board. Based on the new Rugged COM Express
standard, it is also well suited for use in mis-
sion-critical applications. Rugged COM Express
or VITA 59 is a new standard which is based
on the proven PICMG COM Express standard.
Due to mechanical modifications, the modules
are now also able to meet the high requirements
of critical markets regarding temperature,
shock and vibration, EMC compatibility and
resistance against dust and humidity. The Intel
Core i7 processor family with a core frequency
of up to 2.1 GHz and a Turbo Boost frequency
of 3.1 GHz makes it possible to choose between
1, 2 or 4 processor cores. As many as 16 GB
DDR3 DRAM are soldered to the board. In
addition, Intel AMT, Open CL 1.1 and high-
end graphics are supported. The adaptable
BIOS with integrated Intel AMT support can
be flexibly adapted to the final application
without additional costs. The Board Manage-
ment Controller supervises the board functions
and temperatures. I/O interfaces of the CB70C
include PCI Express, LVDS, DDI,VGA, HDAudio,
SATA, Ethernet and USB.
As the CB70C is embedded in an aluminium
frame for conduction cooling specified accord-
ing to the VITA 59 standard, it can be used in
the extended temperature range of -40 to
+85°C. Due to the soldered components and
the compact frame, the module is also protected
against shock and vibration and is EMC proof.
The dimensions of the CB70C Rugged COM
Express module are a bit larger than those of a
standard COM Express Basic module with
pin-out type 6, as it is equipped with additional
small wings on the sides to ensure thermal
connection to the aluminium frame in which
it is embedded. The new module is also avail-
able without these wings as a standard COM
Express module according to PICMG COM.0
and then named CB70.
At embedded world, TQ-Systems demonstrated
the TQMa6x module for accelerated video-,
graphics- and multimedia applications. For the
first time, TQ will run a demo in which two dis-
plays are used simultaneously. Different demon-
strations will be shown on the displays. An op-
erator interface based onQT that can be operated
through a Projected Capacitive Touch (PCT)
screen will be shown on the 7“ display. A 3D
demo will be run on the second display – a 10.4“
display likewise with PCT – in order to demon-
strate the capability of the CPU with the inte-
grated GPUs andVPUs. The software developed
together with Pengutronix offers a basis for ap-
plications in which several displays with touch
support are used. Even though this will entail a
certain degree of adaptation work to customer
projects, this in itself provides a good basis for
innovative operating concepts with or without
animation. The Pengutronix kernel team supplies
a preview of the media drivers, currently running
through the quality process of the main line
Kernel. GPU accelerated Qt 5.2 software stacks
can be provided on demand. All externally
usable signals of the CPU are available on the
TQMa6x module on three industry-compatible
pin strips (2 x 160 + 1x 40 pins) on a 0.8 mm
grid that have proven their worth at TQ for over
15 years.
Thanks to the high degree of interface integra-
tion this module is suited for a variety of ap-
plications where the advantages of virtualiza-
tion play an important role. The ARM Cortex-
A9 core, scalable in terms of performance and
the clock rate of up to 4 x 1.2 GHz ensures
that the optimal performance can be selected
for every application. The TQ Minimodule
TQMa6x is equipped with up to 2 GByte
DDR3L RAM, up to 128 MByte SPI NOR
flash and up to 16 GB eMMC flash for program
and data. The design is enhanced by an EEP-
ROM, an RTC and a real-time clock backed
by battery from the main board. Whether for
operating with several displays or for applica-
tions where scalable processor performance is
required, the embedded module TQMa6x with
its long-term availability and characteristics
together with the existing software support by
the PikeOS provides a solid basis for future-
oriented development.
n
15
April 2014
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