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computer-on-modules, fpga boards ... |
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Have your cake and eat it, too? Poppycock? Especially in the embedded boards marketplace? How can you have the flexibility and performance of a "custom" board and yet benefit from the cost, simplicity, and time-to-market advantages of "standard products?" At the just concluded Critical Embedded Systems conference, the cognoscenti of the boards industry (especially
VITA aficionados), two important trends intersected: "computers-on-modules" and "new FPGA mezzanine standards." Across verticals as diverse as industrial, medical, military, and telecommunications - these new trends might help you get your design out, cheaper, faster, better.
contents:
- computers-on-module: - emerging standards
- mezzanines and fpgas: - fmc
- conference calendar
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computers-on-module: - emerging standards |
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For a long time, "computer-on-module" has been a great idea doomed to failure as no single standard took hold beyond one or a very few vendors. Yet the concept behind "computer-on-module" is as simple as it is innovative:
- Divide your efforts between long-term needs (on the carrier board) and short-term or market-specific needs (on the module).
Moreover, the hope has been that an "ecosystem" of both boards and modules might emerge, allowing for multi-vendor interoperability. So far this has not come to fruition, but some new standards are emerging and some older ones are gaining traction to make "computer-on-module" (perhaps) a concept whose time has come.
One of the newest is the recent "ESMexpress" (also known as "ANSI-VITA 59, RSE Rugged System-On-Module Express"), championed by the German company MEN Micro. Working with VITA, the company seeks to bring the computer-on-module concept to harsh environmental conditions and safety-critical requirements in industrial embedded applications. Its main features are 1) fanless cooling (conduction or convection), 2) shock and vibration resistant connectors, 3) encapsulated, EMC-protected electronics, and 4) modern serial buses. It is also compatible with COM Express™, although it is heavily focused on the ruggedized, harsh markets for which COM Express is not most appropriate (e.g., transportation, industrial machinery). So far, MEN Micro has championed the standard and released supporting products, such as their ESMexpress Module XM1 with Intel Atom. For more information on the standard, your best bet is http://www.esmexpress.eu/.
To date, the most successful computer-on-module standard has become "COM Express" backed by PICMG, the PCI Industrial Group. It enjoys growing vendor support, most notably by Radisys. On the educational front, that company has produced a wonderful online guide
COM Express for Dummies - great if you want to learn about the standard and its applications. The company has also released many new COM Express products, such as comprehensive COM Express design starter kits and their Procelerant(TM) CE945GM2A COM Express Module. eg3.com has begun tracking COM Express as part of our e-clips service, so stay tuned. And don't miss ETX, yet another modular standard that has enjoyed some success.
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mezzanines and fpgas: - fmc |
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Ray Alderman, Executive Director, VITA, presciently observed that FPGAs are becoming the future of boards, especially the future of I/O. Both at the show and in industry news, FPGAs are clearly well beyond "take off" - the question is what standards might emerge, and what approaches might make FPGAs easy-to-use.
One leader in this trend, VMETRO, has begun promoting a new VITA standard, "VITA 57.1" or FMC for "FPGA Mezzanine Card." Xilinx is also taking an enlightened self-interest in promoting the standard itself. "The emerging FMC standard will reduce design costs and time-to-market by bringing the benefits of modular design much closer to the FPGA user community," stated Raj Seelam, DSP Solutions Product Manager at Xilinx. Xilinx has its own FMC card as well.
Vmetro's announcement is for their ADC510, available in air-cooled and conduction-cooled rugged versions, integrating two 12-bit 500MHz A/D chips for use in DSP applications such as Signal Intelligence (SIGINT), Electronic Counter Measures (ECM), and Radar. You can read Vmetro's announcement, here, and find out more about FMC at VITA. Another vendor actively supporting the standard is XTech. That company just announced their FMC mounting system. It includes the new FMC bezel, gasket, and mating AMC faceplate solution in full-size or mid-size form factors, custom configured to specific application requirements. More, here.
On the down side, the criticism of the new standard is that it still requires an "intellectual property" code investment in terms of integrating the FMC / FPGA and the carrier board. This will work great when a single vendor is providing both; but it will not easily allow for a vibrant ecosystem of interoperable mezzanine cards. By their very nature, therefore, FPGAs may still work against the very growth in standards and interoperability that would make their great promise reality.
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conference calendar - upcoming conferences of merit |
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If April is the cruelest month, by May the conference rush slows down in preparation for the summer crawl. For Asia, we have Embedded Systems Expo on 14 May 2008 in Tokyo, Japan. May 20th brings M2M Expo in San Jose, CA, co-located with the Zigbee Expo. RapidIO lovers can meet up in Munich, Germany at
RapidIO Design Summits 2008
, and MicroTCA lovers can meet up in Chantilly, VA, at MicroTCA Summit 28 May 2008 or the MicroTCA Conference 3 June 2008 in Munich, Germany. EDA meets in San Diego, CA, at their 45th DAC on 8 June. And if the sensors are on, check out Sensors Expo in Rosemont, IL. For a complete conference list, search eg3.com, here.
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