Rugged XMC Module For Video Streaming From Unmanned Vehicles

ICS-8580 combines two TI DSP processors and Altera FPGA

GE Intelligent Platforms has launched a powerful, compact, easy to use and flexible answer to the problem of capturing, compressing and delivering video. The ICS-8580 responds to the rapid growth in unmanned vehicles and their requirement to deliver high quality mission video over links that are often bandwidth-constrained. It is designed to be a simple, plug-and-play solution that requires minimal integration or software development.
The ICS-8580’s XMC form factor means that it is small, lightweight at 100 grams/3.5 ounces and consumes little power – typically, 10 – 15 watts. These features, in conjunction with its rugged design, mean that it can be deployed in a wide range of demanding military and aerospace environments. Its flexibility is further enhanced by its ability to support numerous video formats with either two channels of high definition video or four channels of standard definition video. The ICS-8580 features the ultra-efficient, industry standard H.264 video compression codec, but is software-reconfigurable to enable it to support alternatives such as JPEG2000.
“With the ICS-8580, we have taken a task that was previously difficult, time-consuming and often costly and made it simple, quick and inexpensive,” said Christopher Lever, Global Product Manager, Sensor Processing and I/O at GE Intelligent Platforms. “For prime contractors, systems integrators and OEMs, the ICS-8580 delivers a sustainable competitive advantage through its use of innovative technologies, increasing customer productivity while minimizing program cost and risk and speeding time-to-market.”
The ICS-8580 provides input support for HD/ED/SD analog input signals, analog RGB formats from VGA to UXGA, as well as digital input formats such as 3G-SDI, DVI, and HDMI up to a maximum resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 or 1,600 x 1,200 pixels. An Altera Arria II GX FPGA combined with TI DSP signal processing provide exceptional compute power in a video XMC platform.
Two TI TMS320DM6467 DSPs provide processing capability to achieve two streams of up to 1080p H.264 (or JPEG 2000) encoding. Up to four streams of SD input data can be compressed in parallel. The encoded bitstream can be accessed via PCI Express, or output directly as Gigabit Ethernet RTP/UDP packets.
High-speed A/D devices - supporting resolutions up to 1,600 x 1,200 for graphics type inputs and 1,920 x 1,080 for HD video inputs - provide input digitization of the various supported analog video formats. The FPGA controls data capture and routing and can be used in a variety of ways, while the TI DSP co-processors provide efficient and streamlined video data processing. If required, the system can be loaded with custom FPGA and DSP code to perform a broad range of video processing functions on the video input streams.
Data input and output is available using a carrier card, PCI Express connectivity, or via rear I/O. Analog or digital input data can be supported through the rear I/O connectors. Up to 768 MB of DDR2 SDRAM is supplied on-board. The FPGA has 256 MB and each DSP device has 256 MB.

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