High-performance graphics card targets SWaP-constrained applications

Responding to the growing demand for high-performance graphics capability, together with the need to accommodate a broad range of resolutions, aspect ratios and legacy displays, Abaco Systems has introduced the rugged GRA113 3U VPX graphics board. The GRA113 represents the latest development in Abaco's growing range of products based on NVIDIA's market-leading GPU technology. The innovative GRA113, which is designed for the most demanding applications, is especially notable for its 'unique' support of configurable video outputs, providing customers with both flexibility and cost reduction by allowing a single board to be deployed where previously multiple boards would have been required. At the heart of the GRA113 is the industry-leading processing power of the latest NVIDIA Maxwell 640-core GPU, enabling it to deliver up to twice the performance of its predecessor, the GRA112. In line with Abaco's commitment to maximizing the long term value of customer investments, the GRA113 is form-, fit- and function compatible with the GRA112, allowing users to achieve a substantial uplift in performance with minimal cost or disruption. Because its power envelope is similar to that of the GRA112, the GRA113 offers superior performance / Watt characteristics, making it ideal for SWaP-constrained applications such as small ground vehicles with their typical mix of display resolutions and standards. The GRA113 is available in three variants: dual channel, quad channel and dual channel plus legacy. As well as graphics applications, users can leverage the massively parallel compute capability of the GRA113 for GPGPU (general-purpose computing on graphics processing units) such as ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance), radar and sonar. For video processing, the GRA113's higher performance enables superior throughput in applications such as video stitching and sensor fusion in wide area surveillance applications. It can allow the incorporation of data from multiple sensor types to build a complete picture of a large geographical area, delivering increased situational awareness and context. For radar processing, the double-precision floating point hardware will minimize the impact of artefacts introduced by single-precision processing, says the company. "The GRA113 is unique in its ability to enable customers to integrate multiple display types - including legacy technologies - in a single chassis slot, saving valuable space, power and cost," said Chris Lever, VP, product management, Abaco Systems. "By significantly increasing performance/watt, the GRA113 allows customers to do more with less, providing the opportunity to deploy a powerful, flexible graphics solution in the most challenging, most constrained environments."