Embedded designers find a wealth of opportunity in public transportation, with its extensive range of systems and devices – all characterized by a need for flexibility, reliability, and performance. Train management and wayside systems, automatic piloting, and interlocking and control center systems, as well as passenger information, onboard infotainment, tunnel safety, and automated digital video surveillance are just some of the compute-intensive, high availability technologies that travelers encounter today. Characterized by extreme conditions, round-the-clock performance, and high-speed processing, many of these are automated control and management applications that process enormous amounts of data in extremely rigorous physical environments.

CompactPCI answers many of these requirements and has long been a mainstay in transportation markets, a design preference fueled by its inherent ruggedness, rear I/O, and the extensive range of PCI-compatible software. Factor in current improvements in space and energy savings enabled by Intelís 32nm, Atom-based low-power processors and multicore architectures, and it makes sense that CompactPCIís role in the market is both strong and growing significantly.

Transportation brings a special set of design hurdles

Developers addressing the transportation market, which includes rail, road, air, and shipping systems, must take into account very specific, long-term environmental conditions and rugged, high-performance criteria. Like any embedded market, transportation has its own set of unique design challenges. For example, tram, subway, and train systems are typically designed to withstand extreme environmental conditions such as extended temperature ranges (- 40 ∞C to +85 ∞C), humidity, shock and vibration, and power fluctuations. Heat build-up and energy absorption frequently must remain within very narrow ranges, presenting a significant power-to-performance design challenge, which designers can typically only overcome with passive cooling technologies. The EN50155 standard for electronic rail applications is critical, placing extreme demands on COTS-based equipment well beyond operational characteristics and assuming that systems must operate non-stop daily for 30 years, or approximately 250,000 hours without failure.

Special sensitivity to life cycle and obsolescence management, given transport systemsí long life expectation, makes the preference for standards-based platforms a natural. Custom designs based on high-volume COTS products and platforms can effectively meet design requirements and reduce time-to-market.

More compute-intensive

Integrated 32nm processor technology along with multicore performance benefits mean CompactPCI systems can enable new and more compute-intensive applications such as tunnel surveillance, as well as provide options for upgrading and extending the life of currently deployed systems. Existing systems could trim 10 CompactPCI 2.16 single-core boards down to just two dual- or quad-core boards. If ultra-high performance is required, transportation designers may opt for multiple quad-core CompactPCI processor boards for these types of extremely data hungry applications.

Thermal management will continue to be a critical design issue, as the cooling challenges in embedded system applications multiply due to increased processing performance, smaller packaging and system footprints, and the requirement to operate in more rugged environments.

Many transportation systems demand flexible higher-bandwidth network connectivity. This in turn is driving a primary shift away from legacy industrial bus architectures and communications protocols, and widespread movement towards more flexible standards-based interconnect technologies – for example communications protocols such as Gigabit Ethernet. CompactPCI answers this market need very effectively, offering the benefits of high computing performance supported with the range of high-speed interfaces, a familiar software development platform and built-in ruggedness and reliability.

Some cool features

Based on its ability to deliver high processing capabilities and huge I/O throughput over a diversity of interfaces such as Gigabit Ethernet, USB, VGA, DVI, SATA, or Compact Flash in a proven small and rugged form factor, designers frequently turn to CompactPCI as a suitable platform for the demanding data capture and processing applications common in transportation designs. Many designers find PCI-based programming familiar, so, software development for CompactPCI-based solutions is straightforward – another key benefit of the platform.

Rear I/O, particularly coming from the smaller 3U form factor, is another design advantage of CompactPCI. Eliminating the need for cabling from the front of the enclosure, rear I/O lets designers work with multiple high-speed serial ports for easy installation and convenient maintenance access to serial outputs through the rear of the enclosure. CompactPCIís gas-tight, high-density pins and socket connectors, as opposed to card-edge or slot-based connectors, form a strong and reliable link between the board and the backplane. PCI signal reflections are minimal based on low induction and controlled impedance. The large number of ground pins (220) assures reliability with ample shielding and grounding for low ground bounce and operation in noisy environments. Card-edge and slot-based connectors may both be ideal for non-mobile apps, however the high-density pins in CompactPCI improve its rugged characteristics, providing tolerance to the harsh extremes commonly found in non-stop transportation applications.

CompactPCI RAID

Fanless modular 3U CompactPCI RAID systems, developed specifically for mobile applications in harsh environments, suit transportation applications. Based on modular, open system architectures for maximum designability, these systems are highly reliable, and include an integrated network power management controller.

Systems with a high-performance RAID controller can meet numerous high-level requirements for data integrity and security. One example of such a system is the Kontron 3U CompactPCI CP-ASM3-RAID, which uses a passively cooled Intel Celeron M processor running at 1.06 GHz for high performance with minimum power consumption. This system controller comes with 512 MB RAM and a CompactFlash disk well suited to run high-performance image processing applications such as video surveillance and multimedia display applications. Using up to eight hot-swap hard disk drives stretches storage capacity to several terabytes, depending on the hard disk in use. Hard disk drives can be organized as RAID 0, RAID 1, or RAID 5 – guaranteeing safety and scalability of data.

EN 50155 compliant 3U CompactPCI

Low-power CompactPCI boards achieve performance-to-power ratios suitable for thermally challenged applications. The end result is a passive cooling concept for convection-cooled and forced airflow applications. Designers gain more wiggle room to deal with power consumption limits.

For example, the Kontron CP305, a low-power 3U CompactPCI board, supports the highly efficient Intel Atom N270 combined with the Intel 945GSE Express Chipset and ICH7-M I/O Controller Hub. Its thermal design power value is typically 10 W. In the past, natural convection-cooled applications were severely limited by the 12-15 W threshold. Combined with a heatsink design, the CP305 is viable for transportation systems and applications where additional cooling by fans is not feasible. The CP305 is fully EN50155 compliant and enables extremely rugged design with direct soldered processors and memory.

Low-power boards offer full bandwidth and comprehensive I/O connectivity, including high-speed communication interfaces such as Gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0, SATA interfaces and RS-232 serial ports. The CP305 for example, is available as 4HP or 8HP version and can be optionally combined with rear I/O support for an even greater range of low-power, high-performance applications. Rear I/O modules can add further flexibility to embedded designs, enabling access from either the front or the back of the system.

On the road againÖand again

CompactPCI is the platform for the Video-Based Traffic Control (VBTC) Tunnel, an automated tunnel surveillance package (Figure 1). Developed by Center Communications Systems, Austriaís largest supplier of communications systems employed in public and private traffic surveillance, the system promises to increase road traffic tunnel safety while reducing tunnel operating costs. By analyzing real-time sequences of digital image data, VBTC recognizes vehicle type, speed, and distance from other vehicles. Nor do safety-critical traffic situations such as pedestrians in the tunnel, smoke, fog, wrong way drivers, freight dropped by vehicles and breakdowns on the hard shoulder escape VBTC attention. It can measure traffic flow and density, offering forecasts that help avoid tunnel closure while managing traffic with intelligent control.

Figure 1

VBTC uses algorithms that have been improved over previous versions of the system and specially optimized for monitoring tunnels used by road traffic – calling for increased computing power, including multicore performance and higher bandwidth. The result is an unprecedented level of automated precision, with an improved single-frame image processing method and an intelligent alert management system, which independently interprets and filters the conditions it detects automatically. VBTC can recognize and filter out mud, mist, or dust, all of which may have once triggered unnecessary road alerts when previous systems recognized them as smoke, fire, or lost cargo. In the past, those false alarms not only reduced usersí faith in the system, hindering its overall acceptance as a traffic management tool, but also put control center personnel under pressure and undue risk. Todayís VBTC is highly effective, and only reports relevant traffic events, reducing the amount of work required by the control center and all but eliminating unnecessary alerts.

Robust image processing

Powerful hardware is essential for running a powerful image-processing application. All of the modules running in VBTC detect incidents within milliseconds of their occurrence, reporting valid faults to the control center immediately by means of visual and acoustic warning signals. Using CompactPCI systems equipped with multicore CompactPCI boards, VBTC can detect traffic status and issues with 99.9 percent precision at locations fitted with dual cameras. The chance that any especially hazardous situation would not be recognized as such is just 1 in 100,000.

Each of the monitored tunnels uses eight analog cameras (superior to digital technology due to their greater sensitivity to light), which are critical to achieving these extraordinary automated results. Coaxial cable or optical waveguides connect each camera to CompactPCI-based Video Encoding Storage Analysis units. Employing a Kontron CP307 3U CompactPCI board (Figure 2) as its primary CPU, each unit processes enormous amounts of data, analyzes video images in real time (Figures 3, 4), and controls the alert management system in sync. Units record signals from each camera, storing the compressed streams in a self-overwriting circular buffer for up to thirty days or the specific period of time defined by the system requirements. The data is further protected by either RAID-5 or RAID-10 technology depending on the VBTC implementation, and is date-, time- and location-stamped to give it value in courts of law if necessary.

Figure 2: Kontron CP307 3U CompactPCI board

 

Why it works

VBTC units operate constantly, running in harsh conditions around the clock, seven days a week. The units are fanless, and designed to be resistant to dust, soot, humidity, gases, and salts, and cope with extreme temperature fluctuations. Each 19-inch system is equipped with redundant hot-swappable power supply units, and has an adapted backplane designed in conjunction with Kontron, enabling PCI-based framegrabbers to be incorporated via a CompactPCI-to-PCI converter.

Figure 3: Each Video Encoding Storage Analysis unit processes enormous amounts of data, analyzing video images in real time.

Figure 4

Only one physical LAN is necessary in the entire tunnel, which can be expanded redundantly if necessary. One or more video decoding (VDEC) units are employed at the control center; up to eight monitors in full-frame PAL format may be connected, displaying 200 full frames per second. The Kontron CP307 is used here also, although without any hard drives mounted on the board. Each VDEC unit can switch to each of the decentralized cameras, accessing the storage unitís buffer in real-time. Safety personnel can monitor the current situation or retrieve data from the stored memory using features such as fast forwarding and rewinding, slow motion, single-frame control, and jumping to specific time marks or timeline overviews.

VBTC is breaking new ground, leveraging greater processing power and throughput to create a considerably safer and fully featured system. Unlike older systems, wrong-way vehicles are only reported once, even though several cameras would detect them. Eliminating redundant warnings keeps emergency personnel safer and makes every second count when evaluating and reacting to a traffic incident. The integrated alert management system can actively control light signaling systems that adapt and re-route traffic flow according to the situation, or even request help from external rescue services, all within just five seconds.

A standards-based option is just the ticket

Many transportation implementations are compute and graphics-intensive where human-machine interfaces and vehicle control systems demand safe, efficient performance. Whatís more, these transportation apps need increased processing performance, low power consumption, high I/O bandwidth for data acquisition, scalable storage capability, reliability, long-life support, and standards-based connectivity.

By responding to demanding performance requirements that range from the more traditional compute-intensive all the way to ìsalt and mud resistant connectors,î CompactPCI is delivering a standards-based option that meets the high availability, easy upgrade and maintenance, low power, and cost effective requirements of this market.

David Pursley is an Applications Engineer with Kontron. He is responsible for business development of Kontronís MicroTCA, AdvancedTCA, CompactPCI, VME and VPX product lines in North America and is based in Pittsburgh, PA. Previously, he held various positions as a Field Applications Engineer, Technical Marketing Engineer, and Marketing Manager. David holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Engineering from Bucknell University and a Masterís degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.

Kontron
www.kontron.com
david.pursley@us.kontron.com