircraft onto carriers and amphibious assault ships regardless of sea state or weather conditions, bolstering safety and operational capability. It is integrated into the F-35 and was recently sold to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
“This is a significant milestone for the
JPALS team and highlights the incredible efforts of hundreds of our teammates over the past decade who developed and now have fully delivered these critical systems that our Warfighters and International Partners need,” said Capt. Kevin Watkins, the Naval Air Systems Command’s program manager for Naval Air Traffic Management Systems (PMA-213). “This team overcame many barriers over the past several years, successfully achieving the required outcome to deliver all of the capabilities needed, on time and affordable.”
“Since the contract award in 2019, our team has worked closely with Naval Air Systems Command to outfit the fleet’s carriers and ships with JPALS to ensure pilots can land safely and successfully anywhere in the world,” said Mark Maselli, Raytheon Technologies’ JPALS program manager. “Their mission became our mission, and our team committed to ensuring every sin-
gle system was delivered to the customer on time or ahead of schedule.”
JPALS is deployed on all U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, as well as all F-35 aircraft. In addition, JPALS is deployed on two international platforms: the UK Royal Navy’s HMS Queen Elizabeth, and the ITS Cavour, an Italian aircraft carrier, to support their F-35 squadrons. JPALS will be deployed on the JMSDF’s JS Izumo in 2024.
Raytheon has also developed an expeditionary variant of JPALS called eJPALS, which is a smaller, portable system that could be packaged in ruggedized cases, mounted on small vehicles, and deployed in austere, remote locations for precision landings. The system could establish up to 50 landing points within a 20-nautical-mile radius.
MARSS Group announces that it has passed the Final Site Acceptance Test of its largest single-site project. With a value of over $100M and encompassing the installation and integration of over 100 sensors and effectors, MARSS’ installation will provide complete protection and situational awareness at a complex critical infrastructure site in the Middle East against manned and unmanned asymmetric threats such as UAS, USV, and UUVs.
First contracted just 18 months ago, MARSS has successfully brought together over 20 partners from around the world, including Thales, L3, RADA, Citadel, Kirintec, MSI, FLIR, and many others, and seamlessly integrated them into a single tactical, operational picture, all underpinned by NiDAR – MARSS’ proprietary Hybrid Intelligence system.
MARSS’ NiDAR fuses Artificial Intelligence alongside traditional algorithmic techniques and human-driven domain expertise to produce results that exceed the sum of the parts. Combing all sensors and effectors into a single, intelligent User Interface, NiDAR maximizes the performance of individual instruments and dramatically reduces the time from detection to defeat in the decision chain.
Several operational firsts have been achieved, including a proven “end-to-end” defeat capability integrating electronic and kinetic effectors. As the prime contractor,
MARSS also delivers a multi-year turn-key package, including training and integrated logistic support.
Senior Vice President of Sales Rob Balloch adds, “Recent world events have emphasized the need for an agnostic approach to the rapid integration of legacy and next-generation sensors and effectors. MARSS assembled a global team of experts backed by
operational specialists to deliver a complete solution for our client.
“In less than three years, MARSS has evolved from a team of just 18 to over 130 engineers, programmers, and support professionals. Completing this latest project, providing end-to-end protection for a critical infrastructure site, is yet another landmark moment for MARSS’ development.”
Northrop Grumman Corporation’s AN/ALQ257 Integrated Viper Electronic Warfare Suite (IVEWS) has completed U.S. Air Force Laboratory Intelligence Validated Emulator (LIVE) testing. This was the first time the ultra-wideband architecture in IVEWS underwent LIVE testing. The system exceeded multiple benchmarks and could counter modern radio frequency (RF) threats.
“As advanced radio frequency threats continue to proliferate, the protection afforded by
IVEWS is essential,” said James Conroy, vice president of navigation, targeting, and survivability at Northrop Grumman. “This successful evaluation under very challenging conditions is an important step on the path to fielding the suite.”
During the test, simulated air defense radar pulses were injected directly into IVEWS to verify the suite’s ability to recognize and counter advanced threats. The signals used in LIVE testing are validated models that provide realistic representations of radio frequency threats. LIVE is an intelligence-validated, closed-loop RF direct-injection threat radar emulator based on threat capabilities and features. It allows for the testing of electronic warfare systems in realistic environments.
Fully digital and founded on secure, modular, open systems design principles, the receiver/ exciter architecture in IVEWS provides significant advantages over heritage systems. Featuring highly efficient broadband power amplifiers and adaptive countermeasure modulations, it is designed to detect, identify, locate, and defeat next-generation sensors and weapons. This technology allows for extended frequency coverage, full spatial coverage, and more rapid responses.
IVEWS is a program of record electronic warfare suite for the U.S. Air Force F-16 fleet. The system is exportable for current and previous generations of F-16 aircraft.
The U.S. Navy is putting the advanced AN/SPY-6 naval radar on 29 new ships. It will add this system to the first existing ships, starting with a $619 million contract with Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies business.
The SPY-6 radar is significantly more sensitive than the 40-year-old predecessor it’s replacing. Its enhanced detection capability and more accurate discrimination allow sailors to find and track enemy missiles and fighter jets simultaneously, faster, and at greater distances.
“SPY-6 is a paradigm shift in radar technology, providing sailors with improved situational awareness, enhanced ballistic missile defense, reduced maintenance and downtime, and increased range,” said Mike Mills, senior program director of Naval Radars at
Raytheon Missiles & Defense. “It’s designed to keep sailors safe and missions successful.”
With the award, Raytheon Missiles & Defense will integrate the SPY-6(V)4 radar onto the first Flight IIA guided missile destroyers in 2026, marking the first time this variant will be installed on a ship. This latest upgrade is the second option exercised from a hardware, production, and sustainment contract valued at up to $3.16 billion over five years.
The SPY-6 radar comprises many smaller radars called Radar Modular Assemblies –2x2x2 boxes arranged to fit on any ship and function for any mission. It can include as few as four RMAs or as many as 57, meaning it can go on smaller ships such as frigates and unmanned vessels and larger ships such as the next-generation destroyers.
“We have decades of experience as a mission and systems integrator of defense solutions, so we are ready to meet a variety of size needs and missions for the U.S. and its allies,” Mills said. “Scalability cuts production costs because we aren’t developing something new for every ship or variant.”
By John Reardon, Publisher
The United States Army has had centuries of experience advancing the vehicles used in warfighting. If you consider the arrival of the first tank on the battlefield early in the 20th Century, you can imagine the fear it conjured up. This continued through World War II with the Sherman tank and completely changed how mechanized vehicles impacted the battlefield forever. As we move into the 21st Century, the same drive to advance the abilities of military vehicles is occurring. The sophistication that the Army is now employing in the next generation vehicle has the potential of being a generational change that is equivalent to a soldier on horseback facing their first tank.
The Army is moving forward with solutions to address greater preparedness on the battlefield at the United States Army Combat Capabilities Development Command or DEVCOM in Warren, Michigan. This is the home of the Army’s best and brightest minds. They are working on the Electrification of the fleet - striving to have vehicles that can be selfsustained for 7 days without being recharged. They employ many Advance Driver Assistance Systems for autonomous operations and contribute to the driver through augmented reality. They are advancing security around C2 and working to have increased situational awareness. Situational awareness will be our focus.
The first step in the Army’s quest for situational awareness is real-time video capture with a 360-degree view surrounding the vehicle. This will require the solution to handle multiple video feeds in high resolution and with low latency. The OSS solutions capture video at 64 giga transfers per second. A demosaicing algorithm is applied to reconstruct the image utilizing the GPU at incredible speeds to create a viewable image. This architecture allows each camera to be run in parallel with a raw data feed, thus avoiding additional latencies.
In reviewing their options, the Army looked
The first step in the Army’s quest for situational awareness is real-time video capture with a 360-degree view surrounding the vehicle.
to the experience of One Stop System to build an environmentally appropriate solution that incorporated the high-speed performance required but with much lower latency than traditional Ethernet architectures. The OSS solution uses a PCIe Gen 4 architecture that takes multiple video feeds into several Nvidia Jetson AGX Orins for simultaneous distribution to the crew. The use of the Nvidia Jetson AGX Orin affords the Army ample headroom in computing power, along with all the tools within the development kit of the Orin. The Jetson features 8 Arm Cortex A78AE and 64 GB of RAM, able to do 275 trillion operations per second. Having the advantage of a large amount of support for various sensors makes this a powerful choice as needs evolve.
It was clear to the Army that to achieve a low latency video stream that could assist with a vehicle’s many needs in real-time, they would have to move away from Ethernet and the packet data structure used. To achieve the desired results of full motion video with less than a 50-millisecond latency, the Army looked to the leaders in applying PCIe technology from One Stop Systems. Currently shipping PCIe Gen 4 solutions that produces
speeds of 16 GBps, the OSS solution could meet the need and evolve as Gen 5 and 6 solutions become available.
The OSS solution was designed to have two primary functions. That of retrieving unaltered, high-speed video feeds from the cameras and pushing this data out over the network to be processed and displayed to the crew in real time. In this case, real time refers to seeing images with latencies similar to seeing the live action with the human eye rather than through a camera for an experience indistinguishable from the real thing. This solution allows the raw data feed to be fed to the GPU for much faster processing without being limited to the ability of each discrete camera. And subsequently, be pushed out to the network via a multi-casted, direct memory access scheme to each node.
In measuring the latency across the network to test the impact of system alterations and software mods, a system-wide benchmark is used to determine overhead at each node. The Army can determine if the desired < 50-millisecond goal is sustained as other features are employed. This occurs by
measuring the actual user experience from each display (Glass-to-Glass) and the impact of each additional software modification.
The ability to retrieve real-time video streams and react to them opens a realm of possibilities. By having a 360-degree view, any discrete vehicle can better defend itself and act as a sensor to communicate vital information to the command or others on the battlefield. It can employ a level of speed and accuracy that can monitor concerns that might otherwise be missed by a distracted crew or remote operator. This could be the detection of an IED (Improvised Explosive Device), or it could be a predictive maintenance concern such as a fluid leak. It also has the potential to support a driveby video capability, such as maneuvering the vehicle remotely or augmenting the driver’s threat awareness.
The leadership of DEVCOM has made it clear that a narrow focus on AI applications will be the process in which this video server will be built. The idea of curtailing what they refer to as “Irrational Exuberance” surrounding
By having a 360-degree view, any discrete vehicle can better defend itself and act as a sensor to communicate vital information to the command or others on the battlefield.
AI and instead being more practical in its application. In other words, they are eager to apply simple video and pattern recognition algorithms to improve situational awareness, but they will be prudent in employing compound, complex algorithms that might take control away from the operator.
In a situation where millisecond counts, the time it takes to display an image is a significant consideration. The choice of the monitor can cause a delay anywhere from 1 millisecond to more than 15 milliseconds. The high-speed monitors with a faster refresh typically used in civilian gaming applications are those with the lowest latency. Current solutions adapted to the rugged environment tend to use monitors that trail in performance to those used by a gamer. For this reason, advances in environmental consideration for more advanced displays will be needed.
The OSS solution has created a SWAP-C solution that is practical in its application across the nearly 14,000 ground vehicles employed. It allows a vehicle traveling at speed to be aware of hostile concerns and
has sufficient system overhead to maintain a target within its sights. It is the speed and the low level of latency of the OSS solution that makes it possible to use situational awareness in a fire control sequence. The OSS solution supports nodes within the vehicle, such as the Gunner’s station, the Squad leader’s computer, the driver’s computer, and the Commander’s station. By acknowledging that the threat environment is dynamic and becoming more complex from peer and near-peer adversaries, the OSS system offers a unified network to provide situational awareness when needed.
Although the Army has clearly defined the parameters of the OSS video viewing system, using PCIe will enable them to develop the solution to be an integrated part of the battlefield. The bandwidth of the system and future PCIe Gen 5 or 6 architectures will be easily complimented with advances in the Ampere class GPUs. This ability to interconnect will lead to a mesh of sensors across the battlefield from vehicles that will be incorporated into the battle plan.
The OSS solution is a tailored response to
a specific need. It meets all the application parameters along with growth potential due to the performance of the Jetson Orin and future iterations of PCIe. There is an elegance in the SWAP-C characteristics of the OSS solution that provides all the needed features without painting the Army into a corner. The solution can scale to future needs as the world evolves. It employs open standards that have already proven themselves as advanced technologies able to scale.
The explosion of technology within the Bradley, the JTLV, and Stryker has enhanced the utility of these vehicles beyond their original charter. The future of these vehicles will continue to borrow from commercial and consumer applications of autonomous vehicles. The Electrification of military vehicles will undoubtedly bring about data center performance at the edge. As the production of these vehicles continues to ramp, the OSS solution should scale towards the performance range of their Rigel Edge Supercomputer platform, OSS’s more prominent and most advanced highperformance computing platform. Giving the Army what they need in a performance computing platform at the edge.
Radio communication has come a long way since the days of analog transmissions. In the modern industry, digital-based radio platforms called software-defined radios (SDRs) can outperform conventional hardware-based systems by implementing most RF functions on the software side, obtaining unparalleled flexibility and efficiency. The secret of this success lies in the digital backend based on a powerful (and highly versatile) integrated unit: the field-programmable gate array (FPGA). These high-performance semiconductor devices are based on a reconfigurable matrix of logic blocks that can be precisely programmed to perform a wide range of digital functions, including digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms. When integrated into SDRs, FPGAs provide several benefits that can significantly improve performance
and enable novel and condition-specific applications. Because the actual internal structure of the FPGA can be reprogrammed after manufacturing, these devices provide much lower latency than CPUs and more flexibility than ASICs. Therefore, these ICs are ideal for applications that require high-speed processing, low latency, and real-time performance. In the context of SDRs, FPGAs can improve channelization capabilities, perform advanced modulation/demodulation schemes, and implement high-speed backhaul interfaces.
In this article, we will discuss the different features of FPGAs and how these characteristics impact the performance of commercial off-theshelf (COTS) SDRs. We will explore how primary FPGA resources, including logic elements (LEs) and Adaptive Logic Modules (ALMs), can limit or
expand SDRs’ capabilities in channelization and signal processing, such as filtering, decimation, interpolation, and mixing. Furthermore, we will relate the central SDR figures of merit, including bandwidth, number of channels, and backhaul interfaces with FPGA requirements, to better guide FPGA selection when designing a transceiver. Finally, we discuss how FPGA-based SDRs can impact critical RF applications like radar, spectrum monitoring, and electronic warfare.
To understand the impact of FPGAs on SDR performance, we should first review these transceivers’ basic concepts and working principles. SDRs are simply radio units capable of performing most of the RF functions on the software side, in contrast with conventional radio systems that rely
The secret of this success lies in the digital backend based on a powerful (and highly versatile) integrated unit: the field-programmable gate array (FPGA).
entirely on hardware. Because of this fundamental characteristic, SDRs can be completely changed, tuned, and reprogrammed on-the-fly without any hardware modification by simply uploading new code. The architecture of SDRs can vary with brand and model, but the general architecture can typically be reduced to two main components: the radio front end (RFE) and the digital backend. The RFE contains all the necessary hardware to enable receive (Rx) and transmit (Tx) radio functions, allowing the SDR to operate over a wide tuning range and high instantaneous bandwidth. In fact, the highest-bandwidth SDRs in the market can provide tuning ranges from DC to 18 GHz, upgradable to 40 GHz, with instantaneous bandwidth ups to 3 GHz per channel. Furthermore, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) SDRs provide multiple RFE channels that can be operated in parallel thanks to independent ADC/DAC chains, enabling one device to perform many functions simultaneously. The precision of the RFE is crucial for overall performance, so selecting SDRs with
high-dynamic range and low noise-figure is paramount for success in critical applications, such as spectrum monitoring and radar. On the other hand, the digital backend is where most of the RF functions are performed in an SDR, including modulation/demodulation, up/down-converting, data packaging, decimation, and interpolation. In this stage, high-end SDRs typically implement powerful FPGAs with onboard DSP capabilities so that all the functions programmed in the FPGA can be completely reprogrammed at any point of the life of service, providing a whole new level of flexibility and adaptability that is fundamental to address current needs of the RF industry. Therefore, FPGAs play a significant role in SDR performance. Figure 1 shows a block diagram of a basic SDR architecture that highlights the role of FPGA in SDR, including CORDIC mixers, JESD 204B interfaces, framing/deframing of Ethernet data, and implementation of VITA 49 transport standard.
Now let us discuss a little bit about FPGAs.
Field-programmable gate arrays, as the name suggests, are semiconductor units where the connections between internal gates can be wholly programmed at will so that the hardware itself is modified instead of just code instructions. Therefore, FPGAs combine the low-latency application-specific performance of ASICs with the programmability and flexibility of microprocessors. The basic architecture of an FPGA is composed of a matrix of configurable logic blocks (CLBs) that can be programmed into a variety of logic gates and flip-flops, with densities ranging from 500 kLE to 10.2 MLE. Thus, FPGAs are capable of heavy parallel computing, which further enables these devices to work with very high data throughput – crucial for MIMO SDRs. These devices also provide data interfaces for communicating with peripherals, including the RFE DACs, ADCs, and the host backhaul, typically performed by Ethernet controllers. To make this possible, FPGAs require both the physical resources on the chip (number of transceivers and speed grades) and the prop-
The Department of Defense has been riddled with false starts and countless acronyms in pursuit of a connected battlefield.Figure 1: Block diagram of the RF chains of an SDR, highlighting the different functions performed by the FPGA (digital backend) and the RFE.
er IP cores to drive the interface, like JESD and 10/40/100G Ethernet. FPGAs can also provide onboard embedded processors implemented in system management and configuration, complex algorithms, and some DSP functions.
There are several reasons why using FPGAs in the digital backend of SDR systems is extremely beneficial for both the device and the application. Firstly, these devices provide very low latency due to their parallel computing architecture, allowing for latency control at the clock cycle level, which is critical in applications such as 5G networks and electronic warfare. Essential DSP functions, such as digital upconverting/digital downconverting (DDC/DUC), filtering, mixing, interpolation, and decimation can be implemented much faster than in conventional microprocessor units. Additionally, FPGAs can handle sample buffers, framing/ deframing of data, and packetization of IQ data into the network protocol stack, typically using the VITA49 standard to exchange IQ data between the host and SDR. Furthermore, FPGAs are often used for Serializer/DeSerializer (SerDes), Serial-In Parallel-Out (SIPO), and other helpful shift registers. FPGAs can also efficiently perform channelization, an extremely useful feature in SDRs where a single input signal can be split into multiple DSP
channels for independent data processing. Finally, the main reason why FPGAs are used instead of ASICs is the ability to be reprogrammed entirely on the fly, allowing general-purpose COTS SDRs to be programmed to work with virtually any function.
When selecting an FPGA for an SDR, it’s essential to define the performance goals and the critical requirements of the system, such as the number of radio chains and the target bandwidth per chain. Different FPGAs have different numbers and speeds of transceivers, which will limit the capabilities of radio chains, especially in MIMO operations. For instance, if you don’t have enough peripheral transceivers, you cannot support as many independent ADCs and DACs at your RFE board, which will consequently limit the number of radio chains. Similarly, the overall bandwidth will be significantly limited if the transceiver speeds don’t support the ADC/DACs sampling rates. FPGAs for high-end SDRs also need multiple high-speed transceivers to support high data throughout the backhaul, such as 40-100 Gbps Ethernet links. Different FPGA families provide other digital capabilities, so selecting the proper model/family is fundamental to optimizing SDR performance.
Critical applications benefiting from FPGAs in SDRs
Radars implementing beamforming/ beam-steering technologies benefit greatly from FPGAs, primarily due to the parallel computing and channelization capabilities. In large-scale beamforming systems with hundreds of antennas, several FGPAs can handle a portion of signals (up to 16 antennas per FPGA). For each antenna signal, the FPGA can divide the bandwidth into multiple portions for independent parallel processing, which are then modified by a phase slope, that is different for each antenna in the array. Each signal in a beamforming array must be properly aligned to compensate for differences in cable length. Finally, the partial channelized beams formed by each FPGA are summed together in one FPGA for processing. Thus, modern beamforming radars rely greatly on FPGA systems for proper operation.
Another important application that can benefit from FPGAs is wide-band spectrum monitoring and recording. To capture and record wide-band signals, multi-giga sample/second sampling is required, which requires extremely fast ways of communicating between the ADC from the RFE and the FPGA backend. In this endeavor, the JESD204B protocol is the interface of choice for
data exchange, especially when implementing ADCs in the GSPS range. Wide-band ADCs provide high sampling rates, which are crucial to capture large portions of the spectrum per channel. FPGA selection plays a critical role in ensuring optimal performance in wide-band spectrum monitoring and recording applications, as it determines the number and speed of transceivers available to interface with the ADCs, the amount of programmable logic available for signal processing, and the memory bandwidth available for storing and retrieving the captured data. The bandwidth can be split into several portions independently monitored by different MIMO channels, and simultaneously processed to provide high data throughput. The ability to work with multiple signal chains in a parallel fashion makes FPGAs the best choice for spectrum monitoring.
In electronic warfare applications, FPGA-based SDRs are crucial for various critical functions, including signal intercepting, jamming, spoofing, deciphering, and signal intelligence (SIGINT). These systems require high-speed processing and real-time decision-making capabilities, which are powered by the SDR’s extremely low latency and heavy parallel computation capabilities. The parallel architecture of FPGAs allows for fast execution and response times, which is crucial in EW oper-
ations where quick reactions are critical. FPGAs can also be programmed to implement complex algorithms, such as state-of-the-art communication protocols, encryption and security schemes, and artificial intelligence programs/machine learning architectures. However, it is important to consider the trade-off between latency and FPGA resources when designing SDRs for EW applications: high-performance FPGAs can reduce overall latency. However, increasing the implementation complexity can also require more resources and improve the overall cost of the system.
One of the significant advantages of using SDRs with FPGAs is the high level of flexibility and reconfigurability that they provide. With FPGAs, it becomes easier to modify and upgrade the functionality of the SDR without having to replace the entire hardware and with minimum human intervention. This enables the transceiver to quickly adapt to new requirements and integrate with other systems seamlessly. Moreover, FPGA-based SDRs can be designed to be platform-agnostic, which means they can work with different types of hardware and software platforms, such as GNU Radio and other open-source systems. This makes integrating the SDR into large existing architectures easier and enables the communication be-
tween different systems. Additionally, FPGA-based SDRs are highly scalable and can be easily adapted to meet changing requirements. As a result, COTS transceivers can be used in a wide range of applications, from commercial wireless systems to military communication and radar systems.
By using readily available HDL IP cores for FPGAs, SDRs can benefit from many functionalities and capabilities without requiring extensive development time. The availability of open-source HDL libraries shared and developed by a community of amateurs and professionals allows for the efficient scaling of FPGA designs. This can significantly reduce costs and development time for RF projects. In the past, IP cores were often proprietary and required costly licensing, making them inaccessible to smaller research projects or startups. However, the availability of open-source FPGA cores has democratized access to robust FPGA designs for various applications, from IIR/FIR filters and oscillators to IQ pair phase and gain correction codes. Overall, using HDL IP cores for FPGAs can significantly enhance SDRs’ capabilities and versatility while reducing development costs and time. Naturally, if there is no IP core available for your SDR application and you’re looking to develop one from the ground up, SDR manufacturers have a lot of available resources for custom development. If you have an FPGA engineer, this becomes a feasible option for developing and implementing custom algorithms.
Software Defined Radios (SDRs) have emerged as a powerful tool for signal processing and communication systems in today’s constantly evolving communication technologies. Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) have proven to be a popular digital backend for SDRs, providing a high degree of flexibility and scalability while improving the transceiver’s overall performance. FPGA-based SDRs are helpful for several RF applications, including wide-band spectrum monitoring and recording, electronic warfare, and beamforming technologies. The advantages of using FPGAs include easier integration with existing systems, readily available HDL IP cores for various functions, and the ability to develop custom algorithms for specific SDR applications. Overall, using FPGAs in SDRs has significantly improved their performance, flexibility, and functionality, making them indispensable for modern communication systems.
Per Vices has extensive experience designing, developing, building, and integrating SDRs for various applications. Contact solutions@pervices.com today to see how we can help you with your SDR needs.
Telit Cinterion announced the addition of the SE868K5 family of dual-band GNSS positioning modules. Built on the AIROHA AG3335 chipset family in a scalable design for global deployment or use in the Indian market, the SE868K5 family consists of SE868K5-D and SE868K5-I modules.
A full dual-band (L1 + L5) module offering enhanced performance in harsh environments, the SE868K5-D is optimized for global deployment. At the same time, the SE868K5-I shares the same architecture in a defeatured design for cost-optimized applications in the Indian market. Evolved from the 7×7 mm single-frequency SE873K5, the SE868K5 modules are an 11x11mm addition to the xE868 form factor family, utilizing unified proprietary commands (PTWS) to allow for flexibility and easy migration within the product family. The SE868K5 architecture adds extra LNA(s) after the SAW filter for optimal performances and immunity to interference for the best co-existence with cellular and other radios.
The new modules offer low power and usage profiles to customize applications, including fleet management systems, e-mobility applications, road tolling systems, cellular
base stations, automotive telematics systems, wearable sports training monitors, and other IoT verticals. Early marketing samples of the SE868K5 family are available now, engineering samples will be available in May 2023, and mass production will take place in June 2023.
“AIROHA, a world-leading GNSS SoC provider, has partnered with Telit Cinterion for years in creating many successful GNSS solutions,” said Kevin Chen, General Manager at Positioning Communications Product Business Unit of Airoha Technology. The AIROHA’s low-power AG3335 dual-band chip can receive signals from as many as six navigational satellite constellations and provides abundant computing power and memory capacity to suffice the flexible development of various applications. “This will definitely help our customers worldwide shorten the time-to-market of their products and solutions amid rapid evolutions of IoT application requirements,” said Chen.
“As torchbearers in the IoT revolution and staunch enablers of the intelligent edge, we are delighted to offer a solution that not only meets the needs of our global customers but our customers on the Indian subcontinent as well,” said Marco Argenton, VP of Product Management, IoT Modules, Telit Cinterion. “In leveraging AIROHA’s next-generation chipsets with our proprietary technology, we can provide our customers with the best global and local solutions.”
Fully Integrated, customized development platforms aligned to SOSA
Elma Electronic will demonstrate a MORA-Ready Development Platform at the 2023 Sea Air Space event. This integrated platform simplifies the process of RF signal processing capabilities and expedites the integration of existing applications aligned with MORA.
Using Sciens Innovations’ hardware-agnostic helux core, a combination of software libraries and firmware modules, Elma’s MORA-Ready Development Platform integrates an I/O-intensive processor card, a high-speed Ethernet switch and a high-performing RF transceiver payload plug-in card (PIC) to provide interfaces aligned to MORA for the VICTORY Data Bus (VBD) and MORA Low Latency Bus (ML2B).
The demonstration platform uses a standard Elma CompacFrame with an 8-slot backplane aligned to SOSA and power and chassis management with a range of payload, Ethernet switch, power supply, I/O, and other PICs from a large ecosystem of embedded computing manufacturers.
Ken Grob, director of embedded computing for Elma Electronic Inc., noted, “We’re excited to be demonstrating the capabilities of the SOSA ecosystem to deliver innovative implementations for deployment in real applications. Through our extensive industry partnerships, like with Sciens, Elma continues to build systems and partnerships based on the wider open standards community.”
Embedded computing systems and display solutions provider Review Display Systems (RDS) has announced the availability of a new range of high-quality multi-touch Panel PCs from a leading global provider of embedded computing technology, Kontron.
The Web Panel Line is available with three high-resolution, widescreen IPS (in-plane switching) TFT displays in 7.0-inch (1024 x 600 pixels), 10.1-inch (1280 x 800 pixels), and 15.6-inch (1366 x 768 pixels) sizes, integrated PCap (projected capacitive) touch technology, and flexible, scalable performance from Arm-based i.MX6 single or dual core, i.MX8M quadcore and Intel Atom-based dual and quad-core processors.
The Kontron Web Panels are delivered with a specially developed, innovative QIWI software toolkit with a performance-optimized HTML-5 browser. The toolkit enables quick and easy configuration of the Web Panel itself or from an external device. Various configuration options and features include network settings, browser appearance and operation, display properties, fonts and logos, keyboard layouts, language options, and country-specific settings.
The Web Panels feature a robust, optically bonded glass PCap touchscreen, flush mounted in a stylish aluminum or an optional stainless-steel
frame. All three panels provide an IP65 protection rating on the front side of the panel and feature an operating temperature range of 0°C to 55°C. All standard versions are designed to offer straightforward panel mounting for use in control cabinets and equipment consoles in industrial environments.
The 7.0-inch panel has a brightness specification of 450cd/m² and features external dimensions of 200mm (l) x 132 (w) x 48mm (d). The 10.1-inch panel has a brightness rating of 430cd/m² and external dimensions of 265mm (l) x 187mm (w) x 41mm (d). The 15.6-inch panel has a specified brightness of 400cd/ m² and mechanical outline dimensions of 405mm (l) x 254mm (w) x 60mm (d).
Kontron Web Panel Line PCs have been de-
signed and developed to provide long-term availability and continuity of supply for use in industrial equipment and applications. The modular design also enables easy adaptation to support individual customer-specific requirements.
Review Display Systems supports and supplies an extensive range of embedded computing solutions from Kontron offering industrial specification products and extended lifecycles. Review Display Systems can provide a comprehensive design, development, and manufacturing service, including developing custom BIOS configurations, operating systems, peripheral components, and interconnect solutions.
Review Display Systems review-displays.com
RadioWaves, an Infinite Electronics brand and a manufacturer of high-quality microwave antennas and accessories, has just introduced a new line of 4.9-6.4 GHz dish antennas with integrated Mimosa C5x radio adapters.
RadioWaves’ new 4.9-6.4 GHz dish antennas support 4.9 GHz public safety applications and licensed and unlicensed frequencies up to 6.4 GHz. These rugged aluminum dish antennas feature dual V/H polarization or +-45° polarization and support MIMO and 802.11n wireless applications.
Concurrent Technologies is excited to announce the launch of Hermes, a high-performance PlugIn Card based on an Intel® processor.
The Company will market Hermes as a Plug-In Card to system integrators and use it as the basis for its system-level products that require a high-performance processor. Typical applications include situational awareness, command and control, mission computing, and rugged storage.
Hermes has been designed in alignment with the latest technical standards and harnesses the performance of the recently launched 13th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-
These new dish antennas will save installers time as they feature integrated adapters that accommodate Mimosa C5x and B5x twist-on radios. The 4-foot antennas can be set up in minutes, and their rugged aluminum dish construction ensures they offer reliable coverage in harsh weather.
“Our customers can now leverage Mimosa’s industry-leading wireless technology without making a big change to their budget. Our new dish antennas with Mimosa compatibility via quick-connect C5x adapters allow them to increase savings by completing installs faster and getting their customers online quicker,” said Kevin Hietpas, Antenna Product Line Manager.
RadioWaves radiowaves.com
13800HRE processor, formerly Raptor Lake. Compared to the previous generation Plug-In Card, Hermes has more processor cores, three times the number of accelerator engines, and twice the memory capacity.
This additional capability allows consolidation of all the processing functionality onto a single Hermes instead of requiring a processor plus an accelerator. Hermes will be available for two different system-level cooling standards, extending the use cases to more demanding environments and applications.
Miles Adcock, CEO of Concurrent Technologies, commented on the launch of Hermes:
“Hermes is the latest high-performance embedded solution from Concurrent Technologies that reinforces our commitment to delivering leading-edge products to market at an increasingly swift cadence. The development path of Hermes has been carefully coordinated to coincide with the release of Intel’s launch cycle and provides an exciting foundation for future system-level
Concurrent Technologies gocct.com
Annapolis Micro Systems is shipping the industry’s first COTS Card to feature Jariet Technologies’ Electra-MA chip with 64 GS/s, 10-bit ADC and DAC capability. The SOSA™-aligned WILD FMC+ DME1 Card targets demanding applications requiring direct sampling frequency coverage anywhere from 0.1 to 36 GHz (VHF through Ka-band) and/or wide instantaneous bandwidths.
The direct breakthrough sampling Jariet transceiver performs frequency conversion and filtering in the digital domain, eliminating the need for costly analog frequency conversion. The DME1 Card thus provides an unprecedented level of performance and integration for RF and microwave systems:
2-Channel, 40 to 64 GSps, 10b ADC
2-Channel, 40 to 64 GSps, 10b DAC
“This first delivery from Annapolis Micro Systems contains cutting-edge technology in a true software-definable transceiver to support the warfighter with game-changing technology,” said the technical lead overseeing this mission-critical airborne electronic warfare (EW) program.
The card has a usable analog bandwidth of 36 GHz and a maximum instantaneous bandwidth of 6.4 GHz on both channels simultaneously. All transceiver channels feature onboard digital downconverters (DDCs) and digital upconverters (DUCs), including sub-band channelizers for dynamic frequency selection.
“This game-changing product will revolutionize the EW RF chain by using direct sampling techniques to reduce the amount of RF circuitry between the ADC/DAC and the sensor,” said Annapolis Micro Systems VP of Hardware Engineering Dan Markoff. “It truly slashes the requirements of size, weight, and power (SWaP).”.
Annapolis Micro Systems
Rugged embedded computer brand— Cincoze recently launched its latest addition to the Display Computing - CRYSTAL product line, the P1201 embedded computer series. The P1201 packs the improved computing performance of the Intel Elkhart Lake platform into a thin and light body (204.5 x 149 x 41.5 mm) with flexible expansion options. The highlight is the dual-purpose design sets the P1201 apart from other embedded computers. As standard, its ultra-thin design makes it well-suited for data collection and analysis in space-limited applications in machine equipment and control cabinets. Attach one of a range of display modules to the P1201 using Cincoze’s exclusive CDS (Convertible Display System, Patent No. M482908) technology, and it becomes a panel PC suitable for HMI applications.
The P1201 uses the Elkhart Lake platform Intel® Atom® x6425E quad-core processor, delivering 1.7x the single-core performance and 1.5x the multi-core performance of the previous generation Apollo Lake processors. It also supports DDR4 memory up to 32 GB and 3200 MHz. The Intel® UHD graphics chip ensures smooth graphics by doubling the processing performance of previous generations. Greatly improved computing performance shortens processing times, thereby increasing work efficiency.
The ingenuity of the P1201 lies in the “one computer, two purposes” design. It is
an ultra-thin embedded computer suitable for installation in narrow spaces to perform long-term, uninterrupted computing tasks. By adding a display module through Cincoze’s exclusive CDS technology, the P1201 becomes a panel PC. According to the environment and application needs, three types of panel PC are available, including industrial panel PCs (CV100/P1201), high brightness panel PCs (CS-100/ P1201), and open frame panel PCs (CO-100/ P1201), with each series offering a variety of sizes, display ratios, and touchscreen options.
For wireless transmission in mobile robots, the P1201 supports a Wi-Fi 6/Intel CNVi/Bluetooth module through the M.2 Key E slot for faster transfers. It supports a GNSS/4G module through the Mini PCIe slot, covering the full spectrum of wireless transmission needs. The native I/O ports (GbE LAN, USB 3.2, COM, and DIO) meet the requirements of most HMI applications.
The P1201 is typically installed in equipment, control cabinets, and mobile robots, where vibration resistance and EMC are the main challenges. The P1201 passes a range of vibration and shock tests, including random vibration (5G), sinusoidal vibration (1.5G), and shock resistance (50G), meeting the EMC testing standards for harsh industrial environments (EN 61000-6-2 and EN 610006-4). The P1201’s high-standard, industrialgrade protections ensure product safety by passing the UL certification for contact leakage, flammable materials, and rugged exterior.
Cincoze cincoze.com
Systems
The Two Companies Have Complementary Approaches to Developing and Deploying Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Red Cat Holdings, Inc. has made a materially significant financial investment in Firestorm, an American company developing the first completely Modular Unmanned Aerial System (MUAS) that is 3D printed and payload agnostic.
Firestorm is building a new category of fixed-wing UAS with 30-day product iterations, a commitment to open-system architectures, and an additive manufacturing approach that allows them to scale production elastically.
“Firestorm is changing how UAVs can be designed, manufactured, and delivered quickly, and the Firestorm system solves many problems for many critical situations. Their long-range and long-duration loitering capabilities are cost-effective for winning in the air. We believe that our Teal 2 drone and the Firestorm UAV could be a great combination for the warfighter,” said Red Cat CEO Jeff Thompson.
Firestorm’s founding team has deep industry expertise in additive manufacturing, aerospace, and defense and understands how to build and quickly scale dual-use technology companies.
“We are honored to have Red Cat join us on our journey. Red Cat’s Blue UAS products, American manufacturing facilities, and industry knowledge have made them a great partner as we work to scale our business,” said Firestorm CEO Daniel Magy.
“We want to help Firestorm succeed, and this investment may be just the beginning. For example, our large manufacturing facility in Salt Lake City could accelerate the production of Firestorm’s products to meet increased demand,” Thompson added.
Red Cat Holdings redcat.red
Diverse Robotics and Autonomous Systems Test Applications Economically Solved by the Latest Universal Test System from BLOOMY
Bloomy Controls, Inc. announces the newest member to its Universal Test System (UTSTM) product family, the midUTSTM Electronics Functional Test System. Combining benchtop portability with powerful test functionality, the midUTS is BLOOMY’s response to the extremely fast-paced technology evolution and commercialization of robotics and autonomous systems design and manufacturing.
The midUTS combines high-performance, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) instruments with BLOOMY’s signal-routing PCBAs, a built-in or USB-connected PC, and a pair of high-integrity, production-grade cables connected to an adjacent benchtop fixture, creating an extremely flexible yet cost-effective solution for testing a wide variety of printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs).
The new midUTS is ideally suited for the following:
• Robotics and autonomous systems test
• PCBA and subassembly functional test
• Engineering development, manufacturing, quality assurance, and repair depot testing
• Electronic product OEM, CM, and EMS firms
• Applications that require transporting and sharing test assets among multiple stakeholders
• Applications with typical units under test (UUTs) that include robotic and autonomous vehicle controls, computers, and sensors
A key feature of the midUTS is its ability to rapidly automate sequences of functional tests using NI TestStand and BLOOMY’s EFT Module. Available on all of BLOOMY’s UTSTM family of electronics functional test systems, the EFT Module for TestStand helps you intuitively develop test sequences from the perspective of the UUT instead of the test equipment, dramatically reducing development time.
This balance between powerful features and affordable cost allows original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to automate earlier in the product development lifecycle, substantially increasing product quality and minimizing time to market. Robotics and autonomous systems manufacturers – often facing rapid technology changes and intense timeline pressures – can efficiently standardize on the midUTS for streamlining benchtop PCBA bring-up during product development, manufacturing functional testing of PCBAs and sub-assemblies, and conducting diagnostic testing.
Additionally, the portability of the new midUTS makes it easily transported to multiple areas of a factory or readily handed off from OEM to a contract manufacturer (CM). The result is a single system that spans the diverse needs of several product development and manufacturing phases, offering substantial economic and maintenance benefits.
Bloomy
congatec is pleased to announce that it is expanding its strategic solutions portfolio in the Arm processor sector to include Texas Instruments (TI) processors. The first solution platform is the conga-STDA4, a SMARC Computer-on-Module featuring the industrial-grade Arm® Cortex®-based TDA4VM processor. Using a system-on-chip architecture, TI incorporates accelerated vision, AI processing, real-time control, and functional safety capabilities into their TDA4VM processor. This Dual Arm Cortex-A72-based module is designed for mobile industrial machinery requiring near-field analytics, such as automated guided vehicles and autonomous mobile robots, construction, and agricultural machinery. Further application areas are any vision-focused industrial or medical solution requiring powerful but energy-efficient artificial intelligence (AI) processors at the edge. Integrating the powerful TI TDA4VM processor on a standardized Computer-on-Module simplifies the design-in process of this powerful processor technology, allowing designers in various embedded industries to focus on their core competencies. This is advantageous as companies save up-front costs and shorten the time to market compared to fully customized designs, mainly if they produce a lower quantity of their solutions.
“Collaborating with a computer-on-module provider like congatec on their application-ready modules is a key benefit to engineers working with our Arm Cortex-based processors like the TDA4VM. Industrial OEMs, especially those who don’t have the resources to invest in full custom designs, can benefit from innovative SMARC COMs that help streamline design while enabling high design security and low NRE costs,” said Srik Gurrapu, Industrial Business Lead, Processors, Texas Instruments.
“We see that autonomous driving based on AI and computer vision is one of the most important markets for embedded and edge computing technologies besides the second major growth accelerator, digitization. TI offers highly-integrated processors for such applications. Our value-adding Computer-on-Module approach will open new markets for edge-server-grade, AI-driven, high-throughput technology. With all the added values, we will make TI processors available on our credit-card-sized SMARC Computer-on-Module ecosystem. These include fast prototyping and application development, cost-effective carrier board designs, and ultra-reliable, responsive, and performant resources from design-in to series production of OEM systems,” explains Martin Danzer, Director of Product Management at congatec.
congatec
congatec.com
Controls, Inc. bloomy.comWe are building on the momentum from last year’s NVIDIA Jetson edge AI expansion. Devices, the NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX 16 GB module is now available for purchase worldwide.
The Jetson Orin NX 16 GB module is unmatched in performance and efficiency for the small form factor, low-power robots, embedded applications, and autonomous machines. This makes it ideal for use in products like drones and handheld devices. The module can easily be used for advanced applications such as manufacturing, logistics, retail, agriculture, healthcare, and life sciences—all in a compact, power-efficient package.
It is the smallest Jetson form factor, delivering up to 100 TOPS of AI performance with power configurable between 10 W and 25 W. It gives
developers 3x the performance of the NVIDIA Jetson AGX Xavier and 5x the performance of the NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX.
The system-on-module supports multiple AI application pipelines with NVIDIA Ampere architecture GPU, next-generation deep learning and vision accelerators, high-speed I/O, and fast memory bandwidth. You can develop solutions using your largest and most complex AI models in natural language understanding, 3D perception, and multi-sensor fusion.
Showcasing the giant leap in performance, NVIDIA ran some computer vision benchmarks using the NVIDIA JetPack 5.1. Testing included some dense INT8 and FP16 pre-trained models from NGC. The same models were also run for comparison on Jetson Xavier NX.
Following is the complete list of benchmarks:
• NVIDIA PeopleNet v2.5 for the highest accuracy in people detection.
• NVIDIA ActionRecognitionNet for 2D and 3D
models.
• NVIDIA LPRNet for license plate recognition.
• NVIDIA DashCamNet for object detection and labeling.
• NVIDIA BodyPoseNet for multiperson human pose estimation.
Taking the geomean of these benchmarks, Jetson Orin NX shows a 2.1x performance increase compared to Jetson Xavier NX. With future software optimizations, this is expected to approach 3.1x for dense benchmarks. Other Jetson devices have increased performance by 1.5x since their first supporting software release; a similar is anticipated for the Jetson Orin NX 16 GB.
Jetson Orin NX also brings support for sparsity, which will enable even greater performance. With sparsity, you can take advantage of the fine-grained structured sparsity in deep learning networks to increase the throughput for Tensor Core operations.
With IAR Embedded Trust, customers can easily solve their security problems, uniquely provision devices, and protect from threats at all stages of a product's life-cycle.
IAR is announcing today the launch of IAR Embedded Trust – the most robust end-to-end security workflow in the embedded industry. With this latest release, IAR delivers its promise of “Security Made Simple” by helping customers manage, prioritize, and mitigate potential security problems quickly and easily.
IAR Embedded Trust protects customers’ data and devices through 4 A’s: “Anti-cloning” introduces the concept of unique identification for software applications and device hardware, which prevents counterfeits and over-production in manufacturing; “Active IP protection” with its secure key management ensures applications only run on authorized devices and only after a successful Secure Boot process; “Anti-rollback” includes software update processes and checks that are in place to protect against roll-back attacks and versioning exploits; and “Authentication” with a cryptographic assurance of a device’s identity, its
The new centralized data science platform enables low-code to full-code AI and ML development to support decision-making.
Science Applications International Corp. (announced the availability of Tenjin, a new low-code to full-code artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) development and orchestration platform.
“SAIC recognizes data management is a critical component for government to achieve digital transformation across the public sector,” said Andy Henson, vice president, Innovation at SAIC. “As many agencies face resource constraints to analyze data, Tenjin offers a low-cost solution to help customers process data with available resources. With Tenjin, professionals at any level can create analytic models with pre-existing data to rapidly gain decision-enabling insights.”
Using Dataiku, Tenjin provides customers
protected data and secrets, and running of only genuine firmware and updates, all based on a trust anchor established in every device which cannot be undermined.
Customers can design security from the beginning of their product development to volume manufacturing with unique device provisioning. IAR Embedded Trust is a device-agnostic security solution allowing customers to port their current design to a new microcontroller easily. This helps to shorten development time, as does the reuse of code without starting from scratch while adding powerful security features to the application.
“With this new solution, we massively enhance our product offering and help our custom-
ers to master their security challenges and prepare for pending legislations in these areas,” said Tim Woodruff, Deputy General Manager for IAR Embedded Security. “IAR Embedded Trust features advanced capabilities and pushes the boundaries of innovation while addressing security vulnerabilities in product development processes and embedded technology worldwide. It helps developers enhance their security operations and building protection from the product design phase to prevent IP and unauthorized over-production by third-party contract manufacturers. All our efforts aim to ensure that developers can take advantage of Security Made Simple when using IAR Embedded Trust.”
with AI and ML model development, training, deployment, automation, data preparation, and visualization. Tenjin increases accessibility and understanding of AI and ML to empower enterprises to build their path to mission-focused solutions. The platform provides government customers with focused capabilities to address common problems such as fusing disparate data types or extracting meaningful information from files.
“Dataiku is the leader in collaborative, full life-cycle data science across the enterprise,” said Mark Elszy, vice president of the Public Sector at Dataiku. “Our partnership with SAIC extends these capabilities to mission owners, often in disconnected environments, and enables them to tackle complex AI and ML challenges at speed and scale.”
Tenjin supports full-code technical data scientists and machine learning engineers in a collaborative environment, enabling non-technical users to contribute and understand AI and data-driven decision-making. Tenjin offers extensibility and interoperability with its open architecture and cloud-agnostic, flexible deployment model.
Tenjin natively integrates with the Koverse Data Platform (KDP), a security-first data management and governance platform that provides Zero Trust for data by enforcing attribute-based access controls (ABAC). Through KDP, Tenjin operationalizes the data along with additional security features to produce AI algorithms geared toward government missions in computer vision, natural language processing, and data fusion.
SAIC is the lead integrator on many of the DOD’s critical command, control, communication, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C5ISR) programs. Tenjin allows personnel at the forefront of missions to access data to help with informed decisions. SAIC was recently named a JADC2 Company to Watch by Frost & Sullivan. The Company was recognized for its expertise in big data analytics, AI, and Zero Trust networking.
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