NASA Spinoff 2024 has highlighted WOLF Advanced Technology’s contribution to the X-59 QueSST program, describing the two WOLF video graphics boards that contributed to the supersonic aircraft’s eXternal Vision System (XVS).
The following excerpt is from the NASA Spinoff article Artificial Eyes Give Pilots a New Worldview; “WOLF was one of the companies NASA contracted to help build the eXternal Vision System (XVS). The project required a new video-processing technology that the company has now added to its product line. This FGX2 hardware is included in many WOLF products, said Greg Maynard, chief technology officer… commercial space companies can now use the WOLF technologies in their vehicles to meet rising demand for UHD resolution. Maynard credits NASA with being ahead of the industry, giving the company a chance to develop the technology early.”
The article explains that the extreme streamlining required to reduce the sonic boom of NASA’s Quiet SuperSonic Technology experimental plane resulted in the loss of the windshield. New technology needed to be developed to provide the pilot with a forward-facing view that could replicate the acuity of human eyesight.
The WOLF FGX2 hardware mentioned in the article is a 4K-capable digital and analog frame grabber with conversion and transmit capability. It can be found in the XMC-FGX2-SDI-4IO (WOLF-3180) that incorporates the next-generation frame-grabbing technology with up to 8x the processing bandwidth and a much higher channel count density compared to previous FGX technology.
- Frame Grabber eXtreme 2 (FGX2) capture, convert, transmit engine
- Two CoaXPress inputs, up to CXP-6
- Two 12G-SDI inputs and up to four 12G-SDI outputs
- Up to three analog inputs, one VGA output, and two HD (1080p60) DP inputs
- Low operating power, 12 to 25W
The XMC-FGX2-8IO (WOLF-3183) module also uses the WOLF FGX2 UHD-capable technology, providing a high data rate, high-density video capture and transmit platform.
- WOLF Frame Grabber eXtreme 2 (FGX2) with up to 8 inputs and 8 outputs
- 12G-SDI, 3G/HD-SDI inputs and outputs
- ARINC 818 inputs and outputs
- CVBS NTSC/PAL inputs
- Optional: HDMI/DVI inputs
- Low operating power, 12 to 25W (depending on options)
Built on the Xilinx® Kintex® UltraScale+
series of FPGA devices FGX2 technology is well suited to machine vision applications, providing synthetic vision and video processing capabilities in conditions where low latency is important and SWaP is at a premium.
The article can be found on page 7 of the full pdf: NASA Spinoff 2024.
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