Sponsored By Oxley Developments
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07 Oct 20. LDRA First to Support Arm-Based Chips for Safety-Critical Aerospace and Automotive Applications. LDRA tool suite offers unique object code verification for coverage at the assembly level and code level, required for DO-178C Level A standard.
LDRA today announced its extension of object-code verification to deliver advanced software testing for Arm-based chips used in safety-critical aerospace & defense and automotive applications. With Arm chipsets becoming increasingly prevalent in the core CPUs of both aircraft and automobiles, safety-critical verification becomes essential. LDRA’s support enables software developers to leverage the LDRA tool suite to verify code coverage at both the assembly and source code levels.
Arm’s Adoption into Aerospace, Automotive
Arm-based devices can often be found in ISO 26262–compliant automotive applications up to and including ASIL D, and they continue to gain traction as ADAS and autonomy become increasingly significant. Conversely, Intel and PowerPC have long been the architecture of choice for aircraft computers to gain high-integrity computing in a rugged, SWaP (size, weight, and power)–constrained environment. However, as Arm has proven its reliability, low power, and versatility in automotive and mobile applications, avionics engineers are now also turning to general-purpose Arm processors. By extending object-code verification to Arm-based chips, LDRA enables compliance to Level A—the highest safety requirements—of DO-178C, the safety-critical standard for aerospace, and provides an opportunity for automotive developers to provide a similar level of assurance for the most demanding of applications in their domain.
“Object-code verification has long been available for other specialized processors, but extending it to general-purpose Arm processors enables safety-critical designers to take advantage of the rich Arm ecosystem in their designs,” said Ian Hennell, Operations Director at LDRA. “By extending, LDRA has enabled avionic engineers to verify Arm-based applications to DAL A while enjoying the benefits of additional ecosystem flexibility and lower costs, and has opened the door for automotive engineers to apply this state-of-the-art technique in their sector as well.”
LDRA’s Rich Heritage and Leadership Support Safety-Critical Applications
In addition to championing coding standards, LDRA has provided the LDRA tool suite to enable companies to meet safety-critical and security-critical standards compliance in multiple industries including aerospace & defense, automotive, rail, nuclear power, industrial control, and medical devices. Compliance to the highest safety-critical standards requires testing of assembly level code—a level of support that LDRA has offered companies for more than 40 years.
LDRA’s decision to join Arm’s Functional Safety Partnership Program has enabled it to equip the Arm community with functional safety capabilities, specifically driving compliance efforts in those application areas requiring functional safety and security standards. Thanks to its rich heritage and leadership role in safety-critical support, LDRA supports many compilers and tool chains, such as those from Green Hills Software, IAR, Wind River, Tasking, and Keil.
Additional information about how LDRA helps software development teams build safety into their aerospace & defense and automotive systems is available at https://ldra.com/aerospace-defence/ and https://ldra.com/automotive/ respectively.
About LDRA
For more than 40 years, LDRA has developed and driven the market for software that automates code analysis and software testing for safety-, mission-, security-, and business-critical markets. Working with clients to achieve early error identification and elimination, and full compliance with industry standards, LDRA traces requirements through static and dynamic analysis to unit testing and verification for a wide variety of hardware and software platforms. Boasting a worldwide presence, LDRA has headquarters in the United Kingdom, United States, Germany, and India coupled with an extensive distributor network. For more information on the LDRA tool suite, please visit www.ldra.com. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
08 Oct 20. Everdrone Gets Patent for Drone Operations in Complex Airspace. Everdrone, a supplier of autonomous drone technology, announced that it has been approved for its first patent by the European Patent Office (EPO). Everdrone’s latest patented technology focuses on combining vision technology with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to allow drones to fly safely and accurately in low altitude airspace where obstacles such as buildings and vegetation are often present.
More specifically, the recently approved patent relates to a method of comparing camera data in order to automatically validate that the onboard sensors are working correctly, thereby making drone operations safer.
“We’re thrilled about the approval of Everdrone’s first patent,” says Mats Sällström, CEO of Everdrone. “This patent demonstrates our commitment to safety and strengthens our position as a leader and innovator in the industry. This is one of several patents we’re working towards to continue driving our primary mission of saving lives.”
Everdrone offers a service where drones equipped with Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and other medical supplies are dispatched to the scene of emergency situations, in conjunction with local emergency services and authorities. The company works with Sweden’s national emergency call centre, SOS Alarm, and the Centre for Resuscitation Science at Karolinska Institutet (KI) for research and development.
Most recently, Everdrone expanded its reach into Denmark in partnership with Copenhagen Emergency Medical Services. Copenhagen EMS acts as a research partner and is responsible for emergency dispatch services to determine which calls need priority drone assistance, while Everdrone coordinates the delivery of AEDs via drone to the scene of cardiac arrests. (Source: UAS VISION)
08 Oct 20. GKN Aerospace leading smart manufacturing project to increase productivity.
- Smart Connected Shop Floor project trials digital technologies and smart devices
- Nissan, Rolls-Royce, GlaxoSmithKline, Meggitt, BAE Systems, Airbus and AT Engines Controls Ltd. partner with GKN Aerospace
- £9.9m programme jointly funded by UK government and industry
GKN Aerospace is leading the Smart Connected Shop Floor project as part of the UK’s Manufacturing Made Smarter Challenge. UK government and industry are jointly investing to support businesses to implement new technology to boost their manufacturing productivity.
GKN Aerospace is leading a cross-sectoral team of experts trialling advanced digital technologies in the manufacturing environment. The project will focus on technology exploitation of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, intelligent robotics, augmented reality, smart devices and data analytics. This will aim to exploit the productivity opportunities of the digital space, empowering end users, creating an eco-system of digital technologies and aiding real-time cost effective manufacturing decisions across the various supply chains. The project will also have a strong focus on developing new skills and capability in this important field and will enable improvements in environmental sustainability, which can be scaled globally.
GKN Aerospace, Nissan, Rolls-Royce, GlaxoSmithKline, Meggitt, BAE Systems, Airbus and AT Engines Controls Ltd. will bring together their expertise across sectors. Twenty Five highly specialised engineers and operators will work together on the programme, of which a number will be based out of GKN Aerospace’s Global Technology Centre in Bristol.
Russ Dunn, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Strategy at GKN Aerospace explains: “Smart manufacturing can lead to a step change in competitiveness for the UK Aerospace industry as well as having significant benefits in reducing our environmental footprint. The Manufacturing Made Smarter Challenge is potentially ground-breaking and we are delighted that the government is supporting this project to help the UK stay at the forefront of exciting and emerging manufacturing technologies.”
07 Oct 20. Desktop Metal Receives Multi-Million Dollar Award From Department of Defense for the Development of High-Volume Manufacturing Process to Mass Produce Cobalt-Free Hardmetal Parts
- Desktop Metal is a leader in mass production and turnkey additive manufacturing solutions, offering the fastest metal 3D printing technology in the market, up to 100 times the speed of legacy technologies (1)
- Investigations by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) to find a replacement for Cobalt (Co), traditionally used as a metallic binder material for cemented tungsten carbide (WC), has led to the development of a Co-free alternative binder (2)
- The three-year $2.45m award will fund the development of a cost-effective, high-volume Additive Manufacturing (AM) process capable of manufacturing the novel Co-free hardmetals into complex, net or near-net shaped parts without the use of any tooling
- The project is expected to further progress green sustainable process to manufacture these novel Co-free hardmetals and provide an environmentally friendly method to mass produce metals, alloys, cermets, and composite parts with superior properties for both commercial and DoD applications
The Desktop Metal Production System™ is designed to be the fastest way to 3D print metal parts at-scale, achieving print speeds up to 100x faster than legacy technologies and delivering thousands of parts per day at costs competitive with traditional manufacturing. (Photo: Business Wire)
Desktop Metal, a leader in mass production and turnkey additive manufacturing solutions, announced today it has been awarded Phase I of a three year $2.45m dollar project from Department of Defense (DoD) to develop a sophisticated Additive Manufacturing (AM) process capable of mass producing Cobalt-free hardmetals, developed by the U.S. Army. The company’s Production System™ with Single Pass Jetting (SPJ™), a proprietary AM technology developed by Desktop Metal, will mass manufacture complex shaped Co-free hardmetal parts without tooling and is expected to lead to the development of a dual use technology with numerous applications in DoD as well as in the civilian sector.
This new process has the potential to change the landscape of the carbide hardmetals market which is projected to grow to $24bn by 2024(3) and is used in dual use applications including cutting tools, abrasion and chemical resistant nozzles, parts for the oil and gas sector, parts for the chemical and textile industry, tools used in agriculture and mining, steel industry, consumer goods and sporting goods, parts for off-road transportation, aerospace and defense sector, construction, and in tools and dies for chip-less materials forming.
The project is issued to Desktop Metal by the U.S. Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen, Research Triangle Park, on behalf of U.S. Army Research Laboratory to the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) Advanced Manufacturing, Materials & Processes (AMMP) Consortium.
Successful investigations by the U.S. Army in developing a novel iron-based nano material as the matrix in WC-based hardmetals, replacing Cobalt, has resulted in the development of a patented, novel Co-free WC-(Fe-Ni-Zr)-based hardmetals. In tandem with the creation of this promising new material for commercial and DoD applications, the ARL has been in search of a cost-effective, high volume process capable of manufacturing the new Co-free hardmetals into complex, net or near-net shaped parts without the use of any tooling.
Among the goals and requirements of the three-year project include:
- Development of a feedstock and binder system for novel cobalt-free hardmetal;
- Using the Desktop Metal SPJ process to print a sufficient quantity of components of at least 200,000 parts in one day from a single machine; and
- Delivery of a cost analysis for scaling up its advanced SPJ binder jet manufacturing technique to successfully manufacture at least 500,000 prototype pieces.
“The novel Co-free hardmetal grade is expected to yield a high strength, high toughness, high hardness, and high wear resistance material,” said Dr. Nicholas Ku, Materials Engineer, CCDC Army Research Laboratory. “We believe combining this novel material with Desktop Metal’s Single Pass Jetting technology will have major applications not only in the defense sector but also in the commercial sector. Further, we believe this combined method will dramatically improve sustainability, reduce the use of a conflict mineral and provide an environmentally-friendly process to mass produce parts with superior properties.”
Desktop Metal Production System
Created by leading inventors of binder jetting and single-pass inkjet technology, the Desktop Metal Production System is designed to be the fastest way to 3D print metal parts at-scale. The Production System leverages patent-pending SPJ technology to achieve print speeds up to 100 times those of legacy powder bed fusion additive manufacturing technologies and deliver up to hundreds of thousands or even millions of parts per year at costs competitive with conventional manufacturing. Whereas conventional binder jetting uses multiple carriages and passes over a build box to complete the steps required to print each layer, bi-directional SPJ on the Production System consolidates these steps into the motion of a single print carriage, dramatically reducing print time and removing wasted motions during printing to increase mechanical efficiency.
Dr. Animesh Bose, Vice President of Special Projects for Desktop Metal, and a Fellow of ASM International and APMI International, will serve as principal investigator of the three-year project. With more than 40 years of experience in the processing of particulate materials, he is the author of over 125 publications in the area of P/M processing of advanced materials, authored and co-authored four books, and inventor or co-inventor of over 12 patents.
“The success in this project will not only provide the hardmetal community with their eagerly desired Co-free hardmetal solution, but also result in the development of a tool-free processing technique capable of fabricating this class of materials into extremely complex shaped parts at speeds that can rival most other high-volume manufacturing techniques, opening up new horizons in the area of hardmetals and its applications,” said Dr. Bose.
“This effort exemplifies the ability of NCMS and AMMP to link cutting edge technologies of non-traditional defense contractors with government agencies to meet existing needs and requirements,” said NCMS’ CEO Lisa Strama. “We look forward to the lasting impact this initiative will have within AMMP, the Army, and the broader community driving innovative Co-free hardmetal solutions across the services and industry at large.”
About Desktop Metal
Desktop Metal, Inc., based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is accelerating the transformation of manufacturing with an expansive portfolio of 3D printing solutions, from rapid prototyping to mass production. Founded in 2015 by leaders in advanced manufacturing, metallurgy, and robotics, the company is addressing the unmet challenges of speed, cost, and quality to make Additive Manufacturing an essential tool for engineers and manufacturers around the world. Desktop Metal was selected as one of the world’s 30 most promising Technology Pioneers by the World Economic Forum and named to MIT Technology Review’s list of 50 Smartest Companies. For more information, visit www.desktopmetal.com.
Desktop Metal recently signed a definitive business combination agreement with Trine Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: TRNE), a special purpose acquisition company led by Leo Hindery, Jr., and HPS Investment Partners, a global credit investment firm with over $60 billion in assets under management. For more information, visit www.trineacquisitioncorp.com.
About NCMS
The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) is a cross-industry technology development consortium, dedicated to improving the competitiveness and strength of the U.S. industrial base. As a member-based organization, it leverages its network of industry, government, and academia partners to develop, demonstrate, and transition innovative technologies efficiently, with less risk and lower cost. The NCMS is proud to work with the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and the Advanced Manufacturing, Materials, and Processes (AMMP) program to advance and enable additive manufacturing to create next-generation manufacturing breakthroughs. AMMP will respond to requirements for affordable, complex parts that currently cannot be readily built. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
07 Oct 20. Pentagon to Streamline Software Development. Defense Department leadership has signed a new policy to guide the military’s software development and streamline acquisition processes, the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer said Oct. 7.
The software acquisition pathway is one of the six pathways included in the new Adaptive Acquisition Framework, or AAF.
It “represents a substantial departure from the department’s usual way of doing business. The acquisition enablers team has worked to deliver the software policy rapidly, given the interest from the services and [office of the secretary of defense] partners,” said Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord. “In fact, the team may have set a new acquisition policy conceptualization-to-publication record. It took nine months to move from an interim to a final policy,” which is three months earlier than promised.
Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist signed the DoD directive 5000.01 into effect in September, Lord said.
“It is the overarching policy that describes the principles governing the defense acquisition system,” she told reporters during a Pentagon press briefing. “This completed a comprehensive redesign of the entire D0D 5000-series acquisition policy.”
The re-write decomposed a larger policy document into six separate pathways that make up the Adaptive Acquisition Framework.
Each of the pathways is tailored to the unique characteristics of the capability being acquired, Lord said. “By design, these pathways implement the six main tenets of the defense acquisition system to simplify policy, tailor in approaches, empower program managers, facilitate data-driven analysis, actively manage risks and emphasize sustainment.”
Software acquisition is one of the six pathways included in the new framework, along with middle-tier acquisition, defense business systems, acquisition of services, urgent capability acquisition and major capability acquisition.
The software pathway, which is designed to enable continuous integration and delivery of software capabilities, is the newest AAF policy signed into action in recent days, Lord noted.
The pathway was designed by piggybacking off of commercial principles that enable quick innovation and delivery in response to rapidly changing user needs, disruptive technologies and battlefield threats, she said.
“By removing procedural bottlenecks and regulatory bureaucracy, programs are pushed to embrace the goal of delivering capabilities with much faster cycle times in one year or less while emphasizing and ensuring cybersecurity,” Lord said.
Major programs including the Air Force’s Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent, or GBSD, are leveraging modern software practices included in the pathway to streamline acquisition processes, she noted. (Source: glstrade.com/National Defense)
05 Oct 20. Next-Generation Air Dominance Program: An Introduction. On September 15, 2020, U.S. Air Force acquisition executive Dr. Will Roper announced that the Air Force had flown a full-scale flight demonstrator as part of the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program.
The announcement came as a surprise to many observers, both as the NGAD program was believed to be an early-phase technology development program unlikely to yield hardware in the near term, and because funding began two years ago, which is unusually fast to design and build a military aircraft. DOD had mentioned an interest in building a new “X-plane” prototype as far back as 2014, but it is not clear whether this led to the NGAD demonstrator.
What Is the NGAD Program?
The Air Force has said that NGAD exists to examine five major technologies that are likely to appear on next generation aircraft, with the goal of enhancements in survivability, lethality, and persistence. It has not specified what four of those technologies are.
The one acknowledged NGAD-related technology is propulsion. Over the past few years, the Air Force has invested substantially in variable cycle engines. Other likely candidates include new forms of stealth; advanced weapons, including directed energy; and thermal management. The current engine on the F-35 and its variants expected to be on the B-21 produce a tremendous amount of electrical power that can enable new weapons. That could require advanced techniques to manage generated heat, so that it does not become part of the aircraft signatures and make the plane easier to detect.
Is the Goal of NGAD a New Fighter?
The technologies involved in NGAD are being developed to provide air dominance. Part of the program’s goal is to determine how to achieve that end, independent of traditional ideas. NGAD could take the form of a single aircraft and/or a number of complementary systems—manned, unmanned, optionally manned, cyber, electronic—forms that would not resemble the traditional “fighter.”
For example, a larger aircraft the size of a B-21 may not maneuver like a fighter. But that large an aircraft carrying a directed energy weapon, with multiple engines making substantial electrical power for that weapon, could ensure that no enemy flies in a large amount of airspace. That is air dominance. There appears little reason to assume that NGAD is going to yield a plane the size that one person sits in, and that goes out and dogfights kinetically, trying to outturn another plane—or that sensors and weapons have to be on the same aircraft.
Budget and Program Structure
Air Force NGAD is budgeted at $9bn from 2019 to 2025. The FY2021 budget is $1bn, with a request of $1.5bn for FY2022.
NGAD was originally mooted as a joint project between the Navy and the Air Force, and there is still some cooperation between them, but the two services have created separate NGAD offices.
What Does the Flight Demonstration Mean?
Based on the movements of senior DOD officials, CRS assesses the first flight came on or about August 21, 2020. Some news sources have referred to this event as the first flight of a new fighter, and speculated as to the design and characteristics of such a fighter. However, it is notable that the aircraft was described as a “full-scale flight demonstrator,” not a “prototype.” The former phrase is used to describe an aircraft that is showing off some form of technology and is different from “prototype,” which indicates a more production-representative system.
The history of full-scale flight demonstrators shows that they are not always followed by broader contracts. For example, in the early 1980s, Northrop flew a full-scale flight demonstrator in the Tacit Blue program. That was a single-passenger stealthy aircraft used to investigate operating a sophisticated sensor system in threatened airspace. Northrop built one Tacit Blue and did not wind up subsequently building anything that looked like it. Some of the technology explored in that program eventually went into JSTARS, an airliner-sized, non-stealthy sensor platform that had nothing physically in common with the flight demonstrator.
Another full-scale flight demonstrator, the Boeing Bird of Prey, flown in 1996, was used to demonstrate stealth and other technologies. Boeing made one Bird of Prey and did not receive any contract publicly connected to the work that flight demonstrator performed. These cases illustrate the difference between demonstrators, which are research aircraft, and prototypes, early examples of finished systems.
While Tacit Blue was a fighter-sized aircraft that led to an airliner-sized system, both the F-22 and F-35 programs included the opposite—airliners fitted out with those fighters’ avionics and sensor suites, so the subsystems could be flight tested while accompanied by a crew of engineers to monitor and adjust performance. These aircraft were full-scale flight demonstrators of those subsystems, in an airframe that in no way resembled the eventual aircraft. There is therefore little evidence to describe what the Air Force recently flew based on the phrase “full-scale flight demonstrator.”
What Companies Are Involved?
DOD has made no mention of specific NGAD contractors. The three traditional aviation primes all have units devoted to advanced development and prototypes, the best known of which is Lockheed Advanced Development (popularly, the “Skunk Works.”)
In 2007, Northrop Grumman acquired Scaled Composites, a dedicated builder of one-off prototypes. Boeing complemented its internal Phantom Works with the acquisition of Aurora Flight Sciences in 2017 and Insitu in 2008, increasing its boutique design capabilities, particularly in unmanned aircraft.
Also, Textron proved a capability to quickly design and produce an aircraft with its Scorpion trainer/light attack jet, and General Atomics has shown a series of increasingly sophisticated designs with capacity for low-rate serial production.
The NGAD demonstrator was not declared to be a new design. Northrop, for example, built a prototype for the T-X trainer competition the company later decided not to enter.
Such an existing airframe could be augmented with one or two NGAD technologies to become a full-scale flight demonstrator, considerably shortening time to “first flight.”
What Else Is Important About NGAD?
The NGAD program is part of the Air Force’s reengineering of how it does acquisition. One goal is an effort to split design, production, and sustainment so that whoever designs an aircraft might not get the production contract, and whoever gets the production contract may not also support the aircraft in the field.
Ultimately, that vision could result in firms specializing in design that pass their designs to high-tech manufacturing centers capable of producing anything sent to them in digital form, rather than maintaining dedicated airplane factories. Companies with global logistics chains could be tasked with the sustainment mission. This reallocation of roles could open Air Force programs to firms that are not traditional military aviation primes.
This concept complements the Air Force’s other goal, to move from long programs to short runs of different aircraft, theoretically made possible and economical by flexible production lines. This might lower sustainment costs because they would be replaced by newer designs rather than being kept in service for long periods. This effort is often referred to as the “digital Century series,” referring to simultaneous Air Force development programs of the 1950s and 60s.
Does NGAD Compete with F-35 or Other Programs?
For the next few years, at least, NGAD is a research effort, with no current plans to acquire production aircraft or other systems that may result. Congress authorizes and appropriates research and development funds and production funds in separate budget lines. F-35 is substantially funded through procurement, NGAD through R&D, and those are not directly fungible.
Further, even if the flight demonstrator were a fully production representative aircraft, it could still take industry several years to create production facilities. While the Air Force is trying to move to new agile forms of production, it’s not clear that contractors have kept pace with that initiative.
The F-35 is a program of record, with funding projected for the next five years at least. The Air Force has not budged off its ultimate goal of 1,763 F-35s. No acquisition goal or fleet size has been posited for NGAD. Also, the air dominance role NGAD is intended for is more in line with the current mission of the F-22 or F-15EX than F-35.
That said, these programs would all have to fit within an Air Force topline budget, which could lead to pressures to favor one program over another in funding decisions.
Full Report: https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11659
(Source: defense-aerospace.com/Congressional Research Service)
06 Oct 20. Getac’s next generation V110 laptop delivers best-in-class functionality and rugged reliability for field professionals.
Latest iteration of Getac’s trusted device combines powerful performance, outstanding connectivity and fully rugged design in a single, compact solution. Getac has today announced the launch of its next generation V110 fully rugged laptop. The powerful new device is aimed at professionals who need a rugged, yet versatile device they can rely on in a wide range of challenging indoor and outdoor work environments, from police officers and paramedics to field utility workers, automotive engineers and manufacturing technicians.
Best-in-class versatility and performance
The next generation V110 delivers the exceptional rugged reliability Getac customers have come to know and trust, alongside a powerful new set of features that offer best-in-existing- class versatility and performance. Key features include high performance quad-core processor and PCIe SSD storage as standard.
The V110 also boasts outstanding connectivity for optimal productivity in any situation. The latest 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 increases connection performance and stability in dense or congested environments, while WLAN Wi-Fi 6 offers up to three times faster wireless data speeds than previous generations. A combination of WLAN, WWAN, Bluetooth, 4G LTE and GPS ensures users can get online from anywhere and advanced inbuilt technology lowers power consumption when connected, for more extensive field use between charges.
Elsewhere, a series of configurable I/O options including 8MP rear camera, barcode reader, RFID reader, and USB3.1 Gen 2 Type-C allow users to easily capture/transmit data directly from the field.
Like all Getac products, the V110 is also built rugged from the ground up, featuring IP65 and MIL-STD-810H certifications, as well as drop resistance of up to 4 feet while in use.
Unique design
The next generation V110 combines the functionality of a laptop with the mobility of a tablet, giving users the benefit of both. Its unique hinge design allows the device to quickly convert between laptop and tablet mode with ease, while hot swappable batteries can extend usage times whenever needed.
Getac Select® program – tailored for industry needs
The V110 is part of the Getac Select® program, which combines pre-configured rugged devices, software, accessories and professional services into a series of solutions optimised for individual applications and user groups. Four key software utilities also available for use alongside the V110 are Getac Driving Safety Utility, Getac Device Monitoring System (GDMS), Getac Virtual GPS Utility (VGPS) and Getac KeyWedge Barcode Reader Utility.*
The perfect partner for field utility professionals
The V110 fully rugged laptop is light and compact enough to go wherever field engineers need to go, while its extensive connectivity options make it easy to transmit important data from any location. The device also supports powerful mobile geographic information systems (GIS), enabling the display of surveying and mapping schematics directly on-device. A crystal clear, outdoor readable display that can be operated in the rain, or when wearing gloves, keeps productivity high in all weather conditions.
Getac Driving Safety Utility* – available as part of the Getac Select® program – can also be used to protect employees from dangerous distractions when behind the wheel by blanking their device’s screen and locking the keyboard as soon as their vehicle starts moving. A series of custom settings allow access to pre-defined work-related programs, such as GPS, as needed.
A versatile field solution for police officers and paramedics
The V110 fully rugged laptop can be securely mounted in-vehicle while en-route to a scene, then quickly removed and converted into a tablet for use in the field. The large typing area makes data input simple, while a backlit keyboard ensures easy operation in poorly lit areas. The V110 also features a robust suite of enterprise level data security tools keeping data on the device protected at all times.
In addition, the optional Getac tri-pass-through secure vehicle docks offer more accurate GPS and faster connectivity to WWAN. A push button latch with keyed lock helps deter thieves.
Track device health with Getac Device Monitoring System (GDMS)
IT managers across industries like utilities and public safety are constantly striving to support remote workforces as efficiently as possible, which can be extremely challenging.
GDMS* – available as part of the Getac Select® program – is a SaaS solution that tracks which devices are working optimally and which aren’t, all through a central dashboard, helping spot potential issues early and prevent costly downtime.
“When the V110 first launched, it quickly set a new benchmark in the rugged laptop sector thanks to its combination of great versatility and rugged reliability, resulting in lower total cost of ownership,” says Chris Bye, President of Getac UK Ltd. “With the launch of the next generation V110 we’ve taken this even further, distilling years of customer feedback and expertise into a comprehensive solution that redefines how professionals from a range of sectors can use rugged technology to achieve their daily goals.”
*Getac Driving Safety Utility, Getac Device Monitoring System (GDMS), Getac Virtual GPS Utility (VGPS) and Getac KeyWedge Barcode Reader Utility (rear camera required), are individual options for the V110 under the Getac Select® program. For more information, please visit https://www.getac.com/en/getac-select/
Availability
The next generation Getac V110 is available now. For more information, please visit https://www.getac.com/en/products/laptops/v110/
05 Oct 20. Real Time LLC Licenses NASA’s New Search and Rescue Technology. Technologies developed at NASA have helped locate more than 46,000 people through Cospas-Sarsat, an international cooperative system for search and rescue. Furthering the impact of the program, the Strategic Partnerships Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, has licensed a second-generation search-and-rescue technology to a company named Concentric Real Time LLC, based in Ellicott City, Maryland.
“NASA’s search and rescue technologies have saved the lives of thousands of people,” said Eric McGill, a senior technology manager with Goddard’s Strategic Partnerships Office. “By licensing this receiver technology, we’re expanding the reach of NASA’s lifesaving innovations.”
NASA’s Search and Rescue (SAR) Office, based at Goddard, generates search and rescue technologies for the Cospas-Sarsat community, which uses satellites to provide location data to authorities searching for people who are lost or otherwise in need of rescue. Individuals can carry personal locator beacons; ships, pleasure craft, and aircraft can store beacons on board in case of emergency, which Cospas-Sarsat uses to determine their position.
The new receiver improves on the previous generation of technologies, providing more accurate location data than older systems. Reese Bovard, the president of Concentric Real Time, built the new receiver that his company is licensing. Currently a contractor for NASA’s SAR Office, Bovard has worked at Goddard for 13 years as an engineer. The receiver he developed pairs with a new, higher-resolution signal that produces highly accurate location results.
Bovard said the receiver technology is an important building block for the new search-and-rescue system that NASA’s SAR Office has developed. Though civil search and rescue is the office’s primary mission, the group’s technologies have also been adapted for astronauts as part of their survival gear upon return.
“With search and rescue, there’s a direct humanitarian benefit that comes from this work,” Bovard said.
NASA’s Technology Transfer program ensures that technologies developed for missions in exploration and discovery are broadly available to the public, maximizing the benefit to the nation. NASA has an extensive patent portfolio and software catalog with hundreds of technologies available for licensing by the private sector.
To learn more about NASA’s Search and Rescue Office, please visit:
https://esc.gsfc.nasa.gov/projects/SAR
For more information on Goddard’s Strategic Partnerships Office, please visit:
https://partnerships.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html
(Source: PR Newswire)
05 Oct 20. OpenFive and AnalogX to Provide Optimized Chip-to-Chip Interface IP Solutions. Interlaken C2C Controller IP from OpenFive and AXLinkIO SerDes IP from AnalogX achieves ultra-low latency and <1pJ/bit solution for a Tier-1 customer.
OpenFive, the leading provider of customizable, silicon-focused solutions with differentiated IP, along with AnalogX, a provider of SerDes interface IP, today announced a complete sub-system solution and implementation for Chip-to-Chip (C2C) interface with ultra-low latency and power. This solution can be optimized for various bandwidth requirements of AI, HPC, Networking, Storage, Aerospace, and 5G base station applications.
OpenFive’s 8th generation Interlaken Controller IP is silicon-proven on multiple process nodes with tier-1 customers. OpenFive’s 8th gen. Interlaken IP supports from 1 up to 48 SerDes lanes with up to 112G SerDes rates, providing a scalable interface that offers end-to-end reliability using optional re-transmission and flow control mechanisms. For high-frequency native chip interfaces, OpenFive 8th gen Interlaken has been proven to support up to 1.6Tbps data throughput, and optional forward error correction engines (FEC) further provide bit error rate improvements.
AnalogX Inc. is a world leader in ultra-low power SerDes IP with a rich portfolio of interconnectivity solutions ranging from USR, XSR, VSR, to MR applications. AnalogX USR die-to-die (D2D) SerDes offers sub-pico-joule per bit (pJ/bit) and multi-terabit per mm area efficiency. AnalogX XSR/VSR chip-to-chip SerDes offers a1.5pJ/bit solution for low-energy scaling of multiple SoCs in a single PCB while providing approximately one terabit-per-mm area efficiency. AnalogX XSR/VSR configurations support up to 20 parallel lanes with very low latency, and AnalogX multi-protocol SerDes offers 2.5 pJ/bit energy efficiency for PCIe® Gen 5 connectivity while offering compatibility with CCIX®, CXL™, and other standard protocols. AnalogX IPs are currently available across multiple foundries and 22nm, 16nm, 12nm, 7nm, and 6 nm technology nodes.
About OpenFive
OpenFive is a self-contained and autonomous custom silicon business unit of SiFive and offers customizable and differentiated SoC IP for Artificial Intelligence, Edge Computing, HPC, and Networking solutions. The OpenFive portfolio includes low-latency, high-throughput Interlaken connectivity fabric, 400/800G Ethernet, High-bandwidth memory (HBM2/E), USB subsystem IP, and die-to-die interconnect IP for next-generation heterogeneous chiplet-style products. OpenFive’s end-to-end expertise in Architecture, Design Implementation, Software, Silicon Validation and Manufacturing delivers high-quality silicon, with first-time-right results. For more information, please visit OpenFive.com.
About AnalogX
AnalogX Inc. (http://www.analogx.io) develops ultra-low power connectivity IP solutions to connect chips and chiplets. With product available across multiple foundries and technology nodes, AnalogX’s mission is to enable high-end, mixed-signal IPs that drive revolutionary SoC designs for high-bandwidth applications that range from AI to Data Center Computing. AnalogX is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
02 Oct 20. Intel wins second phase of contract to help Pentagon develop chips. Intel Corp on Friday said it has won a second-phase contract in a project aimed at helping the U.S. military make more advanced semiconductors within the United States.
Under the project, Intel will help the military develop prototypes of chips using its semiconductor packaging technology at factories in Arizona and Oregon. The packaging technology allows pieces of chips called “chiplets” from different providers to be combined into one package, helping cram more features into a smaller finished product while lowering its power consumption.
“As more and more semiconductor manufacturing has moved offshore, the (Department of Defense) is very interested in ensuring that they have advanced microelectronics for national security manufactured here in the U.S.,” Bob Swan, Intel’s chief executive, told Reuters in an interview as he toured a recently completed $7bn factory expansion in Arizona, where Intel’s workforce totals 12,000.
“As a U.S.-based company, it’s important to us to be able to address some of the fundamental concerns that the U.S. would have about access to these critical technologies going forward,” he said.
Intel declined to disclose a dollar figure for its portion of the contract, which is being overseen by the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division. Intel won part of the first phase of the contract in 2019.
Intel’s work with the Defense Department comes as U.S. officials focus on boosting domestic semiconductor manufacturing in response to the rise of China as a strategic competitor. About 75% of the world’s chipmaking capacity is in Asia, with many of the most advanced plants in Taiwan and Korea, within the reach of the Chinese and North Korean militaries.
“I think one of the areas where we can have the most impact on China broadly is re-shoring microelectronics,” Ellen Lord, the Pentagon’s chief weapons buyer, told the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee in a hearing on Thursday.
Intel is one of three companies in the world that can make highly advanced computer chips. The other two – Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd – have packaging technology similar to Intel’s.
But Intel has been working on the technology longer and can perform the work in the United States, which the other two cannot, said Dan Hutcheson, chief executive officer of VLSI Research.
“There’s no one else with the mix of technology that they have in the United States,” he said. “Packaging is a big win for them.”
With Washington’s relations with Beijing at their worst in decades, U.S. officials have cracked down on suppliers to Chinese firms such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL], with new rules on Sept. 15 barring most U.S. companies from selling to the Chinese telecommunications giant. Intel confirmed last month that it has licenses to keep supplying some products.
Swan said that global market access was “very important” to helping Intel generate the cash needed to build chip factories, called “fabs” in the industry.
“We make money, we take that money, and we reinvest predominantly here, in fabs in the U.S. and in research and development,” he said. (Source: glstrade.com/Reuters)
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Oxley Group Ltd
Oxley specialises in the design and manufacture of advanced electronic and electro-optic components and systems for air, land and sea applications within the military sector. Established in 1942, Oxley has manufacturing facilities in the UK and USA and enjoys representation worldwide. The company’s products include night vision and LED lighting, data capture systems and electronic components. Oxley has pioneered the development of night vision compatible lighting. It offers a total package incorporating optical filters, equipment modification, cockpit and external lighting along with fleet wide upgrade services including engineering, installation, support, maintenance and training. The company’s long experience of manufacturing night vision lighting and LED indicators, coupled with advances in LED technology, has enabled it to develop LED solutions to replace incandescent and fluorescent lighting in existing applications as well as becoming the lighting option of choice in new applications such as portable military hospitals, UAV control stations and communication shelters.
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