European applications
MEN (Germany) has delivered a test system comprised of three CompactPCI systems in a 19-inch chassis mounted inside the trunk of a car. Today high-end cars are typically equipped with 30 to 70 microprocessor systems and other electronic/electrical circuits. Before the onboard electronics go into the series production they need careful testing under all possible environmental conditions. The system is configured to test the functionality of the infrared scanning of the street during night driving. This is carried out by one computer system. A second computer system tests the alarm function when the car is crossing the road demarcation lines.
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Three independent CompactPCI computer systems based on F14 CPU cards with I/O extension cards (F600) are installed in one 19-inch rack inside the trunk of the car to test the infrared scanning and road demarcation safety features. These systems communicate via Ethernet. Two computers that are used for the test installation operate under Linux, the third computer, which is used for data recording, operates under Windows. Two more operating systems and matching Board Support Packages (BSPs) are optionally available. Two monitors are installed inside the driver cabin. One delivers roadway information and is located on the driver side. The second delivers control data and it is located on the front passenger side. A third display is mounted in lieu of the speed display. The speedometers or revolution counters are no longer separate instruments. They are arranged as icons on the Thin Film Transistor (TFT) display. Two cameras are installed next to the rearview mirror. One camera records the profile of the road. If the car crosses the road demarcation line, the computer issues an alarm. The associated display is the one on the driver’s side. The second camera is an infrared camera. It illuminates the road with full-beam infrared headlamps that are not visible and do not dazzle the driver in any oncoming car. The infrared image of the road at night is displayed on the monitor that is mounted in lieu of the former speed display. Figure 1, courtesy of MEN, Germany, shows the ruggedized CompactPCI test system mounted in the trunk of a car.
Figure 1
Three Pentium M and PCI Express based SBCs with the graphics functionality integrated on the i915 chipset deliver the performance and communication speed required for this test system. The Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS), conformant F14-based CompactPCI system is designed and qualified for harsh environments, including an optional extended temperature range from -40 °C to +85 °C. Long-term availability at least until the year 2011 is guaranteed. All components are soldered to guarantee operation under shock and vibration extremes as encountered in driving test cars. Special coating is optionally available to protect against high humidity, salt-fog, and dusty environments. The 3U form factor is small and rugged enough to be used in a mobile application over rough terrain. Optimized heat sinks for the boards and an optimized airflow inside the system make sure that three computers at 2 GHz clock rate each work properly inside the closed trunk. The CompactPCI standard provides the flexibility to extend or replace the current Pentium M boards with dual-core boards and higher graphics performance when needed for different or additional test suites.
Quick heat dissipation
Inova Computers (Germany) can deliver the 7-slot Hercules 3U CompactPCI card cage with aluminum heat sinks mounted on the left and right sidewalls of the card cage. Heat is quickly dissipated through the aluminum fins on the side-mounted heat sinks, preventing hot spots inside the chassis.
Temperature ranges are -20 °C to +50 °C (standard) and -40 °C to +85 °C (extended). The Hercules exceeds the requirements of the EN 50155 standard (railway requirements).
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Radstone Embedded Computing (now part of GE Fanuc Embedded Systems) is supplying their ruggedized IMP2a 3U CompactPCI processor board, IXT2B processor board, and GBX16 managed GbE switch for integration into the A400M European military aircraft. These boards will be part of a Network Server System that Astronautics Corp. (USA) integrates into the A400M. A significant number of this aircraft have been ordered and will be used in several types of missions, including in-air refueling and cargo transport.
Growth on several fronts
The ZVEI, the central organization for the electrical and electronics industry in Germany reports significant growth in their market segment. The automation industry section within this industry was the growth leader with 9 percent up from the previous year in a total market segment of about 188 billion EURO ($235 billion).
The VDMA, the central organization for the machine and facility construction industry in Germany reports an overall growth rate of about 7 percent in their market segment, which represents about 158 billion EURO (almost $200 billion) of annual sales.
BITKOM, the central organization for the IT, telecommunication, and new media industry in Germany reports an overall growth rate of about 6.5 percent in the video and audio market segment, which represents about 10.7 billion EURO (more than $13 billion) of annual sales.
