7 Platform one Uncrewed Systems Technology | December/January 2024 A new I/O standard is being developed for small UAVs (writes Nick Flaherty). The VNX+ standard is designed to fit into UAVs that can be launched from 5 in-diameter tubes and for CubeSats destined for orbit. It is going through the VITA standards process as VITA90 for release early next year, which would allow small modules with processors, GPUs, FPGAs, switches, sensors and RF to link together over a 110 GHz backplane, which could be optical. The standard has more pins on a tighter pitch than VPX VITA46, which is now 16 years old, and has a lower thermal budget of 25 W per slot. It follows the adoption of the SOSA 2 protocol at the end of last year. A sub-group of VNX+, called QMC, is developing a specification to extend the interface lines. This could be used to add extra I/O or for protocols such as 1553, CAN or video. Snapshot 2 of VNX+ went to VITA members at the end of October 2023 and is now heading for review for release, said Mark Littlefield, director of system products at Elma Electronics, who is also chair of the QMC working group. He expects the first VNX+ products before the end of the year. “Organisations are just developing their first products and projects to the standard,” he said. “We can expect those first-generation products to be announced and shipping before the end of the year, which means the first integration projects using those components will be well underway in late 2023 to early 2024. “If components of the various major groups – boards, switches, radios/ receivers, FPGA processors, GPU/video processing, and backplanes – are all launched or announced by mid-2024 then we can expect relatively healthy adoption through the 2024-25 period. By 2025, early projects should be heading towards full production,” he said. “There is an expectation that VNX+ plug-in cards will be ‘affordable’, more so than VPX. This is a reasonable expectation because the VNX+ power densities [usually less than 25 W per slot] means lower performance, and therefore less expensive components will be used. There is also an expectation of higher volumes for VNX+. “The power densities we are expecting are based on initial thermal models. There is still a lot of work to do here in modelling and the design of thermal structures within the VNX+ plug-in cards, as well as enclosures and chassis.” A VITA 93 small form factor mezzanine is also being developed that is much smaller than XMC, with host and I/O interface connectors that will work with VNX+. The host interface supports modern highspeed serial fabrics, and the I/O interface supports front-panel or backplane I/O. There is also a version planned for space systems, VITA90.5 or SpaceVNX+. Airborne vehicles New small UAVs standard The VITA90 VNX+ standard for small UAVs and CubeSat designs
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