PICMG Releases Latest Specification for MicroTCA Embedded Computing Platform

The PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group (PICMG (News - Alert)), an organization led by a group of companies focused in the development of open specifications for high performance telecommunications and industrial computing applications, has just revealed yet another specification in the Micro Telecommunications Computing Architecture, (MicroTCA (News - Alert)) family of open specifications.

 

The Air Cooled Rugged MicroTCA specification extends temperature, shock and vibration ranges, thereby extending the use of the platform beyond its original Telecommunications focus to address applications requiring enhanced environmental performance. The Ruggedized version of MicroTCA specification is for exterior and mobile communications applications.

 

“MicroTCA is the only small open-computing platform that provides robust high-availability features at low costs,” said Mike Franco, chief executive officer at Microblade and the chair of the PICMG committee that developed the specification.

 

“By ruggedizing this proven architecture, MicroTCA has now been improved and is suitable for a broad range of non-telecom central office applications,” said Franco.

 

This enhancement in the MicroTCA specification has enabled all Industries serving the needs of transportation, industrial control, and outdoor communications infrastructure to now take advantage of MicroTCA’s small footprint, high compute power and communications bandwidth, and managed architecture.

 

PICMG also mentioned that the firm is working constantly to provide an even more robust MicroTCA platform, with members working on a hardened, conduction-cooled version of MicroTCA that is intended for use in military and aerospace applications.

 

Reportedly, the work is expected to be completed later this year. Engineers working in these areas are said to be experts to understand the benefits of MicroTCA’s managed, high-availability architecture, as the platform can continue to operate in the event of component failures.