An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly referred to as a drone is a remotely piloted aircraft. UAVs come in two varieties: some are controlled from a remote location, and others fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight plans using more complex dynamic automation systems. Currently, UAVs perform reconnaissance as well as attack missions.
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Stand-Alone Rugged Boxes Come into their Own
Technology developments that reduce complexity and enhance usability are always a welcome addition to military applications. That need is being fueled by the increasing availability ofRead More...
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The Customer Shall Judge
As a member of the trade press I can’t hide a little bit of glee when controversies erupt in the standards-based embedded computer industry. That stuff never fails to provide juicyRead More...
Multicore Processor Boards Push the Compute-Density Envelope
Processor architectures sporting multiple CPU cores on the same device have moved swiftly from the exotic and into the mainstream desktop and sever realm. Gone now are the days whenRead More...
End-to-End UAV Messaging over Unreliable Data Links
In the complex software environments of both aircraft and ground station, many applications must communicate. Historically, developers built these as complex independent systems,Read More...
The Inside Track
GD C4 Systems to Equip Stryker Brigade with New Land Warrior System General Dynamics C4 Systems has been awarded a $70 million contract to equip the 5th Brigade, 2nd InfantryRead More...
Five Game-Changer Technology Trends Facing the Military
Compute-density has become the mantra for many of today's advanced military programs. More and more of system functionality is now implemented as software running on single boardRead More...
Next-Gen Processor Technology Redefines Compute Density
The demands of today's advanced military applications require system architects to constantly push the design envelope. These demands are coming from multiple fronts. The militaryRead More...
Committing Heresy
Since the invention of the integrated circuit—and every evolution in chip density and capability—there have been the Chicken Littles that claim this evolution means the death ofRead More...
Large UAVs Ramp Up Sensor Processing Capabilities
The military’s rapid move toward IP-based, network-centric architectures is driving a number of design considerations for current and next-generation embedded COTS subsystems deployedRead More...
Deployed Applications Embrace System-Level Rugged Solutions
Despite their technical sophistication, defense electronics systems must deliver uncompromised performance under difficult environmental conditions, including excessive heat, humidity,Read More...
Major Defense Programs Boost Their Appetite for Electronics
Coming in late December, the U.S. Congress approval of the 2011 Defense Authorization bill puts a budget in place for the DoD allowing the Pentagon to spend $725 billion in fiscalRead More...
PCI/104-Express, PC/104 and EPIC SBCs Roundup
SBC Provides Right-Sized PC/104 Solution PC/104 has always shined in defense applications that need a modest amount of computer power. Adlink Technology has released the AmproRead More...
DSP Architectures Close the ISR Collection-Analysis Gap
Today’s climate of rapidly evolving asymmetric threats is forcing the U.S. military to quickly adapt in order to maintain tactical situational awareness. However, the traditionalRead More...
The Inside Track
Army Orders More COTM Systems for MRAP Vehicles DataPath is providing MobiLink Technologies communications on-the-move (COTM) systems to a deployed U.S. Army unit in support ofRead More...
UAVs Embrace the Benefits of Direct Spray Cooling
It goes without saying that Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are playing an ever expanding role in today’s military operations. Not only are the numbers of UAVs exploding, but theRead More...
FPGA Boards and Systems Boost UAV Payload Compute Density
Large UAV platforms–like Global Hawk, Predator, Fire Scout, Taranis and others–have a seemingly endless appetite for greater onboard compute density. The payloads aboard those systemsRead More...
UAVs Take Front Row Seat
The start of the year is a good time to take the pulse of the industry–and with a mood of uncertainty in the air, this is no ordinary January. To kick off the year, I recently calledRead More...
Small Victories
Systems including small UAVs, robotics, mission-specific handheld systems, intelligent munitions and many others have one thing in common: a desire for small form factor embeddedRead More...
New Practices Revamp Thermal and Airflow Analysis
Knowing how electronic components and enclosures respond to severe fluctuations in temperature and airflow is essential knowledge–knowledge that is critical before the system isRead More...
Small UAV Payloads Wrestle with SWaP Challenges
All branches of the DoD are investing heavily in UAV development and procurement. Within the Small UAV segment of that market the variety of platforms and volume of systems scheduledRead More...
The Inside Track
NASA Taps Harris’ Software for Constellation Launch Control Program NASA Kennedy Space Center has selected Harris’ OS/COMET telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) software for theRead More...
Cots Products
20-Inch 2U Chassis for Trenton 32 Gbyte Boards The days when military system developers did everything themselves are long gone. They’d much rather find building blocks to pieceRead More...
Multicore Solutions Target a Variety of Emerging Military Needs
Embedded developers in many arenas are constantly facing competitive pressure to provide more application features and improve performance capabilities. As a result, it’s becomeRead More...
Fabric-Based Strategy Doubles Up on UAV Payload Functions
In recent years, the aerospace industry, particularly in the military market, has seen the proliferation of UAV in a variety of end-use applications. The applications now includeRead More...
Minimizing UAV Payloads with Ultra-Compact Computing
New generations of defense imaging systems, using sophisticated sensor technologies, generate invaluable information for modern warfare. Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) and laser radarRead More...
Networking and Comms Evolve into Game-Changing Military Resources
Continuing an accelerating DoD-wide effort over the past decade, the next generation of technology development for military networking and communications is headed toward a goal ofRead More...
Military I/O Solutions Look Beyond 1553
Tried and true I/O schemes, such as MIL-STD-1553 and ARINC 429, remain popular for pure control applications. But they’re bandwidth-limited by today’s standards. A slew of multipurposeRead More...
PCI Express Breathes New Life into the PC/104 Realm
Many military system designers select PC/104 because its ultra-small, 3.55-in. x 3.775-in. form factor enables an off-the-shelf solution for applications that may previously have beenRead More...
The End of the Storm
This fall should be a whirlwind for the military electronics industry with elections, sequestration, and a continuing depressed worldwide economy in play. Some will benefit and someRead More...
Slot-Card and Box-Level Solutions Jockey to Meet UAV Payload Needs
A trend has been building in the past couple years where traditional embedded board vendors are adding stand-alone rugged box-level systems to their military market offerings. TheseRead More...
Unmanned Systems Face a Changing Market
The future of unmanned systems is here and the market is rapidly changing. The last year has seen the largest influx of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned ground vehiclesRead More...
The Inside Track
Wind River Tapped for X-47B Navy-UCAS Control/Mission System Northrop Grumman Corporation has selected Wind River VxWorks 653 as the device software platform for its X-47BRead More...
Military I/O Solutions Blend Functions and Fabrics
While the basic challenges of military I/O haven’t changed—it’s still all about linking the analog world of sensors, actuators, motors and so on, with the digitalRead More...
The Future Revolves Around FPGAs
When people think “summer,” visions of a slower pace, time off and less stress come to mind. In many industries summer is indeed a time when business slows down. I wish it were so inRead More...
The Inside Track
Rochester Electronics Ramps Up Anti-Counterfeiting Efforts Rochester Electronics is stepping up its efforts to lead the semiconductor industry in the fight against counterfeit andRead More...
FPGA Implementations Sometimes Need a Coprocessor
FPGAs are the de facto choice for military algorithm processing in land- , sea- and air-based platforms. They’ve increasingly replaced stand-alone DSPs because FPGAs offerRead More...
The Inside Track
Mercury Delivers Aegis Weapon System Upgrade for Lockheed Martin Mercury Computer Systems has delivered on an initial order and received a follow-on order from Lockheed Martin for theRead More...
The Inside Track
ITT Awarded JTRS Support Contract ITT has been awarded a $22.9 million contract for Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio Systems (SINCGARS) Software In-Service Support (SwISS)Read More...
Small Form Factor Realm Churns out Boards and Standards
Small embedded computers—in both standard and non-standard form factors—are in high demand for military applications that are extremely space- or weight-constrained or whereRead More...
Small UAV Tap the Rich Variety of Embedded Options
UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) were originally developed to take the soldier out of harm's way and have come a long way since the days of "large" surveillance drones like the PredatorRead More...
The Inside Track
GE Intelligent Platforms Lands Contract for AH-64D Apache Simulator GE Intelligent Platforms has received an order for automatic video trackers valued at approximately $1.7 millionRead More...
Five That Push the Computing Envelope
Somehow every year I find it an absolute shock that the month of January falls immediately after December. You'd think my many years in the publishing industry would help me get wiseRead More...
Common Computing Architecture Wins for UAV Programs
The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in the military has skyrocketed as UAVs have proventheir military worth in Afghanistan and Iraq. UAVs are credited with saving soldiers'Read More...
Small UAVs Step up to Advanced Comms Capabilities
The brisk investment in UAV development and procurement continues across all branches of the DoD. And that situation isn't expected to change under the current Administration. InRead More...
ATCA and 10 GbE Primed for Military Service
A significant change in the military equipment market is a shift in focus for equipment development. Electronic warfare driven by C4ISR is gaining favor over big-ticket weaponsRead More...
Inside Track
Parvus Supplies Payload Interface Computers for MQ-5B Hunter UAV Parvus' DuraCOR 810 mission computers have been integrated into Northrop Grumman's MQ-5B Hunter Unmanned AircraftRead More...
Conduction Cooling Arms Stackable SBCs for Small UAV Duty
A significant challenge facing Ultra-Small UAV and Light Vehicle military system designers is the removal of heat from embedded computers. Fanless, sealed enclosures are usuallyRead More...
Conduction-Cooled cPCI Lands a Secure Place in Military Systems
Now with over eighteen years of experience under its belt, CompactPCI can claim to offer all the factors that attract military decision makers. An expanding set of conduction-cooledRead More...
UAV Payloads Focus on Autonomy, ISR and Comms
As the use, design and planning of military UAVs matures, the DoD has adopted a strategy of closely pairing its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) programs with itsRead More...
Processor Mezzanine Boards Ascend to New Levels of Performance
Because microprocessors and memory—which comprise the computing core of embedded systems—evolve at a much quicker pace than other electronics, the idea of separatingRead More...
It’s a Sandal That’s a Boot
Late last month, Jeff Child, COTS Journal’s Editor-in-Chief, and I made our annual trek to AUSA Winter. Once again, the AUSA conference was very interesting and showcased that allRead More...
ATCA Evolves its Niche in Mil/Aero Systems
In the past decade, open-standards solutions such as ATCA have moved from hypothetical to accepted options for mil/aero market segments. Making impressive inroads, modular technologiesRead More...
Small Boards Serve Up Overlapping Innovations
Long gone are the days when small form factor boards were limited to a few types of standard form factors like PC/104. Today, while strategies vary among the various small embeddedRead More...
Many Factors Influence Slot-Card vs. Module Choice
Military embedded system designers are always eager to take advantage of new technologies and emerging industry standards once a critical mass of acceptance is achieved and a clearRead More...
GPU-based Processing Solves Persistent Surveillance Challenges
Persistent surveillance requires highly compute-intensive imaging capabilities because the aerial vehicle must remain (on demand) in an area to detect, locate, characterize,Read More...
The Inside Track
Wind River RTOS Flies on First Flight of X-47B UAS The U.S. Navy / Northrop Grumman X-47B unmanned aircraft successfully completed its first flight at Edwards Air Force Base inRead More...
Role of the Military Battery: Lightening the Load
There are a number of advantages to having a battery with a higher energy density—for the soldiers on the ground and the unmanned aerial vehicles overhead during any mission. HigherRead More...
Complex Systems Pose Tricky Thermal Management Challenges
Today’s military applications routinely push the limits of size, weight and power (SWaP) restrictions while at the same time performing with the utmost reliability in intenseRead More...
Graphics and Video Advances Feed Situational Awareness Needs
Leveraging cutting-edge graphics chips developed for the demanding gaming market, military graphics subsystems are now able to offer complex video and graphics functionality in highlyRead More...
OpenVPX Flourishes as it Readies for Prime Time
The goal of bringing together advanced switch fabric interconnects and all the features of a modern, rugged embedded computer architecture, is finally happening in the form of OpenVPX.Read More...
Information Overload and Ducks
If you look at the role of military embedded computing systems today, the analogy of a duck coasting along the water comes to mind. The movement of a duck across a pond looks smoothRead More...
Pre-Integrated Systems Move Up the Solution Food Chain
The rising trend toward stand-alone rugged box systems continues to pervade the military embedded computing industry. These box-level systems often resemble the end deliverableRead More...
Pre-integrated Subsystems Curb Costs, Speed Deployment
To meet burgeoning demand, developers of off-the-shelf rugged computing platforms are including a variety of features and services to enhance usability, reduce complexity and increaseRead More...
New DoD Goals Boost Preconfigured Subsystem Opportunities
Recent changes in the U.S. military’s mission strategy—following the change of administrations, and reflected in the DoD’s new budget—are shifting the military procurement landscape.Read More...
OpenVPX: Cards Dealt, Ready to Play
Hailed as the next-generation fabric-based slot card standard, VPX has had a few rocky years getting started. But over the last year and a half, the goal of bringing together advancedRead More...
Multiple Vendor Fairy Tale
Even the military is following the trend of consumer electronics—more functionality, smaller, less power and cheaper. The only problem is that the military can’t accept a “use it forRead More...
“V” is Going and Coming
So here we go. Vacation time is over and we can once again get more than two people at the same time in a room or on a conference call. That also means that business travel willRead More...
The Inside Track
Air Force Reserve Contracts SDS for F-16 Trainer Upgrade SDS International (SDS) has been awarded a multiyear contract to provide a full range of specialized operational and technicalRead More...
Rugged Boxes Step Up to Higher Pre-Integration
The rugged stand-alone box—a term coined by COTS Journal a couple years ago—is now a prominent fixture in the embedded computing industry. These box-level systems often resemble theRead More...
FPGAs Take On Expanded Processing Roles
Once used merely as glue logic, FPGAs are now complete systems on a chip. And now that many of them even have general-purpose CPU cores on them, the military is hungry to use FPGAs toRead More...
COM Express vs. PC/104 for Small UAV Systems
With the growing scope of today’s military, UAVs are performing a wider range of functions. Whether designed for reconnaissance, research, armed attacks or search and rescue, theseRead More...
GPGPUs Open New Doors for Mil/Aero Applications
DIGITAL COMPASS Graphics chips have a long history of deployment in mil/aero applications, driving displays in land, naval and airborne applications, including safety-critical primaryRead More...
Processing Solutions Ease Full Motion Video Challenges
In recent years demand for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities has driven a huge ramp up in data collection capacity. While that shows no signs of slowing,Read More...
Small UAVs Upgrade for New Capabilities
The flight control, mission control and communications gear aboard Small UAVs—like the Raven, Dragon Eye, Shadow and Bat—face some of the most challenging design restrictions.Read More...
XMCs and PrXMCs Fuel High-Speed Throughput and Processing
The long-popular PCI-based PMC and Processor PMC (PrPMC) each have their respective successors in the form of XMC and PrXMC. XMCs enable system developers to mix and match theRead More...
Embedded Tech Building Blocks Pave Way for a Net-Centric Future
As the U.S. military transforms itself to Network-Centric operations, every node in the networked military will be affected. Gradually, every vehicle, every aircraft, every ship, everyRead More...
The Inside Track
Navy Contracts Lockheed Martin to Construct up to 10 Littoral Combat Ships The U.S. Navy has awarded a Lockheed Martin-led industry team a fixed-price-incentive-fee contract toRead More...
OpenVPX Strengthens Its Hand for Military Embedded Designs
Military system developers have long faced a conflicting desire to harness the latest and greatest computing technologies versus the need to mitigate the risks inherent in banking onRead More...
Direct Spray Cooling Widens Choices in Harsh Airborne Environments
There’s no doubt that demand is on the rise for ever more computing density. Military platforms such as radar and image processing, electronic warfare, signal processing, command andRead More...
COM Express Brings Its Multimedia Muscle to Defense
The Computer-on-Module (COM) concept has found a solid and growing foothold in military embedded systems. COM Express adds high-speed fabric interconnects to the mix. COM boardsRead More...
System-Level Approach Wins for UAV Radar Payload Designs
Over the last decade the use of UAVs has grown from a rarity—strictly in support of high-risk military operations—to virtually commonplace, supporting border security, drug enforcementRead More...
Unified Approach Paves New Path for Military Data Storage
Data storage is an increasingly important component of many military embedded systems. In particular, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems generate large volumesRead More...
Evaluating Tech Upgrade Paths: OpenVPX vs. RACE++
Many designers and developers of deployed military embedded systems require a significant leap in embedded computing performance to support rapidly advanced sensing and imagingRead More...
Carrier Landing Modeling System Leverages GPGPU Advantages
Since Intel introduced the 8088 microprocessor and Motorola released their 68000 over 30 years ago, CPUs have been at the forefront of discussions related to computing power. UsersRead More...
Rugged Subsystems Fuel Net-Centric Warfare Needs
Network-Centric Warfare (NCW) has become the U.S. Military’s central concept for battlefield operations for the 21st century. The success of net-centric operations depends on theRead More...
Back to More DoD Budget Drivel
I take one month off from not discussing the DoD budget in some form and I get calls and emails asking why. Talking or thinking about the budget is mind boggling. There are soRead More...
COM Boards Find Place as Slot-Card Alternative
For decades now, the notion of standards-based slot card embedded computing has been a tried and true mainstay of military electronics. Lead by bus architectures such as VME andRead More...
The Industry Needs List
It’s a nagging issue that both I and my publisher Pete Yeatman have discussed often in our respective columns: the fact that our industry of technology suppliers and the upper tierRead More...
H.264 XMC Card Eases Video Compression Challenges
Tech Source has introduced the low-power Condor VC 100x H.264 video capture and compression card designed to ease the video compression challenges in UAVs and in other surveillance,Read More...
