System Solution And Engineering

System Solutions & Engineering

Powerful solutions leveraging COTS technology

Designing an embedded system frequently involves a set of boards, with different functionality. As computing requirements increase, designing and realizing the main computing boards becomes increasingly complex and time-consuming, due to design-complexity. A lot of time is also spent in proving the board not only in terms of functionality, but also in establishing performance and its conformance to environmental conditions.

Implementation of software, without the hardware platform is also not convenient and may not be always possible. As much time is consumed in this process, the total time to realize the end product, with fully implemented software and integration, goes up. Conversely, in time-critical projects, it means that time to develop the software and implement the functionality is reduced.

Additionally, there is always an element of uncertainty in realization of the product, due to design snag, non-availability (or long-lead times) of critical components, hold-up in the manufacturing process or even in getting the approvals of certifying agencies.

The above scenario has led to an increasing adoption of commercially-off-the-shelf (COTS) available modules, which is already proven in terms of functionality, performance and adherence to applicable standards.​

• Drastic reduction of development time
• Choice of the best available computing platforms
• Choice of best suited functional modules from multiple vendors
• Leveraging established industry-standards like VME, PCI, PMC and IP
• Use of proven, Established hardware building blocks for achieving desired functionality
• Leveraging alredy developed software drivers, ported Board support package(BSP) and RTOS

Popular Configurations

• Industry-standard bus configurations VME, Compact PCI, PXI
• Main computing board (including multi-processor configuration), based on a choice of architecture, including ARM Power PC and X86
• PMC expansion sites (either on-board to processor module or dedicated carrier boards)
• IP expansion sites (either on-board to processor module or dedicated carrier boards)
• Full-sized additional computing modules (like DSP), other functional modules
• Add-on functional modules, based on PMC / IP interfaces
• Chassis in industry-standard form-factors and mounting VME /ATR /others

All standard boards provide support with drivers for various software platforms, ported board-support-packages (BSP) and ported RTOS. Using industry standard and proven RTOS such as Vx Works, embedded Linux and others cut down development time, leverages standard software architecture, leverages familiarity of personnel with the development tools and processes.

Sigma provides custom-solutions, leveraging the vast base of established COTS boards to quickly configure the system, as per customer needs. Working closely with the customer, Sigma provides value-addition in developing additional custom boards (where standard configurations do not fully address the requirements), application software development, integration, testing and IV&V services. Sigma also works closely with certifying agencies and  customers in obtaining approvals.