Advances in computer technological development has allowed designers and manufacturers to produce smaller and more efficient components. This has never been truer in the telecommunications industry. Ever increasing consumer mobile and wireless demands have forced cell phone vendors to create a communications infrastructure that can handle the capacity needed to support the global market. Computer on modules, more commonly referred to as COM, help technicians produce circuit boards that are not only smaller but are cheaper and more powerful.
COM is an individual integrated circuit board that is designed to run specific applications. These applications are embedded in the circuit board with one goal, power an external device. There are a host of industrial uses for computer on modules technology and the telecommunications industry is the largest consumer. Hospital ventilators are great examples of computer on modules applications beyond the communications world. These machines are powered by COM technology that stores and crunches the data that is produced. Many types of electronic equipment such as oscilloscopes, multimeters and power supplies use COM based applications. Any device that has a small LCD screen is usually driven by computer on modules applications. The auto industry used computer on modules extensively in cruise control systems. Manufacturers are also producing COM circuit boards designed to withstand extreme temperature ranges and shocks. NASA and other agencies can apply computer on modules like these in spacecraft and other vehicles.
MicroTCA, Micro Telecommunications Computing Architecture, is a specification born out of the original ATCA and simply reduces the component size and increases capacity. Corporate communication giants are especially interested in this technology. MicroTCA takes the complex communications network to the next level by making it easier and cheaper to add capacity and availability. Vendors can now build platforms that outperform their existing 10 GB Ethernet switches by adding quad core blade systems.
Computer on modules technology has allowed MicroTCA to flourish and allows telecommunications infrastructure to become more advanced. COM applications are everywhere and help our technology world operate using smaller, cheaper components that require much less energy.
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