Abaco Systems is pleased to announce a new, innovative solution for our customers with the EIU1000. This product is an I/O aggregator and data concentrator that combines high-density Ethernet, Avionics databus, serial, and discrete I/O connections in a compact, rugged system powered by a high-performance System-on-Chip (SoC) to reducing wiring, overall system weight and complexity.

The EIU1000 is a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) solution that enables flexible, modular and scalable designs with multi-mode connectivity in a compact, rugged enclosure complementing or even replacing existing line replaceable units (LRUs) and expensive custom-designed systems. This device allows users to aggregate signals from discrete sensors and other LRUs and subsystems through one small device. The eight port Ethernet switch is ideal for systems requiring redundancy without any additional hardware.

The EIU1000 acts as a bridge between legacy subsystems and modern backbone while trending towards a reusable, modular solution. As a COTS solution, the EIU1000 avoids high development costs and schedule delays common with custom systems. Interface flexibility, physical robustness, power, weight, and space are critical considerations in aircraft and ground vehicles, and the EIU1000 is Abaco's lowest size, weight, and power (SWaP) system to date.

Peter Thompson, vice president of product management at Abaco Systems, states, "We are proud to continue our strong tradition of innovation with the EIU1000 by delivering a product that will maximize our customers' ability to connect sensors and subsystems, reduce and simplify wiring, and offer a path to scalable, reusable platform design. This product is a tangible solution towards helping our customers succeed by reducing the need for additional hardware while meeting their requirements on schedule and at cost."

Technical Overview

The EIU-1000 is powered by Xilinx's Zynq Ultrascale+ System-on-Chip (SoC) with quad-core ARM CPU and FPGA. It includes 4 GB DDR4 memory and 128 GB onboard SSD. Approximately 50% of the FPGA is reserved for the user. The base EIU-1000 includes an eight (8) port 1000BASE-T Ethernet switch, 2 dual-channel MIL-STD-1553, 4 channels of ARINC 429, 4x Full Duplex RS422/485 ports, 8 Avionics Discretes, and one USB port. Additionally, two optional user-selectable Electrical Conversion Module (ECM) sites allow for a semi-custom I/O configuration including additional analog and digital I/O, serial, or avionics databuses connections.