Kontron microETXexpress®-XL: By-design COM Express™ Compact FF Computer-on-Module for industrial temperatures

COM designed to meet the environmental challenges faced by outdoor POS systems, public transportation vehicles, mobile warfighter and more

Eching, Germany, January 27, 2010 – With the new Kontron microETXexpress®-XL featuring the Intel® Atom™ processor Z520PT and Intel® System Controller Hub US15WPT, Kontron offers a compact form factor COM Express™ Type 2 Computer-on-Module specifically designed for use in the industrial temperature E2 range from -40 to +85 °C.

The Kontron microETXexpress®-XL with the robust COM Express™ Type 2 connector is specifically designed for applications under extreme environmental conditions ranging from very high to very low temperatures, and especially stressful cycling thermal conditions such as in UAVs, which experience high temperatures on the ground and extremely low temperatures at their operational altitude. All components of the new Kontron microETXexpress®-XL are fully industrial temperature rated and are vendor-confirmed to withstand temperatures from -40°C to +85°C. Thus, applications powered by Kontron’s industrial-grade Computer-on-Module can experience repeated exposure to such extreme conditions while safeguarding a high Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF). Possible other applications include rugged manpack PCs for networked field operators, electronic flight bags for pilots and in-vehicle PCs for navigation and fleet management (telematics). Furthermore, the Kontron microETXexpress®-XL benefits indoor and outdoor infotainment applications, since it can easily cope with the heat dissipation of large displays as well as the environmental challenges faced by outdoor POS systems.

For applications, the Kontron microETXexpress®-XL features all needed product attributes, such as a shock- and vibration-resistant design with soldered processor, chipset and RAM. An optional, on-board Solid State Drive (SSD) also ensures reliable storage in extreme conditions. Thanks to its low power consumption of only 5 watts on average (8W maximum), the module enables passive cooling without fault-prone fans, enhancing system reliability. The low power requirement in combination with the industrial temperature E2 specification is also very practical for space-restricted mounting situations where heat cannot be dissipated because of an IP-66 protected housing, for instance. Customers benefit from a high quality COTS embedded computing core that greatly simplifies extremely robust and energy efficient system designs with low heat dissipation needs.

The feature set
Within the dimensions of its compact footprint (95 mm x 95 mm), the Kontron microETXexpress®-XL offers a comprehensive feature set. Based on the Intel® Atom™ processor Z520PT, it supports up to 2 GB of soldered DDR2 system memory and even offers room for an optional on-board 2 GB Solid State Drive (SSD) on the module. Furthermore, taking advantage of the full bandwidth of the COM Express™ Type 2 connector, it offers 1x Gigabit Ethernet, 1x Serial ATA, 1x PATA, and 8x USB 2.0, as well as 2 PCI-Express x1 Lanes and PCI for customer-specific extensions. With the SDVO port for DVI, SDTV and HDTV along with 24-bit single channel LVDS, the Kontron microETXexpress®-XL offers extensive connectivity options for various displays and monitors. Intel® High Definition audio rounds out the feature set. These extensive features make the Kontron microETXexpress-XL one of the most I/O-rich compact FF Computer-on-Modules available for extreme environments.

The Kontron microETXexpress®-XL is now available globally and supports Linux, QNX, VxWorks as well as Windows XP, XPe and CE.

For more information on the Kontron microETXexpress-XL®, please visit: http://www.kontron.com/products/computeronmodules/com+express/microetxexpress/microetxexpressxl.html

For more information on the microETXexpress, please visit: http://www.kontron.com/microetx-microetxexpress/

Download PDF about the COM Express™ concept: http://www.kontron.com/com-concept

More information about Computer-on-Modules: http://www.kontron.com/COM