Mercury Computer Systems to deliver hyperspectral imaging system

Mercury Computer Systems Inc., a trusted ISR subsystems provider, announced that it has been selected to provide a SWaP-optimized hyperspectral image processing and storage subsystem for multi-INT wide area surveillance equipment used on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Mercury's customer will use the subsystem to locate individual adversaries and enemy tactical communications. The design integrates two configurations of Mercury's PowerBlock 15 Ultra-Compact Embedded Computers and uniquely combines the processing speed of Intel Core i7 with FPGA capabilities for a real-time sensor interface in an ultra-small form factor.

"Mercury's expertise in developing ultra-compact, SWaP-optimized distributed computing platforms with exceptional processing power is an ideal match for the challenges faced by this prime contractor in delivering state-of-the-art surveillance systems for space-constrained environments," said Didier Thibaud, senior vice president and general manager of Mercury Computer Systems' Advanced Computing Solutions business unit. "As a trusted supplier to primes, we are known for delivering best-of-breed systems that help generate actionable data and heightened situational awareness for military personnel."

The hyperspectral image processing system designed by Mercury includes two configurations of its PowerBlock 15 Ultra-Compact Embedded Computers, one for storage and one for image processing. The system from Mercury will perform extremely fast, high-quality hyperspectral imaging by collecting and processing information from across the electromagnetic spectrum. The PowerBlock 15 units installed on board each platform are designed to communicate with each other and operate as a distributed computing system to maximize performance and minimize power consumption. With a chassis about the size of a disk drive, the PowerBlock 15 units can be tucked into tight spaces and distributed and interconnected in multiple locations across deployed platforms with extremely small environments such as tactical UAVs and manned ground vehicles.

Source: Mercury Computer Systems

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