Kontron recently announced its full support for the newly released PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers’ Group (PICMG) COM Express standard.
Kontron recently announced its full support for the newly released PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers’ Group (PICMG) COM Express standard. (COM stands for Computer-On-Module form factor.) PICMG’s approval and release of the standard completes the project, which reportedly started with Kontron’s movement to bring PCI Express technology into COMs and was later bolstered by Intel and other leading embedded technology companies. Meanwhile, Kontron has released its ETXexpress-PM modules said to be one of the first fully compliant COM Express products on the market.
Based on Intel Pentium M processor 760 and Mobile Intel 915GM Express chipset, ETXexpress-PM delivers up to 2.13 GHz processor performance and supports up to 2GB DDR2 memory. For applications requiring real-time video capabilities, the modules offer integrated graphics based on Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 architecture and also support PCI Express graphics. A Gigabit Ethernet port supplies fast communications.
Matthias Huber, director of Kontron’s Embedded Modules division in Hayward, CA, explains that “adding PCI Express to COMs was the logical next step” after Kontron’s launch of ETX form factor and other COM technology innovations. Based on the new COM Express standard, Kontron ETXexpress products are next-generation embedded modules that bring advanced technology to tomorrow’s applications, says the company.
Built around serial differential-signaling technologies, ETXexpress-PM incorporates interfaces for PCI Express, Serial ATA, USB 2.0, LVDS, Serial DVO, and more into a small form factor (95 x 125 mm) embedded device. The modules are available starting at approximately $600 in small quantities.
—Frank J. Bartos, executive editor, Control Engineering, [email protected]
