Keep up with the latest technologies and product advances right at your desktop! These online blogs cover data acquisition, digital signal processing and software radio hot topics.
In 2013, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) issued a mandate to incorporate Open Systems Architecture principles within procurement requirements for defense hardware and software. OSA requires the use of existing open standards for well-defined, modular hardware and software components that can be sourced from multiple vendors. OSA hardware platforms should be reusable for quick-reaction mission needs, feature upgrades and new technology insertion. These advantages reduce development risks and help ensure significantly longer operational lifecycles.
It was a packed house, with over 450 attendees, at the recent Mercury-sponsored TSOA-ID (Tri-Service Open Architecture Technical Interchange Meeting and Expo) conference held in Solomons, MD, on March 15 and the room was buzzing about embracing MOSA (Modular Open Systems Approach). Key takeaways from the keynotes and expert panel discussions, delivered by open systems leaders in the defense community representing the DoD, Army, Air Force and Navy, were the need to escape from vendor lock and, instead, recognize the ability to utilize proven, open solutions that avert risk and promote interoperability, reuse and rapid technology insertion.
Inspired by enormous commercial market potential for practical digital solutions for radio signals, innovative vendors of data converter and DSP technology began rolling out successive generations of faster, smaller and less expensive devices.
When confronted with a project schedule, when was the last time you heard "take as long as you need" or "if it doesn't work the first time, don't worry, you can always spin the design again"? Probably never. As FPGAs become more and more powerful and the scope of processing tasks becomes larger, shortening design cycles and minimizing risk has never been more critical.
Open architecture embedded systems for military/aerospace applications have always relied on mezzanine or daughter cards to provide flexibility and modularity because they are very effective in handling the large variety of I/O functions required. Thanks to widespread adoption of industry standards defining these mezzanine products, carrier boards are able to accept mezzanine boards from a wide range of vendors, each specializing in niche technologies and interfaces.
Advances in optical interface technology boost performance levels to help meet increasing data rates and signal bandwidths. New specifications define how to deploy these optical links within open industry standards, affording improved interoperability and supporting future upgrades. Offering many advantages over traditional copper connections, optical links will boost data rates, improve signal integrity and security, and greatly extend distance between system components.
The use of software radio technology has spread to almost every commercial, consumer, government, industrial, and military platform across the entire radio frequency spectrum during the technology's 25-year lifespan. Innovations in data converter technology, DSP devices, system interconnects, processors, software, design tools, and packaging techniques have improved performance levels and reduced the size, weight, and power consumption of software radio systems.