Supporting Military FPGA Requirements in the UK

Sarsen Technology provides a wide range of rugged COTS boards and system solutions to the leading European Defense manufacturers. We have a long track record of supporting mission critical systems for land, sea & air, and we understand the importance of both process control and long-term support.

Our military customers require rugged solutions that are designed for harsh environmental conditions such as heat or cold, altitude, humidity, shock and vibration. Often the solutions we supply must be able to fit into space-constrained platforms and we can offer custom systems to suit. Also key is fast time to market, low risk, flexibility and long product life cycle. Many of the products we supply and support have industry-leading product life cycles and warranties as standard.

Our product lines include:

• MIL-STD-1553 Hardware
• Rugged VPX and COM Express Boards
• Cyber security boards and technology
• 19” Rackmount Systems
• FPGA boards based on Xilinx and Intel, including rugged Xilinx Zynq boards.

We have recently joined forces with REFLEX CES to provide their high-speed FPGA based solutions to customers in the UK and Ireland.

COMXpress Stratix® 10 SoC

REFLEX CES' designs are based around FPGA boards and firmware development, CPU and embedded software/OS, Analog and RF portions, as well as mechanical parts and custom chassis.
This combination of high performance deliverables results in rugged systems designed for harsh environmental constraints including ESD, temperature, humidity, shock and vibration. These FPGA based solutions can be combined with x86 CPU architecture or similar inside a turnkey form factor.

For more information please contact one of our engineers to discuss your requirements.

Sarsen Technology Christmas Bake Off - The Results!

Once again the Sarsen Technology team has been putting their artistic and creative skills to the test, this time with the Christmas staple, the chocolate Yule Log. Baking experience varies throughout the team, but everyone had a go and the results were quite spectacular.

We asked our friends at Sema4 to judge, and they assured us they were well versed in extreme cake eating, which was great news as there were 5 completely different offerings to taste.

Christos - Chocolate salami with cognac and dark chocolate
Lynn - Chocolate log with peppermint cream and gingerbread figures
Laura - Chocolate log with spiced rum and ginger buttercream
Nigel - Chocolate log with glace fruits and chocolate ganache icing
Angela - Well, we'll come to Angela later.

L-R: Lynn, Christos, Nigel & Laura (bottom)

Judged by James and Tony from Sema4, (or Mary and Paul as we like to call them) who took their roles very seriously, there were 3 awards to be won. Master of Flavours, for the person who made the most delicious cake, Expert Cake Decorator, for they who made their log look the most beautiful, and the Overall Winner, given to the person who combined both good looks and taste.

Our expert judges - Tony and James from Sema4

There was some debate between the judges about which log deserved the Master of Flavours accolade, it was a close call for Laura's boozy spiced rum filling but in the end Christos was victorious, with his traditional Greek Mosaiko, or chocolate salami. Filled with delicious biscuits and twice as much cognac as the recipe demanded, Christos knew he was on to a winner before the judging even started.

Lynn's beautifully decorated log, complete with holly and gingerbread animals took the Expert Cake Decorator award. The time and effort put into the finished cake was clear to see and the prize was well deserved.

Considering Nigel has never really baked before, his log was really tasty, even if Tony thought the icing looked like it was moving!!

Now, the Overall Winner was initially awarded to Angela, based on how beautifully put together and delicious her chocolate log was. I'm sure you'd agree, it would normally be a very worthy winner.

Angela's beautiful cake!

Then the bombshell was dropped that the cake we'd been admiring was actually bought whole, from a shop. Not lovingly baked and decorated by hand as everyone else's was. You can imagine our horror when this was revealed, and so unfortunately the whole thing had to be disqualified. In Angela's defence she did blame her daughter for putting the idea in her head and she was very busy so it's not entirely her fault.

This left the door open for Laura to swoop in and take the Overall Winner title, with the cake that was actually James' favourite from the beginning.

Thank you very much to James and Tony for their expertise today, and for (almost) everyone for putting in such a wonderful effort.

Merry Christmas to all!

Free Tickets for DSEI 2017 - One Week Left!

It's not too late to get your free ticket to DSEI 2017!

Event: DSEI 2017
Date: 12-15 September 2017

Stand: N7-185

Location: ExCeL, London
Visit: www.dsei.co.uk
Contact: Laura Biddiscombe - laurab@sarsen.net 

Sarsen Technology will be exhibiting in the dedicated Security Zone at DSEI 2017, showcasing  some of the worlds highest-performance computing hardware supported by a number of software options.

The DSEI Security Theatre has been expanded and enhanced for 2017 to include

• Security capability demonstrations
• The impact of international terrorism and regional instability on security decisions and humanitarian needs
• The challenges of increased mass migration on border security and civil order
• Evolving cyber technology and warfare: defensive and offensive
• Developing the next generation of ‘cyber warriors’
• Cyber intelligence and capability: the growing need for industry-government collaboration
• Emerging security trends, e.g. UAS, Internet of Things, IP enabled infrastructure, vehicles and wearable devices

Government market sectors including cyber security, intelligence, surveillance and secure communications have become increasingly important in recent times. As cyberspace becomes an ever more intrinsic component for a huge range of market sectors this reliance a has led to a significant focus on preventing a range of cyber-attacks, from malicious software to hacking. To tackle these events, both government and private organisations are looking beyond the traditional purchases of cyber security software systems.

This change makes Sarsen Technology uniquely placed to support customers in creating their own bespoke and off the shelf hardware and software solutions. Our product lines have been chosen to support applications that need to account for ambitious data bandwidths and strict security requirements, and in many cases reduce size, weight, and power (SWaP).

Our fastest growing market sector is niche computing systems for government and defence security applications, and the products we supply can be used in a wide range of security sectors, from UAVs and electronic countermeasures to surveillance cameras, secure storage and deep packet inspection.

We will be supported at the show by EIZO Rugged Solutions and VersaLogic, and you will also be able to see product demonstrations featuring Xilinx and Intel/Altera FPGA solutions from BittWare. There will be more information about which demos will be running closer to the time.

If you would like to visit the Sarsen stand at DSEI 2017 we have a number of free tickets available.

Please contact Laura Biddiscombe to request a ticket.


 

3rd DAVIng Event - Learn, Discuss, Eat, Repeat!

Last week Nigel and Christos made the short hop across the continent to spend a couple of days with the DAVE Embedded Systems team in Porcia, Italy.

Following the success of last year's DAVing event the distribution network once again got together to meet and take part in a number of active training sessions as well as share their thoughts and ideas on how they can help DAVE Embedded Systems develop the business over the next 12 months. Sarsen Technology participated alongside Cynetis Embedded, Smart Embedded Systems DAVE Embedded Systems Germany and Digimax S.r.l.

As we know, all work and no play makes one very dull, so although the event was packed with training and interactive discussions there was still a little time for some sightseeing. Pordenone is a town about 15 minutes from the DAVE Embedded Systems offices, and the team enjoyed a tour of the town followed by a beautiful meal at La Ferrata.

Thanks to Eleonora and everyone at DAVE Embedded Systems for organising such an informative and motivating event! We're looking forward to working on some exciting new projects with you all this year.

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.

The Sarsen Technology diary is filling up nicely for September 2013...

September is going to be a busy month for Sarsen....

We’re taking part in the Dream Marketing Defence and Aerospace Roadshow, which is a 3 week travelling exhibition visiting some of the UK’s biggest design and manufacturing facilities, giving us the opportunity to demonstrate a variety of leading edge technologies directly to the engineers and developers (who don't always manage to visit more traditional trade shows!).

But before all that excitement, we have the small matter of a little show in London. You may have

heard of it….

The DSEI exhibition is the world’s largest defence and security event, bringing together the entire industry to introduce the latest equipment and systems, develop international relationships, and generate new business opportunities.

We are going to be joining Elie Gasnier, V.P. Sales and Marketing, on the Ecrin Systems stand – N7-468. Ecrin will be showcasing the small form factor MIL-STD-810 ‘ONYX’ embedded computer, a fanless system driven by an Intel Core i7 processor. Compact and rugged, the ONYX is an ideal choice for space constrained applications and harsh environmental conditions.

Rugged ONYX Embedded Computer from Ecrin Systems

We are also going to be joining the Alterateam on stand S6-300, where we’ll be supporting some exciting Stratix V BittWare hardware. Altera will be running a live demo on the new
EW & Radar Development System, which, as its name suggests, is a development and testing platform designed specifically for electronic warfare and radar applications. The EW and Radar Dev System is a single-slot OpenVPX system including a BittWare Stratix V FPGA-based 6U VPX board, with a rear transition module for easy I/O access.

EW & Radar Development System from BittWare

If you’re going to be at DSEI from 10-13 September 2013 why not get in touch and arrange a meeting with the team, or pop by stand S6-300 or N7-468 for an informal chat.

Defence and Aerospace Roadshow Confirmed Schedule

The schedule for the Dream Marketing Defence & Aerospace Roadshow has been confirmed.

Sarsen will be visiting all of the sites on the list, sharing some exciting technology from BittWare, Dave, Extreme Engineering, General Standards, Tech Source and Trenton Systems.

Look forward to seeing you there!

Mon 16th Sep	- BAE Systems Barrow
Tues 17th Sep	- Rolls-Royce - Derby
Wed 18th Sep	- Rolls Royce - Derby
Thur 19th Sep	- Selex ES - Basildon
Fri 20th Sep	- Safran Power - Pitstone
Mon 23th Sep	- Messier Dowty - Gloucester *TBC
Tues 24th Sep	- GE Aviation - Cheltenham
Wed 25th Sep	- Cobham Mission Systems - Wimborne
Thur 26th Sep	- QinetiQ - Boscombe Down
Fri 27th Sep	- General Dynamics - Newport
Mon 30th Sep	- BAE/Airbus - Filton
Tues 1st Oct	- Rolls Royce - Bristol
Wed 2nd Oct	- L-3 Comms - Tewkesbury
Thur 3rd Oct	- Agusta Westland - Yeovil

Check out Dream Marketing on LinkedIn

Trenton Systems unveils their new website....

Our good friends at Trenton Systems have had a facelift.

Or at least their website has!

With some sexy graphics and an easy to use menu it offers a wealth of information about their capabilities and technologies.

There are application stories, a long list of advantages, social media links, and datasheets, manuals and diagrams galore. Plus a heap of information about the industries and applications Trenton support.

Established in 1977, Trenton Systems design and manufacture board level products and integrated computer systems which address the critical needs of industries such as government and defense, test and measurement, industrial automation, GPU computing, medical, video display walls, communications, video processing and energy.

They offer an industry leading 5 year warranty on all of their PICMG 1.3 single board computers, backplanes and embedded motherboards, and all Trenton board-level and system products are designed and built within their ISO 9001:2008 registered facilities located in the U.S.

For more information on any of the Trenton products please contact our super helpful sales team, on +44 1672 511166, or drop them an email - sales@sarsen.net .

Have a great weekend!

High Reliability and Quality as Standard....

One of the most important considerations when choosing the manufacturers we work with is the reliability of their products.

All the products available from our principals are designed from the ground up for high reliability, and manufactured and tested to the highest quality standards.

With every piece of hardware warrantied for at least 1 year, you can rest assured that the risk of your boards or system malfunctioning is extremely low.*
*Obviously if you drop it, sit on it, or allow it to fall down the loo (it happens) then the warranty is void. 

This computer probably wouldn't be covered under warranty......

Trenton Systems are particularly aware of the importance of the quality and reliability of their products. They offer a 5 year warranty on all of their PICMG 1.3 single board computers, backplanes and embedded motherboards, and maintain strict quality control standards during the fabrication and testing process. Inspections are performed at each critical stage on the factory floor.

Trenton's factory in the USA

 Trenton have also announced a new series of computing system configuration options that make it easier for customers to meet UL and CE certification requirements in industrial computing and video display wall controller applications.

For information on warranties, life cycles and quality standards for all of our manufacturers please get in touch on +44 1672 511166, or by email - info@sarsen.net

Sarsen Technology Christmas Opening Hours

Christmas is creeping ever closer....

Time is running out to get your orders placed, so its good news that the Sarsen Technology team will be available to help you right up until Friday 21st December.

Our offices will be closed from Monday 24th December until Tuesday 1st January.

We will be back in the office on Wednesday 2nd January.

Please let us know if you need anything before then by calling the office on +44 1672 511166, or emailing us - info@sarsen.net.

Some of the Coolest Embedded Applications supported by Sarsen Technology! (And these are just the ones we can tell you about....!)

September 5^th marks the birthday of 2 of the greatest gadget users in cinematic history - Batman and James Bond. 

Well, Michael Keaton and George Lazenby. 
But you get the point.

From jet packs to cryptographic sequencers; from the fully loaded Aston Martin to the Tumbler, these guys have some of the coolest tech around.

Here at Sarsen we represent manufacturers who had a hand in some pretty cool tech themselves!

Underwater Vehicle Controller: A major university marine research centre successfully completed sea trials of a deep water ROV that uses on-board UEIPowerDNA Cube and I/O hardware/ software to provide dynamic control of 5 forward/reverse thrusters (2 horizontal, 2 vertical, and 1 lateral), auxiliary system control, temperature/electrical system supervision, and an interface to the data telemetry equipment.

UEI unfortunately havent supported Batman directly, but we're waiting for the call.....

The ROV and associated surface vessels are capable of operating the ROV at depths up to 1000 meters.   

One of BittWare’s long-time customers designs stealth radar imaging systems for the military, among other applications. When they first approached BittWare over a decade ago, they required portability for ground-based radar in the field, but also needed to ensure that their system could provide high-speed data acquisition with the ability to perform highly complex data analysis in real-time, along with the flexibility to use the same design in aircraft and ship imaging. BittWare’s COTS hardware based on Analog Devices’ floating-point DSPs was the perfect fit, as it provided the necessary high-end digital signal processing, but was also available on multiple form-factors, ensuring that the same design could be ported to various applications. Throughout the more than decades-long relationship, three generations of BittWare products have been used in these applications.

Not quite a jet pack, but the SoloTrek is a practical solution to individual vertical take-off and landing flight which holds promising applications in the military, homeland security, commercial and civilian markets. Using readily available fuel, SoloTrek can hover for up to 1.5 hours, reach speeds of up to 81 mph, and traverse distances of up to 115 miles. 

The SoloTrek needed a very compact, lightweight, low-power, fanless computer with a variety of I/O options. The computer also had to be extremely reliable, since lives could depend on its continuous operation. A PC/104 board and expansion modules from VersaLogic fit the bill, with their high reliability, small 3.6" x 3.8" footprint, low power consumption and significant expansion capability.

So if you want your project to be James Bond worthy, pick up the Batphone and give us a call on +44 1672 511166!

Alfred and Q (a.k.a Robbie and Tim!) are here to help!