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April 2014
I
NDUSTRIAL
C
OMPUTING
watts for the AMD G-T16R APU – enabling
these APUs to allow OEMs to keep board-
level total power consumption to less than 20
watts. Such low power profiles help to ensure
that in-vehicle-solutions with APUs can be
passively cooled.
Having such a highly integrated x86 processor
capable of fulfilling all the required needs for
in-vehicle computing is a good thing, but it is
only one part of the solution. OEMs need sys-
tem level solutions dedicated for on-board
computing because they do not want to spend
a lot of time handling processors and chips
but just want to obtain a solution platform.
The type of platform required is one that is
designed in such a way that it can easily be in-
serted into tight spaces within vehicle cabins.
It also needs to support a wide temperature
range of -40°C to +70°C for thermally-de-
manding environments, as, in vehicles, the ef-
fects of sunshine or snowy weather can quickly
lead to extreme temperature ranges.
In applications supporting independent dual
displays that deliver, for example DVI+VGA
and DVI-I+DVI-D, connectivity options with
HD video and graphics for seat-back signage
and infotainment installations are a great ben-
efit. These dual-display systems can be utilized
to present multiple layers of dynamic video
content across in-vehicle displays in HD reso-
lution. If touch-enabled interactive features
are integrated, these systems can, for example,
provide passengers with Internet access, to en-
able them to purchase movie or theater tickets,
or to access interactive online tourism infor-
mation. Systems equipped with onboard GPS
transmitters can host location awareness ap-
plications. Public transport companies can
market this technology to local businesses. Ad-
vertisements can be triggered to the display
when the vehicles approach these companies’
locations.
Sintrones is a company which has built a
system embracing all these features. The result
is the VBOX-3200, one of the most versatile
on-board computer systems available today in
this product category. It has been optimized
for high-performance digital signage, infotain-
ment, mobile communication and navigation
applications for deployment in commercial
and municipal vehicles. The system supports
a wide temperature range of -40ºC to approx.
+70ºC for thermally-demanding environments.
The system has also received EN50155-,
EN50121-3-2- and CENELEC certification and
meets the Military Standard 810F and addi-
tionally comes with EN61373-certification. In
other words it offers all the high shock- and
vibration-resistance required for harshest en-
vironments and is even suitable for deployment
in off-road vehicles. And by integrating the
AMD APU into these systems, now for the
first time both stunning dual independent
graphics and housing in a small, very compact
rugged box can be achieved.
Remarkably, the system design did not need
to be specially tailored to serve as an ultra-
rugged appliance. Designing a system for stan-
dard in-vehicles such as buses or cars would
have run very much along the same lines. This
makes it one of the first designs suited to all
the different market segments at no extra cost
for customers requiring ultra-rugged boxes in
standard in-vehicle devices. The secret behind
this multi-purpose design lies in the low power
design of the APUs and the design expertise
which results in the most efficient system TDP
management.
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Product News
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Kontron: SMARC Computer-on-Modules
with x86 processor
Kontron introduced its ultra low-power
SMARC Computer-on-Modules with Intel
Atom processor E3800 series. The SMARC-
sXBTi Computer-on-Modules offer excellent
graphics, high processor performance and x86
compatibility on the smallest SMARC footprint
combined with very low power consumption
(5 to 10 watts). Both the flat profile of the
module and its mobile feature set are tailored
for smallest portable handheld devices.
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ADL: Intel E3800 series PCIe/104 SBC
ADL Embedded Solutions announces its
ADLE3800PC, PCIe/104 Single Board Computer.
The ADLE3800PC is based on Intel’s first SoC
E3800 Atom product family which is built using
Intel’s 22nm 3D Tri-gate process. It offers vastly
superior compute performance and energy effi-
ciency and has Intel’s 7th generation graphics
engine for stunning graphics performance. Im-
proved power management capabilities result
in standby power measured in milliwatts and
standby time measured in days.
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Rutronik: Embedded platforms powered
by 4th gen Intel Core U processors
The latest platforms from Advantech, based
on the 4th generation Intel Core U processors,
offer high graphics and low power. The Com-
puter On Modules, Single Board Computers,
Industrial Motherboards and Fanless Embed-
ded Box PCs are available at distributor Rutron-
ik as of now.
