CHALLENGE
The Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) changed the way battlefield information is gathered and how enemy forces are engaged. UAV now scale from large platforms down to man-pack formats. Deployed across that range are new, high resolution, multi-mega pixel image sensors, demanding a corresponding leap in local image processing. To meet today's requirement, small form factor (SFF) High Performance Embedded Computing (HPEC) solutions must evolve.
APPLICATION ARCHITECTURE
The success of the UAV's mission depends on the Payload Computer. A payload computer provides onboard sensor control, image aggregation, local processing for image and other meta-data, compression, and storage. Of these tasks, image processing is the main objective. Image frame sizes have increased 10x, from 2.3 megapixels (full motion video or FMV) to 144+ megapixels (wide area motion imagery or WAMI), and are expected to grow to 1.6+ gigapixels in the near future. Payload computers are also doing more of the processing, exploitation, and dissemination (PED) locally, demanding the highest processing power available while presenting the lowest possible size, weight, and power (SWaP) profile.
FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Processing - Applications such as WAMI must analyze from three, up to nine, gigapixel resolution video feeds. The resulting terabytes of processed imagery must be compressed to disseminate video to ground stations. Now, to process this mountain of data, UAV payload computers require high performance GPGPUs for image processing and dual or quad core Intel processors for image management and compression.
Balanced SWaP2C2 - Lengthening UAV mission duration is critical. Mission duration is influenced greatly by payload weight and power requirements. Extra pounds of weight in either the power supply or cooling method for a payload computer can reduce mission orbits. Sophisticated power management that reduces onboard power consumption is required. Payload computer size, weight, and power specifications that minimize impact to mission duration, while also maximizing the processing performance available for payload computing, are ideal. Further, payload computers should be cost-effective and built on industry standards. Payload computing solutions that balance the size, weight and power + performance, cooling + cost (SWaP2C2 ) equation are the best solutions for UAV applications.
ADLINK UAV PAYLOAD COMPUTING SOLUTIONS
ADLINK provides a wide range of high performance, embedded, rugged computing solutions that meet or exceed the payload computing functional requirements for UAV.
For emerging system-level payload computing opportunities, ADLINK offers its High Performance Extreme Rugged Computer, or HPERC™. Housed in a VITA 75 standard package is a rugged COTS computing platform with a 3rd generation Intel® dual or quad Core™ i7 and NVIDIA GPGPU, up to 16GB DDR3 memory, and up to two terabytes of storage - a combination ideal for UAV image processing, data compression, and storage. The HPERC-IBR is a small form factor, tightly integrated system with VITA 75 standardized outputs provided on MIL-STD 38999 connectors, making GROUND MOBILE MISSION COMPUTING plug-and-play. An HPERC solution deployed today can be easily upgraded tomorrow, without a major platform rework.
Many larger UAV make use of 3U Open VPX computing solutions. ADLINK's 3U VPX3000 Series is a rugged, conduction cooled 3U single board computer (SBC) with conformal coating, and is an ideal solution for existing 3U form factor payload computing designs. The VPX3000 processor blade is a 3rd generation Intel® dual Core™ i7 processor with up to 8GB DDR3 memory soldered onboard, one PCI Express x8 XMC.3 site with VITA 46.9 rear I/O, onboard soldered 16GB SLC SATA solid state drive, and additional rear I/O with audio, video, and storage inputs.
The PC/104 form factor offers standardized multi-vendor I/O and peripheral support. While a PC/104 solution can provide the payload processing required for UAV, its deployment benefit is often the availability of specialized I/O required in the avionics market. Having readily available third-party boards designed with widely supported standards for avionics-specific communication links, such as AIRINC 429 and MILSTD-1553, helps accelerate time-to-deployment. The ADLINK CoreModule® 920 is a PCI/104-Express SBC (Type 1) based on the 3rd generation Intel® Core™ i7 processor that provides the highest level of performance for our PC/104 product family.
Extreme Rugged™ CoreModule 920
Man-pak GROUND MOBILE MISSION COMPUTING solutions that require the latest Intel® Core™ i7 processing delivered in the smallest possible industry standard form factor, but delivered in a unique mechanical package, need ADLINK's Express-IBR. The Express-IBR is a Type 6 COM Express® module equipped with either a dual/quad-core 3rd generation Intel® Core™ i7/i5/i3 processor, up to 16GB DDR3 memory, and versatile IO support. Used as the processing core of a Payload Computing solution, a COM Express module provides all of the payload performance required, yet delivered in a cost-effective, rugged industry form factor.