Vital 93's QMC Modules and Carrier Boards Are Now On the Market
The VITA 93 QMC standard is a groundbreaking rugged mezzanine card standard designed to provide a compact, high-density, high-speed modular solution suitable for challenging environments. This standard is particularly beneficial for applications in unmanned vehicles and narrow payload tubes, where space, weight, ruggedness, and high-speed I/O density are critical.
Significance for Unmanned Vehicles and Narrow Payload Tubes
The VITA 93 QMC modules boast a small form factor: 26 mm x 78.25 mm, significantly smaller than traditional PMC/XMC modules. This makes them well-suited to fit inside narrow payload tubes or compact spaces in unmanned vehicles where space and weight are heavily constrained.
The rugged design includes a robust connector system, the Samtec AcceleRate HD Ultra-Dense, Slim Body Arrays with a 0.635-mm pitch, that supports advanced mechanical and environmental durability needed in harsh and mobile environments. Furthermore, the standard supports high-speed serial interfaces like PCI Express Gen 6 and Compute Express Link (CXL) for demanding data throughput requirements of modern unmanned vehicle sensors and processors, enabling real-time, high-bandwidth data exchange in deployed systems.
Technical Capabilities Relevant to Rugged Modular Design
Two 80-pin sockets per QMC module are provided: one for the host interface (including power at 3.3 V and 12 V, I2C for IPMI-based intelligent platform management) and one dedicated to I/O with 40 high-density I/O signals per socket, facilitating flexible signal routing for sensors, controls, and communications.
The modular design enables system integrators to add multiple small-function QMC cards on a carrier board, allowing an extensible design that can evolve as mission needs change without increasing payload size substantially. Additionally, the standard supports both air-cooled and conduction-cooled mounting options, enhancing versatility in different vehicle and enclosure environments.
Compatible Form Factors
The VITA 93 QMC is a small form factor mezzanine module, dimensioned at 26 mm x 78.25 mm with a 4.7 mm component height, designed primarily to be mounted on carrier cards that comply with the VITA 93 standard. These carriers can host multiple QMC slots, providing a flexible platform that scales functionality through modular additions.
Industry Adoption and Relevance
VITA 93 QMC is backed by VITA and supported by a number of vendors. Acromag and other vendors are already launching QMC I/O modules targeting robust analog, digital, and serial communication functions, underscoring the standard’s industry adoption and relevance. Acromag has released new VITA 93 QMC small-form-factor mezzanine cards, including the QMC350, QMC440, QMC450, QMC510, QMC520, and QMC730, which fit in a Single QMC slot. They have also released a half-length PCI Express (PCIe) carrier card with a single QMC slot and double, triple, and quad layouts designed to handle a mix of mezzanine modules.
In conclusion, the VITA 93 QMC standard represents a modern, scalable, and rugged modular approach optimized for applications such as unmanned vehicles and compact platforms. Its compact size, rugged design, and high-speed I/O density make it an ideal choice for space-constrained, challenging environments.
The VITA 93 QMC standard, with its small form factor and rugged design, is particularly beneficial in space-constrained, challenging environments like unmanned vehicles and narrow payload tubes, thanks to its compatibility with advanced technology like data-and-cloud-computing that supports high-speed serial interfaces and real-time, high-bandwidth data exchange.
Furthermore, the standard's technology-driven capabilities, such as the support for industry-standard form factors and modular design, enable flexibility in system integration for various rugged applications in the data-and-cloud-computing sector.
