Problem
· Fragmented, proprietary technology solutions for video surveillance make ISR improvements more expensive and severely limit application improvements or upgrades.
· Flexible I/O and thermal optimization are needed for customizing advanced video and imaging capabilities in the shortest amount of time.
Video surveillance has become an indispensable asset in the military’s Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. Access to real-time imaging provides vital data for decision-makers in dynamic and complex situations. With the broad spectrum of systems and applications employed in defence settings, it is imperative that video surveillance applications be securely networked and offer interoperability. This is no place for fragmented or proprietary solutions that make technology upgrades more expensive and restrict the ability to take advantage of tremendous leaps in streaming video, camera and connectivity advancements.
Supporting high-resolution video and related metadata from any sensor to any operator or decision maker takes industry-leading computing performance for video encoders, software-based transcoding engines and ultra-low latency decoding platforms. And, these advanced functions need extensive and flexible I/O support, not to mention video processors tend to be thermally challenging. Adding complexity and integration challenges, today’s ISR systems must be multi-tasking. Defense contractors’ today find it more cost effective to adopt a common standardized design approach that offers interoperable, ‘plug and play’ payloads instead of systems that only do one or two tasks. Designing for this diverse role requires an equally flexible, application-ready platforms that can deliver the latest computing and communications capabilities to meet greater real-time operational control goals.
Solution
· The highly integrated and scalable COBALT 902 provides the I/O options for extended digital video, audio and associated metadata recording application versatility.
· Feature-rich and application-ready COBALT facilitates the development of a single software solution to manage all essential video surveillance technologies.
The Kontron COBALT 902 provides a COTS-based and highly flexible platform that permits cost-effective design reuse. Designed to optimize power-to-performance, the highly integrated and scalable COBALT utilizes Intel multi-core processor architecture in its COMe module (Type 6) with a specialized carrier board assembly. Offering extended digital video, audio and associated metadata recording application versatility, it is available with a wide selection of power, interface options, thermal solutions and mounting kits. COBALT also meets reduced SWaP requirements in a compact and environmentally ruggedized form factor.
Application-ready COBALT allows developers to incorporate a single software solution to manage all essential video surveillance technologies including multiple cameras. This further strengthens security by giving operators the ability to streamline processes and imaging access.
Ideally suited to network multi-camera ISR video applications, COBALT integrates a Quad Channel H.264 Encoder with an Intel Core i5 Processor in an IP67 sealed system. Modular I/O profile options are easily accommodated from the configurable front panel. With up to 4 HD streams or 2 1080p60 full HD streams, COBALT enables the output of two different bitrate (resolution/framerate) H.264 streams simultaneously and allows for scaling and frame rate settings to be adjusted on-the-fly.
Making ISR-based video data more useful, COBALT’s flexible I/O enables developers to support industry standard MISP-compliant Key-Length-Value (KLV) metadata transport within the MPEG-2 transport stream. This permits users to add valuable information related to a specific frame of video, such as a GPS location.
Optimizing thermal management for harsh video surveillance environments can be easily handled with modifications to the COBALT platform. For instance, the baseline design of COBALT incorporates finning formed into the enclosure housing upper surface, which can be supplemented as required, with modular rear and side wall mounted heat sinks of varying dimensions. Kontron also supplies expert testing and validation employing sophisticated thermal modelling tools and CFD evaluation techniques to accurately predict airflow, temperature distribution and heat transfer in components, boards and the complete system.
Results
· High-performance COBALT 902 delivers the power to support mission-critical streaming video communications at the lowest possible latency.
· SWaP-optimized and tested for rugged operation, COBALT readily handles the physical and realtime full motion video (FMV) requirements of ISR systems.
The COBALT 902 delivers highly efficient encoding with up to twice the quality within a given bandwidth compared to industry-leading encoders. With COBALT’s high-performance processing options, designers get the computing power to support real-time streaming video at the lowest possible latency. COBALT readily handles the full motion video (FMV) requirements of ground and airborne ISR systems by supporting full HD video and associated metadata with as low as 55-millisecond encoding latency and extremely low end-to-end latency.
Enabling high resolution to better identify targets and objects, the COBALT 902 facilitates intelligent decisions while meeting constrained network and satellite transport guidelines.
Designed to ease integration and customization, COBALT eliminates the need for major system upgrades to existing designs. Tested to military ruggedization standards, the COBALT 902 gives defense system developers a trusted computing solution that delivers the performance and I/O flexibility robust ISR systems need from a SWaP-optimized and reliable platform.
