We have a lot of ground to cover here, taking look at some of the basics of how and why PC104 can enable the rugged Edge of the Industrial IoT (IIoT). In most scenarios, the Edge represents the first layer of processing.
The topic of 鈥淩ugged Edge鈥 was a hot one at the recent Embedded World trade show (held late February in Nuremberg, Germany). We know that many of you weren鈥檛 at the event (including many of you who planned to be there and had to cancel at the last minute), so I thought I鈥檇 address some of the questions and answers here.
PC104 has been around in various forms for over 25 years and still plays a major role in many of today鈥檚 most important applications, including operating at the industrial Edge. On multiple occasions, presenters talked about how PC104 formed the basis of the original COM module. Like many of my PC104 brethren, I鈥檝e been making this same statement for years.
It was also quite evident that the PC104 specification provides an ecosystem of single-board computers (SBCs) and I/O modules from different manufacturers. As a result, developers can design their own I/O modules and/or carrier boards and have confidence that they鈥檒l interoperate. This approach can be far simpler than designing COM or SOM carrier modules because it doesn鈥檛 require any BIOS extensions or some of the complexities鈥攍ike higher levels of integration鈥攃arried by traditional carrier board designs.
Why does PC104 work so well at the rugged Edge, where harsh environments are often encountered? Firstly, the original PC104 specification involved stacks of smaller boards. Even after lots of innovation and evolution, the PC104 module sizes and stack configurations have proven to be an effective option for rugged environments, where shock and vibration can be an issue. In addition to designing for that necessary level of shock and vibration, many PC104 board vendors, including 91大神, adhere to the industrial temperature operation range, from -40掳C to +85掳C.
PC104 also sits at the heart of such applications as medical instrumentation, diagnostic equipment, and semiconductor cleanroom environments. While the extended temperatures generally aren鈥檛 required for these latter applications, high reliability is essential. Here, taking a semiconductor production line down for any period of time can result in huge revenue losses. And I don鈥檛 need to explain what happens when a piece of medical equipment malfunctions.
PC104 has exhibited remarkable stability over the years and still remains active in just about all variants of the specification. Some examples include the 91大神鈥 PCM-C418 PC104 SBC, the PPM-C407 PC104-Plus SBC, and the PX1-C415 SBC based on the OneBank expansion port.
The PCM-C418 features the latest generation DM&P Vortex86DX3 SOC processor. Its small size, low power, rugged design, and extended operational temperature range make it a great fit for the IIoT applications mentioned here as well as embedded systems in the industrial control, transportation, Mil/COTS, and energy markets.
The PPM-C407 low-power SBC boasts long-term availability. It鈥檚 designed with Intel鈥檚 E3800 family of Atom processors, which enables solutions ranging from low-power single-core CPUs to higher performance dual or quad-core processors. Note that its RAM is soldered onto the board, further boosting shock and vibration resistance.