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Editorial Contact:
The Simon Group, Inc.
Beth Smith or Christina Sanchez
Phone:
(215) 453-8700
E-mail:
[email protected]
Reference # AIT-A-1855
NEWS RELEASE
New Extreme Low Power, RTCA-compliant SBC from Aitech Significantly
Reduces Avionics System Development Costs
Low Power, PowerPC-based board features high performance, rugged, compact
design
Chatsworth, Calif. April 2013 – Aitech Defense Systems Inc., a pioneer in true
embedded and mission critical computing technologies for environmentallydemanding military, defense and aerospace applications, now offers the RTCAcompliant C920, a rugged 3U CompactPCI PowerPC-based SBC (single board
computer) with very low power dissipation of typically less than 5 W.
The new SBC helps significantly reduce engineering resources typically diverted to
RTCA design requirements, saving on overall system and software development
costs.
As the latest evolution in Aitech’s C92x family of rugged, avionics-centric computing
boards, the C920 is ideal for high reliability DO-178 and DO-254-based airborne
platforms. The new SBC is safety-certifiable to the highest DAL A levels of both DO178 (software) and DO-254 (hardware), making it ideal for safety and mission critical
applications.
Doug Patterson, VP, Sales and Marketing of Aitech, noted, “Designed specifically for
avionics, our new C920 is already safety certified for a major helicopter mission
-more-
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computer application. Its low power, high density and exceptional reliability offer the
right combination for the rugged, compact nature in avionics environments.”
With its existing certifications, Aitech’s new, super low power SBC is ideal for flight
and mission control computers in avionics platform subsystems destined for FAAcontrolled airspace. In addition to reduced design costs, the C920 saves on DO-254
certification costs by minimizing the use of on-board FPGAs.
Featuring increased processing power without the added overhead of additional heat
generation, the C920 incorporates a highly integrated PowerQUICC II 8349E
processor that is hardware-preconfigured to 400 MHz, ensuring the right mix of high
processor horsepower and low power dissipation. The processor also features an
on-chip 32 KB instruction and a 32 KB data L1 cache that support a powerful e300
core.
The C920’s large on-board memory consists of up to 256 MB fast DDR2 266
SDRAM with ECC protection for exceptional data integrity, 128 MB of boot Flash,
256 MB of user Flash and 512 KB NVRAM implemented with a fast MRAM
(magneto-resistive RAM) for fast read/write storage of critical mission and key board
parameters as well as user data storage. MRAM’s unlimited write/erase capacity
prevents it from wearing out—a problem associated with other Flash or SSD
technologies—increasing the board’s long-term reliability.
The C920’s compact 3U form factor accommodates a wide range of integrated I/O
including two 10/100 BaseT Ethernet ports and two RS-232/-422/-485 serial ports.
To control real-world systems, the rugged SBC also provides 21 single-ended
general purpose TTL discrete I/O lines, where each line is independently user2
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programmable as either an input or output and able to generate a processor
interrupt on a change of state.
An industry standard PMC slot, compliant to ANSI/IEEE 1386 and ANSI/VITA 20,
enables expanded board resources or I/O functionality via standardized mezzanine
modules. I/O from the mezzanine is brought out to either the front panel for aircooled versions or routed to the CompactPCI backplane for conduction-cooled
modules.
In a subsystem, the C920 can function as a system controller, supporting up to five
additional cards on the CompactPCI backplane to provide clock, arbitration and
interrupt capabilities, or it can serve as a peripheral or “slave” board.
System support devices include an avionics-style, windowed watchdog timer, four
32-bit (or eight 16-bit) timers, and Real Time Clock (RTC). The watchdog timer can
be set to either generate a non-maskable interrupt or a board reset.
The standard board support package (BSP) is available for WindRiver VxWorks,
with a BSP available for Wind River ARINC653 or Green Hills INTEGRITY upon
request. Each includes all on-board resources to enable the user to take full
advantage of the C920’s powerful features. The COTS board is available in five
different build levels, either air or conduction cooled.
For more information please call 888-Aitech-8 (888-248-3248), visit
http://www.rugged.com/c920-powerquicctm-ii-pro-3u-compactpci-sbc, or e-mail
[email protected].
For high res download and full text:
http://www.simongroup.com/PressRoom/press-release.php?Job=AIT-A-1855
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UPCOMING TRADESHOWS: AUSA, Washington DC, October 21 – 23, 2013
ABOUT AITECH:
Established in 1983, Aitech offers military and space-qualified, commercial off-theshelf (COTS) embedded computing products for rugged defense, aerospace and
astronautics (space) applications as well as provides radiation tolerant and full MILSPEC solutions.
The company provides industry-standard, open architecture VMEbus, CompactPCI
and high speed serial fabric-based VPX-based Single Board Computer (SBC)
boards for the defense industry. Aitech also offers leading-edge SBCs for space,
power subsystems, mass memory, enclosures and hardware subsystem integration.
Logistics support, configuration control, the ground-breaking COTSLifecycle+
component obsolescence mitigation program and earned-value management round
out the scope of services provided by the company.
Having pioneered the development of true military VMEbus products for use in
mainstream defense and aerospace applications in 1985 for the US Army, Aitech
utilizes its broad base of off-the-shelf products and technologies to develop
customer-specific solutions, deliver superior cost-performance and reliability, and
expedite time to market.
The flight heritage and pedigree for Aitech’s products are evidenced in the many
manned and unmanned/robotic orbital space flight subsystems, including the
International Space Station (ISS – Freedom), in which the products are used.
Other applications range from mission processors, fire control, mission control and
autonomous robotic subsystems for ground vehicles as well as surface and
subsurface naval platforms to tactical and strategic fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft,
and low- to high-earth orbit and deep space vehicles.
Visit Aitech’s Web site for more information at www.rugged.com.
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