POINT MUGU, CA, October 31, 2014 - U.S. Navy avionics experts needed rugged general-purpose processors for a rapidly deployable electronic warfare (EW) system for U.S. Marine Corps fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. They found their solution from General Micro Systems Inc. (GMS) in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

General Micro Systems, Inc. – Applied Technology Group, a global leader in the design and manufacture of ultra-rugged, high performance computing engines, has just released a series of rugged smart displays named “RuggedView™” and is set to move into the commercial broadcasting arena. GMS will be demonstrating their “RuggedView™” displays in Booth #C1363 during NAB, Las Vegas, April 7-10, 2014. Products in this series include an array of rugged displays ranging from 10” to 65, are available in Standard Definition (SD), High Definition (HD), and Ultra-High Definition (UHD) and offer a host of customization options.

The development of emerging technology is a race. Development takes time. The new generation of embedded components then needs more time before it’s widely accepted in the industry. Of course, the manufacturer is challenged to keep costs in check while this whole process rolls out.

A look at the industry today draws attention to Ivy Bridge, the third-generation Core processor from Intel^®. It’s the newest processor on the market. Owing to its highly attractive feature set, it’s also an ideal candidate for building sophisticated embedded applications. But such leaps in innovation increase the pressure on engineers to keep pace with their implementation.

In this issue of GMS Tech we will take an introductory look at the VMEbus and its metamorphosis over the past 30+ years. In 1981 the VMEbus architecture was created. The new design combined the VERSAbus electrical specification, which was based on microprocessor technology, with the rugged and modular Eurocard packaging system. Both were proven, off-the-shelf technologies. The resulting combination was successful because it was durable and could be easily adapted to a variety of applications. The original planners introduced the VMEbus specification into the public domain. This meant that suppliers had to conform to the same technical standard. They also had to compete directly on the basis of price, performance, quality and time-to-market. The adoption of VMEbus as a public domain standard made it easier to accept by competitors.