In The News

June 30, 2010
ISR Subsystem Makes Things A Lot Easier
Wouldn’t life be easier if engineers could just put an entire already-made subsystem into their design and move on, exponentially speeding development time and ease? Sounds too good to be true, but that’s precisely what Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. is offering in the form of its OpenVPX(VITA 65)-based ISR subsystem.
Military Embedded Systems
Chris A. Cuifo Sharon and Schnakenburg-Hess

June 22, 2010
Case Study: OpenVPX Systems Help to Deliver UAV Program Quickly
Today in the embedded systems community, product development speed and efficiency are competitive weapons. In many of the targeted applications for OpenVPX (VITA 65), bringing reliable, high-performance technologies to market successfully can have a very significant impact. One area clearly supported by OpenVPX is the Quick Reaction Capability (QRC) obligation, where the development and deployment cycles demanded are significantly reduced to achieve critical program needs. The following defense application case study illustrates how OpenVPX meets those needs. This example is a combination of actual experiences, and what is expected to be a typical engagement. Where possible, time savings and other benefits of the OpenVPX specification are included.
Military Embedded Systems
Anne Mascarin, Greg Rocco

May 28, 2010
Intelligence Agents Borrow Wall Street Trading Technology
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Wall Street often guards its high-frequency trading strategies as if they were classified matters of national security. Yet the worlds of the quants and the spymasters share more than a penchant for secrecy.
Dow Jones/MarketWatch

May 28, 2010
General-purpose GPUs breathe new life into high performance embedded computing
Many advanced applications for high performance embedded computing demand excessive amounts of computing power.  Real-time imaging systems in applications such as persistent surveillance and electronic warfare applications among others, require the highest possible GFLOPS/Watt to meet performance requirements without exceeding the power budget.  Traditional CPU boards simply don't meet these power budget constrictions.
VME & Critical Systems
Anne Mascarin, Scott Thieret

May 01, 2010
Warfare by ‘app’
To understand the potential of mass personalization to war fighters and intelligence analysts, you don’t have to go any farther than the smart phone likely resting in your pocket. By adding and subtracting applications to your phone, you can personalize the phone to your needs. Mercury Computer Systems is working within the industry to launch an equivalent trend for the computers embedded in unmanned surveillance aircraft.
C4ISR Journal
Dr. Ian Dunn

April 28, 2010
Deployed Applications Embrace System-Level Rugged Solutions
The traditional slot-cards in a ruggedized chassis is no longer the only game in town for military embedded systems. Box-level solutions are expanding their territory.Despite their technical sophistication, defense electronics systems must deliver uncompromised performance under difficult environmental conditions, including excessive heat, humidity, poor air quality, high altitude, shock and vibration. Embedded computers must be able to keep their electronics from overheating, even when temperatures range up to 55°C and the air is too thin to be used for cooling. At the same time, they must possess the enhanced mechanical integrity to withstand high shock and vibration forces at various frequencies
COTS Journal
Tom Roberts

February 10, 2010
Aerospace And Defense Organizations Tap Novel Rugged Mobile Computers For Mission-Critical Applications
In the military, a soldier's rugged computer can mean the difference between mission success and failure, and even life and death. Military leaders make a point to buy the best computers for each aerospace and defense application. A large defense prime working to deliver mobile, ground-based radar systems for a major radar program upgrade required fast delivery of a rugged computing system, and chose Mercury's 6U OpenVPX solution.
Military & Aerospace Electronics
Courtney E. Howard

January 26, 2010
GPU-based Processing Solves Persistent Surveillance Challenges
Imaging subsystems based on processors that feature the lowest power consumption and the highest performance (the GigaFLOPS/watt metric) are the best choice for persistent surveillance applications. Many CPU-based boards don't meet these stringent GFLOPS/watt requirements. GPUs provide parallel performance potential and low power consumption. An example system that employs GPU-based processing is Mercury's Sensor Stream Computing Platform.
COTS Journal
Anne Mascarin

January 26, 2010
Multi-Sensor Image Exploitation Using Smart Processing
New generations of ISR sensors are surveying ever wider areas with constantly increasing levels of sophistication. Electro-optic infrared (EO/IR), synthetic aperture radar (SAR), hyper-spectral imaging (HSI), laser radar (LADAR), SIGINT and COMINT systems scan vast spaces and collect an enormous amount of raw data. Mounted on long-endurance, unmanned platforms, an array of these sensor technologies can deliver the persistent surveillance necessary to find and fix an elusive, insurgent enemy.
COTS Journal
Tom Roberts

January 12, 2010
White Paper: OpenVPX Exec Speakout - Mercury Computer Systems
Dr. Ian Dunn, Chief Technology Officer, Advanced Computing Solutions at Mercury Computer Systems, answers the question: What are key features of OpenVPX not addressed by any other open standard, including VPX (VITA 46), VXS (VITA 41), or even VME (ANSI/VITA 1)?
VME and Critical Systems
Dr. Ian Dunn

December 04, 2009
Interview: Greg Tiedemann on RapidIO
Greg Tiedemann, a product line director at Mercury Computer Systems, has been heavily involved with RapidIO since 2001. In this interview, he brings Open Architecture Review up to date on the standard, considers its place in the evolution of system interfaces and describes RapidIO’s relationship with various processor architectures.
Open Architecture Review
David Lieberman

November 16, 2009
Soldiers adding high tech to the arsenal
Many booths at Milcom 2009, the largest annual military communications conference in the United States, featured technology that seemed to be heading toward small, portable devices that can be tucked under helmets, stashed in backpacks, and sewn into uniforms. Mercury Computer Systems, Inc., based in Chelmsford, showed off a powerful ultra-portable computer, about the size of an external hard drive, that allows troops to crunch radar and video data in the field.
Boston Globe
D.C. Denison

October 01, 2009
C4ISR Journal Names Winners For 2009 Big 25 Awards
C4ISR Journal 2009 'Big 25 Awards’ Names Mercury Computer Systems as Innovations Honoree for Gorgon Stare Project. Army Times Publishing Company is pleased to announce the winners of the 2nd Annual C4ISR Journal Big 25 Awards, honoring outstanding innovations in intelligence gathering and networking.
Army Times Publishing Company

July 15, 2009
Overcoming design challenges for ultra-compact, rugged embedded computing
It's not easy to squeeze a lot of computing power into a small space, but many applications call for this capability. An inside look at a new small form factor and the reasons behind developing it shows how design teams are approaching system problems in the rugged computing space.
PC/104 and Small Form Factors
Tom Roberts

June 30, 2009
FPGA Processing Boards Roundup
FPGAs are providing a vital function in today’s signal processing-based military systems. The Echotek Series DCM-V5-XMC digital receiver from Mercury Computer Systems features the latest in A/D and D/A technology, allowing for high-speed/high-resolution data conversion while still preserving the quality of the original signal.
COTS Journal

June 05, 2009
Systems integration, telecom offer new hardware niche in New England
There was a time not too long ago when computer giants ruled New England. Digital Equipment Corp., Wang Laboratories Inc., Data General Corp. and Prime Computer were just three of the names that anyone with even a passing knowledge of computers knew. So what is on the horizon for New England hardware manufacturers? According to Enterprise Strategy Group, manufacturers of products designed and built to perform highly specific, problematic tasks requiring unique solutions. One such company is Mercury Computer Systems Inc.
Mass High Tech
Jim Schakenbach

May 18, 2009
Exploiting advanced imagery with a standards-based network architecture
Sensor-based imaging produces volumes of information, but how can only the most valuable information for the warfighter be both extracted and delivered quickly? A new Converged Sensor Network (CSN) Architecture is facilitating just that.
Military Embedded Systems
Tom Roberts

April 30, 2009
FPGAs deliver performance and flexibility to mixed-signal applications
Many mission-critical applications in defense and signals intelligence operate in a mixed-signal environment, transforming an analog input from some part of the spectrum into a digital bit stream and then processing that bit stream into useful information. These applications require a high-performance A/D converter capability, combined with time and frequency domain receiver processing.
DSP-FPGA.com E-Letter
Jack Kilian

April 23, 2009
The best way to run a railroad
OpenVPX and VITA 65 have joined forces at their own VME "Promontory Point," clearing the way for interoperable VPX boards. All aboard!
Military Embedded Systems
Chris Ciufo

April 01, 2009
Mercury's 'OpenVPX Industry Working Group' colors outsides VSO's lines: An efficient technology fast-track or Pandora's box?
Many embedded industry insiders and VSO working group members were surprised when Mercury Computer Systems recently announced its formation of an independent, outside-VSO "OpenVPX Industry Working Group." Consequently, Editor Chris Ciufo conducted an interview with Mercury's 3U VPX and small form factors product line manager, Greg Tiedemann, to find out the 5Ws and H: Who, what, when, where, why, and how – and what does VITA think of all this?
VME and Critical Systems
Chris Ciufo

March 31, 2009
VPX and VXS Strike a Balance of Choices for Designers
VXS and VPX each have different strengths as alternatives for today’s military embedded system developers. It’s important to understand the capabilities and the trade-offs they offer compared with traditional VME.
COTS Journal
Anne Mascarin and Tom Roberts

March 19, 2009
Chelmsford computer firm pushes envelope in defense
No one knows how defense budgets will fare under the Obama administration, but Mercury Computer Systems Inc. of Chelmsford is banking on getting a greater share of military contracts and moving ahead on a profitable course, its executives say.
Boston Globe
Davis Bushnell, Globe Correspondent

March 09, 2009
Take IP Networking To The Tactical Edge
Parallel computing is the way of the future. Compute clusters on the macro level and multiprocessors on the micro level are ganging up to accelerate the processing of huge quantities of data. Many advantages can be reaped if Internet Protocol (IP) networking can be taken to the tactical edge—where sensors collect valuable data. Why? Because IP networking is pervasive and inexpensive. And better than any other protocol we have today, IP networking can minimize the interoperability risks of developing applications on compute clusters in the laboratory and then deploying them to large systems in the field.
Electronic Design
Ian Dunn

January 30, 2009
A focusing force
A focusing force:  Mercury Computer CEO puts the emphasis back on defense industry
Boston Business Journal
Jackie Noblett