Technical Note: 300FPS Video Recording/Streaming System

Our teammates at DAVE Embedded Systems have been working hard on new applications and prototypes during lockdown. They are always striving to improve their skills and knowledge around video manipulation and camera design including Machine Learning features on their products.

This particular Technical Note illustrates a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) that DAVE Embedded Systems engineered for a customer operating in the industrial automation market. The goal was to build a prototype of a high-frame-rate video recording/streaming system.

In a typical scenario, illustrated in the following diagram, this device would be used in fast automatic manufacturing lines for two purposes:

• Remote monitoring
• Detailed off-line "post-mortem" failure analysis.

In essence, the system consists of a high-frame-rate image sensor interfaced to a Linux-based embedded platform also denoted as PP in the rest of the document. The sensor frames a specific area of the production line and sends a constant-rate flow of frames to the PP for further processing, as detailed in the following sections.

Resolution and frame rate of this stream have to be carefully determined in function of the characteristics of the scene to shoot, first and foremost the speed of moving objects framed by the sensor and its lens. In the case under discussion, the customer specified a resolution of 1280x720, a frame rate of 300 fps, and the use of a global shutter. 

Read the full Technical Note here.

Android 6.0 Running on i.MX6 Embedded Computers

We're back! Hopefully you are all rested and the new year diets are going well.

It's our first blog post of 2017, and our friends at DAVE Embedded Systems have put together a great video showing the new Android 6.0 'Marshmallow' OS running on a custom i.MX6 board.

Porting Linux Kernel 4.1.x and Android 6.0 "Marshmallow" is a a new step in the Application SW support. The video shows the complete standalone start up, including splashscreens from UBoot, Linux and Android. All of these are customisable, and this complete solution is available from DAVE Embedded Systems' team.

I.MX6 from DAVE Embedded Systems

The i.MX 6 series of applications processors from NXP is a feature and performance scalable multicore platform that includes single-, dual- and quad-core families based on the ARM® Cortex® architecture, including Cortex-A9, combined Cortex-A9 + Cortex-M4 and Cortex-A7 based solutions.



DAVE Embedded Systems has designed the AXEL product family around the i.MX6 processor. The AXEL boards are Single - Dual - Quad Core ARM Cortex CPU modules, and there are 4 options available.

AXEL Ultra - 85mm x 50mm.
Wide range DDR3 RAM memory up to 4GB
High mechanical retention up to 100G shock thanks to 3x140pins and 4 screw holes
Dual CAN, USB, Ethernet GB, PCIe, SATA and native 3.3V I/O

AXEL Esatta - 85mm x 50mm
Wide range DDR3 RAM memory up to 4GB
Dual CAN, USB, Ethernet GB and native 3.3V I/O

AXEL Lite - 67.5mm x 45mm
Wide range SODIMM DDR3 RAM memory up to 2GB
Dual CAN, USB, Ethernet GB and native 3.3V I/O

AXEL ULite -  67.5mm x 25.4mm
Ultra low power - ARM Cortex A7 MPCore @ 528 MHz
Pin to pin compatibility with AXEL LITE SOM based on i.MX6
Advanced security thanks to TRNG, Crypto Engine, etc
Up to 2 x Ethernet 10/100 Mbps with integrated switch
Highly flexibile with up to 4 different scalable CPU versions

There are a few things to consider before making your decision, our sales engineers can talk you through all the options available.

Different form factors: Axel Lite has a SO-DIMM DDR3 204pin connector whereas the Ultra has 3x140pin with 4 screw holes. That means the Lite isn't suitable for environments where vibrations are present, whereas the Ultra version has been designed for applications requiring rugged, high reliability modules.

Connectivity: The Axel Lite due to the limited pin-out (compared to the Ultra) doesn't provide all of the available connectivity the i.MX6 CPU can offer, so you need to choose your connectivity carefully. The Ultra version can provide more connectivity due to the higher pin-count.

Peripherals: Ultra also provides a SATA II (3Gb/s) interface, mainly for storage, and a 5ppm RTC (Real Time Clock) The Lite version offers a simple RTC. Ultra has 2.8-4.5V wide range input voltage, and the Lite has Single 3.3V input. 

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

Latest Trenton Systems SBC Delivers Higher Performance with Expanded Data Storage and Media Capabilities

The TKL8255 is the latest single board computer to continue Trenton Systems' heritage of delivering the processing performance, dependability, and SBC longevity you count on to deliver stable computing hardware platforms.

Skylake-S processors provide modern security and performance

This new PICMG 1.3 single board computer is driven by your choice of a long-life Intel processor; developed under the Skylake code name, and features support for DDR4 system memory, native PCIe 3.0 links, USB 3.0, three video ports and an on-board M.2 connector for supporting a plug-in NVMe storage module.

TKL8255 single board computer features:

• Multi-core Skylake-S processors for reliable performance
• All-digital display interfaces for graphically-intensive applications
• On-board RAID supports a 6-drive SATA/600 storage array
• Full x4 PCIe M.2 Slot delivers max. bandwidth to PCIe SSDs
• 5-year product warranty maximises system ROI
• Intel® Xeon® E3-1200 v5 or Intel® Core­­ 6000 Processor Options
• 4 x DDR4-2133 Standard DIMMs
• 1 x M.2 Interface Driven by x4 PCIe 3.0 Link for NVMe Modules
• 3 x Video Interfaces (1, Display Port and 2, DVI-D Headers)
• On-Board HD-Audio Interface Header
• 4 x USB 3.0 and 6 - USB 2.0 Interface Ports
• 3 x Ethernet LANs
• Full-Length Aluminum Backer Plate
• Deployment risks lowered with 7+ Years SBC Availability

Video: TKL8255 Feature Set


In this short (2:20) video we will step you through some of the new SBC interfaces including the x4 PCIe 3.0, M.2 NVMe interface.

The NVMe memory technology continues to evolve, and coupled with the developments in the M.2 module format offers some interesting options for high-speed data storage in a PICMG 1.3 rackmount computer.

Engineering tests with the Trenton Systems TKL8255 single board computer deployed in a typical PICMG 1.3 system indicates that M.2/NVMe storage driven with x4 PCI Express link is roughly:

• 8x faster than traditional SATA HDDs and 
• 2x faster than traditional SATA SDDs.

For more information please take a look at the website - TKL8255 or contact Sarsen Technology to request a quote.

Tech Source Changes Name to EIZO Rugged Solutions to Drive New Business in Global Rugged COTS Market

Exciting news from Tech Source!

As of April 1st, 2016 they are changing their name to EIZO Rugged Solutions Inc.

This name change is a reflection of EIZO's commitment to making a big impact in the rugged COTS market.

Here in the UK, the Condor and Tyton branded rugged graphics, video capture, encoding, streaming and recording products are rapidly increasing in popularity, thanks to their rugged design and system compatibility, based on XMC and VPX form factors.

Apart from the name change, there will be no other day to day changes with current or prospective customers. Tech Source will continue to design, develop and manufacture all Condor products in the US, as they currently do.

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High Performance XMC Graphics Processor with OpenCL™ Support

The Condor 4000 series is designed to provide very high graphics performance for OpenGL, DirectX, OpenCL, GPGPU and other applications, in rugged environments. Based on the new E8860 GPU from AMD, the Condor 4000 XMC series offers ground breaking performance with 60% better performance than the previous series.The product features 640 shader processors, 2GB graphics memory and OpenCL support. It also offers 768/48 GFLOPS single/double precision performance.

Condor 4000 Series Key Features

• Latest Embedded GPU from AMD (E8860)
• 2GB Frame Buffer
• XMC or 3U Open-VPX Form Factor
• 2D/3D Graphics Compatibility
• OpenGL 4.2/DirectX 11.1/OpenCL 1.2
• Front and Rear DVI/VGA/DisplayPort
 • Long-Term Product Availability
• Comprehensive Customer Care
• Ideal for Embedded Applications
• Optimised for DirectX 11

For more information on the name change, or to find out more about Tech Source and their range of rugged ccideo and graphics cards please contact Sarsen Technology on +44 1672 51166, or send us an email with your enquiry.

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.

High Reliability Mini PCIe Modules - Expansion Designed for Extreme Environments

Author - Laura Biddiscombe

PCI Express Mini Card (also known as Mini PCI Express, Mini PCIe,  and mPCIe), based on PCI Express, is a replacement for the Mini PCI form factor, supporting both PCI Express and USB 2.0 connectivity. Each card may use either standard. Mini PCIe modules provide an economical and standardised way to add I/O and storage functions to embedded computer products. Unlike typical expansion boards, Mini PCIe allows additional functions to be added to a system with almost no increase in overall package size.

MiniPCIe cards are 30mm × 50.95mm. There is a 52-pin edge connector, consisting of two staggered rows on a 0.8 mm pitch, and each row has eight contacts, a gap equivalent to four contacts, then a further 18 contacts. The PCB itself has a thickness of just 1mm, excluding the components.

VersaLogic's new MiniPCIe modules are all designed for high reliability in demanding environments. They are all rated for operation across the full industrial temperature range (-40º to +85ºC), and for high shock and vibration (MIL-STD-202G).

VersaLogic's Mini PCIe modules are RoHS compliant and include VersaLogic's renowned 5+ year product life guarantee for long lifecycle applications. Customisation options include conformal coating, IPC Class 3 assembly, application-specific testing, BOM revision locks, etc.

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The latest product to join the MiniPCIe family is the VL-MPEe-V5 - a video expansion module which provides an easy and economical way to add VGA and LVDS display outputs to an embedded computing solution.

The VL-MPEe-V5 is compatible with a variety of popular x86 operating systems including Windows, Windows Embedded, and Linux.

Pricing starts at $218 for up to 49pcs.

Contact Sarsen Technology for more information - info@sarsen.net

New YouTube Video Series from United Electronic Industries

Author - Laura Biddiscombe 

Now United Electronic Industries (UEI) has made it even easier to stay up-to-date with what they are up to, with regular vNews updates on their YouTube channel.

Each video will feature form factor and deployment options, applications, programming, screencasts, product releases, and hands-on demos. The new YouTube video series starts with a solutions overview, and will continue with updates in applications and programming.

Not only that, the new QuickTakes series features brief, fun, "selfie-style" how-tos and application demonstrations by UEI engineers — sure to inspire your thinking about application possibilities.

Here are the first QuickTakes in the series:

• How to control an aircraft throttle using UEI RVDT synchro board and display results via web browser
• How to take vibration measurements using the UEI spectrum analyzer and the ICP/IEPE board from UEI
• Real-time control using embedded Linux and a UEI programmable automation controller

For more information about products and solutions from UEI please contact Sarsen Technology by email - info@sarsen.net or give us a call on +44 1672 511166.

International Space Station Video System Upgrade Leverages Multicore SBC Technology from Trenton Systems

Following the United Electronic Industries' Cube-controlled COLBERT astronaut treadmill up to the International Space Station, Trenton Systems hardware has been selected for a critical upgrade to it's Microgravity Sciences Glovebox NTSC analog video system.

The upcoming Microgravity Sciences Glovebox (MSG) Video Upgrade Equipment (VUE) from Teledyne Brown Engineering uses the TSB7053 single board computer and BPG7087 backplane from Trenton Systems, providing embedded multicore Intel processor technology incorporated into a PICMG 1.3 single board computer (SBC) architecture.

The new VUE is a digital upgrade that removes the need for tapes and the associated problems with transporting the physical media between Earth and the station. The upgrade to digital data means transmission to the ground can be made by telemetry networks, allowing to the ground science teams to access the data much more quickly, and start their analysis within days of any MSG experiment, rather than the multi-month wait time typical with the current analog tape system.

MSG-VUE Video Drawer Front Panel

There are a number of reasons that Teledyne Brown Engineering of Huntsville, AL choose to integrate a Trenton Systems long-life SBC and PCI Express backplane into the MSG VUE video drawer for controlling key elements of the microgravity test chamber:

• Longevity: Computer equipment deployed on the ISS must remain operational as long as possible
• Flexibility: The ability to support different types of PCI Express plug-in cards is extremely important
• Scalability: The ability to quickly add custom or standard COTS plug-in cards is a distinct advantage
• Bandwidth: PCI Express bandwidth and data throughput capabilities are critical in the MSG VUE

Ground tests are nearly complete on key mission parameters like radiation exposure and data operations, and the MSG VUE will be handed over to NASA for a planned deployment on the ISS in mid-2014. The computer, camera, sensor and monitor technologies deployed in the VUE will provide years of operational support for the advanced science experiments conducted on the International Space Station.

For more information you can read the complete article here - ISS Video System Upgrade Leverages Multicore SBC Technology

Trenton Systems - Matrox Validated Video Wall Controllers

Trenton Systems has designed a series of Matrox-validated video wall controllers, optimised to take advantage of Matrox Mura™ MPX graphics cards. Matrox Graphics is a leading manufacturer of specialised graphics solutions for applications such as video display walls, medical imaging and military control rooms.

The Matrox-validated video wall controller solutions feature a precise hardware combination built and tested by Trenton Systems, and certified by Matrox Graphics, to deliver optimum video display wall performance. Matrox-validated video wall controllers are supported by Trenton’s expert embedded computing hardware engineers. They offer maximum system flexibility to meet both current and future video display wall requirements, and are designed and manufactured in the United States.

Configuring these kinds of video display walls used to be a complex process, but with the MuraControl for iPad app from Matrox Graphics, it has never been easier. The iPad app is the perfect companion for setting up and configuring any of Trenton’s Matrox-validated video wall controllers, including the TVC4403, which supports up to six Mura MPX Series cards, providing up to 24 hi-definition video inputs and 24 hi-definition outputs.

Trenton Systems TVC4403 Matrox validated video wall controller is a CE-compliant and UL recognised video wall controller, validated for use with up to nine Matrox Mura MPX Series video controller boards. The TVC4403 features a Trenton JXTS6966 single board computer and BPG7087 PCI Express 2.0 backplane, up to eight front access / hot swap storage drives and flexible power options, ideal for use in command and control centers, process control, network operations centers and traffic management video display wall applications.

For more information please contact the Sarsen sales team on +44 1672 511166, or email them at sales@sarsen.net

Tech Source Visit the Sarsen Technology Offices

Left to right: Colleen Jameson (Sarsen), Laura Jeffs (Sarsen), Tim Norris (Sarsen), Selwyn Henriques (Tech Source), Robbie Burns (Sarsen), Nigel Norman (Sarsen) & Bill Fox (Tech Source).

It was great to welcome Selwyn Henriques & Bill Fox of Tech Source to our offices in January. The customer interest in their Condor series of high performance COTS XMC or VPX form factor graphics and video solutions was considerable and a number of exciting new projects were kicked off. Link to the Tech Source web site:

www.techsource.com

Selwyn Henriques and Bill Fox of Tech Source are visiting Sarsen Technology

Selwyn Henriques and Bill Fox of Tech Source are visiting Sarsen Technology next week. The Tech Source Condor series of embedded products for Mil/Aero applications consists of high performance COTS XMC or VPX form factor graphics and video solutions. The Condor series is based on the AMD Radeon family. Air or rugged conduction cooled variants offer Open GL/3D, H.264, video windowing plus GPGPU capabilities. Linux, Windows and RTOS drivers are supported. As a graphics/imaging specialist, Tech Source can provide customized solutions for especially demanding applications for Avionics, Vetronics, Naval Shipboard, Training/Simulation and related applications.

Follow this link for more details on the Tech Source XMC & VPX graphics solutions: Tech Source.

Four input H.264 compatible video capture XMC card

Selwyn Henriques and Bill Fox of Tech Source will be visiting Sarsen Technology at the end of January. One of the technologies they will be promoting is the Tech Source Condor VC 100x XMC video capture and compression card. The VC 100x has been designed for use in various applications such as surveillance, image detection, video recording, unmanned vehicles (UAV) and other camera based video recording/analysis applications. The VC100x is an H.264 compatible video capture XMC format card with up to 4 video inputs and typical markets for the Condor VC 100x are military, avionics, industrial and UAVs.

Please call us on 01672 511166 or contact us via our web site if you would like to meet with Selwyn & Bill. Sarsen Technology

Trenton Technology Video Demos

Trenton Technology has started to create video demonstrations for new product releases. Trenton plans on uploading them to You Tube as they become available and they are excited to show existing and prospective users the new items they are releasing.

From the new PCI Express Gen 2 products to the latest and greatest long-life Intel Jasper Forest processors and Nehalem chipsets, these videos will be designed to show you what Trenton Technology hast to offer. So drop by, watch a video and leave a comment. Trenton would love to hear your feedback.

You Tube - Trenton Technology Channel