Quad Processor VPX Board Tackles Rugged DSP Chores
Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing's CHAMP-AV6 6U VPX singleboard computer is designed for inclusion in a Serial RapidIO fabric. The board includes four Freescale 1.33-GHz 8641 PowerPC processors with DSP and Altivec vector processing support. It handles up to 2 Gbytes of DDR2 SDRAM per processor along with 512 Mbytes of flash memory. Also, it offers 128 kbytes of nonvolatile RAM. Four Serial RapidIO ports connect to the VITA 46 backplane fabric. It features an on-board Gigabit Ethernet switch and interface, as well as a single XMC site with an x8 PCI Express interface. The CHAMP-AV6 starts at $16,500. Air-and conduction-cooled versions available. www.cwcembedded.com
See Associated Figure
Software Targets Aerospace And Defense Systems
Wind River's latest releases address a range of aeorspace and defense applications, starting with its Software Defined Radio (SDR) Platform. Based on the most recent VxWorks 6.2 kernel, the platform adds support for the CRC SDR Core Framework and the JTRS SCA Application Executive Profile, along with integration with Workbench, Wind River's Eclipsebased integrated development environment. Similar integration is part of the new Commercial-Grade ARINC 653 Platform and the Multiple Independent Levels of Security Platform. www.windriver.com
Powerline Chips Available
SmartLabs' Insteon powerline modem and RF chips are now available for $1.60 and $2.90, respectively. Insteon operates at 12.8 kbits/s in a mesh network that provides reliable communication for power and process control applications. www.smartlabsinc.com