Danville Signal Processing Announces dspSoM 589 based on Analog Devices SHARC® ADSP-SC589

Never ones to rest on their laurels, the team at Danville Signal Processing are about to release their most powerful DSP module to date.

The dspSoM™ 589 is designed around the latest SHARC Processor from Analog Devices, the ADSP-SC589.
The new board is a highly integrated, small form factor "System on Module" that combines the ADSP-SC589 SHARC processor with external memory and connectivity. It also provides you with a comprehensive platform for efficient development and production, and is ideal for fast time to market of high performance audio and industrial products. 

As with all the products from Danville, the connectivity and peripheral set has been selected to best compliment the Analog Devices processors' feature set, and deliver an optimised development platform for your designs as well as a production ready target for manufacturing. 
 
The ADSP-SC58x products complement the SHARC+ cores and DSP accelerators with the addition of an ARM® Cortex-A5 processor, with FPU and Neon® DSP extensions to handle additional real-time processing tasks and manage peripherals used to interface to time-critical data in audio, industrial closed-loop control, and industrial sensing applications.

For more information please contact the Sarsen Technology engineering team on +44 1672 511166 or email us - info@sarsen.net

 

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS PRE-RELEASE INFORMATION - ALL SPECIFICATIONS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

NMI Event - “Managing FPGA Projects: A Cat-herders Guide” - November 25th 2015

Sarsen Technology is taking part in the “Managing FPGA Projects: A Cat-herders Guide” event next week, organised by NMI.

About NMI



Agenda items include:

“Leveraging ASIC and Software methodologies for FPGA design” – Leon Wildman – Aptcore

“Managing complexity: version control basics for FPGA projects” – Sven-Erik Knop – Perforce

“Teaching an old dog new tricks – The opportunities and resulting challenges of getting consumer silicon into safety critical systems” – Mike Allen, Jon Wright – GE Avionics

“Management sans frontiers: Removing the roadblocks in FPGA projects” – Chris Higgs – Potential Ventures

“Optimizing the HW/SW partition of complex embedded systems” – Simon George – Xilinx

“Inspiring the next generation of FPGA engineers: Skills management in the long term” – Jeremy Bennett – Embecosm

“Requirement driven development for safety-critical applications” – Alex Grove – FirstEDA/Aldec

“Applying Agile Techniques to FPGA Projects” – Nigel Elliott – Mentor Graphics

. . . plus an open discussion to share hints and best practices.

Sarsen will be showcasing Altera and Xilinx FPGA-based hardware from BittWare, Extreme Engineering and DAVE Embedded Systems, as well as C to FPGA software for Xilinx and Altera FPGAs from Impulse Accelerated.

REGISTER NOW

Registration is now open, so please join us to learn some new tips, tricks and “agile” methods that teams are using in order to keep on top of ever-more complex FPGA designs.

11 Reasons to Consider Trenton Systems for Your Next High Performance Computing Solution

Trenton Systems designs and manufactures rugged computers and long-life components. Their single board computers and PCI Express backplanes have been created specifically to satisfy customers' unique requirements for application-ready computing solutions that provide exceptional functionality, performance and reliability.

TRENTON SYSTEMS

Over thirty-five years of electronic design experience is applied to engineering long-life single board computers, backplanes and embedded motherboards. In addition to their broad selection of standard products, Trenton excels at board-level modifications and custom designs.

The new MBS1000 1U Rackmount Modular Blade Server

In addition to their in-house electronic design, mechanical design and custom design capability, there’s a long list of reasons to partner with Trenton Systems on your next high-performance computing solution.

1. Trenton PICMG 1.3 single board computers, backplanes and embedded motherboards carry a full 5-year factory warranty.
2. System configuration stability is achieved with Trenton's long-life board-level products featuring 7+ years of product availability.
3. Trenton board and system products are built tough to survive and thrive in demanding industrial computing environments, Trenton motherboards, SBCs and backplanes are designed and built within the U.S. and integrated into their system solutions.
4. Trenton offers “designed to meet” rugged system solutions as well as mil-certified products to standards such as MIL-STD-810.
5. Trenton satisfies tough application requirements by designing and building computing solutions that meet your exact specifications.
6. Trenton system solutions provide maximum system flexibility to meet both current and future application deployment needs.
7. Trenton’s 35-plus years of design engineering, manufacturing and tech support knowledge focuses on exceeding customer expectations.
8. Trenton maintains complete system BIOS control on board-level products and provides modifications in support of complex integrated systems.
9. Trenton builds standard and custom small form factor products to provide short chassis depths or small mounting footprints.
10. Trenton board-level and system products are designed and built within their ISO 9001:2008 registered facilities located in the U.S.
11. Select Trenton board and system products support the PCI Express Gen3 serial interconnect for enhanced throughput.

Trenton Systems Product Selection Guides

An easy to use series of product selection guides are available that explain the different types of products available from Trenton, their unique application attributes and technical specifications:

Sarsen Technology Pumpkin Challenge 2015

This year we decided to celebrate Hallowe'en with a little bit of pumpkin carving. It turns out we all have hidden artistic talents. Some are just more deeply hidden than others!

The use of the Jack O'Lantern originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed “Stingy Jack.”

As the story goes, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn’t want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. 

Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree’s bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.

Soon after, Jack died. God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as “Jack of the Lantern,” and then, simply “Jack O’Lantern.” 

The very nice people at the Food Gallery (a fabulous establishment in Marlborough for the most discerning of coffee drinkers) send two of their best and fairest to judge the competition. I think they picked a worthy winner. Well done Lynn!

Check out the rest of the pictures below, including some wonderful fancy dress!

Embedded Design Show 2015

We had a great time at the Embedded Design Show again this year, where we spent two days showcasing the latest technology from DAVE Embedded Systems.

The Embedded Design Show has been running alongside the Electronics Design Show and Engineering Design Show at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry for the last few years, with 2015 looking like the most successful year to date.

If you didn't get the chance to visit the show don't worry, just get in touch with the sales team to request a datapack, which will give you a great overview of the DAVE Embedded Systems' product line, covering FPGA technology, ARM Cortex-A architecture, Freescale and Texas Instruments processors and the new Xilinx 'Zynq' SoC.

If you'd like to know more about DAVE Embedded Systems, or the Embedded Design Show, please contact Sarsen Technology on +44 1672 511166

The McHale Report Roundtable - Border Security, COTS tech and VPX systems

Each month the McHale Report hosts an online roundtable featuring experts from the defense electronics industry.

This month the report discusses the Defense and Security Equipment International (DSEI) event and the European defense electronics market with exhibitors from the show.

Taking part this month are:
Joe Held - Director of International Sales, Omnetics Corp.
Nigel Norman - CEO - Sarsen Technology Ltd, and
Nigel Forrester - Technical Marketing Manager - Concurrent Technologies.


MCHALE REPORT: The Defense and Security Equipment International (DSEI) show was held this month in London. What trends regarding military designs and applications did you see emerging at the event?

HELD: We saw a continued movement towards threat detection (i.e. – advanced radar) and soldier worn electronics (communication, vision systems).

NORMAN: The biggest trend we are seeing this quarter is engineers at leading military and aerospace OEMs looking to make use of large FPGA devices in their new designs. The downside is that there is a shortage of competent VHDL & Verilog designers at many of these OEMs. This is an opportunity for specialist FPGA consulting design houses and for the implementation of initiatives such as OpenCL development for FPGA. The other continuing trend is the re-engineering of legacy CompactPC and VME systems to VPX and custom COM Express-based designs.

FORRESTER: DSEI is a wide-ranging show with military products from thermal underwear to complete battleships, but we didn’t pick up on a specific trend this time. There did appear to be more unmanned devices on display confirming a continued focus in this area. As an exhibitor we perhaps saw what we were looking for, the improved acceptance of COTS-based electronics products many of which used Intel processor technology.


See what the panelists think about the following questions by reading the full article on mil-embedded.com

McHALE REPORT: What are the hot application areas in the European military market such as unmanned systems, radar, avionics, etc.?
McHALE REPORT: How would you describe the defense electronics market in Europe -- growing, declining, or just flat? Why?
McHALE REPORT: How would you describe the demand for commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) products in Europe? What standards or products are hot?

Tech Source’s Tyton VS1 Rugged H.264 Video Encoder Delivers Dual HD-SDI Inputs and Bypass Video Outputs

Since their very first day back in 1987, Tech Source has been a pioneer in high performance computer graphics hardware solutions for niche markets. The product range has evolved and grown over the years, and now includes graphics, imaging and video capture boards, H.264 encoders and high compression video recorders.

The latest innovation from the team at Tech Source is the Tyton VS1 H.264 video encoder. Designed for military, aerospace and harsh environment C4ISR markets, it offers a rugged, small form factor box-level video encoding and streaming solution.

The product features a hardware implementation of CoT (Cursor on Target) and KLV (Key Length Value) metadata insertion supported via RS-232 or Ethernet. Control of encoding settings and retrieval of Tyton health information are all performed using an API built around SNMP for simple and secure communication.

Tyton VS1 is rugged enough to operate in extremely harsh environments (shock, vibration, humidity) and temperatures from -45°C to 85°C (MIL-STD-810 & IP67), and comes with dedicated mounting holes for mounting on to racks. In the default configuration, the product accepts two high definition video inputs in 3G-SDI, HD-SDI or SD-SDI format through BNC connectors. Audio, 1Gbps Ethernet & RS-232 are routed over a 22-pin rugged circular MIL spec connector.

DOWNLOAD DATASHEET

The low power, low latency Tyton VS1 is an operating system independent, hardware agnostic, stand-alone rugged video encoding system. A control API is available for Windows XP/7/8 and Linux users to permit feature customisation and IP address setting.

For more information on the Tyton VS1 or any other product from Tech Source, please email info@sarsen.net or call +44 1672 511166.

Also available - the Condor product line includes a range of XMC/VPX based COTS products that are targeted towards extended temperature and rugged applications such as avionics, defense and industrial applications.

DAVE Embedded Systems Wiki Update

Following their recent website overhaul, DAVE Embedded Systems has updated the look and feel of their brilliant wiki, designed to ensure easy navigation for users.

As well as a new graphic layout they have included a host of new products and content to the wiki, making it an even more useful tool in the design of embedded systems. Whether you're searching by manufacturer or board class the interface is easy to use and makes finding what you need a much quicker process.

VISIT DAVE WIKI

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DAVE Embedded Systems is a well-established Italian company, focussed on the design of highly complex, miniaturised embedded electronic systems. They offer a complete line of CPU modules, from entry level models right through to high end ruggedised boards.

If you'd like to find out more you can see the complete range of SoMs from DAVE Embedded Systems at the Embedded Design Show, October 21-22.

EMBEDDED DESIGN SHOW 2015

Find us on Stand G32, where DAVE will be showcasing a brand new demo - BORA Xilinx Zynq SoM with Lumineq Display, and introducing the SBC AXEL for the first time in the UK. You can also see a host of embedded boards based on FPGA technology, ARM Cortex-A architecture, Freescale and Texas Instruments processors and Xilinx SoC.

Embedded Design Show 2015

Following a very successful event last year we will once again be taking part in the Embedded Design Show, held at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry - 21-22 October.

Created to support the growing embedded electronics market, the Embedded Design Show offers a focused event for the industry. The exhibition will provide visitors with face to face access to a range of leading suppliers, offering design solutions for embedded requirements across all sectors.

A dedicated conference programme will address issues of direct relevance to the embedded sector, and high quality practical workshops will be taking place on both days within the two theatres on the show floor. The subjects covered range from software design and rapid prototyping, to material selection and test and measurement.

The Embedded Design Show will take place alongside the award-winning Electronics Design Show, which caters for the more general electronics issues.

Joining us on stand G32 is DAVE Embedded Systems, who will be hosting two live demos including the proof of concept BORA Xilinx 'Zynq' SoM with Lumineq display, and the very first UK outing for the brand new SBC AXEL, based on the Freescale i.MX6 S/D/Q core processor.

We'd like to invite you as our VIP guest to the 2015 Embedded Design Show - register for your free entry badge by clicking this link - REGISTER FOR SHOW


About
Now in its 4th year, the Engineering/Electronic/Embedded Design Show is the go-to event for the UK's design engineering community. Whether you want to meet new suppliers, discuss design issues with technology experts or participate in practical workshops, then EDS is the place to be 21-22nd October.

Automotive NVH Data Logging for Todays Vehicles

Author - Laura


The Ford Model A was the original car produced by Ford, and was first sold to Ernst Pfennig, a Chicago dentist on July 23, 1903. Only 1,750 Model As were made from 1903 through 1904, until it was replaced by the Ford Model C during 1904.

The car came as a two-seater runabout or four-seater tonneau model with an option to add a top. The horizontal-mounted flat-2, situated amidships of the car, produced 8 hp (6 kW). A planetary transmission was fitted with two forward speeds and reverse, a Ford signature later seen on the Ford Model T. The car weighed 1,240 lb (562 kg) and could reach a top speed of 28 mph (45 km/h). It had a 72 inch (1.8 m) wheelbase and sold for a base price of US$750. Band brakes were used on the rear wheels.

Although Ford advertised the Model A as the "most reliable machine in the world", it suffered from many problems common to vehicles of the era, including overheating and slipping transmission bands. 


Cars today go through stringent tests in the development stage, before they even reach the market. 
United Electronic Industries (UEI)’s popular UEILogger Cube in conjunction with the DNA-AI-211 ICP/IEPE interface and the DNA-AI-208 or AI-224 strain gage interfaces have been used by a wide variety of customers in the study of vehicle NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness) characteristics.

The Cube is an ideal measurement platform for in-vehicle automobile NVH testing, being compact, rugged and running off any power supply between 9 and 36 VDC. This combination makes it easy to fit the cube in the boot, engine bay or underneath a seat. As well as logging the NVH data, the UEILogger can also acquire CAN data, allowing simply correlation between the vehicle dynamics (e.g., speed, RPM) and NVH.

All this is possible without writing any code as the UEILogger is programmed by a simple, intuitive Windows GUI. 

For more information please get in touch with our UEI specialist - Tony Seal - on +44 1672 511166 or by email - tony.seal@sarsen.net

How Technology has Changed Tennis - Wimbledon 2015

With two of the biggest matches of Wimbledon 2015 taking place this afternoon on Centre Court we wondered how technology has made a difference to the tournament over the last few years.

Jeff Parsons from The Mirror took a tour around the technology hub at Wimbledon, which is run by keen and tech-savvy tennis players. The theory, according to Sam Seddon, IBM's client executive for Wimbledon, is that it's easier to take a player and teach them the computer stuff than it is to take a computer and teach it about tennis.

Over the years the hub has evolved, and now houses some of the most cutting edge tech available. They use laptops rather than PCs because of the high end graphics cards and the portability; because the hub is only temporary everything has to be removed after the tournament has finished.

You can read his full report here - Wimbledon 2015: The technology behind the tennis at SW19

Want to read more?

New Media Co delves deep into the technology used across the sport, from the rackets to Hawk-Eye.

Wimbledon 2015 – Tennis Technology

Tennis has changed a lot as a sport in recent years, with changes in court surfaces, rackets, the introduction of hawk-eye and the retractable roof built on Wimbledon’s Centre Court in 2009. With Wimbledon starting, let’s have a look at how changing technology has affected the world of tennis.

Enjoy the tennis, we'll be cheering them on this afternoon, Pimms in hand!

Blood Donation and Blood Collection Systems using Single Board Computers

Author - Laura

Last week was National Blood Week 2015, which aimed to significantly increase the number of blood donors around the UK. NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has revealed that 40% fewer new blood donors came forward across England and North Wales last year to give blood compared to this time a decade ago.

So last night, along with my blood donor buddy Toni, I went along to the session at Swindon Town Football Club and donated a full pint of the good stuff. Apparently my lovely B Positive blood is in demand as it’s quite rare. Only 9% of the UK donor population has this group, so it’s really important to keep donating whenever I can; at least 3 times a year.

The wonderful people at NHS Blood and Transplant collect 1.8 million units of blood each year from over 23,000 blood donation sessions across England and North Wales. Blood donation is a fairly simple process. Once the donor carer has done the relevant checks, and the needle is inserted, blood is collected in a bag out of sight. An agitator scale constantly wiggles, weighs and measures your donation and stops automatically when your donation is complete. A pint of blood normally takes about 7-8 minutes to collect. Easy peasy.

But the technology behind blood collection isn’t quite as straightforward…


VersaLogic Computers Keep Automated Blood Collection System Flowing

Automated blood collection systems are used to collect a combination of red blood cells, platelets, and plasma from donors. These computerised systems minimise operator intervention, integrate key functions, and provide important data at a moment's notice, thereby enhancing the efficiency of blood centre operations.

At the heart of one of the most widely used automated blood collection systems in the USA are two VersaLogic Single Board Computers (SBCs). The system relies on one VersaLogic board to perform control functions, while the other board is used as a safety computer. The state-of-the-art system uses cell separators that allow for the division of the various blood components in a high-speed centrifugal field while the device is still connected to the donor.

This process allows collection of any combination of red blood cells, platelets, and plasma while returning unneeded components to the donor, thereby allowing more frequent donations. The high reliability and long-term availability of VersaLogic SBCs were key elements in the selection of the VersaLogic solution. In addition, VersaLogic accommodated customisation requests that allowed communication between the CPU board, multiple peripherals, and the manufacturer’s I/O platform.



Donated blood is a lifeline for many people needing long-term treatments, not just in emergencies. Your blood's main components: red cells, plasma and platelets are vital for many different uses.

More donors are needed. You won't miss it when you give it; but patients could miss it if you don't.

If you've never donated before, or if you have but it's been a while, you can register at blood.co.uk and book your first appointment online.

Have a great weekend!

General Standards - Frequently Asked Questions

General Standards Corporation develops and manufactures the highest-performance Analog I/O, Digital I/O and Serial I/O products based upon a variety of buses such as PMC, PCI, VME, PC/104 and cPCI.

Their extensive product line (currently over 70 different products) includes I/O boards, high speed links, cables,and software drivers, all designed to increase your system performance, improve your software integration, and maximise your development productivity.

As part of their ongoing commitment to customer satisfaction General Standards has put together answers to their most frequently asked technical support questions.

You can also visit the website, www.generalstandards.com, for the latest product brochures and upcoming product announcements.

If you'd like to see the technology in the flesh please visit us on Stand S4-453 at DSEI 2015, where we will be showcasing a number of General Standards products.

For more information please contact Sarsen Technology on +44 1672 511166 or send us an email - info@sarsen.net

UPCOMING EVENTS!

Sarsen Technology takes part in various events throughout the year across a number of markets and technology sectors, sometimes as a visitor and quite often as an exhibitor. This is just a snapshot of our upcoming events, so if you would like more information please contact Laura Biddiscombe for details.

• June 9th - VentureFest, Bristol - A one-day event showcasing Bristol and Bath’s most innovative and enterprising companies and start-ups. This is a free event, however you will need a ticket.


• June 17th -  NMI Model Driven Engineering 2015 - As a member of NMI we get access to some great events. This one, held at Thales in Crawley, is mostly focussed on electronics and software domains, reflecting the interests of NMI members and guests.


• September 15th-18th - DSEI 2015 - DSEI brings together the entire defence and security industry to source the latest equipment and systems, develop international relationships, and generate new business opportunities. Sarsen Technology will be exhibiting within the UK Pavilion on stand S4-453, where you can see an exciting range of embedded technology from BittWare, Ecrin Systems, Extreme Engineering, General Standards and Tech Source.


• October 21st - 22nd - Embedded Design Show 2015 - Following last years' successful exhibition we are pleased to once again be taking part alongside the team from DAVE Embedded Systems. You can find us on Stand G32, where we will be showcasing the complete range of SoMs from DAVE Embedded Systems, based on FPGA technology, ARM Cortex-A architecture, Freescale and Texas Instruments processors and Xilinx SoC.

FIPS 140-2 and Common Criteria Certified Router Featuring Cisco IOS Technology

Author - Laura

Extreme Engineering Solutions (X-ES) is commited to providing high quality, cost-effective hardware and software solutions for the embedded systems market. Alongside their extensive range of high-performance single board computers (SBCs) and rugged, extended temperature systems X-ES provides a range of rugged routers running Cisco™ IOS® IP routing software.

Designed to meet the needs of the most demanding and Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) constrained mobile and embedded networking applications each router supports four routed, high-speed Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, enabling the routers to serve as an aggregation point for on-demand network connectivity in mobile or fixed deployments. The X-ES routers extend the Cisco enterprise infrastructure beyond the reach of traditional fixed-network infrastructure for military, oil and gas, mining, smart grid, heavy construction, transportation, homeland security, public safety, and disaster recovery applications.

• XPedite5205 Embedded Services Router (ESR) - a PMC/XMC-based router
• XPand6004 - a rugged packaged router in a Small Form Factor (SFF) enclosure
• Cisco 5940 - a 3U CompactPCI router

On September 10th, 2014 the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cryptographic Module Validation Program issued Certificate #2242 for the X-ES XPedite5205 XMC/PMC Cisco IOS® Embedded Services Router (ESR). The XPedite5205 has been validated to FIPS 140-2 Overall Level 1 by an NVLAP-accredited Cryptographic Module Testing (CMT) laboratory. Additionally, this ESR has been validated to Roles, Services, and Authentication Level 2, and Design Assurance Level 3.

On November 17th, 2014 the National Information Assurance Partnership issued the Common Criteria Certificate for the XPedite5205 XMC/PMC Cisco IOS® Embedded Services Router (ESR) for completion of the evaluation in accordance with the Common Criteria Evaluation and Validation Scheme (CCEVS). The XPedite5205 satisfies the Assurance Activities criteria as defined within the Common Criteria (CC) Protection Profile for Network Devices, Version 1.1 and Protection Profile for Network Devices VPN Gateway Extended Package, Version 1.1.

For more information please contact Sarsen Technology on +44 1672 511166 or send us an email with your enquiry - info@sarsen.net

FINTECH Altera FPGA Solutions

High performance computing using FPGA technology is a key technology for the financial services industry. High frequency automated financial trading uses models and simulations to provide real-time assistance in decision making.

BittWare’s ultra-low latency hardware is based on Altera’s industry leading Arria 10, Stratix V, and Arria V FPGAs and provides CPU offload along with the highest performance transceivers. These boards are a robust solution for Financial Acceleration applications, providing the ultimate in low latency with up to 100GigE straight to the FPGA (no external PHY) and optional TCP/IP offload engine.

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BittWare offers FPGA-based PCIe COTS solutions to address the challenges of developing financial applications for the financial acceleration/HFT (High Frequency Trading) market.

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As well as offering high performance FPGA hardware for financial trading Sarsen can call on the expertise of a number of consultants who specialise in software and hardware integration, allowing us to provide a complete solution for your low latency and high speed financial trading requirements.

One of the companies we work with is PA Consulting, which has just introduced hardware accelerator solutions specifically for low latency networks. The Hardware Accelerator identifies bottlenecks in your current infrastructure, and highlights where improvements to transaction speed and volume can be made, for example by speeding up algorithms or by removing shared interfaces such as Ethernet/IP connections.

Contact us to find out more about the range of FPGA solutions we can offer for the Fintech market space - info@sarsen.net or 01672 511166.

VersaLogic EBX Single Board Computers - The Next Generation

Author - Laura

As part of their ongoing mission to provide reliable, cutting edge Single Board Computers (SBC) for the most demanding applications, VersaLogic has introduced two new EBX format boards.

Designed as a migration path for the Mamba, Python and Sidewinder boards, which are all now in the End of Life phase of their life cycle, the Anaconda and the Copperhead both offer a variety of I/O interfaces, multiple expansions buses, and thermal management options providing systems designers with flexibility and lower overall system cost.

VersaLogic's embedded computers are designed for the most demanding applications. From ultra small (credit card size) to industry-standard PC/104, EPIC and EBX format boards, their x86 compatible computers are used whenever reliability counts. They thrive in the harshest environments including temperature extremes (-40° to +85°C), shock, vibration, and humidity.

All VersaLogic computers are x86 compatible, allowing you to use standard Windows or Linux operating systems and your familiar development tools to create applications. Careful design and parts selection enables VersaLogic to manufacture most products for 5 to 10 years. VersaLogic backs every product with a 5-year minimum production life guarantee, as well as an industry leading 5 year warranty on all SBCs and expansion modules.

For more information please contact Sarsen Technology on +44 1672 511166 or send us an email.

DAVE Embedded Systems is a Certified Member of Xilinx Alliance Program

Xilinx Alliance Program Members are qualified companies worldwide that have a proven track record of delivering products and services on Xilinx programmable platforms. Members have to demonstrate qualified expertise on the latest Xilinx devices and implementation techniques and consistently deliver high quality products and services on Xilinx programmable platforms.

DAVE Embedded Systems has been certified as a member of the Xilinx Alliance Program, following their success with the new Xilinx Zynq-based BORA and BORA Express modules.

Certified Members have invested in passing a comprehensive 320-point review of their technical, business, quality, and support processes and have committed engineers to passing the same rigorous training used by Xilinx Field Application Engineers worldwide. Certified Member engineers annually refresh Certification training to ensure they have updated expertise on the latest products and technologies from Xilinx.

For more information about DAVE Embedded Systems and the Xilinx Member Alliance Program please contact the Sarsen Team on 01672 511166, or email us with your question.

Industry Article - How to evolve a risk-based FPGA strategy into a value add strategy

Fixnetix is a leading managed service provider for the global financial community, with a team of highly skilled professionals tasked with developing and providing dynamic products and solutions to meet the ever changing requirements of the banking industry.

Dr Marcus Perrett, Director of Technology and Development, provides an insight into the use of FPGA technology in the finance industry.

How Fixnetix has evolved their risk-based FPGA strategy into a value add strategy 

The use of FPGAs in finance was originally driven by regulation. Brokers were encouraged (or mandated by regulation) to have controls in place to monitor and, if required, cancel or stop clients trading. As clients had traditionally enjoyed direct access to the market via a broker, a system that was positioned between a trading system and the exchange needed to be a fast as possible to reduce the impact to a client’s trading strategy. Hence, FPGA technology was employed to great effect in a number of configurations; some banks built their own systems and several vendors built their own.

Fixnetix has enjoyed success using that model in Canada, where regulation has driven the need for a low latency risk solution for latency sensitive clients trade flows via a broker.

However, regulation alone has not proven to be the only driving factor for the use of FPGA in the finance area. For example, in Japan, the native exchange (TSE) utilises a complex and verbose protocol called arrowhead. In addition, the rules around erroneous trades and protocol discipline are onerous and for potential new entrants into that market it can be a daunting task to overcome.

Several brokers have solved this issue by offering FIX to arrowhead translation services to allow easy and ubiquitous trading, the downside being that such systems are very slow due to the amount of processing required to perform the translation into arrowhead and even more so in generating FIX compliant messages in the return path; this requires Persistence (storage of incoming FIX tags for later use) and Enrichment (calculation of values not available in arrowhead message such as Average Price).

What did Fixnetix do?

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Altera Stratix® V GX/GS PCIe Board with Dual QSFP+

BittWare's S5-PCIe (S5PE) is a PCIe x8 card based on the high-bandwidth, power-efficient Altera Stratix V GX or GS FPGA. 

For more information please contact Sarsen Technology on 01672 511166, or send us an email with your enquiry.