In addition to introducing a full range of embedded application products that meet the OpenCL specification, US-based Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has collaborated with its industrial partners to develop multiple application procedures, code samples, and software libraries that can exert the parallel computing performances of the heterogeneous multicore architecture APUs and GPUs using the Accelerated Parallel Processing (APP) technology from AMD.AMD constructs the heterogeneous multicore acceleration processor architectureKelly Gillilan, embedded solutions product marketing manager of AMD, stated that today's multicore processors are divided into homogeneous and heterogeneous models, and the latter is composed by two or more different types of cores. The accelerated processing unit (APU) architecture concept proposed by AMD has the heterogeneous multicore comprised of the x86 CPU that is known for its memory read/write capabilities and the multi-floating point/3D graphics computing GPU core. In June 2012, AMD, ARM, Imagination, MediaTek, Texas Instruments and Qualcomm established in the Heterogeneous System Architecture (HAS) Foundation to collaborate and promote the standardization of heterogeneous multicore.The first open source and free universal acceleration application programming interface (API) specification in the industry was the Open Computing Language (OpenCL) developed by the Khronos Group. AMD is the early incorporator and supporter of OpenCL and has created numerous application procedures with its technical partners, code samples, and software libraries through AMD's APP technology; which enables OpenCL to exert the full acceleration power of parallel computing in heterogeneous multicore systems.AMD offers a full series of OpenCL-compatible heterogeneous parallel processing application products ranging from the low power G-Series APU that is designed to consume only 4.5W to 18W of power with the maximum parallel computing performance of 80GFLOPs, to the high-performance R-Series designed to consume 17W to 35W of power and provide 500GFLOPs of parallel computing performance. The AMD Radeon GPU series, including the AMD Radeon E6460 GPU, adopts a BGA package and the MXM module or PCIe add-on card format, and is designed with a power consumption rate of 20W in conjunction with the 25GB/s bandwidth GDDR5 memory to produce a floating-point performance of 192GFLOPs. The E6760 GPU adopts a BGA package and the MXM module or PCIe add-on card format, and is designed with a power consumption rate of 35W in conjunction with 51GB/s bandwidth GDDR5 memory to produce a floating-point performances of 576GFLOPs. The E6970 GPU adopts the MXM module, and is designed with the power consumption rate of 95W in conjunction with 115GB/s bandwidth GDDR5 memory to produce a floating-point performance of 1.3 TFLOPs.The Basic Concept and writing style of OpenCLGillilan pointed out that OpenCL is different from the Open Graphic Language (OpenGL) used for image processing in the past, in that OpenCL incorporates GPUs for computing purposes. The platform defined by OpenCL means that the system's host (generally the CPU) framework shares resources with applications as well as a collection of multiple execution program kernels on devices. Each computer device receives from one to many compute units, and inside each unit there are from one to many basic processing elements.Take the array loop model of the C language as an example, the traditional code may be int i; for (i=0;i<n;i++) c[i]=a[i]*b[i]. However, when incorporated into OpenCL, the "Kernel" keyword must be added to the beginning and end of the code, and the code itself becomes int id = get_global_id (0); c[id]=a[id]*b[id]. That is, the array is broken into 1 to n pieces, and the system configures the n cores to perform the parallel computing. OpenCL would determine the front and back mapping relationships among the allocated kernels. After data from each Kernel is completed and outputted, the system would wait until all other core data is outputted and assembled before proceeding to the next step.Memory in OpenCL is divided into four major blocks - Global Memory is the read-only memory that can be reached by each computer device and internal compute unit; Global/Constant Memory DataCache is used by the OpenCL library; each computer device (meaning a CPU or GPU) has its own local memory; and the most basic internal compute unit of each compute unit has its own private memory.The OpenCL program writing model is also divided into: 1. Host executed codes; 2. Header, as each parallel computing code fragment allocated must be defined by a header and a declaration; and 3. Kernels, which are assigned and allocated by the OpenCL function to each part of the core.AMD recommended the industry to: 1. Create a development environment that can run under both Windows and Linux; 2. Download the latest AMD Catalyst software driver; 3. Download the AMD APP SDK development kit 2 (Microsoft Window 7 and later versions supported); 4. Perform the internal SDK sample programs; 5. Attempt to establish and execute a program sample; 6. Start writing the program and modify the program samples that are transferred into the SDK; and 7. Establish a unique code as well as write them into the hardware platform, and run it through a simulator or in a debug environment.AMD has also established the OpenCL Zone dedicated webpage where developers can download the startup training manual documents, APP SDK Development Kit, etc., for free. Other industry partners include the Sage Probe/EDK hardware debug package from Sage Electronic Engineering and the multicore coding, algorithm transplantation, and debug consultation services offered by Texas Multicore Technologies (TMT).Viosoft uses OpenCL to accelerate the network packet processing applicationsNext, Charles Chiou, the Taiwan country manager of Viosoft, explained the OpenCL development tools and resources, and provided samples for network packet processing under the AMD APU platform. Chiou believed that the traditional CPU and GPU has to go through the slower PCI/PCIe bus communication, which forms a packet transmission bottleneck and has a higher power consumption cost. An APU has more than 80 built-in Radeon graphics processing units for parallel computing, which can be applied to visual computing and Internet transaction security codecs. APU outperforms the traditional CPU with independent GPUs in both the unit/watt performances as well as system volume size, and can handle the needs of the next-generation network packet processing applications.Chiou used Vodafone (Australia) as an example, which offers free packets (such as those on Facebook), discounts through other Internet ISP networking, advertising content for viewing packets, and zero rate Internet shops (where the advertising suppliers are responsible for the costs). Traditional networking equipment that monitors only packet traffic such as routers, firewalls, NAT internet Redirection and VPN virtual private network devices cannot handle these types of network packet billing mechanisms that are based on the different content types and sources.Viosoft is currently collaborating with AMD to implement the Teranium project plan, which uses OpenCL plus GPUs to accelerate packet processing. The OpenCL is controlled by the x86 architecture that can monitor the centralized data of basic network packets, focus on the various packets of the Internet and distinguish the timing and user-generated content, and focus on audience-specific advertising or promotional activities while filtering junk mail and preventing attacks by viruses or malicious network packets.Chiou indicated that the current mainstream network equipment is Deep Content Inspection. However, to meet the demands of zero-rate and pay by the sender side network packets with certain requirements, the network equipment must evolve to have the systemic content processing technology that uses the software definition method to monitor and filter a wide range of packets. After Viosoft has incorporated the OpenCL optimized network packet program into the APU chip of a 1U rack-mounted dual AMD APU chip system with dual 10Gbit LAN interface, the APU chip can fully exert the offload engine function and increase the IP packet forwarding performance by up to 50% (5Gbps).Viosoft is currently collaborating with AMD to implement the Teranium project plan, which is the optimized 4x10Gbit (4-port) network interface driver with the deep-packet inspection extensible framework that can bypass the TCP/IP software stack layer of the Linux core. Their research found that it is not enough to drop the load of the CPU. The correct strategy is to transfer a large amount of packets from the CPU to the GPU for parallel processing. Of course, like the device driver code, the data packet scheduling and the panel controlling codes must still be executed within the CPU. Meanwhile, researchers can endeavor to determine the best method to resolve problems such as the number of copies made in the memory, CPU/GPU communication bottlenecks, and load scheduling.OpenCL parallel acceleration computing can enhance performance from tens to hundreds of timesChiou described the acceleration performance made by the actual OpenCL by stating that a CPU with an external AMD Radeon 5450 HD GPU card is used in conjunction with the Persimmon board with an Embedded G-Series APU. Under OpenCL, the APP acceleration enables the parallel computing DES coding, DES decoding, AES coding, and AES decoding for the CPU and GPU. For the DES coding part, Radeon HD 5450 increased from 0.25 to 8.0 and G-Series APU significantly increased from 0.57 to 52.67. For the DES decoding, the Radeon HD 5450 increased from 0.25 to 5.5 and the G-Series APU significantly increased from 0.62 to 52.25. For the AES coding, the Radeon HD 5450 increased from 0.11 to 13.4 and the G-Series APU significantly increased from 0.85 to 59. For the AES decoding part, the Radeon HD 5450 increased from 0.4 to 9 and the G-Series APU significantly increased from 0.62 to 72.42. Overall, the acceleration can improve performances from 22 to 120 times.Finally, Chiou introduced the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) kit developed by Viosoft for the AMD APU platform and downstream developers. The IDE kit is comprised of GNU and Linux Embedded Editions. Viosoft also developed the ARRIBA remote cross-platform virtual debugging technique. The client embedded Linux AMD APU platform is located in Atlanta but can be remotely controlled by engineers at Austin, Texas. After running the VMON virtual device, the engineers' computers can communicate with the AMD APU platforms on the other end even while using a Windows or Linux operating system, and then list the internal modules and code snippets to perform single-step executions and debugging steps.Kelly Gillilan, embedded solutions product marketing manager of AMDCharles Chiou, the Taiwan country manager of Viosoft

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has launched a full range of OpenCL-compatible heterogeneous parallel processing products, including traditional x86 CPU, GPU and integrated APU chips, as well as embedded GPU chips/MXM modules and add-on cards, etc.Not only has AMD won acclaim with its AMD Turbo CORE, AMD Eyefinity, and AMD Dual Graphics technologies, AMD is also committed to establishing a comprehensive heterogeneous multi-core industrial alliance and ecosystem with the midstream and downstream hardware and software industry sectors to bring embedded systems into the new realm of heterogeneous parallel processing.Careful observation of the embedded market and continued R&D investmentsArun Iyengar, corporate vice president and general manager of the AMD Embedded Solutions Group, indicated that the scope of applications for the embedded market is very broad. The sales cycle for the entire product line is considerably longer than in other markets. During the early stages of the cycle, suppliers would have 3 months to send samples and selections to customers. After the design is adopted (design win) the SI certification stage is approximately 12 to 18 months. Finally, moving a product from engineering prototype to mass production for the customers would stretch for another 36 to 60 months. This entire process could take up to a decade for defense military institutions.The embedded market is more focused on the optimal heat dissipation rate by adopting low power consumption, no cooling fan, higher functionality integration, and more compact designs to create the smallest sized products with optimal energy efficiency in order to lower the total cost of ownership (TCO). The customers hope suppliers can fully understand its product strengths and weaknesses, provide solutions, and tailor the various solutions to respond to the specific needs of the market.Iyengar indicated that AMD is carefully observing the development of the entire embedded market and continues to invest in its R&D. Since June of 2012, AMD's Embedded Solutions Division has been organized into an independent group. In October of 2012, CEO Rory Read indicated that the embedded market has become the group's rapid-growing emerging business; and 2013 is regarded as the first year for AMD embedded solutions.AMD, a pioneer in the embedded market for many yearsIyengar stressed that AMD has been a pioneer in the embedded market for numerous years. From the Am386 and Am486 processors in 1991, the Am5x86 in 1995; the Elan SC520 in 1999; the acquisition of Alchemy Semiconductor and National Semiconductor (NS) by the AMD Geode processor business group between 2002 and 2003; the addition of the 64-bit AMD Opteron, AMD Athlon, AMD Turion, and Mobile AMD Sempron processors into the embedded market; and the ATI Radeon E2400 GPU launched in 2008, and only reached EOL this July. In 2009, AMD launched the ATI Radeon E4690 GPU with 2D and 3D multimedia graphics performance and multi-screen output capacity that is suitable for a wide variety of embedded applications in gaming consoles, consumer electronic products, digital billboards, and industrial control boards, as well as for applications in the medical, defense, and aerospace fields. AMD also introduced the BGA flip chip packaging that is suitable for small size ASB1 processor systems.AMD released the Embedded G-Series APU platform in 2011, and launched the Embedded R-Series APU platform that focuses on high-end graphic performance in 2012. In 2013, AMD will launch embedded applications that are integrated with high-performance graphics and computing performances as well as the SoC silicon chip program that can connect a wide range of I/O peripherals together as one.AMD will continue to provide product supply, open-source operating system support, drivers, software libraries, development platforms, and technical support for its embedded market products for 5 to 7 years. AMD will also provide diverse product selection from the initial silicon circuit design stage to the engineering sample stage, and will eventually link and intimately collaborate with the existing industrial ecosystem.Market is at a heterogeneous multicore emerging stageIyengar used a three-stage CPU evolution schematic diagram to illustrate his point. The single-core CPU has long since reached its development bottleneck. The homogenous system would also reach the power, parallel oriented software, and performance bottlenecks as the number of cores has increased to a number that cannot continue to be sustained. The heterogeneous system is at a burgeoning stage. The data parallel mechanism enabled by energy efficient GPUs can ensure the continued improvement of performance, although in extending performance, the traditional programming models must be subverted and changed.Iyengar also mentioned the developmental history from the early single-core microprocessors to the homogenous multi-core systems, and the advent of the heterogeneous multi-core system. The AMD APU combines the serial data processing of the traditional CPU with the parallel data processing of the traditional AMD Radeon GPU into one. Products like the AMD Embedded G-Series APU (G-T16R APU) have the average power consumption rate of only 2.3W and an I/O controller chip that consumes less than 1W; it is suitable for extremely small and convenient-to-carry embedded mobile devices without a cooling fan. The AMD Embedded R-series APU comprises the quad-core x86 core and the AMD Radeon 7000 GPU core with 384 parallel arithmetic units, which provide high performance that can rival independent GPU graphics performance with DirectX 11 hardware acceleration specifications and can use the OpenCL and DirectCompute software to provide program solutions to enhance the performance of embedded platform computing to another level.Embedded product line and key technologies of AMDThe AMD embedded product line is divided into different series. The R-Series APU provides appropriate performance, energy efficiency, and above high definition (HD) visual experiences. The G-Series APU emphasizes low power consumption as well as unprecedented GPU integration, and is suitable for mini and fanless system designs. In addition, the AMD Radeon GPU provides amplified 3D and multimedia performance specifically for embedded systems, and its product delivery cycle is ensured for up to five years.Iyengar introduced the first key technology of the AMD APU, the AMD Turbo Core. Taking the AMD R-464L as an example, the x86 core clocks at 2,300 MHz and its GPU clocks at 496MHz. Under the general load balanced state of the x86 core and its GPU, each clock remains unchanged. When the system enters the multi-threaded parallel processing state, the clock of the x86 core would dynamically increase by a maximum of 39% (up to 3,200 MHz), but the clock of the GPU remained unchanged. When implementing programs that emphasize 3D graphic processing, the clock of the x86 core remained at 2,300MHz, but the clock of its GPU would dynamically increase by a maximum of 38% (685MHz). Depending on the needs of the load, the APU can provide bidirectional and dynamic clock adjustments for the GPU and the x86 core.The other key technology is the AMD Eyefinity technology. The AMD R-series APU can provide external connections and has parallel display ports for four monitors. When connected to an external PCIe add-on graphics card with six DisplayPort (DP) v1.2 interfaces, the system can expand its access capacityto up to ten monitors. The general embedded systems designs based on the Intel CPU can only enable either the internal GPU or the external Radeon GPU chip even with the additional add-on standalone GPU chip. However, the AMD APU is equipped with AMD Dual Graphics technology that enables the internal Radeon7000 GPU core to operate in parallel with the external Radeon E6460/E6760 GPU chip to further compact and enhance the 3D and multimedia graphics computing performance.Iyengar indicated that the AMD G- and R-series APUs can be applied to digital billboards, casino gaming machines, IP-TVs, x86 set-top boxes, medical applications, POS terminals and phone booth kiosks/automatic ticketing systems, thin clients, video conferencing, human machine interfaces (HMI), and industrial control applications, as well as communications machines/infrastructures.Unifying the industry to form the heterogeneous system architecture (HSA) foundation for the promotion of the parallel processing technologyIyengar stated that parallel computing can be applied to video and image processing such as machine recognition, medical imaging, intelligent billboards, and video surveillance; digital signal processing such as telecommunications and national defense; network traffic packet processing; and green high performance computer (HPC) applications. AMD offers a full series of OpenCL-compatible heterogeneous parallel processing application products ranging from the low power consumption G-Series APU that is designed to consume only 4.5W to 18W of power with 80GFLOPs of maximum parallel computing performance to the high-performance R-Series designed to consume 17W to 35W of power and provide 500GFLOPs of parallel computing performance.The AMD Radeon GPU series, including the AMD Radeon E6460 GPU, adopts a BGA package and the MXM module or the PCIe add-on card format, and is designed with a power consumption rate of 20W in conjunction with the 25GB/s bandwidth GDDR5 memory in order to deliver its 192GFLOPs floating-point performance. The E6760 GPU adopts a BGA package, the MXM module, or the PCIe add-on card formats; and is designed with the power consumption rate of 35W in conjunction with the 51GB/s bandwidth GDDR5 memory in order to deliver its 576GFLOPs floating-point performance. The E6970GPU adopts the MXM module, and is designed with a power consumption rate of 95W in conjunction with the 115GB/s bandwidth GDDR5 memory in order to deliver its 1.3 TFLOPs floating-point performance.In June 2012, AMD brought together ARM, Imagination, MediaTek, Texas Instruments (TI), Samsung, and Qualcomm to form the nonprofit HSA Foundation in order to establish a complete industrial chain from the Silicon Intellectual Property (Silicon IP) to the software developers and to promote the standardization of the heterogeneous system architecture.AMD has unified many of its industry partners such as Sage Electronic Engineering, LLC.; ALT Software; CORELIS; Core Avionics & Industrial, LLC.; Express Logic; ELTAN; Green Hills Software; Texas Multicore Technologies, Inc. (TMT); Fluendo; Viosoft; etc.; to cooperate in finding a solution that can ensure prompt R&D and system integration for the OEM manufacturers. For example, Gizmo, the AMD Embedded G-Series APU based small development platform, has the circuit board area of only 4x4 inches and provides I/O peripheral interfaces such as USB ports, 5.1 channel connectors, VGA ports, PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports, and SATA ports. The Gizmo development platform was originally developed under collaboration by AMD, Sage, Viosoft, and Texas Multicore; provides Windows, Linux, and RTOS operating system and associated drivers; and its back-end software and technical support is provided by the nonprofit technology community GizmoSphere.Iyengar also indicated that AMD and ARM are long-term and strategic cooperation partners with close and well established working relationships. AMD will add the 64-bit ARM authorized ARM processor chips into its production line, and continue to supply the x86 architecture chips, while increasing investments in software development. He concluded that AMD will continue to expand investments in the embedded market, as well as provide superior products that focus on key market applications while satisfying the needs of the consumers and the market.Arun Iyengar, corporate vice president and general manager of the AMD Embedded Solutions Group

This year, Advantech exhibits in the Smart Grids area of the Hannover Messe. This area offers hardware and software solutions meeting the needs of the energy economy, drawing from smart metering, smart grids, smart buildings and information and communication technology.Advantech, world leader in industrial computing and the leading supplier of open, computing platforms for the Power & Energy market, offers comprehensive system integration, hardware, software, customer-centric design, embedded systems and automation products as well as global sales, technical and logistics support.Advantech is dedicated to exploring new technologies for the power and energy industry. With an edge in the research and design of industrial products, Advantech provides rugged and highly reliable system components.Advantech's products can be applied to various power and energy markets, including: renewable solar and wind power generation, hydro, steam and gas turbine and alternator control, nuclear simulation, substation automation systems, electrical car charging station solutions and building energy saving systems.For power stations, Advantech provides the computing power for generator control systems as well as the communications infrastructure of wireless, fibre-optic or copper, Ethernet or I/O. Advantech's display products are used by operators to monitor processes, while data acquisition is achieved by a wide range of devices and cards installed remotely or built-in to PCs, including Advantech's ADAM range. Powerful, open PLC platforms support a wide range of IEC-61131 soft controller products from our software partners, which make available all the necessary protocols such as IEC-60870 and IEC-61850.Step-up substations are supported with 61850-3 certified platforms for control, SCADA, protocol gateways and data storage and analysis. Advantech's UNO-4600 series Substation Automation Computers can operate as HMI/SCADA, Terminal (serial-port) Servers, Protocol or Communication Gateways, Cyber Security Servers (UTM), and Substation/Networking Recorders. With IEC 61000-4 certification for EMC, Shock and Vibration, and 48VDC and 90 ~ 250 VAC/ VDC single or redundant power supplies, the modular UNO-4600 series are able to communicate with different devices across substations and serve as excellent computing platforms. The UNO-4600 series also comes with diverse communication interfaces and flexible expansion capabilities, including Ethernet ports with LAN redundant teaming functionality, USB and serial ports , PCI, PCIe, miniPCIe and PC/104 expansion slots, and IRIG-B. Thus, according to their application needs, customers can choose the most suitable configuration to easily develop their own substation solutions.Advantech will also be showing hardware and software-based security solutions, including IPsec VPN tunnel and stateful firewall, and application whitelisting, making a Secure Substation Computer. Remote management of such devices will be supported using Intel's AMT technology and Advantech's SUSIAccess.The latest technology in SCADA systems for Smart Grids incorporates multi-touch display and Advantech will show its latest touch-panel computers.Advantech's UNO-4600 series Substation Automation Computers can operate as HMI/SCADA, Terminal (serial-port) Servers, Protocol or Communication Gateways, Cyber Security Servers (UTM), and Substation/Networking Recorders.

Nvidia has introduced its new GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost GPU. Based on the Nvidia Kepler architecture and equipped with 768 CUDA cores, the GTX 650 Ti Boost GPU is available in 2GB and 1GB configurations at an estimated US$169 and US$149, respectively.With up to 40% more performance over the original GeForce GTX 650 Ti GPU introduced last year, the new GeForce GTX 650 Ti boost features support for Nvidia's GPU Boost technology, which dynamically adjusts GPU performance to meet the graphics processing demands of games, and Nvidia SLI technology, which allows gamers to use multiple GPUs to double performance, the company noted.With a wider 192-bit memory interface and up to 60% more memory bandwidth than the original, the GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost GPU is able to support resolutions up to 1080p.The GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB edition is available now from add-in card suppliers including ASL, Asustek Computer, Colorful, Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS), EVGA, Gainward, Galaxy, Gigabyte Technology, Innovision 3D, Jetway, Leadtek, Micro-Star International (MSI), Palit, PNY, Point of View, Sparkle and Zotac. The GTX 650 Ti Boost 1GB version will be available in early April.Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost graphics cardPhoto: Company

CAYIN Technology unveils the entry-level content management server, CMS-20, to provide a complete line of digital signage servers for small to large self-hosted digital signage networks.CAYIN releases the new entry-level digital signage server, CMS-20, to manage projects involving less than 20 media players. It not only helps administrators perform effective central management, but also broadcasts live streaming video to provide real-time entertainment for digital signage networks.CAYIN CMS content management servers, bundled with hardware and software, are full-featured digital signage servers for efficient player management, content update, central scheduling, and live video streaming. With the embedded web-based user interface, users can manage the device directly from a web browser without installing any software in their computers.CAYIN's digital signage solution is developed based on client-server architecture. Administrators can use a CMS-20 server to create a maximum of two-layer groups and manage all SMP digital signage players systematically. Playlists can be edited and scheduled on a weekly basis or as a one-time event. SMP players will playback synchronized content automatically based on the schedule assigned by the CMS server.CMS-20 can also manage a maximum of 2 video signals per server and up to 64 inputs for the whole system. It can transmit streaming data to CAYIN's digital signage players by means of LAN broadcasting, multi-casting, or uni-casting, and broadcast live streaming videos, such as live shows, sport games, and TV news, over the digital signage network.Sending emergency messages instantly to all screens is possible as well. Administrators can activate the alert mechanism and broadcast emergency messages to a particular group or to all groups. Emergency messages can be presented in many formats, such as texts, images, video, HTML, etc.CMS-20 provides the most economic way for users to enjoy abundant benefits of central management. The server truly offers an optimum solution for users to manage a smaller-scale, self-hosted digital signage network. For medium and large scale projects, CAYIN also provides a series of advanced servers to meet the requirements.For detailed product introduction, please visit: http://www.cayintech.com/digital_signage_products/digital_signage_server_cms20.htmlAbout CAYIN TechnologyCAYIN Technology offers a complete portfolio of appliance-based digital signage solutions, including media players, servers, and software, for various commercial applications, such as education, transportation, retail, hospitality, corporate use, and financial and public institutions. CAYIN is dedicated to being a reliable partner to its clients worldwide, and has successfully set up various application references globally. In order to best facilitate the deployment of CAYIN products, the company also provides tailored services to satisfy the ascending market demand for almost limitless applications.CMS-20 manages projects involving less than 20 media players. It not only helps administrators perform effective central management, but also broadcasts live streaming video to provide real-time entertainment for digital signage networks.

Advantech's Industrial Automation Group (IAG) are pleased to announce the launch of two new panel pc's - PPC-6150/6170. These 15" and 17" models now come with faster processors, RAID control and multiple expansion slots for increased functionality.The PPC-6170 (17") and the PPC-6150 (15") color TFT LCD displays come with the new 35W Intel 3rd Generation Core I processor. The speed ofthis chip is increased by 20% over the previous generation and supports 3D visual computing to improve the capabilities of the panel computer for software operation and multi-tasking.With the addition of an additional hard drive both models now support RAID 0 and 1 providing realtime backup of critical data. In the event of voltage spikes between the PPC and industrial devices the RS-232, 422 and 485 ports are isolated against such energy surges. With a variable configuration of PCI and PCIe slots the PPCs allow the installation of add-on cards for specific functions such as frame grab, field bus communication and digital I/O. The models also include expansion for optical drives or W-Fi modules for additional flexibility.With a range of accessories the PPC-6150 and PPC-6170 are the most compact models and with panel and VESA mounting they fit into any machine or factory automation environment.The PPC-6170 (17") and the PPC-6150 (15") color TFT LCD displays come with the new 35W Intel 3rd Generation Core I processor.

Dialog Semiconductor plc (FWB: DLG), a provider of highly integrated power management, audio and short range wireless technologies, announced its move into touchscreen sensors with the launch of the SmartWave - part number DA8901 - Multi-Touch Integrated Circuit (MTIC). The MTIC is the world's first chip to enable FlatFrog's* market proven Planar Scatter Detection (PSD) Touch in high volume consumer devices.Using in-lens infrared light, the FlatFrog PSD Touch system can detect and track multiple touches, gestures and pressures from gloved hands, stylus and other objects, providing a more natural true-touch user experience at performance levels surpassing the latest capacitance-based solutions, but at a fraction of the cost.MTIC is suitable for today's laptops, all-in-one PCs, ultrabooks and monitors, and is optimized for display types between 11 and 36 inches. It is also designed to meet Microsoft Windows 8 and Intel's ultrabook touch requirements.Supporting up to 40 simultaneous touches, the MTIC uses the proven principles of FlatFrog's patented Planar Scatter Detection (PSD) Touch technology to detect changes in infrared light injected into the cover lens of the display. As users touch the glass surface, scattered light is detected by multiple infrared receivers. The resulting signals are received by the MTIC where they are amplified and pre-filtered before being converted to the digital domain. The data is then subjected to advanced signal processing using the MTIC's integrated detector engine - based on the ARM Cortex M0 processor - which is then used as a basis to provide the touch co-ordinates to the main device processor.A single MTIC can drive up to twelve infrared LED/emitter pairs directly. A typical ultrabook, tablet or all-in-one PC would contain a number of MTICs configured in a master/slave arrangement catering for a flexible number of screen sizes up to 36 inches. PSD Touch works with any display type and with either a glass or plastic cover lens. Unlike projected capacitive (procap) touch technology, which is widely deployed today in smartphones and tablets, the system provides full edge-to-edge industrial design with 100% optical clarity because there are no expensive ITO layers to impede the light from the display reaching the eye. This also means the screen backlight does not need to be driven as hard to achieve the same brightness level, which will result in additional system power savings.Mark Tyndall, VP Corporate Development and Strategy at Dialog Semiconductor commented, "The DA8901 MTIC promises to be a real game changer, providing uncompromised multi-touch at a price point affordable to mainstream ultrabooks and a plethora of next generation touch-enabled display products. Unlike competing technologies, system cost scales linearly with screen size, meaning even the lowest priced mainstream all-in-one PCs and monitors can enjoy a premium multi-touch experience.""We are excited to team with FlatFrog and look forward to continuing this collaboration." added Tyndall.Christer Fahraeus, Co-founder and Chairman at FlatFrog Laboratories added, "Having perfected our technology over a number of years, we are proud to have an innovative company like Dialog bring our PSD technology to the high volume consumer market in such an optimised mixed signal IC and provide the industry with a lower cost alternative to competing touch sensor technologies."The DA8901 comes in a 59 pin, 5.7mm x 5.0mm QFN package. Its small footprint and minimal external bill of materials makes it ideal for mounting alongside the LED emitter and receiver components on a very thin low cost printed circuit board located around the edges of the display or mounted under the display to provide a bezel-less design. The low profile means the whole touch system is thinner than the display module meaning it adds no thickness to the end device.The DA8901 MTIC will be available from Q3 2013.*Note: FlatFrog Laboratories AB is based in Lund, Sweden and was founded in 2007. The company is revolutionizing the touch industry with its patented optical in-glass PSD technology, providing true multi-touch systems that allow a superior user experience. FlatFrog offers a uniquely smooth and precise touch control technology, supporting up to 40 simultaneous touches with pressure detection. Applications include digital signage, automotive, education, gaming and medical displays, as well as consumer electronic. FlatFrog investors include Invus, Sunstone Capital, Intel Capital and Faro Capital.

Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) announced its 28 nm Cyclone V GT FPGA completed compliance testing with the PCI Express (PCIe) 2.0 specification. Available in production today, the Cyclone V GT FPGA is the industry's first low-cost, low-power FPGA to achieve PCIe 2.0 interoperability with data rates of 5 Gbps. The Cyclone V GT FPGA successfully passed all PCI-SIG compliance and interoperability tests at the most recent PCI-SIG workshop and is currently included on the PCI-SIG Integrators List. Cyclone V GT FPGAs provide developers a significant reduction in system costs and system power when developing PCIe Gen2-based applications compared to previously available FPGAs."Achieving PCIe Gen2 compliance with our Cyclone V GT FPGA marks another milestone in the successful rollout of our 28 nm Cyclone V FPGA family," said Sabrina Raza, senior product marketing manager at Altera. "Customers who need the system performance offered by PCIe Gen2 now have the ability to use a low-power FPGA and lower their total system costs. Leveraging our expertise in transceiver technology and our proficiency in developing PCIe design solutions, we allow customers to save a significant amount in system costs while not trading off on performance."Cyclone V FPGAs feature integrated transceivers with data rates up to 5 Gbps and have two hardened PCIe IP blocks embedded within the device. The PCIe hard IP blocks enable developers to increase system performance and system functionality while boosting design team productivity. The PCIe 2.0-compliant hard IP blocks consists of the PHY/MAC, data link and transaction layers. The blocks can be configured to function as an end point or a root port and supports up to x4 lanes.Cyclone V FPGAs and Cyclone V SoCs have an innovative multifunction support feature that allows up to eight PCIe end points to be combined into a single end point while still being supported by standard device drivers. This convenient feature benefits applications such as I/O expansion by reducing software driver development time. The Cyclone V FPGA and Cyclone V SoC are also equipped with Altera's innovative Configuration via Protocol using PCIe, which allows the hard PCIe core in the devices to operate without the FPGA fabric being loaded. This ensures the PCIe end point is ready for enumeration under the PCIe protocol's required 100ms specification regardless of the configuration method being used.Altera offers a full spectrum of PCI-SIG-compliant solutions across its entire product portfolio that are optimized the meet key application requirements. These solutions include configurable PCIe intellectual property (IP) cores and development boards for endpoint, bridge, switch and root port functionalities. Altera's latest Cyclone V GT FPGA Development Kit enables simple and fast PCIe Gen2 protocol implementation while reducing design risk and shortening development times. The development kit provides a quick and simple approach to develop low-cost and low-power FPGA system-level designs to achieve rapid results.AvailabilityCyclone V GT FPGAs are currently in production. Altera offers the broadest portfolio of 28 nm low-power, low-cost FPGAs in the industry, with densities ranging from 25K logic elements (LEs) to 300K LEs and the smallest form factor packaging options that are tailored to customer's needs. For more information about Altera's Cyclone V GT FPGAs, visit www.altera.com/cyclone5. To learn more about the PCIe capabilities featured in Altera's FPGAs, visit http://www.altera.com/technology/high_speed/protocols/pcie-hard-ip/pro-hard-ip.html.

MSI honorably presents its all-new 21.5-inch Wind Top AE2212 and AE2212G All-in-One PCs. The 1920 x 1080 full HD panel with LED background technology features 10-point touch (optional) control and an elegant frameless AIO design to add a touch of elegance as you enjoy your digital life. You'll deserve to get your own MSI AE2212 Series AIO PC right away.New generation Windows 8 OS, new 10-point touch control technologyThe Wind Top AE2212/AE2212G comes with Microsoft Windows 8 preloaded and features 10-point touch (optional), allowing you to experience the superior performance of full-flat wide screen monitors. Users can slide freely on the surface of the screen as well as the corners which were hard-to-reach before, and now the whole touch panel is more accessible than ever. Besides, users can download an extensive range of the latest apps from the Windows Store whenever you want as you share and interact with friends. This fusion of hardware and software is just what you need to add a little awesome to your life.MSI exclusive Instant Display TechnologyMSI developed its own Instant Display Technology which can puts the AE2212's monitor automatically into standby mode after the All-in-One PC is powered up, so there's no need to press the power button on the AIO itself to turn it on. It even helps the system save more power.THX certified surround sound, cinema-grade audio for your listening pleasureTo ensure that users enjoy the best audiovisual feast possible, the MSI AE2212/AE2212G features THX certified surround sound. So whether users are taking in a film or kicking back to some tunes, the AE2212/AE2212G's internal speakers will reproduce the sound faithfully just like in the cinema. Use MSI All-in-One PCs--immerse yourself in the infinite charm!More features to get excited about*3rd Generation Intel Core Processor*MSI Military Class II components*NVIDIA GeForce GT630M Graphics 2GB (AE2212G only)*NVIDIA Optimus Technology (AE2212G only)*Anti-Glare Display (Non touch model only)*LED-Backlit Liquid Crystal Display*MSI Instant Display Technology*Support USB 3.0 with MSI SuperCharger*THX TruStudio PROFind more information on MSI's website: http://www.msi.com/

Advantech (2395.TW), a global leader in the industrial platform computing and automation device market, held its investor conference today and announced its 2012 consolidated financial report. Consolidated revenue was reported at approximately NT$27.55 billion, an increase of 4.2% compared with 2011; operating margin was NT $10.93 billion (39.7% gross margin); and net profit after tax was NT $3.49 billion, which represents about NT $6.22 per share after-tax earnings for the year.Advantech President Chaney Ho said that after two years of transition, the world is now firmly entering an intelligent era in technology. This year, keeping this theme in mind, Advantech will provide services to meet the needs of various industries including providing cloud infrastructure, cloud intelligence services as well as services related to smart cities and the internet of things. Advantech will also develop strategies to augment global distribution and to assist business organizations in taking advantage of the new services.Chaney also announced a change to the organization. In the past, the organization was structured along geographic or product boundaries. Today, the new organization will be based on vertical sectors and applications. As a result, it has been realigned into three Master Business Groups (MBG): AASECO (Advantech Automation Sales Eco-Partners, AASECO) which serves automation system integrators; the Embedded Design-in Group to service equipment manufacturers; and the iServices Group to serve solutions providers in the creation of intelligent services. The organizational changes, chosen to drive business forward, are based on two major criteria: vertical sectors and applications. In the area of global deployment, in addition to continued steady expansion of high-end markets in Europe and North America, research coming from the newly developed collaboration think-tank, the Advantech + Technology Campus (A + TC), has identified more business opportunities in the emerging markets of Russia, India, Israel, the Arab states that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, and the Latin American market.Advantech Intelligent Services (AiS) will also provide a new Solution Ready Package (SRP) business model to the market. Advantech Intelligent Services Vice President Ken Yu said that as the paradigm in technology continues to shift over the next decade to create the intelligent era, "services" will replace "products" in mainstream market demand. Additionally, following global trends in urbanization, intelligent cities will flourish, with innovative services, interconnected and integrated devices marking a significant change in the mode of operation in the industry.Ken went on to explain that the new SRP business model dividing the AiS organization into five business units was developed to fulfill requirements of the Greater China market. The new organization will divide AiS into five business units offering solutions in the following sectors: medical (iHospital), retail (uRetail), smart-city (uCity), intelligent-factory (iFactory), and intelligent-building (iBuilding). The five business units will provide a set of value-added application services, each with a different industry focus. With an in-depth industry application operating just like a normal system integrator, the SRP business model will include a professional marketing and IT team, while strengthening the sales and service teams. Advantech will also strengthen its own capabilities in various fields through its "Partnering for Smarter City Solutions" platform, which includes mergers and acquisitions, alliances with industry partners and industry/academic cooperation such as the TiC100 business model competition.Chaney Ho stressed that the Advantech SRP business model is the best model that has been developed to date, combining intelligent technology with Advantech's past three decades of experience, and boosted by the merger with BICOM Information Technology and alliances with academic and government organizations. Advantech continually enables technology for an intelligent planet with strategic initiatives that further the development of the organization and its business models. The SRP business model will serve to help Advantech become a leading innovation enterprise provider in Greater China, as well as assist different industries in accelerating their own growth in intelligent operations.Finding more INFORMATION