Kontron launches TRACe™, an EN50155-certified fanless transportation computer product line

Proven, rugged and feature-rich modular platforms allow easy design flexibility with built-in health management system for virtually maintenance-free operation

Paris, France, June 10, 2014 – Kontron, a leading global provider of Embedded Computer Technology (ECT), today launched TRACe™, its new family of operational computers designed specifically for the transportation market. The TRACe™ transportation computer family delivers proven, rugged and feature-rich building blocks that allow design flexibility. The first platform in the Kontron family is the TRACe™ B304-TR, which is an EN50155-certified fanless transportation computer designed to make customization extremely easy to meet application-specific requirements. The TRACe™ family benefits from the inherent flexibility advantages of Kontron’s COM Express^® Computer-on-Module (COM) that features the Intel^® Atom™ E3845 processor with up to quad core 1.91 GHz performance. Its rugged design ensures stable operation in harsh environments and is ideal for any rolling stock application such as passenger information systems, video streaming and storage servers, security surveillance and train management systems.

The Kontron TRACe™ product line features high performance density and low power consumption in a small footprint, low profile design that offers integrators higher flexibility in terms of the number of available I/O. The family also provides long-term support by design based on its modularity and seamless technology insertion of the processor, storage, I/O and power supply unit. These innovative TRACe™ capabilities allow transportation OEMs to significantly decrease development efforts for faster time-to-market, while also reducing maintenance costs and the total cost of ownership.

The second member of the family is the Kontron TRACe™ V304-TR, which is an EN50155-certified and tested fanless Network Video Recorder (NVR) that can record and transmit H.264 video streams making it ideally suited for rolling stock IP video surveillance. This advanced platform provides outstanding storage capabilities with an included internal fixed 2.5-inch 256 gigabyte (GB) SSD, one SATA disk holder with tray for an extractible second 2.5-inch HDD (not included) to accommodate higher-volume bulk data easing maintenance and use. The Kontron V304-TR uses a proven COM Express^® COMs module featuring the Intel^® Atom™ E3845 processor with quad core 1.91 GHz performance to deliver the high performance, high reliability and high-capacity data storage needed for rough railway environments.

All Kontron’s TRACe™ transportation computing platforms integrate advanced health management tools, an intelligent Power-on Built-in Test (PBIT) solution, which provides a modular and scalable set of uniform test routines to assess the health status and configuration of the complete system. This enables operators to permanently, continuously and independently monitor and report the status of the application thanks to dedicated health management resources in the computer independent from the main CPU. The result is enhanced security along with improved diagnostics and maintenance that, in turn, minimize the need for system debugging. For example, the TRACe™ is ideally suited for fleet management of a large number of units in the field. Its health management tools enable operators to monitor the entire fleet to better manage and anticipate maintenance, reduce turn-around times and increase the overall availability of the units.

“The dependency on electronics has grown with each generation of embedded transportation system. With our extensive and proven history of successful embedded computing deployments, Kontron understands the need to provide technology that enables continued advancements, expansion and long-term value,” explained Robert Negre, Transportation Business Line Manager. “That is why we designed the Kontron TRACe™ to specifically provide transportation system designers with a highly flexible COTS-based solution that efficiently combines standard and custom elements. Our innovative features offer a streamlined solution that brings railway-specific functionalities and design value to the core to dramatically reduce OEM time-to-market and meet cost of ownership goals.”

The product roadmap for Kontron’s TRACe™ family is forecasted to expand with additional platforms featuring a train control and management system configuration that provides direct access to a multi-vehicle bus (MVB) interface on the front plate. Based on the international IEC 61375 Train Communication Network (TCN) standard, Kontron’s future TRACe™ platforms will enable equipment using an MVB to be directly managed and monitored. A future“gateway” version that delivers high Wi-Fi connectivity for passenger infotainment applications as well as support for alternative vehicle buses such as Profibus and CAN/CANOpen are also planned as part of the TRACe™ family portfolio. In addition, Kontron intends to roll out a modular, ruggedized in-vehicle solution in accordance with the in-vehicle 8VDC to 36VDC voltage range.

The Kontron TRACe™B304-TR in detail
Based on its easily upgradeable COM Express^® COM that integrates the Intel^® Atom™ E3845 processor with up to quad core 1.91 GHz performance, the fanless Kontron TRACe™ B304-TR is designed with a wide-range power supply (from 24VDC to 110VDC) and -40/+70°C (Class Tx) temperature range operation. Its front plate is dedicated to operational connectors with certified I/O according to the EN50155 standard that includes Ethernet, USB, serial ports, audio, digital inputs and outputs. The rear plate hosts maintenance connectors that also make room for a customization plate or “partner” plate to allow for additional application-specific connectors for the routing of non-provided Mini PCI-Express cards I/O signals such as GSM/GPRS/3G/LTE/4G, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, MVB, CAN Layer2, CAN Open or Profibus. The Kontron TRACe™ B304-TR’s extensible and modular design gives developers the ability to set up their own configuration. Moreover, the EN50155-certified TRACe™ B304-TR offers dual SIM support, provides an SSD tray for an optional extractible SSD and support Linux operating systems.

The Kontron TRACe™ V304-TR in detail
The Kontron TRACe™ V304-TR is based on proven COM Express^® COMs featuring the Intel^® Atom™ E3845 processor with quad core 1.91 GHz performance. Kontron’s NVR solution is delivered with one pre-installed internal 256GB SSD for data storage, enabling immediate deployment in any rolling stock IP video surveillance application. If more storage is needed for ease of use and offline data analysis, the rear plate hosts a removable tray for additional SSD/HDD storage options (non-provided). The Kontron TRACe™ V304-TR also offers RAID 0/RAID 1 functions for data reliability. Its front plate is dedicated to the operational connectors (certified I/O according to EN50155 standard: Ethernet, USB, Serial ports, Audio, Digital Inputs and Outputs). The rear plate hosts maintenance connectors (Display Port, USB, Serial, Ethernet). The Kontron TRACe™ V304-TR offers Industrial grade (-40 ~85°C), dual-band 802.11n 2T2R and 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi access point and client mode functionality along with 300 megabits per second (Mbps) bandwidth, 2 SMA connectors for antennas at rear and features critical 64/128-bit WEP, WPA, WPA2 and 802.1x security. It also features complete IP54 dust and water protection and a wide-range power supply (from 24VDC to 110VDC).

The first samples of the Kontron TRACe™ family will be available in July 2014 and can be ordered now. Full production is scheduled for Q3 2014. For more information, visit the Kontron TRACe™ – Intelligent Transportation Computer page.

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About Kontron
Kontron is a global leader in embedded computing technology. With more than 44% of its employees in research and development, Kontron creates many of the standards that drive the world’s embedded computing platforms. Kontron’s product longevity, local engineering and support, and value-added services, help create a sustainable and viable embedded solution for OEMs and system integrators. Kontron works closely with its customers on their embedded application-ready platforms and custom solutions, enabling them to focus on their core competencies. The result is an accelerated time-to-market, reduced total-cost-of-ownership and an improved overall application with leading-edge, highly-reliable embedded technology.

Kontron is listed on the German TecDAX stock exchange under the symbol "KBC". For more information, please visit: http://www.kontron.com/

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