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epic: Definition and Recommended Links

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EPIC is a new standard that solves the need for an industrial-quality SBC that fits in size between PC/104-Plus and EBX standards. EPIC is endorsed by major SBC companies. It supports both PC/104 and PC/104-Plus expansion to take advantage of the hundreds of I/O modules available worldwide. It also has the flexibility to support high speed, serial buses like PCI Express.

Designers are always striving to add more functionality in less space. Embedded systems manufacturers who require faster CPUs and/or more I/O than found on a PC/104 CPU can now design in a broadly-supported, standardized, full-featured platform. Advances in semiconductor density, packaging technology, and connector technology have made this new EPIC form factor possible. This is especially important for applications that can’t accommodate larger, industrial grade EBX-sized boards. With EPIC, there is finally an industry standard for a mid-sized board.

Source: EPIC (http://www.epicsbc.com/index.shtml)

other great electronics sites:ee toolbox site

• • epic
    • EPIC is a new standard that solves the need for an industrial-quality SBC that fits in size between PC/104-Plus and EBX standards. EPIC is endorsed by major SBC companies. It supports both PC/104 and PC/104-Plus expansion to take advantage of the hundreds of I/O modules available worldwide. It also has the flexibility to support high speed, serial buses like PCI Express.

      Designers are always striving to add more functionality in less space. Embedded systems manufacturers who require faster CPUs and/or more I/O than found on a PC/104 CPU can now design in a broadly-supported, standardized, full-featured platform. Advances in semiconductor density, packaging technology, and connector technology have made this new EPIC form factor possible. This is especially important for applications that can’t accommodate larger, industrial grade EBX-sized boards. With EPIC, there is finally an industry standard for a mid-sized board.

      Source: EPIC (http://www.epicsbc.com/index.shtml)

      (Note: The Electronic Engineers Toolbox provides an alternative set of featured links for this word at http://www.cera2.com/epic.htm)

      Featured Links:

      The EPIC Express Version 0.80 Specification

      This document defines the addition of PCI Express, the next generation serial interconnect bus, to the Embedded Platform for Industrial Computing (EPIC). PCI Express was chosen because of its performance, scalability, wide market acceptance, and growing silicon availability worldwide. The PCI Express architecture uses familiar software and configuration interfaces of the conventional PCI bus architecture, but provides a new...
      http://www.winsystems.com/specs/epic_spec_v1.pdf

      A new SIG in town

      First question: What's the most popular open standard board type used in open standards-based systems? Answer: the personal computer, both in desktop and laptop sizes. But if we narrow the question to ''rugged, deployed and industrial systems,'' you'd primarily find PC/104 and its ilk, Computer-On-Module (COM), EPIC, and a bunch of other small form factors too numerous to mention. For the past 15 years or so, PC/104 and its brethren have dominat...
      http://www.pc104online.com

      Embedded Platform for Industrial Computing Specification Version 1.1

      The purpose of this document is to define a physical platform for embedded Single Board Computers with multiple I/O expansion options.Its size is midway between the industry standard PC/104 module and EBX board.This size board will support advanced processors plus complex I/O functions for applications involving data acquisi- tion,video processing,telecommunications,networking,motion control plus the associ- ated field wiring...
      http://www.epic-sbc.org/images/pdfs/EPICspec.pdf

      The ABC of SBC - an overview of embedded form factors

      A top level guide to the single board computer - its evolution, various guises and future developments. Compares PC/104, EBX< and EPIC standards.
      http://bluechiptechnology.co.uk

      PC/104 and EPIC-Express on the way to new definitions

      PC/104 is one of the oldest form factors for single-board computers: it was adopted in 1992 and was a hit with users thanks to its particularly small footprint and stackable expan- sion cards, which allow run-capable embedded designs to be put together quickly.The design of PC/104 was originally based on the ISA bus and had 104 pins. It was later expanded to include PCI and this standard was named PC/104-Plus.
      http://emea.kontron.com

      Stackable USB Standard

      Supports up to 8 USB peripherals top stacked and/or 8 USB peripherals bottom stacked without a hub. 16 total peripheral boards Supports up to 76 USB peripherals in the stack with 10 hub cards Uses rugged, reliable differential connectors designed for demanding embedded environments Extends the power over USB limitation from 500mA to 0.9375A per peripheral card Plug and Play: Automatically detects devices in the stack and...
      http://www.stackableusb.org/

      Insiders' Guide: Embedded Boards and Systems

      Choosing an embedded board, system, or service provider can be confusing. This guide overviews the ecosystem, has survey result from real users of embedded boards, and has interviews with leading vendors on topics like PC/104, EPIC, EBX, AdvancedTCA, CompactPCI, etc., as well as FPGA-based boards, choosing a board provider and other key issues.
      http://www.eg3.com/report-boards/

      Embedded Platform for Industrial Computing (EPIC) Specification Version 1.0

      The purpose of this document is to define a physical platform for embedded Single Board Computers with multiple I/O expansion options. Its size is midway between the industry standard PC/104 module and EBX board. This size board will support advanced processors plus complex I/O functions for applications involving data acquisition, video processing, telecommunications, networking, motion control plus the associated field wiring...
      ftp://ftp.prosoft.ru/pub/Hardware/Octagon/EPIC/EPICspec.pdf

      EPIC Specification Version 2.0

      The purpose of this document is to define a physical platform for mid-sized embedded Single Board Computer (SBC) with multiple I/O expansion options. Its size is midway between the industry standard PC/104 stackable format and EBX SBC format. This size board will support larger processors requiring large heat sinks. The added space also allows for combining features on an SBC which would normally be found on multiple PC/104 modules.
      http://www.pc104.org/technology/PDF/EPIC_Spec_2.0.pdf

      EPIC - Embedded Platform for Industrial Computing

      EPIC is a new standard that solves the need for an industrial-quality SBC that fits in size between PC/104-Plus and EBX standards. EPIC is endorsed by major SBC companies. It supports both PC/104 and PC/104-Plus expansion to take advantage of the hundreds of I/O modules available worldwide. It also has the flexibility to support high speed, serial buses like PCI Express.
      http://www.epic-sbc.org/

      Explanation: these links are provided as part of our EE glossary project, which seeks to identify the most prominent keywords in embedded systems, embedded software, realtime and rtos, dsp (digital signal processing), system-on-a-chip, microprocessors and microcontrollers, and other constituent elements for embedded systems. While we seek to keep most of the links up-to-date, the user is refered to other primary electronic-based search sites such as: cera2.com, embedded.com, or EDN Magazine. If you have any suggestions of links or definitions, please email!

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