New multifunction I/O boards from GE

GE Intelligent Platforms has announced the first in a new family of VME multifunction I/O boards designed to address the problems caused by the growing constraints on size, weight and power in today’s military platforms and commercial applications.

The VME-6500 6U VME Multifunction I/O Board can deliver in a single chassis slot the analogue and digital I/O capabilities that could previously have occupied four slots, and can therefore make a significant contribution to substantially enhanced performance and functional density.

With data acquisition becoming an increasingly common requirement in military applications such as radar, image capture and processing and video tracking, the rugged VME-6500 also responds to the requirement to place data acquisition hardware as close as possible to the sensors with its ability to operate over wide temperature ranges and to withstand shock and vibration.

The VME-6500 is intended to provide a cost-effective, off-the-shelf alternative to a custom-built solution.

Modern military embedded computing platforms are being deployed in an increasingly diverse and challenging range of scenarios – like unmanned vehicles - that require them to be as compact and lightweight as possible.

Systems designers need to pack the maximum functionality and maximum computing performance into the smallest space possible – and the VME-6500 is designed to enable them to do that.

The VME-6500 features eight analogue input channels, eight analogue output channels, 16 digital input channels and 16 digital output channels.

Each analogue input channel is equipped with a 16-bit ADC (analogue-to-digital converter), and each analogue output channel with a 16-bit DAC (digital-to-analogue converter).

Analogue inputs are software-programmable to provide flexibility in sample rates, gains, filters and current ranges, while analogue outputs are similarly flexible with programmable voltage and current rates, together with waveform generation.

Digital input channels are capable of multiple voltages and current ranges, and feature programmable input thresholds and de-bounce times.

Digital outputs support high voltage and current drivers, and are protected for short circuit, over current and over temperature conditions.

The VME-6500 is supported by Windows, Linux and VxWorks.

GE Intelligent Platforms is represented in Australia and New Zealand by Metromatics.