Product category:
VMEbus Boards and Assemblies
News Release from: Thales Computers
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 29 September 2006
Rugged blade server masters UAV radar
Thales has been selected to provide its fully rugged version of the IBM JS20 dual PPC970 blade server, the PowerNode5, as a computing solution for the I-Master radar used aboard the Watchkeeper UAV.
Thales has been selected to provide its fully rugged version of the IBM JS20 dual PPC970 blade server, the PowerNode5, as a computing solution for the I-Master radar used aboard the Watchkeeper UAV I-Master is the new lightweight high performance combined synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and ground moving target indicator (GMTI) developed by Thales Aerospace
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 30 Jan 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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PowerPC blade server spawns rugged cousin
The PowerNode5 is a rugged 6U VME clone of the IBM JS20 blade design.
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The PowerNode5 is the first dual 64bit PowerPC970 VME blade server with backplane Serial RapidIO and Serial FPDP connectivity.
I-Master weighs only 30kg and provides the perfect balance of capability, cost, weight and power consumption for use onboard a wide range of unmanned air vehicles (UAV), helicopters, small fixed wing aircraft and tilt rotor platforms.
I-Master will be aboard the Watchkeeper, the UK Ministry of Defence's unmanned aerial vehicle program, which will provide the UK armed forces with essential intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capability, and will be a key component of the UK's drive for network enabled capability (NEC).
The PowerNode5 is available in standard convection cooled and rugged conduction cooled versions for harsh environment applications.
Further reading
SBC aims for heavyweight signal processing
The VMPC6d is a powerful new dual/single PowerPC single board computer from Thales Computers.
Compact VME rack takes to the air
The RA2064x airborne VME rack is a compact off-the-shelf solution for avionics applications, meets the RTCA/DO-160D standard for avionic equipment and is suitable for use in a pressurised cabin.
The PowerNode5 that will power I-Master features two IBM 970FX processors clocked at 1.6GHz and up to 2Gbyte of DDR SDRAM ECC memory with 6.4Gbyte/s memory peak bandwidth.
The developers of I-Master can initially develop applications on a low-cost, standard IBM blade server and easily port the application to the PowerNode5 system.
Additionally, the PowerNode5 offers a smooth migration path from existing PPC G4-based platforms and will enable I-Master designers to easily and efficiently preserve their legacy software investments.
PowerNode5 was chosen because, compared with current G3/G4 technologies, the G5 architecture offers improved performance that enables the end-user to optimise software application development based on new hardware advances.
Alain Albarello, General Manager of Thales computers activities, said: "We are very proud that PowerNode5 has been selected to fly as part of I-Master and Watchkeeper and has proven its ability to sustain harsh environmental conditions".
"Our hardware products are second to none and our recent addition of the Gedae programming tool to the PowerNode5 system shows our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of software development and application programming".
"That is what customers like the designers of I-Master and Watchkeeper expect, and what they have come to know and expect from us".
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