What is a System-On-Module (SOM)?
A SOM is an off-the-shelf macro-component similar to a system-on-chip. It offers complete host functionality in a compact footprint allowing OEMs to easily design products satisfying their form-fit-function requirements, while reducing time to market, development cost and risk. SOM products can provide scalability through standardized module-to-board interfaces, thermal interfaces and firmware (BIOS).
What is a carrier board?
A carrier board contains OEM product specific components such as for applications in test & measurement, medical, industrial automation, data & telecommunications, defense & aerospace, etc. For example, data acquisition, image capture, process control, DSP and network processor circuitry. In addition it could also brings out generic interfaces for storage, networking, display, and man-machine control. For example, IDE, USB, Ethernet, Parallel, Serial, Keyboard, Mouse, CRT, LCD, etc.
The embedded host functionality on the carrier board is provided by the SOM. Therefore the combination of a SOM and carrier board forms an OEM specific single board computer (SBC):
SBC = SOM + Carrier Board
What else is needed to design a complete OEM product?
In addition to the SOM and carrier board are needed operating system and application software, possibly a display, mass storage, touch screen, keyboard, mouse, etc.
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What are the advantages of using a SOM design approach?
The SOM approach offers OEMs many advantages over full custom boards, SBC and CPU modules, and provides best overall value for embedded applications:
- Ideal balance between form, fit and function.
- Comparable to full custom system designs
- Quick time to market and low development risk
- Typical product development time reduced from 12~18 months to 6~9 months
- Pre-tested critical circuitry including complex high speed bus interfaces and peripherals
- Scalability
- Extended product life cycles through quick and easy upgrades with future modules.
- Leverage of a single base design to create multiple product lines simultaneously, differentiated by host processing speed and/or variations between carrier boards.
- Total cost of ownership
- Low upfront development cost due to high SOM integration
- Low product life cycle cost due to SOM scalability
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What type of SOM products does PFU Systems provide?
PFU Systems provides off-the-shelf SOM products based on the x86 processor family in ultra-compact footprints. These SOM products integrate at a minimum the CPU, chipset (north-bridge, south-bridge, PCI bus controllers), Super I/O, graphics controller and BIOS Flash ROM. Different SOM products may in addition integrate CPU health-monitoring, watch dog timer and RAS capabilities. All PFU Systems SOM products include CPU thermal management. Connectivity to the OEM application specific custom carrier board or motherboard is provided though high density stacking connectors. They are among the smallest x86 computing systems in the embedded industry.
PFU Systems SOM products address applications with any combination of the following requirements:
- Low power
- Ruggedness
- High density
- Performance
- Reliability
- Scalability
- High availability
Which markets and applications do PFU Systems SOM products target?
PFU Systems SOM products are a perfect fit for many applications in various embedded industries, including but not limited to Test & Measurement, Medical, Industrial Automation, Transportation, Defense & Aerospace, Data & Telecommunication, Service & Retail. Examples of such applications are:
- Test & Measurement
- Portable network protocol analyzers, chemical analyzers, etc.
- Medical
- Patient monitoring, portable ultrasound, PET, MRI, digital radiology, etc.
- Industrial Automation
- Industrial robots, inventory management terminals, forklift computers, etc.
- Transportation
- Fleet management computers, law enforcement computers, infotainment computers for public transportation, luggage scanners, portable particle scanners, etc.
- Defense and Aerospace
- Land warrior wearable computers, field portable notebooks, gun firing control computers, navigation computers, ship board servers, embedded simulators, mobile CAM, sonar, etc.
- Data Communications
- SAN storage virtualization, intrusion detection, virus/firewall, VPN, switch/routers, MSO head-ends, VOD servers, etc.
- Telecommunications
- IP PBX, VoIP Gateways, 802.11, GPRS/3G base stations, etc.
- Service and Retail
- E-kiosks, POS computers, etc.
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What are the benefits of using SOM products from PFU Systems?
The key benefits of PFU Systems SOM products are:
- Reduced Time-To-Revenue
- Integration of complete x86 host functionality into an ultra-compact, fully tested, off-the-shelf macro component, provides OEMs the ability to build custom embedded systems literally in a matter of weeks, saving substantial NRE costs.
- Reduced Software and Hardware Investment
- Using x86 architecture based SOM products, OEMs benefit from the ample choice in software and firmware development tools, and supported operating systems. The value proposition extends further with the inclusion of an enhanced, fully tested and qualified BIOS that is feature rich and optimized for embedded applications.
- High Reliability
- A field return rate of less than 0.1% and 7+ years of MTBF make them amongst the most reliable off-the-shelf products offered in the embedded industry.
- Low Power
- Using Intel low power processors, advanced chipsets and enhanced power management techniques greatly reduces the total dissipated power, enabling power sensitive mobile applications and simplifying thermal designs for high density applications.
- Ultra-Compact and Rugged
- The ultra-compact footprint makes it easy to meet form factor and high-density requirements.
- Shock and vibration specifications of up to 50G and 10G, respectively, and operation between 0°C and 80°C case temperatures guarantees operation in harsh environments.
- Flexible BIOS
- Use of common platform architectures enables cost-effective BIOS customization between products in a product line.
- Scalable and Long Product Life Cycles
- Product availability of at least 5 years and scalability between modules guarantees extended OEM product life.
- Use of common platform architectures further guarantees scalability through BIOS portability and mechanical and electrical interface compatibility.
- Accurate Documentation
- Complete, comprehensive and accurate documentation includes electrical and thermal design guides, hardware reference manuals, BIOS manuals, and reliability and quality assurance documentation.
- Superior Customer Service
- Design reviews, BIOS customization and custom product design services.
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What is PFU Systems' commitment to the system-on-module market?
PFU Systems has pioneered and created a vibrant market for system-on-modules. The company is leading this market with innovative, high quality, reliable and cost-effective SOM products. PFU Systems is dedicated to service, quality, and integrity. The company's mission is to best serve the needs of its customers in terms of reduced development time, risk, and cost to bring to market high quality, highly reliable, embedded computing products that improve how people live and work.
Does PFU Systems provide off-the-shelf carrier boards?
PFU Systems provides several generic carrier boards to help OEM designers jump-start their developments. These carrier boards demonstrate how compact systems can be built using PFU Systems' SOM products. For more details on these carrier boards, refer to www.PFUsystems.com/products/overview.html.
Does PFU Systems provide OEM specific carrier boards?
PFU Systems offers OEM specific carrier board designs through its ProDeS turnkey system design and manufacturing services. These designs can be based on existing off-the-shelf carrier boards requiring minor modifications, or can be designed from scratch. Design times vary with complexity and required testing.
Does PFU Systems provide custom product design services beyond OEM specific carrier boards?
Next to OEM specific carrier board designs, PFU Systems offers OEMs through its ProDeS services also custom enclosure and system-on-module designs. Furthermore, this service offers pre-loading of operating system and application software. Lastly, a SOM based design can be migrated to a single board for large volume applications.
How can I get technical support on PFU Systems' products?
The PFU Systems website provides a wealth of design support information - including reference manuals, application notes, technical FAQs and drivers - and allows designers to request technical support by submitting questions online at www.PFUsystems.com/support/tech.html. In addition customers can contact local account managers for direct support and may request under non-disclosure access to carrier board reference design schematics, BIOS updates, thermal design guides and reliability and quality assurance documentation.
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