Abaco Systems, a global leader in open architecture computing and electronic systems, has released a new Development Kit designed to enable application developers to make a fast start on the creation, debugging and optimization of advanced electronic warfare (EW) applications. The VP430 Kit includes a VPX370 development platform, pre-integrated with a 3U VPX SBC329 single board computer, and the VP430 Direct RF Processing System.
The VP430 was the first 3U VPX COTS solution to feature the all new Xilinx ZU27DR RF system-on-chip (RFSoC) technology. It is also one of the densest analog FPGA DSP boards available, with eight ADC and DAC synchronized channels, and features the ability to synchronize multiple boards for even larger system applications.
Designed for advanced EW applications including MIMO (multiple input/output), beamforming, sensor processing and radar signal processing, the VP430 is a major step forward in performance and density, enabling the use of fewer boards and much less power while delivering increased processing throughput. In fact, for comparable capability, it occupies one fourth of the slots that earlier generation solutions would require.
The VPX370 is a 6-slot system developed specifically for aerospace and defense applications. Its modular architecture enables users to add high performance FPGA and I/O to the base configuration, addressing many application requirements such as digital RF memory (DRFM), synchronous multi-channel MIMO systems, software defined radio (SDR) and more. Its flexibility means that customers can simply and quickly integrate their in-house developed 3U VPX boards.
The VP430 responds to the cost and complexity challenge of RF systems with multiple channels: more channels means more expensive and large RF signal up/down conversion and signal conditioning. It enables direct RF sampling which can be implemented in the digital domain, bringing greater flexibility to the signal processing chain. Additionally, simplified integration with RF sampling devices removes the complexity of JESD204B high speed serial interfaces.
The Xilinx RFSoC is a revolutionary step in integration technology bringing a combination of Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) processing capability, a multi-processor embedded ARM Cortex-A53 Application processing unit (APU), an ARM real time processing unit (RPU) and eight input analog-to-digital converter and eight digital-to-analog converter channels. Additionally, the Zynq Ultrascale+ architecture integrates all this with features to enable high security IP protection. The RFSoC brings extreme analog bandwidth with a sustained throughput of 6 GSPS per channel and greater than 12 GBps per channel digital offload capability.
When combined with Abaco's extensive portfolio of leading edge 3U VPX multi-architecture processing boards including single board computers and graphics processor units, the VP430 enables complete systems to be built from high performance, interoperable COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) components.
