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#1 2009<br />

newsletter from data respons<br />

CASE: medotech<br />

Outsourcing provides faster<br />

development of medicaltechnical<br />

solution<br />

04<br />

10<br />

12<br />

Low power, high performance<br />

– enter Intel Atom<br />

Nex<strong>com</strong> Atom solutions<br />

in vertical markets<br />

Test-drive a hand-picked<br />

team from Data Respons<br />

1


LOCAL NEWS<br />

Embedded World<br />

Visit Data Respons at the Embedded<br />

World exhibition in Nuremberg in<br />

Germany on 3–5 March 2009.<br />

We will be exhibiting a number of exciting<br />

new developments at this event. It will be<br />

well worth while dropping by, and we will<br />

be glad to provide advice and guidance.<br />

You will find us in hall 9, on stand 231.<br />

Survey: Embedded<br />

operating systems<br />

Data Respons is carrying out an informal<br />

survey about the use of various<br />

embedded operating systems.<br />

Do you use Embedded Windows,<br />

Embedded Linux or<br />

other operating systems Fill<br />

in our survey, and you’ll be entered<br />

in the draw for an iPod<br />

Touch.<br />

Take part at:<br />

www.datarespons.<strong>com</strong>/eo<br />

Sylog wins Gasellaward<br />

Embedded Networking in Stavanger<br />

We have the pleasure of inviting you to the Embedded Networking event at<br />

Data Respons’ new offices in Stavanger.<br />

Embedded Networking is both a technical<br />

and a social event, and the target<br />

group is freelancers and small<br />

<strong>com</strong>panies in the Stavanger region<br />

who want to know more<br />

about the advantages of getting<br />

involved in Data Respons’<br />

Embedded Pool. More<br />

information about Embedded<br />

Pool is available at<br />

www.datarespons.<strong>com</strong>/pool<br />

Location: Data Respons Stavanger,<br />

Chr. August Thoringsvei 7 (Forus)<br />

Date: Thursday, 19 February 2009<br />

Time: 4.30–6.30 p.m. CET<br />

registration and questions<br />

To register for the event, or if you have any<br />

questions, please e-mail cse@datarespons.no.<br />

NB: The number of places available is limited. First <strong>com</strong>e, first served!<br />

Syrén Software AB be<strong>com</strong>es part of<br />

Data Respons<br />

In January 2009, Syrén Software AB became an integrated part of<br />

the Data Respons group.<br />

This integration means that customers and other contacts will no longer see<br />

the name Syrén Software; all sales, consultancy and the organisation as a<br />

whole will continue under the name Data Respons Sweden.<br />

The Data Respons <strong>com</strong>pany Sylog has<br />

received the DI Gasell award for the<br />

Stockholm region.<br />

DI Gasell is an annual<br />

event arranged by the<br />

largest Swedish business<br />

paper, Dagens<br />

Industri (DI). For a <strong>com</strong>pany to be awarded<br />

a “Gasell” a number of criteria must be<br />

met, most importantly organic growth. Sylog<br />

has achieved an impressive growth of<br />

1703 per cent over the past four years.<br />

i n t e r r u p t<br />

Publisher: Data Respons ASA<br />

Editor: Svend Thürmer<br />

Text and design: Data Respons ASA<br />

Foto: Getty, iStock, Medotech<br />

Web: http://interrupt.datarespons.<strong>com</strong><br />

a b o u t d a t a r e s p o n s<br />

Data Respons ASA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange<br />

(ticker: DAT) and has offices in Denmark, Finland, Norway,<br />

Sweden, Germany and Taiwan. Data Respons<br />

supplies Embedded Solutions to leading OEM <strong>com</strong>panies<br />

within defence, offshore, tele<strong>com</strong>s and industry.<br />

i n t e l l e c t u a l p r o p e r t y r i g h t s<br />

You may quote from Interrupt and the web edition<br />

of Interrupt as long as the source is clearly<br />

indicated. Data Respons shall not be held liable<br />

for any inaccuracies in the texts.<br />

2<br />

DATA RESPONS | INTERRUPT #1 2009


SERVICES<br />

C-by-C makes it hard to make errors<br />

In development processes, any errors be<strong>com</strong>e more expensive to correct the later they are discovered. C by-C (Correctness<br />

by Construction) is a method which is based on the idea that it should be difficult to make errors – irrespective<br />

of the step in the process, from project start right through to delivery.<br />

“Debugging and verification are expensive in terms of both time<br />

and personnel, and it is also very difficult to estimate the duration of<br />

these processes,” explains Mattias Sjösvärd of Data Respons.<br />

“In C-by-C the aim is to try to reduce the number of errors to a<br />

minimum by verifying each developmental step. The time spent<br />

testing is normally considerably shorter than in traditional projects,<br />

since fewer errors make it through to the running and verification<br />

phases.”<br />

traceability and consequence analysis<br />

A fundamental premise within development is that there will always<br />

be changes, and so requirements, design, implementation<br />

and testing must be carried out in a traceable manner, in order to<br />

allow the consequences of any change to be predicted. Consequence<br />

analyses are always run at as high a level as possible, and<br />

should of course be <strong>com</strong>pleted at one level before proceeding<br />

to the next. This is simplified by developing iteratively in small<br />

steps.<br />

no repetitions<br />

The goal is always to keep the system information free of repetitions.<br />

If something is described in a requirements specification,<br />

it should not be repeated in the underlying construction documents.<br />

The design documentation is developed in a way that aims<br />

to simplify consequence analysis and future maintenance.<br />

more information:<br />

www.datarespons.<strong>com</strong>/581<br />

Consultant matching: need meets expertise<br />

When customers want to include developers or specialists in their development teams,<br />

Data Respons is able to match candidates up with the customers’ specific needs.<br />

Needs and requirements often<br />

exist at different levels, and the<br />

best-suited consultant is identified<br />

through a number of steps,<br />

from the initial contact between<br />

the customer and Data Respons’<br />

sales representative to a more<br />

fine-meshed selection of the correct<br />

candidate in Data Respons’<br />

consultancy department. Taking the customer’s needs as a starting<br />

point, the consultancy department draws up a shortlist, including<br />

detailed profiles of the candidates, and presents this to<br />

the customer. The shortlist is based on the consultants’ technical<br />

expertise, project experience and personal qualities.<br />

more information:<br />

www.datarespons.<strong>com</strong>/582<br />

Mechatronics – mechanisms for embedded solutions<br />

Mechanisms are visible and tangible. They are exposed to wear and tear and<br />

are subject to environmental forces such as heat, cold, vibrations, humidity<br />

and dust. This means that the choice of materials and design is critical.<br />

Experience shows that when a solution’s<br />

mechanical functionality is included as an<br />

integral part of the development process,<br />

the end result is more robust and userfriendly<br />

and the development time is reduced.<br />

Together with hardware designers,<br />

circuit-board layout specialists and, if necessary,<br />

end users, Data Respons develops<br />

the solution’s mechanical parts, including<br />

the construction and encapsulation with<br />

regard to cooling, shape, ingress protection<br />

(IP classes 30–54) and durability (fall test).<br />

Data Respons has extensive expertise in all<br />

the relevant 3-D CAD tools:<br />

•Pro/ENGINEER<br />

•UniGraphics<br />

•SolidWorks<br />

•AutoCAD<br />

more information:<br />

www.datarespons.<strong>com</strong>/583<br />

DATA RESPONS | INTERRUPT #1 2009<br />

3


SERVICES<br />

Expertise in digital signal processing<br />

Over the years, the Data Respons <strong>com</strong>pany Lundinova has acquired a reputation as a specialist in the field of digital<br />

signal processing, or DSP, primarily of sound. This expertise is often put to use in connection with mobile telephony,<br />

but DSP and electronics from Lundinova are also found in new developments in the field of medical technology.<br />

The hand-held sound monitor intended to replace stethoscopes.<br />

Lundinova has considerable experience in electronics development<br />

and has built up particular expertise in DSP. In addition to<br />

a dedicated team of specialists in this area, the <strong>com</strong>pany also has<br />

a sound laboratory, where new technologies and new products<br />

are developed and tested. Examples include manipulating sound<br />

from an inexpensive miniature loudspeaker so that it produces<br />

hi-fi sound, or <strong>com</strong>pressing speech data to make it suitable for<br />

narrow bandwidths. In the past, most of the projects related to<br />

processing, measuring, interpreting, amplifying or manipulating<br />

sound signals for the mobile-phone industry. However, the<br />

<strong>com</strong>pany is now receiving an increasing number of enquiries from<br />

other industries, especially from <strong>com</strong>panies working in the field of<br />

medical technology.<br />

Lundinova recently received a <strong>com</strong>mission from Cometech to develop<br />

and build the electronics to be used in a diagnostic product<br />

for a medical-technology <strong>com</strong>pany. Cometech has developed and<br />

patented a new diagnostic technology based on sound processing.<br />

The product is a hand-held sound monitor that is intended to replace<br />

today’s stethoscopes, which often have limited functionality<br />

and poor sound quality. The monitor is equipped with a display as<br />

well as functions for the processing and transmission of measurement<br />

data, and it can be linked to electronic patient record systems.<br />

Thanks to its advanced microelectronics and software, along<br />

with the built-in amplifier and loudspeaker, this apparatus will be<br />

both functionally superior and more precise than the equipment<br />

currently in use.<br />

more information:<br />

www.datarespons.<strong>com</strong>/584<br />

Design kit for better FPGA development<br />

Most FPGA-based projects could be more efficient: bugs could be detected<br />

earlier, and product quality could be significantly better. Digitas offers an FPGA<br />

Design Quality Assurance kit that helps customers address these issues.<br />

Most FPGA quality problems are caused<br />

by poor coding, lack of structure, clock domain<br />

crossings, and timing, interfacing and<br />

integration issues. Digitas’ FPGA Design<br />

Quality Assurance kit (QA kit) includes coding<br />

conventions and design checklists that<br />

provide a structured approach to handling<br />

these problem areas.<br />

vhdl conventions<br />

Experience shows that many design bugs<br />

and iterations could have been avoided<br />

with proper use of basic design support.<br />

Digitas’ VHDL conventions cover standard<br />

coding issues, but also take an important<br />

step further in providing guidance for the<br />

designer. Conventions for error-prone coding<br />

aspects (like asynchronous inputs), rules<br />

for type usage (e.g. integer and unsigned)<br />

and re<strong>com</strong>mendations for safe coding and<br />

readability have been added – all linking to<br />

explanations, reasoning and examples in a<br />

separate appendix.<br />

checklist<br />

An FPGA design checklist is a very useful<br />

tool for any FPGA designer, and is really<br />

vital for designers who do not yet have a<br />

full overview of clocking, timing, spikes,<br />

structure, synthesis, P&R, etc. This document<br />

can be used as a pre-qualified input<br />

to a review, a checklist for any designer or<br />

as a list of issues to be aware of for a less<br />

experienced designer.<br />

digitas fpga design<br />

quality assurance kit<br />

Digitas’ VHDL conventions and design<br />

checklist are the most important parts of<br />

the QA kit. Most customers do however<br />

also appreciate the included overviews for<br />

type conversions and various operations<br />

on IEEE’s numeric std package. Digitas’ QA<br />

kit includes a four-hour VHDL conventions<br />

walkthrough that in many ways is a session<br />

on VHDL coding best practices. The QA kit<br />

is offered as a separate product or bundled<br />

with Digitas’ Verification kit.<br />

more information:<br />

www.datarespons.<strong>com</strong>/585<br />

4 DATA RESPONS | INTERRUPT #1 2009


FOCUS<br />

Low power, high performance – enter Intel Atom<br />

Low power, high performance, a small form factor, a high level of integration and a lifetime of up to seven years<br />

make the Intel Atom processor an interesting option for embedded solutions. Intel has chosen Data Respons as its<br />

strategic partner in the Nordic region.<br />

Kurt Godsk<br />

Technical Director, Data Respons A/S<br />

+45 88 32 75 50<br />

kgo@datarespons.dk<br />

Long-term market leader in PC processors,<br />

Intel, is now making a strong entrance into<br />

the low-power embedded market. The muchhyped<br />

x86-based Atom processor is sure to<br />

make a difference.<br />

“The demand for small-form-factor and lowpower<br />

devices in the embedded <strong>com</strong>puting<br />

market is increasing, and the design of the solutions<br />

is getting more <strong>com</strong>plex, which makes<br />

Data Respons an excellent partner to address<br />

these new market segment opportunities,”<br />

says Rod O’Shea, EMEA embedded sales director<br />

at Intel.<br />

The Atom processor is based on 45 nm highk<br />

metal gate transistor technology with improved<br />

transistor density and up to 20 per<br />

cent increased transistor switching speed.<br />

The design also reduces the transistor switching<br />

power by approximately 30 per cent and<br />

provides a reduction in the gate oxide leakage<br />

power.<br />

The demand for embedded <strong>com</strong>puting is<br />

growing stronger as the world be<strong>com</strong>es more<br />

connected. Bringing the x86 experience to<br />

handhelds and consumer electronics will be a<br />

key factor in the years to <strong>com</strong>e.<br />

the road ahead<br />

Future low-power devices from Intel in the<br />

embedded market are likely to offer even<br />

lower-power and higher-performance silicon,<br />

<strong>com</strong>bined once again with a small form factor<br />

and even higher levels of silicon integration.<br />

This, <strong>com</strong>bined with a <strong>com</strong>mitment to deliver<br />

processors with a lifetime of up to seven years,<br />

means that Intel offers an attractive option for<br />

embedded solutions, and in order to penetrate<br />

the market, Intel has made a strategic decision<br />

to enter partnerships with established<br />

development <strong>com</strong>panies on the embedded<br />

market.<br />

partnership with data respons<br />

Intel has been looking for a partner in the<br />

Nordic embedded market for some time. After<br />

long deliberation and rigorous reviews, Intel<br />

finally chose Data Respons as their partner in<br />

the Nordic region.<br />

“We chose Data Respons as our partner on the Nordic market because of the<br />

brand awareness they bring and their technical capabilities. They have a significant<br />

customer base and have shown strong growth,” says Philip van de Mortel,<br />

Nordics sales manager.<br />

DATA RESPONS | INTERRUPT #1 2009<br />

5


6 DATA RESPONS | INTERRUPT #1 2009


CASE: MEDOTECH<br />

Outsourcing provides<br />

faster development of<br />

medical-technical solution<br />

With the help of Data Respons as development partner, Medotech’s new medicaltechnical<br />

device Grindcare has set a new speed record for its time-to-market. This<br />

new model for development collaboration bodes well for the possibilities of realising<br />

profitable high-tech business ideas worldwide.<br />

Development of the<br />

third generation<br />

Data Respons has developed<br />

the third generation of Grindcare.<br />

With a view to getting the<br />

product certified for medical use<br />

in Europe, the USA and elsewhere,<br />

Data Respons has redesigned<br />

the hardware, software<br />

and mechanics.<br />

Data Respons has also carried<br />

out the project management<br />

and worked closely with industrial<br />

designers and manufacturing<br />

partners in order to achieve<br />

gradual changeovers from development<br />

to production.<br />

Vagn Rasmussen<br />

Sales Director<br />

+45 88327520<br />

vra@datarespons.dk<br />

The Danish founding <strong>com</strong>pany, Medotech<br />

A/S, has considerable expertise in the field<br />

of the development and design of medicaltechnical<br />

equipment. Medotech’s core expertise<br />

is in the development of equipment<br />

adapted for the customer, which utilises a<br />

biofeedback system to register and analyse<br />

signals from the human body. Medotech’s<br />

main product, Grindcare, is an apparatus<br />

for the diagnosis and treatment of bruxism<br />

(grinding the teeth) which an estimated 5<br />

per cent or more of the population of the<br />

western world suffer from.<br />

a necessary redesign<br />

Grindcare was developed in collaboration<br />

with the Danish Technology Institute and<br />

the School of Dentistry at Aarhus University<br />

in Denmark. Based on their experience<br />

with versions 1 and 2, Medotech<br />

were suddenly faced with the need to<br />

<strong>com</strong>pletely redesign Grindcare’s printed<br />

circuit board, software and mechanism.<br />

“Because we wanted to launch onto the<br />

international market, a <strong>com</strong>plete redesign<br />

became necessary, and everything had to<br />

be done by the book,” says CEO Troels<br />

Bierman Mortensen. “We were aware of<br />

the teething problems from versions 1 and<br />

2, and we certainly know the potential for<br />

biofeedback technology. From the users’<br />

point of view, we are aware of the functionality<br />

requirements. We know the price level<br />

for which we need to develop the product,<br />

and – no less importantly – we know<br />

>><br />

DATA RESPONS | INTERRUPT #1 2009<br />

7


CASE: MEDOTECH<br />

the documentation and manufacturing<br />

requirements which the European and<br />

American authorities place on medicaltechnical<br />

products,” he explains, regarding<br />

the challenges involved in a <strong>com</strong>plete<br />

redesign.<br />

outsourcing more efficient<br />

Since Medotech is neither a financial giant<br />

nor an organisational heavyweight, the<br />

decision to outsource the development<br />

work was both obvious and necessary.<br />

ABOUT<br />

medotech a/s<br />

Medotech develops and designs medical-technical equipment which registers<br />

and analyses signals from the human body. The results of the analyses<br />

are then sent back to the body in the form of biofeedback.<br />

Medotech’s main product Grindcare, which is based on biofeedback, treats<br />

bruxism by stimulating the muscles in the jaw to stop grinding the teeth.<br />

Learn more at www.medotech.<strong>com</strong><br />

“We made a conscious decision to choose<br />

a total contract – in other words, we<br />

wanted to have as much as possible of the<br />

technological and financial risk located in<br />

one contract,” says Mortensen.<br />

Therefore, Medotech chose one development<br />

<strong>com</strong>pany and one manufacturer under<br />

one contract.<br />

“We wanted the development <strong>com</strong>pany<br />

to work closely with the manufacturer, so<br />

as to avoid ending up in a situation where<br />

we received a product which would be<br />

difficult and expensive to manufacture,”<br />

explains Mortensen about the solution.<br />

advantages of a single contract<br />

Mortensen can see many new possibilities<br />

in manufacturers whose expertise covers<br />

the whole value chain and the entire design<br />

process.<br />

“We have just the one contract, no matter<br />

how many sub-suppliers end up involved.<br />

This means that everyone works according<br />

to one overall project plan, with one<br />

schedule and one <strong>com</strong>mon ownership. If<br />

one sub-supplier is able to provide expertise<br />

in embedded software, electronics,<br />

printed circuit board layout, mechanics,<br />

design and law, we avoid having to deal<br />

with individual contracts for every aspect<br />

and stage in the process.”<br />

benefits of a gradual changeover<br />

Upscaling – the point when one goes from<br />

a plastic prototype to the start of largescale<br />

production – is often a critical point<br />

in the product-development process. The<br />

integrated development process has also<br />

helped here, by making this step smoother.<br />

“We have saved a lot of time in the realisation<br />

of Grindcare, because we have had<br />

a gradual changeover between development<br />

and production. Traditionally we<br />

would have handed over a prototype<br />

to Medotech on a given date, and they<br />

would then have taken that on to a manufacturer.<br />

However, rigid dividing lines<br />

would have split up the development<br />

process and unnecessarily delayed the entire<br />

project,” says Vagn Rasmussen, sales<br />

director of Data Respons in Denmark.<br />

“Having a single development and manufacturing<br />

partner has given Medotech the<br />

benefit of a gradual changeover without<br />

technological limitations or time-consuming<br />

handovers. Altogether, we have saved<br />

both time and money, because the production<br />

consequences were known at an<br />

early date – before it became too late to<br />

change them,” continues Rasmussen.<br />

At the same time, proximity to its development<br />

partner has allowed Medotech to<br />

save a great deal of time.<br />

“Every time we want to change something<br />

in China, it takes three months. When we<br />

do it locally, it takes three days – or three<br />

hours. This is an extremely valuable difference,<br />

and as a result it allows us to produce<br />

medical equipment for a <strong>com</strong>pletely<br />

different price segment,” emphasises<br />

Mortensen.<br />

more information:<br />

www.datarespons.<strong>com</strong>/586<br />

Every time we want to change something<br />

in China, it takes three months.<br />

When we do it locally, it takes three<br />

days – or three hours.<br />

Troels Bierman Mortensen,<br />

Managing Director, Medotech<br />

8<br />

DATA RESPONS | INTERRUPT #1 2009


PRODUCTS<br />

SSD module designed for spaceconstrained<br />

applications<br />

SMART Modular Technologies announces<br />

its new Xceed iSATA embedded<br />

solid-state drive (SSD).<br />

Featuring a four-channel 3 Gb/s SATA-II<br />

module-level interface which offers improved<br />

data transfer speed <strong>com</strong>pared<br />

to other embedded storage solutions,<br />

the Xceed iSATA is the latest addition to<br />

SMART’s Xceed embedded Flash product<br />

line. This new drive is well suited<br />

for industrial-grade servers, single-board<br />

<strong>com</strong>puters, storage cache/accelerators,<br />

networking, data <strong>com</strong>munications, mobile<br />

and embedded <strong>com</strong>puting, and<br />

medical, automotive, and industrial applications.<br />

The industrial-grade Xceed iSATA SSD<br />

is designed specifically for space-constrained<br />

embedded applications where<br />

traditional 1.8” and 2.5” hard disc drives<br />

(HDDs) and SSDs are too large.<br />

more information:<br />

www.datarespons.<strong>com</strong>/587<br />

Safety with isolated power supplies<br />

Isolated power supplies from Winmate improve safety, reliability and durability.<br />

Some industrial regulations require products to have isolated power. It is not a standard,<br />

but an option, so customers can order products with an isolated power supply if they<br />

require it.<br />

Isolating the power supply:<br />

•Protects expensive equipment<br />

•Protects the user<br />

•Protects the data<br />

•Improves the noise immunity<br />

•Removes ground loops<br />

•Increases <strong>com</strong>mon-mode voltage rejection<br />

A special feature of the use of isolated power products<br />

is the wide input range of 8–36 V DC, which<br />

allows customers to connect to any 12 or 24 V<br />

car or boat battery without additional equipment.<br />

This makes the technology a very efficient<br />

and <strong>com</strong>pact solution that is most<br />

widely used in the marine market.<br />

more information:<br />

www.datarespons.<strong>com</strong>/588<br />

Full IP65<br />

stainless-steel<br />

LCDs and<br />

panel PCs<br />

Winmate releases a new full IP65<br />

product line for LCDs and Panel<br />

PCs with stainless-steel chassis.<br />

Winmate launches two product lines<br />

for rugged LCDs and Panel PCs. The<br />

products have a fully closed stainless-steel<br />

housing with protective<br />

glass or a touchscreen. The product<br />

lines <strong>com</strong>bine Winmate’s knowhow<br />

on fanless and energy-efficient<br />

design, IP65 sealing and housing<br />

design. The products can be used in<br />

harsh environments and where the<br />

LCD needs to be cleaned every day<br />

– for example in the food or chemical<br />

industries, where a clean environment<br />

is essential.<br />

With the wide-temperature-range<br />

option, the products can even be<br />

used in many outdoor applications,<br />

such as access control, digital<br />

signage, harbour control, building<br />

automation, in the food industry<br />

(frozen rooms) and more. The 15”,<br />

17” and 19” LCDs and Panel PCs are<br />

available now. Larger sizes are available<br />

on special request.<br />

more information:<br />

www.datarespons.<strong>com</strong>/589<br />

DATA RESPONS | INTERRUPT #1 2009<br />

9


PRODUCTS<br />

Low-cost COM<br />

Express module<br />

ADLINK Technology announces<br />

the Express-AT, measuring just<br />

125 x 95 mm and fully COM<br />

Express type 2 <strong>com</strong>patible.<br />

The Express-AT delivers full functionality,<br />

low power consumption,<br />

and a guaranteed production life of<br />

seven years at a very modest price.<br />

The Express-AT is based on an Intel ®<br />

Atom Processor N270 at 1.6 GHz<br />

supporting Intel ® SpeedStep and<br />

Hyper-Threading technologies. The<br />

cost-effective Mobile Intel ® 945GSE<br />

Express chipset <strong>com</strong>plements the<br />

functional core of the module with a<br />

very <strong>com</strong>plete feature set.<br />

The Express-AT is positioned as an<br />

entry-level COM Express module<br />

for systems that require a full set<br />

of graphics features. The module<br />

<strong>com</strong>es with integrated support for<br />

high-resolution CRT, single/dualchannel<br />

LVDS and TV-out (SDTV<br />

and HDTV).<br />

Primary focuses for application areas<br />

are medical diagnostics and medical<br />

imaging, gaming, industrial automation,<br />

test and measurement,<br />

video pre-processing and industrial<br />

control.<br />

more information:<br />

www.datarespons.<strong>com</strong>/590<br />

Nex<strong>com</strong> Atom solutions<br />

in vertical markets<br />

Nex<strong>com</strong> introduces the<br />

NISE2000 industrial fanless<br />

<strong>com</strong>puter and VTC6000 invehicle<br />

<strong>com</strong>puter based<br />

on Intel Atom processors<br />

for space-critical,<br />

harsh industrial and<br />

mobile applications.<br />

Owing to the low power<br />

consumption and small<br />

packaging of the Atom<br />

processor, the NISE2000 and VTC6000<br />

have a revolutionary <strong>com</strong>pact design and<br />

robust performance for industrial and vehicle<br />

requirements where space is limited<br />

and the environment is harsh.<br />

The NISE2000 features Intel’s Atom<br />

N270. The Atom N270 is <strong>com</strong>patible<br />

with the 945GSE chipset and is poweroptimised<br />

for cost-effective embedded<br />

solutions. With long lifetime support,<br />

power-efficient graphics, and rich I/O<br />

capabilities, the Atom N270 is an excellent<br />

choice for embedded vertical<br />

markets ranging from industrial control,<br />

digital signage, kiosks and point of sales.<br />

The VTC6000 is based on the ultra-lowpower<br />

Intel Atom Z5xx series. Taking<br />

advantage of the Atom Z5xx series’ low<br />

power capabilities and small packaging,<br />

the VTC6000 allows a wide temperature<br />

range in use in a more <strong>com</strong>pact design.<br />

Nex<strong>com</strong> also offers a <strong>com</strong>plete range of<br />

Atom solutions, including the NDiS120<br />

digital signage player, MRC2100 tablet<br />

PC, EBC540 5.25” board, EBC340 3.5”<br />

board, and ICES170 ETX and ICES270<br />

COMExpress modules.<br />

more information:<br />

www.datarespons.<strong>com</strong>/591<br />

High-density analogue I/O solution<br />

Tews Technologies increases its range of high-density analogue I/O solutions<br />

with the introduction of the TPMC553.<br />

The Data Respons partner Tews Technologies is a solutions<br />

provider of embedded I/O and CPU products based on<br />

open architecture standards such as PMC, IndustryPack<br />

(IP), CompactPCI, standard PCI, and VME.<br />

The standard single-width 32-bit PMC module provides 32<br />

or 16 channels of 16-bit analogue outputs. The TPMC553<br />

is ideal for applications in industrial, transportation, and<br />

aerospace/defence COTS fields. All signals are accessible<br />

through an HD68 SCSI-3 type front I/O connector.<br />

The software-selectable output voltage ranges are 0–5 V,<br />

0–10 V, 0–10.8 V, ±5 V, ±10 V or ±10.8 V. The output voltage<br />

range can be individually set per channel. The conversion<br />

time is typically 10 µs and the DAC outputs are able to<br />

drive a load of 2 kΩ, with a capacitance up to 4000 pF.<br />

more information:<br />

www.datarespons.<strong>com</strong>/592<br />

10 DATA RESPONS | INTERRUPT #1 2009


PRODUCTS<br />

MAGMA: the next frontier for<br />

Embedded Computing<br />

In recent years, it has be<strong>com</strong>e increasingly difficult to identify applications<br />

without a <strong>com</strong>munications <strong>com</strong>ponent. From data gathering, processing<br />

and reporting to data management, the necessity for <strong>com</strong>munications applications<br />

has grown across all industries.<br />

Recognising the potential for the rapid expansion<br />

of the embedded ecosystem, the<br />

Embedded Computing business of Emerson<br />

Network Power has kicked off its MAGMA<br />

(Military, Aerospace, Government, Medical<br />

and Automation) initiative to encourage the<br />

adoption of embedded <strong>com</strong>puting solutions<br />

into markets beyond the wireless and<br />

wireline tele<strong>com</strong>s business, where Emerson<br />

is already an acknowledged leader. Because<br />

each of these five areas represents such a<br />

significant market, it is critical to focus upon<br />

areas where embedded <strong>com</strong>puting is an integral<br />

part of a network-centric application.<br />

For example, the doctrine in the military is<br />

to ultimately connect every <strong>com</strong>batant in<br />

the theatre of operations to provide realtime<br />

reconnaissance data, engagement<br />

scenarios and battle-readiness. Similarly in<br />

healthcare, diagnostic equipment is moving<br />

outward from central hospitals toward rural<br />

clinics, shopping malls and even the home,<br />

thereby making <strong>com</strong>munications essential.<br />

more information:<br />

www.datarespons.<strong>com</strong>/593<br />

AAEON’s Intel Atom based series of products<br />

AAEON announces the debut of a series of Intel ® Atom<br />

processor-based products available in the most popular embedded<br />

form factors such as Mini-ITX, EPIC, SubCompact<br />

3.5” (ECX), XTX and COM CPU modules, as well as PC/104.<br />

The debut of the Intel Atom processor ushers in a new era of<br />

mobile <strong>com</strong>puting, with AAEON leading the way into vertical<br />

market segments previously dominated by RISC technology.<br />

AAEON is releasing eight new products for the embedded<br />

market: COM-U15, NanoCOM-U15,<br />

COM-945GSE, XTX-945GSE, PFM-945C,<br />

GENE-9455, EPIC-9457, and EMB-<br />

9459T. These products all adopt Intel<br />

Atom processors and have a wide application<br />

range.<br />

more information:<br />

www.datarespons.<strong>com</strong>/594<br />

Use of displays in challenging environments<br />

As the capabilities of technology increase, GE Fanuc want their solutions to<br />

perform new tasks – and to perform those new tasks in locations and environments<br />

that were previously unthinkable.<br />

Perhaps the primary example is in military<br />

applications, where <strong>com</strong>puting is<br />

widely deployed in tanks, in aircraft, in<br />

submarines and in helicopters, in environments<br />

that are subject to harsh<br />

extremes of temperature, pressure, vibration<br />

and so on as well as the ingress<br />

of moisture and particles. It is not just<br />

the military that requires this kind of<br />

rugged <strong>com</strong>puting, however: it is also<br />

widely deployed for applications such<br />

as energy exploration – oil and gas –<br />

where the environment is often a rough<br />

ocean or an inhospitable desert.<br />

These environments make particular demands<br />

of display systems and flat-panel<br />

<strong>com</strong>puters. They must be resistant to corrosion<br />

from the atmosphere, as well as to<br />

dirt, dust, sand, spray, sleet, snow and so<br />

on. In many cases, they must be capable<br />

of being operated by a gloved hand. In<br />

specific environments, they must even<br />

be explosion-proof. In very cold environments,<br />

they need to be equipped with heaters<br />

in order to maintain operation.<br />

more information:<br />

www.datarespons.<strong>com</strong>/595<br />

11


STANDARD or custom<br />

solution<br />

PANEL PC or separate<br />

<strong>com</strong>puter and display<br />

INTEL ATOM or arm<br />

architecture<br />

wired or wireless<br />

<strong>com</strong>munication<br />

PASSIVe or active<br />

mechanical cooling<br />

FPGA or CPU<br />

solution<br />

ROTating hard disc<br />

or SOLID-STATE Drive<br />

EMBEDDED LINUX or<br />

WINDOWS EMBEDDED<br />

Get Ahead<br />

Book a test drive with a handpicked<br />

team from Data Respons<br />

We will mobilise our best people according to your specific<br />

needs or challenges. Call one of our sales representatives on +47<br />

67 11 20 00 or send an e-mail to test-drive@datarespons.<strong>com</strong><br />

to book a meeting with Data Respons.<br />

WIN A DREAM DAY AT<br />

THE RACE TRACK!<br />

We will randomly pick one of the<br />

meeting bookings and invite<br />

the winners to a professional<br />

one-day motor-racing<br />

course. The course will<br />

cover theory, safety, techniques<br />

and race driving.<br />

www.datarespons.<strong>com</strong>/test-drive

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