Advantech (News - Alert) is introducing a rugged system on chip (SoC) PCM-3343 PC/104 computer board based on a low-power DM&P Vortex86DX 1.0 GHz network processor for harsh environments that require basic CPU performance at very low power.

It would meet the needs of those that have older carrier boards and PC/104 modules for electrical power stations and factory automation, according to a report in Military & Aerospace Electronics.

The PCM-3343 CPU board measures 96 by 90 millimeters, in a fan-less architecture, and supports graphic output including VGA and 24-bit LVDS or TTL in resolution as fine as 1024 by 768 pixels.

The PCM-3343 single-board computer consumes less than 5 watts under full load, and extended support between -40 and 85 degrees Celsius.

These SoC computer boards are for systems integrators developing applications based on DOS, WinCE, WinXP Embedded, and Linux-based operating systems in factory automation and industrial instrument fields as well as medical devices, according to the report.

The DM&P's Vortex86DX, 1.0 GHz x86 compatible processor - in this embedded computer - uses a 90-nanometer process, and comes with hardware floating point unit and 256 kilobytes of L2 cache.

The single-board computer can provide a passive cooling solution for enclosed embedded computing applications.

It has three RS-232, one RS-422/485, one IDE, four USB 2.0, and two 10/100 LAN ports, plus one CompactFlash socket, and 16-bit GPIO.

Supported operating system software includes: DOS, Windows CE 5.0/ 6.0, Linux Ubuntu (News - Alert) 9.10, QNX Neutrino 6.3.2, Windows XP, and XP Embedded.

Linux Ubuntu 10.04 and QNX Neutrino 6.4.1 are under development.

APIs are included for configuring I2C, watchdog timer, panel backlight on/off, brightness control, and GPIO. Software APIs are interfaces that define the ways by which an application program may request services from libraries and/or operating systems. They provide the underlying drivers and a set of integrated interfaces, which speeds development, enhances security and offers add-on value for Advantech platforms.

Advantech's USA Embedded & Network Computing Division is based in Irvine, Calif.

In other company news, Freescale Semiconductor (News - Alert), a supplier of embedded semiconductors, and Advantech, a global manufacturer of telecom computing blades and multicore network processor platforms, recently announced the first member of Advantech's Packetarium product line to feature Freescale's advanced QorIQ processors.