Jess Isquith

Over the past year, activity behind the COM-HPC initiative has intensified: The team of 20-plus companies reached significant milestones in 2019, including approving the pinout of the new high-performance Computer-on-Module specification. Now – with the adoption of this pinout – all committee members have a solid basis from which to work on standard-compliant carrier board designs that offer interfaces supporting up to 100 GbE and PCIe Gen 4.0 and Gen 5.0, with up to eight DIMM sockets, and high-speed processors of more than 200 watts on standardized COM-HPC modules. The initial specification is expected to be ratified in the first half of 2020; early spec- compatible products are in the design phase. To accelerate development efforts, the committee formed two subgroups focusing on signal-integrity challenges and defining management software elements of the new specification.

PICMG is pleased to announce the formation of a new CompactPCI Serial technical subcommittee.
CompactPCI Serial is a modern modular computer standard that has achieved great success in multiple industries, including transportation and industrial automation. Its key features are simplicity, flexibility, and robustness which enable cost-optimized solutions. The new technical subcommittee has the goal of extending the current CompactPCI Serial specification with an update covering requirements for modern high-speed applications and will strive for maximum interoperability between the current revision and this extension. Extending the standard will guarantee further success in existing applications and open new opportunities.
The committee’s stated goals are to support PCIe Gen4 and Gen5; add Ethernet KR4 support; evaluate USB4; support a redundant system slot similar to CompactPCI Serial for Space; and will recommend a robust “utility connector” with locks or screws.
EKF, Hartmann, and nVent are sponsoring the effort. The following PICMG members have joined the initiative which kicks off in February: Acromag, Inc., ADLINK, Airbus Defence & Space, Amphenol – BSI, DESY, Elma Electronic, Embeck, FASTWEL, HEITEC, Lodz University of Technology, MEN Mikro Elektronik GmbH, National Instruments, nVent, Schroff GmbH, Samtec, and TE Connectivity.

It is my great pleasure to announce a new PICMG program honoring key contributors to PICMG growth and success. Accumulating more than 23 years of Open Standards development for Embedded Computing, PICMG members have collaborated on nine major families of specifications. Hundreds of people have participated in subcommittees, providing key contributions which have led to billions of dollars of computing solutions.

As Embedded Computing changes and people move to new phases of their careers, the Officers felt it was important to acknowledge the many members, both active and inactive, who have been instrumental in the development and leadership of PICMG. For our first year of the program, we selected a large and deserving group as our initial honorees, reflecting the quantity of contributions that drive PICMG’s leadership in the industry. This proficient group contains founding members, leaders of previous successful efforts, and current initiative leaders.

Through the end of 2017, we will highlight honorees in this distinguished group, with information about their valuable contributions and accomplishments by publishing monthly articles in our newsletter and on our website. We will also establish a process to nominate future honorees.

I would like to personally thank all of them for their contributions to our 23 years of success.

Dennis Aldridge
Curt Alexander
Alan Beverly
Steve Cooper
Rob Davidson
Chris Engels
Wayne Fisher
Lou Francz
Chuck Hill
Jerry Hitchcock
Roger Hurlbert
Andreas Lenkish
Pierre McMaster
Jim Medeiros
Mark Overgaard
Joe Pavlat
Dan Pirro
Dick Somes
Bob Sullivan
Eike Waltz

Active Member Honorees:

Kevin Bross
Chuck Byers
Heiko Korte
Ray Larsen
Jeff Munch
Michael Munroe
Bob Pebly
Doug Sandy
Manfred Schmitz
Michael Thompson