Single-board computers

A look at trends in single-board computers is in order. Like every other area, low power is king. Intel Atom-processor-based SBCs are showing up in many types of boards — but certainly not the high-performance ones. Atom-based industrial temperature range cards are now becoming available, however.

We covered 10 new Atom-based boards in the first five months of 2010. Atom CPUs take as little as 1 W, up to about 15 W. But performance is 1/10th to 1/100th that of a Core 2 Duo or Corei3, versions of which now come with long-term availability.

I consulted with Bob Burckle of WinSystems (www.winsystems.com), who noted that many embedded-systems engineers face more difficult decisions these days managing obsolescence coupled with the rapid movement of technology. While the latest processors are tempting, the relatively long lifecycles of most systems means you can’t jump on every new board with the latest and greatest MCU. And when you do make the move, you have to know that the board (and processor) will be available for 5 to 7 years. Just because there is new technology available does not justify discarding something that is proven as reliable and that has been available for years — you have to balance legacy and the latest technology.

Balancing act

Another balance is with higher performance, which usually means higher levels of heat, sophisticated packaging, and advanced interconnect technology. These can adversely affect reliability and can make one think about low-power eco-friendly designs that are scalable and offer long-production life.

A designer must also think about whether standards are really important for small-form-factor computers. The answer is yes. Standards developed and maintained by independent entities give these SBCs a competitive marketplace, a breadth of choice, a support infrastructure, and interoperability that reduces cost and increases availability.

Lastly, I think the trend in higher-volume systems is to use off-the-shelf SBCs rather than design your own. If you need intelligence in an application that is made in volumes of 10,000, 20,000, or 30,000 units per year, it is better to use an off-the-shelf SBC or COM module and customize the product with specialty I/O and software.