Highly Integrated SBC features Intel Atom E-Series CPU and on-board Data Acquisition

Diamond Systems, a leading global supplier of compact, rugged, embedded computing solutions for real-world applications in a broad range of markets, who have recently unveiled Athena III, a rugged small form factor single board computer (SBC) based on the Intel Atom E640T CPU running at 1.0GHz, and featuring 1 Gigabit Ethernet port, 4 serial ports, and 4 USB 2.0 ports. Athena III is the newest member of Diamond's 2-in-1 SBC products, combining a standard CPU board's features with industry leading data acquisition on a single board. This combination offers a highly integrated SBC in a more compact size with higher reliability, and at a lower cost. Athena III's power-efficient design leverages Intel's ultra-low-power (Queensbay) silicon platform, consisting of the Atom E640T (Tunnel Creek) processor and chipset (Topcliff). Athena III supports 1GB of DDR2 DRAM soldered on-board and provides high-resolution LVDS and VGA graphics interfaces. Additional I/O ports include SATA, USB, serial, digital I/O, and Gigabit Ethernet. Flexible system expansion is based on stackable PC/104 (ISA) modules, and a socket is provided for an optional on-board USB flashdisk of up to 8GB. Athena III's integrated data acquisition circuit includes 16 analog inputs with 16-bit A/D and 150KHz maximum sample rate, 4 12-bit analog outputs, 24 digital I/O lines, and two counter/timers. It uses an enhanced 512-sample FIFO with programmable threshold for maximum flexibility and data reliability. The analog circuitry utilizes Diamond Systems' industry-leading Universal Driver software with autocalibration technology to calibrate A/D and D/A circuits. This provides analog I/O performance with the maximum possible accuracy over the full operating temperature range of the product. "Athena III is the third generation of our most popular SBC and demonstrates our continuing commitment and ability to provide high quality products and long term support to our customers." says Jonathan Miller, President of Diamond Systems. "Providing the same shape, features, and I/O connectors as Athena II, and offering significantly enhanced performance while maintaining similar power consumption and price, the new Athena III adds another 7 years to the lifecycle of products that designed in our earlier generation boards, while requiring minimal redesign efforts by our customers." Athena III's rugged features include a wide temperature operating range of -40°C to +85°C, soldered-on memory, plus dedicated locations on the PCB to replace configuration jumpers with 0-ohm resistors for resistance to shock and vibration. Conformal coating is also available as an added cost option. Athena III is mechanically and functionally backward compatible with Diamond's Athena II SBC, while offering almost three times the performance, lower power consumption, and upgraded features. This compatibility extends the lifetime of existing Athena II applications and demonstrates Diamond Systems' commitment to long term support.