The Curtiss-Wright PacStar 453, VPX3-1262, and CHAMP-XD4 rugged computers are examples of how CPU, GPU, and FPGA technology can be packaged for different edge applications and operating environments.

Some environmental constraints for deployed military computing systems are operational temperature, humidity, sand, dust, vibration, shock/basic, leakage (immersion), steam and water jet cleaning, rapid decompression, contamination by fluids (e.g. oil, fuel, cleaning), nuclear hardness, and input voltage.

The proliferation of connected systems has been enabled by the U.S. military embrace of the commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) revolution.

Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components are being embraced so the technology can be serviced at the base instead of waiting for specialized parts or sending the system back state-side.

Aaron Frank and Ivan Straznicky look at VITA 47. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard VITA 47 gives system integrators a baseline for reliable and rugged products.

ANSI/VITA 47 is an American National Standards Institute standard that defines a rigorous test regime, enabling vendors to demonstrate that their VPX product is designed to perform optimally, while complying with specific environmental, manufacture, safety and quality criteria.

Aaron Frank and Ivan Straznicky look at VITA 47 for ruggedization and reliability. The VITA Standards Organization’s ANSI/VITA 47 targets the Environments, Design and Construction, Safety, and Quality for Plug-In Units.