New GE COM Express Modules Provide New Levels of Performance to Rugged Applications Constrained by Power Consumption and Size

GE’s Intelligent Platforms business (NYSE:GE) has announced two additions to its growing family of COM Express modules: the mCOM 10K1 Type 10 Mini COM Express Module used in data intensive environments, and the bCOM6-L1700 Type 6 COM Express Module for use in applications with extensive graphics needs.

The mCOM10K1 Type 10 Mini COM Express Module is based on the NVIDIA® Tegra® K1 system-on-chip (SOC) - enabling it to deliver 326 GFLOPS of performance, well beyond the performance typically associated with Mini COM Express, and is ideal for applications where very high performance in data-intensive applications, rugged reliability in harsh environments and very compact size need to be combined.

As well as extending GE’s COM Express offering still further, the mCOM10K1 also brings GE’s powerful GPGPU (general purpose processing on a graphics processor) capability within reach of the significant number of applications where power consumption needs to be 10 watts or less.

The fully rugged bCOM6-L1700 Type 6 COM Express Module features the latest R-Series System-on-Chip (SoC) from AMD, providing it with not only superior throughput but also extensive graphics capabilities. It is differentiated from ‘commodity’ COM Express modules by its high performance, extreme durability and low lifetime cost of ownership.

The bCOM6-L1700 is available in two performance/watt variations, and is the first of its type to offer up to 16 GBytes of soldered memory.

Both the mCOM10K1 and bCOM6-L1700 feature on-board components that are specifically selected for their reliability in demanding conditions. Unlike solutions designed for benign environments, the processor and memory are soldered to the board for maximum resistance to shock and vibration. Extended mechanical construction protects the module, which is designed for optional conformal coating to provide additional resistance to moisture, dust, chemicals, and temperature extremes.

Their inherently rugged design and construction make both modules ideal for deployment in challenging harsh environments - that are subject to extremes of temperature, vibration and shock - in which maximum uptime is mission-critical such as heavy industry, transportation, military/aerospace, energy exploration and so on.

“GPGPU technology has been widely adopted in a broad range of applications, spanning such diverse disciplines as healthcare, astronomy, machine learning, and artificial intelligence,” said Simon Collins, Product Manager at GE’s Intelligent Platforms business. “Much of this work has taken place in the cloud or on big server hardware; low-end hardware has previously required about 100 Watts supply. The Tegra K1 at the heart of the mCOM10K1 delivers a significant opportunity to exploit GPGPU technology on a scale that was previously unimaginable, creating a sophisticated processing capability at the edge nodes of the network.”

“The COM Express architecture is rapidly gaining traction because, by separating the carrier card from the processor, it extends the useful life of the subsystem by allowing simple, cost-effective upgrade of the processor alone,” said Tommy Swigart, Product Manager at GE’s Intelligent Platforms business. “This reduces long term cost of ownership while ensuring that performance keeps pace with changing needs.”

“Historically, however, COM Express has not been considered for deployment in the most physically challenging environments because sufficiently rugged implementations were not available,” continued Swigart. “The bCOM6-L1700 changes that, bringing not only high performance but also the ability to operate successfully in almost any location.”

About GE’s Intelligent Platforms business

GE’s Intelligent Platforms business (NYSE:GE) is headquartered in Charlottesville, VA and part of GE Energy Management. The company’s work in the military/aerospace segment, headquartered in Huntsville, AL, and Towcester, England, provides one of the industry’s broadest ranges of high performance, rugged, SWaP-optimized embedded computing platforms. Backed by programs that provide responsive customer support and minimize long term cost of ownership for multi-year programs, GE’s solutions are designed to help customers minimize program risk and cost, and to speed time-to-market. For more information, visit geembedded.com.

NVIDIA, Tegra and CUDA are registered trademarks or trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.