AAEON Boxer PC range

It is not surprising that the Boxer PC range from AAEON has been a cornerstone of the Impulse product range since its launch in 2004. At the time, the designers of the Japanese bullet trains needed a rugged low powered, industrial computer, and thus AAEON was commissioned to develop the now industry leading Boxer PC. Since its inception over 8 years ago, AAEON’s Boxer PC range has been expanded to over 20 systems with a wide range of specifications, designed to accommodate most industrial applications.

View entire range

What makes Boxer PCs so rugged?
The first thing you will notice about the Boxer PC is its unique aluminium “fin” style chassis. This is reminiscent of the type of heatsink found on CPUs for decades, which creates a large surface area capable of dispersing heat generated by the components within the PC. Whereas traditional PCs require a fan to cool the internal components, the fan being prone to wear and failure, AAEON’s Boxer PC does away with this as the temperature is kept under control by the natural airflow over the highly thermally conductive chassis.

The advantage of having no moving parts in a PC is that the number of failures due to wear and tear is dramatically reduced, if not eradicated completely. When combined with Solid State Storage, a type of hard drive with no mechanical parts, the Boxer PC has no moving parts at all. This creates an extremely rugged system capable of withstanding knocks and vibrations that may normally cause fans or traditional hard drives to fail.


Why should I choose a Boxer PC for my application?
For many of our customers, longevity and availability is key to deciding which products to use in their industrial applications. For this reason, alongside the Boxer PC’s rugged reliability, AAEON also ensure that all components that make up the Boxer PCs have long term availability.

The components and processors used in AAEON’s Boxer PCs, such as Intel’s Atom N270, are on long-term roadmaps, meaning supply and availability can be sustained for up to 7 years.

The Boxer PC range also has design features ideal for industrial environments. Features such as a wide DC voltage input, wide operating temperature range and industry leading certifications ensure that AAEON’s Boxer PC range is ready and capable to support your industrial computer requirements.

How flexible are AAEON’s Boxer PCs’ I/O options?
With over 20 different system specifications available in AAEON’s Boxer PC range, the I/O options are extremely varied and flexible. Many systems include isolated ports, configurable serial ports and high performance LAN interfaces as standard, with options to expand systems with extra PCI, PCI Express and Mini PCI Express slots.

If there isn't a system that meets your exact I/O requirements, you can even specify your own I/O configuration on request.

In summary

• Fanless rugged design
• The aluminium “fin” design of the boxer’s chassis enables the system to run entirely fanless, increasing its reliability and gives it the ability to be a truly rugged system.
• Long term product availability
• AAEON’s Boxer PCs are designed with long life industrial components, allowing for sustained supply and availability for as long as seven years.
• Comprehensive I/O choices
• The Boxer PC range has a wide choice of I/O options including isolated ports, configurable serial ports, high performance LAN interfaces and expansion such as PCI, PCI Express and Mini PCI Express.
• Innovative industrial features
• The Boxer PC range has design features ideal for industrial environments such as a wide DC voltage input, wide operating temperature range and industry leading certifications.

Post Embedded World 2012 roundup

Embedded World Exhibition and Conference 2012 is the world’s largest international trade fair and congress event for all things embedded. From February 28th to March 1st 2012, Embedded World featured around 900 international companies, including many of Impulse’s partners, showcasing their latest products and services.

Embedded World 2012 lived up to its expectations with a wide variety of cutting edge embedded technology on show. Having visited Embedded World numerous times in the past, it certainly felt like there was an increase in visitor numbers for 2012, with many of our partners also commenting on an upsurge in visitors to their stands this year.

The Impulse team utilised some serious shoe leather in their pursuit of the latest embedded computing technology and the increased number of exhibitors and seminars certainly made for a busy few days.

Our partners showcased many of their new products and technologies, with many of them focusing on Cedar Trail based products and also a selection of very interesting rugged mobile computing products. Importantly, our team gained considerable first hand knowledge on the new products from the wide variety of technical experts that were on hand during the event.

Our marketing and technical teams are now hard at work to launch these products to the UK industrial computing market and we look forward to highlighting these in our forthcoming newsletters, blogs and press releases. You can also expect to see these products on our brand new Impulse website, which was launched just before Embedded World 2012.

For Impulse, Embedded World is not just about evaluating new products; Our management team spent time with each of our partners to help discuss our joint plans for 2012 and beyond. These talks are invaluable and further build on strong partner relationships we have built over the last 19 years of business and also allow us to provide valuable feedback to our partners from our customers.

It’s always difficult to choose one highlight from all those we experienced during the show, but the strong showing from our partners such as Advantech, AAEON, DFI, DIGI, ICOP and Winmate is always good to see. Not only were their stands chocked full of the latest products and technologies but there was a clear focus and direction on how these products fit to specific industry verticals and markets, something we are great advocates of here at Impulse.

Finally, it was interesting to see the further adoption of Intelligent Systems and the Internet of Things, with both Microsoft and Intel showcasing a number of concepts and products based on these topics. It was also good to see Impulse featured on the Microsoft stand on their Windows Embedded Silver Partner display.

Impulse launch GENE-LN05 Rev B

Impulse is pleased to launch the GENE-LN05 Rev B from Aaeon Technology. The GENE-LN05 Rev B is a high performance Single Board Computer featuring the Intel Atom D525/N455 processor and Intel ICH8M chipset.

The GENE-LN05 Rev B can also support DDR3 SODIMM memory making it an ideal solution for resource intensive applications.

GENE-LN05 Rev B specification and features

• 2 x 10/100/1000Base-TX RJ45 Ethernet
• 7 x USB2.0
• 6 x COM
• 1 x Parallel
• 1 x 8-bit Programmable digital I/O
• 1 x VGA
• 1 x 18/24-bit single channel LVDS
• 1 x 4/5/8-wire touchscreen controller
• 2 x SATAII
• 1 x CompactFlash
• 1 x Mini Card
• 1 x LPC Bus

Impulse is a leading UK distributor of Aaeon products and can configure your hardware to meet your exact requirements. Impulse is a Microsoft Windows Embedded Silver Partner and can create a tailor made embedded operating system built to your exact specification to suit your application.

For more information on the GENE-LN05 Rev B and our custom Embedded Windows Image solutions then contact our Technical Account team on +44 (0)1782 337 800 or alternatively email sales@impulse-corp.co.uk.

See our official GENE-LN05 Rev B news article

Impulse launch new ACP-5182 Wallmount Panel PC

IMPULSE is pleased to announce the launch of the new ACP-5182 Wallmount Panel PC from AAEON Technology.

The ACP-5182 has a sleek front panel design with a rugged anti-scratch surface similar to modern touch phone specifications.  The innovative design has a flat edge to edge surface with no outer bezel ensuring the Panel PC is ideal for digital signage applications and public information systems.

The ACP-5182 hosts an Intel Atom Dual Core D510 processor and can support up to 2GB of DDR2 SODIMM memory. The 18.5” WXGA 1366 x 768 widescreen display can support dual input interaction with its projected capacitive multi-touch technology. For multi-touch functionality you will require Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system.

The ACP-5182 also comes with a wide range of input/output features including 2 x COM, 6 x USB2.0, 1 x Audio Line-out x 1 x external VGA port and 2 x 10/100/1000Base-TX RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet ports.  In addition, ACP-5182’s storage options include the use of a 2.5” SATA hard drive or a CompactFlash drive.

For more information on the ACP-5182, any of our Panel PCs and our custom Windows Embedded development service, please contact our sales team on +44 (0)1782 337 800 or email sales@impulse-corp.co.uk.

AAEON Launch AEC-6620

AAEON has recently launched the AEC-6620 compact fanless embedded controller. Typical features include an Intel Atom N270 processor and supports up to 2GB of DDR2 SODIMM Memory.

I/O consists of 4 USB2.0 and 1 programmable RS-232/422/485 serial port and 10/100/1000 Base-TX Ethernet Sockets.

Key features include:

• Fanless Ultra Compact Build
• Intel Atom N270 Processor (1.6GHz)
• Dual Gigabit Ethernet
• Single DC Power Input
• USB2.0 x 4, COM x 1
• ATX/ACPI Power Function

The AEC-6620 supports Windows XP for Embedded Systems, Windows XPE, Windows 7 and Linux.

Click here for more information

AAEON Launch eco-friendly system range

IMPULSE are pleased to announce the launch of AAEON’s “Green Embedded Systems” and “Green Communication Servers” as part of their eco-friendly product line. The first unit to arrive is the GES-1100F with several other systems due to launch later on in 2010. All of AAEON’s Green Embedded Systems are certified and fully compliant with ENERGY STAR regulations.

The GES-1100F hosts the Intel Atom N270 (1.6GHz) processor and Intel 945GSE/ICH7M chipset. In addition, the system supports up to 2GB DDRII (400/533MHz) SODIMM memory. The GES-1100F input/output includes two Gigabit Ethernet ports, four COMs ports, six USB2.0 and 8-bit digital i/o. In addition to having ENERGY STAR certification, the GES-1100F is ROHS compliant.

Main Features:

• Fanless Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz Processor
• Intel 945GSE + ICH7M Chipset
• Supports 1 x 240-Pin NON-ECC DDRII 400/530 DIMM Memory up to 2GB
• Dual Display with DVI & VGA ports
• Dual Realtek PCI-Express 10/100/1000Base-TX Ethernet
• 2.5” SATA Hard Disk Drive bay
• 6 x USB 2.0, 4 x COM, 8-bit Digital i/o

IMPULSE are a leading UK distributor for AAEON products. You can read more on our AAEON partnership here. If you would like more information about the GES-1100F or any of our product range then please do not hesitate to contact us at sales@impulse-corp.co.uk or +44(0)1782 337 800.

Atom Based Low Cost Embedded Computing with the AEC-6420

IMPULSE is excited to confirm that AAEON Technology, our premier Industrial PC Partner has released a new low cost embedded PC, the AEC-6420. This model is part of the BOXER Lite series in the AAEON embedded controller product line and is characterized by its compact size and competitive pricing in the market.

The AEC-6420 is an extension of the existing AEC-6410 model and its debut completes the BOXER Lite product line. The unit features the Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz processor which offers low power consumption and a condensed footprint and also support for SODIMM DDRII 400/533 system memory of up to 2GB. The AEC-6420 can be operated with a low operating voltage reducing power consumption requirements often essential in the embedded market.

“Although the AEC-6420 is an economical version of our BOXER line, this model is equipped with flexible I/O interfaces and allows for ample data storage. It deploys two COM ports, four USB 2.0 ports, and one parallel port to provide plenty of options for any robust and critical application. Furthermore, there are two Gigabit Ethernet RJ-45 ports for better network connections and communications. Additional features include mainstream operating system support, such as Windows XP Pro, Windows XP Embedded and Fedora offering easy OS compatibility with existing systems.“ said Linux Wang, the Product Manager of Panel Automation & Appliance Division, AAEON.

In addition to its generous I/O count, the AEC-6420 also comes with a SATA/IDE interface, an internal CompactFlash socket for flexible storage expansion, and optional SATA HDD kit for additional storage. This model is ideal for Machine Control, Factory Automation, Building Automation, and other industrial applications.

Full software and driver support is assured for Windows XP Pro, XP Embedded and Linux. IMPULSE is a leading certified Microsoft Embedded Partner and is ready to assist you directly with any BSP and imaging support that is required.

For more detailed product information, please visit www.impulse-corp.co.uk or contact our technical sales team for further assistance.

New Low Cost , High Performance Embedded PC

IMPULSE is pleased to announce the launch of a new low power fanless embedded PC from our premier IPC partner Aaeon, the AEC-6811. This new model from the firmly established and innovative BOXER range provides an extremely cost effective embedded platform whilst maintaining a high level of specification essential for vehicle, mobile and industrial applications.

The AEC-6811 features the leading AMD Geode LX800 500MHz low power processor and accompanies it with DDR400 RAM SODIMM (up to 512MB) system memory support. In addition, the AEC-6811 includes one SATA/IDE Hard Disk Drive and one Type II CompactFlash slot for flexible storage options. It also accommodates four COM ports and four USB2.0 ports along with two 10/100Base-TX Ethernet ports for network connectivity. The user-friendly network function makes the AEC-6811 ideal for mobile and networking applications. This mini size embedded PC also provides one MiniPCI expansion making it ideal for industrial PC applications.

“The AEC-6811 is the new generation of our embedded controller Boxer series – AEC-68xx. It enhances its performance and lowers the cost to meet the requirements of entry-level applications. The AEC-6811 inherits the BOXER’s design concepts and patented heat spreading system. Deploying a fanless and rugged aluminium alloy chassis outfit, the AEC-6811 achieves the target price and higher processing performance. Since the wide power range is another essential requirement of vehicle applications, we not only offer the 9V DC to 30V DC power input, but also the AC power input as well. The power management is AAEON’s expertise to provide a stable and reliable solutions” said Linux Wang, Product Manager of Aaeon’s Panel Application & Automation Division.

The fanless AEC-6811’s expandable functions, compact size, and highly efficient heat dispersing design are an ideal match for rugged applications in factory control, machine automation, test instrumentation, safety surveillance, and intelligent transportation.

Full software and driver support is assured for Windows CE, Windows XP Pro, XP Embedded and Linux. IMPULSE is a certified Microsoft Embedded Partner and is ready to assist you directly with any BSP and imaging support that is required.

Intel Atom Low Power Computing now in EPIC Form Factor

AAEON Technology, our premier industrial PC partner, is pleased to announce a brand new EPIC form factor board, the EPIC-9457. This new single board computer is designed to fit into diverse applications with demanding space limitations offering high performance and reliability.

The EPIC-9457 accommodates the revolutionary onboard Intel Atom N270 low power 1.6GHz Processor and additionally features support for DDR2 400/533 system memory of up to 2GB as well as adopting the latest Intel 945GSE + ICH7M chipset.

The EPIC-9457 deploys the Intel 82574L Ethernet chip and features two onboard RJ-45 LAN ports that support up to 1 Gigabit Ethernet for fast networking connectivity. The board also adopts the Intel 945GSE display chipset to support CRT/LCD simultaneous/dual view displays with VGA resolution support up to 2048 x 1536 and 24-bit dual channel LVDS LCD panel support up to 1600 x 1200. IMPULSE can assist you with pairing up the EPIC-9457 to a wide range of TFT and LVDS displays both with BIOS and cabling supply and support.

In addition to its latest PC/104-Express expansion socket, the EPIC-9457 also features one EIDE interface, two SATA ports, one Type II CompactFlash for SSD storage. It also comes with six USB2.0 ports, four COM ports and 8-bit Digital I/O for flexible expansion to other field devices making the EPIC-9457 the ideal choice for your low power, high performance embedded computing platform.

Call our experienced technical sales team for more information and pricing on the new innovative EPIC-9457 single board computer.

RTC-1000 - New 10.2” IP65 Rugged Tablet PC for Harsh Applications

AAEON, the premier industrial PC partner of IMPULSE, has released the new RTC-1000 to enrich the existing AAEON Rugged Tablet Computer (RTC) series designed to deal with applications in harsh/severe environments.

The RTC-1000 features a 10.2” WSVGA (1024 x 600) sunlight readable 450nit LCD display with integrated optically bonded vandal-proof touchscreen and optional digitizer.

The RTC-1000 series supports two models, the RTC-1000A features the Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz processor and the RTC-1000D offers the Intel Core Duo U2500 1.2GHz or Celeron M 423 1.0GHz ULV processors. Both models are equipped with one 200-pin DDR2 SODIMM socket with support of up to 2GB memory. In addition, the RTC-1000A/RTC-1000D offers flexible I/O and storage options including two USB2.0 ports, one Mini USB port, one RS-232 port, a PCMCIA socket, two internal Mini Card slots, and a CompactFlash slot.

“The RTC-1000 is sealed to the IP65 specification. It is built from the ground up to withstand water, dust and vibration encountered in the harsh environments it is utilized in. This model deploys a 10.2” WSVGA 16:9 TFT LCD display with LED backlight that can be clearly viewed from wide angles along with a sunlight readable patented AOT (Advanced Optical Technology) touch screen. This advanced technology ensures display impact protection often required in rugged applications”, - Howard Hu, Product Manager of R & D Center, AAEON. “In addition, built-in handwriting recognition and numeric keypad and programmable function keys on the front panel are all user friendly features of the RTC-1000. Another unique design is the Finger Print Reader, which is ideal for personal security systems”

The built-in 9-cell smart Lithium-Ion high capacity battery provides up to 5-7 hours operating time between re-charging. The optional docking station and vehicle chargers can keep the system up and running for multiple operating shifts. For network communications, the RTC-1000A/RTC-1000D offers one 10/100/1000Base-TX Ethernet port and a Wireless LAN IEEE 802.11 b/g connection plus one Bluetooth 2.0 Class 1 module to provide fast and convenient connectivity. An optional 3.5G Modem Module is also available up on request.

The RTC-1000 series supports the latest Windows Embedded OS, Windows Embedded Standard 2009, IMPULSE can assist you with standard and custom imaging services for this new platform. It also offers high performance with low power consumption, perfect for applications in the Emergency Medical Service, Public Safety, Transportation, Marine and Aviation industries.

Please feel free to call our experienced technical sales team for more information and pricing on the new RTC-1000 Rugged Tablet PC from AAEON.

IP65 Water-Proof Panel Computing with Intel Atom N270 Support

AAEON, our premier Industrial PC partner, releases two new Multi-Purpose & Water-Proof Panel PC’s – the FOX-151 and FOX-81. These new models are designed to deal with the harsh and rugged environments that require fully sealed enclosures and optical bonded LCD panels. They inherit the design concepts of the existing FOX series and continue to provide the same powerful features to accommodate severe environmental applications.

The FOX-151 and FOX-81 both adopt the Intel Atom N270 fanless processor up to 1.6GHz and DDR2 SODIMM system memory of up to 2GB. The low power consumption of the Atom processor is one of the key features on both of these new models. In addition, they deploy flexible I/O connection, utilising IP67 rated, water-proof connectors for total protection. AAEON specifically utilizes the M12 screw type connectors to prepare the FOX-151 and FOX-81 for severe environments and harsh applications. Both models also support optional 10/100/1000Base-TX Ethernet functionality to provide faster network communication. Wireless LAN with dual internal antennas is also an optional feature.

“The FOX-151 and FOX-81 not only offers anti-freeze protection and water proof operation under inclement weather conditions, but also a vandal-proof display for public venue applications. The LCD Optical bonding on the FOX units allows for low reflection and high contrast ratio to increase sunlight readability. The design of the LCD bonding also offers vibration absorption advantages and anti-fogging, which are all advanced features of the FOX-151 and FOX-81” says Owen Huang, Product Manager of Panel Appliance and Automation Division at AAEON.

The FOX-151 and FOX-81 features 15” and 8.4” TFT-LCD bonding respectively. AAEON uses the day and night mode display for power saving purpose and all the characteristics of the FOX-151 and FOX-81 have user-friendly orientated designs. The LCD resolution of the FOX-151 is 1024 x 768 with 16.7M colours and 450nits luminance. The FOX-81 is 800 x 600 with 262K colours and typical 650nits (450nits luminance for different models). Both model’s backlight MTBF is 50,000 hours.

The FOX-151 and FOX-81 offer mainstream operating system support for Windows XP Pro and Windows XP Embedded. IMPULSE is ready to assist you directly with any BSP and embedded imaging support that is required.

Applications in harsh environments require low power consumption and high performance, which is ideal for the FOX-151 and FOX-81. Industries such as marine, aviation, and outdoor kiosks could benefit from the entire FOX product line.

EPIC-5537 – Wide Temperature LX800 Robust EPIC Platform

IMPULSE is delighted to announce a new EPIC single board computer from AAEON Technology that offers the option of wide temperature support – the EPIC-5537. Operating temperature support of -20°C to +70°C is available on the EPIC-5537W1 version which mirrors the standard version on I/O. This is the first EPIC board with a wide temperature design in mind which not only satisfies the increasing embedded market demands for robust environments, but also completes the AAEON wide temperature board product line.

“The EPIC-5537 deploys the onboard AMD Geode LX800 processor and incorporates the CS5536 chipset along with 256MB of onboard DDR memory at 333MHz (with the option to increase its RAM to 512MB memory). The Intel 82551ER Ethernet chipset is utilized for the standard 0°C to 60°C board offering or the Intel 82551IT is used for the wide temperature EPIC-5537W1 version. Both boards support two 10/100Base-TX Ethernet connections to provide faster network communications. More stringent applications require onboard CPU support and wide range operating temperature as found on the EPIC-5537W1”, said Tony Huang, Product Manager of AAEON’s Embedded Computing Division.

The EPIC-5537 supports CRT/LCD simultaneous/dual view displays. The display controller deploys AMD LX series + TI SN75LVDS83 with shared system memory up to 254MB. The LCD interface features up to 24-bit single channel LVDS/TTL LCD for high quality display functionality. The EPIC-5537 also offers flexible I/O interfaces including two COM ports, four USB2.0 ports, a Keyboard/Mouse port and 8-bit programmable digital I/O. The onboard audio function uses the AC97 2.0 Codec for 2 channel audio and features Line-in, Line-out, Mic-in and CD-in essential for multimedia or other interactive applications.

Please feel free to call our experienced technical sales team for more information and pricing on the new wide temperature EPIC-5537 from AAEON.

IMPULSE can assist you with your fully configured board requirements including embedded operating system images and BSP’s for Windows XPe, CE.NET and Windows Embedded Standard.