3.1.1 Amilo-D 1840 Notebook: Overview and Technical Specifications
The Fujitsu-Siemens notebook computer, used as the prototype hardware platform as well as the software and content development environment, provided sufficient processing power for the proof-of-concept needs, while still retaining a degree of portability. This allowed reduction of development time and achieving o f acceptable realtime performance. The drawbacks of using
such a ‘desktop-replacement’ class portable computer are its high power consumption and relatively large weight. The former contributes to an extremely short battery life, approximately 1 hour only in author’s experience (normal use), and even shorter when the GPU is heavily utilized. A simple test was conducted in which a graphics-heavy application was run in battery-powered mode, starting with the battery fully charged - the battery was exhausted in 40 minutes time. Another related issue is the heat emission, particularly problematic in a wearable computing configuration, for example when the notebook is placed in a backpack worn by the user. Closing the notebook screen blocks one o f the ventilation pathways in Amilo-D. Unless additional measures are taken to ensure proper ventilation, this could contribute to overheating and device failure or frequent shut-downs. This problem is also aggravated by the system’s requirement of constant graphics rendering and relatively intense computational processing - further increasing the heat production and need for efficient cooling. Switching off o f the notebook’s LCD display does reduce power consumption. Additionally, the whole systems weight should be kept as low as possible for obvious reasons, and the Amilo-D weight is considerable, even after removing the optical drive.
Processor 2.6 GHz Intel Pentium IV HT
Memory 768MB RAM
Graphics Processing Unit
ATI Mobility Radeon 9600, 128MB memory. Connectors 3 * USB 2.0 ports;
4-pin FireWire (IEEE 1394) port; VGA-out video connector; PCMCIA slot;
serial,parallel port connectors; Battery life 1 hour
Dimensions 35.8 cm x 26.9 cm x 3.6 cm Weight 3.7 kg / 130.5 oz.
Table 3.1. Specifications of the Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo-D 1840 notebook used for the proof-of- concept
3.1.2 Further W ork Recommendations.
The prototype in its present form, while adequate as a proof-of-concept implementation, does not provide a sufficiently reliable and rugged solution necessary to allow for extensive testing in field conditions. Weight and size o f the whole system would negatively affect a first responder’s safety and performance in a real-life emergency situation. Extending the processing units battery life would be another top priority. Further iterations of the prototype will therefore need to take advantage of the ever improving (processing power/energy consumption) ratio brought about by the ongoing miniaturization in the semiconductor industries. It is recommended for subsequent iterations of the prototype to utilize a mobile processor (Intel’s Pentium 4-M or Pentium M CPU’s or AM D’s XP-M and Turion CPU’s ) based notebook computer offering considerably longer battery life, less need for cooling and smaller weight, the tradeoff in this case would be potential reduction in processing power.
It is quite likely that in a few years’ time miniature embedded devices will offer processing capabilities equivalent to those of today’s desktop workstations, allowing for much closer integration of system modules with existing first response equipment and clothing while still providing sophisticated real-time processing and visualization functionality. Already commercially available embedded computers such as, the Thermite® TVC (Tactical Visual Computer) offered by Quantum3D (see Fig. 3.2) are man-wearable equivalents o f a PC-based workstation, engineered specifically to provide reliability in hostile environments, and offering a well-matched form and function factors for applications such as the one described here. Should a ready-to-use system such as the Thermite be used as the platform for the described application, the software porting effort could be predicted to be minimal or null, since full PC-compatibility is advertised, and Windows XP is supported.
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Main processing unit shown on left, example deployment for a tactical training application shown on right. Source: Quantum3D website [www.quantum3d.com]
Code optimization or modifications may be however needed to ensure optimal performance on less computationally powerful mobile processors offered with the Thermite (or similar solution), however this seems a highly acceptable trade-off given the extension o f battery life and considerable ergonomics advantages.
Some of the features o f the THERMITE® TVC computer matching the requirements o f a first response wearable computer deployed in a hostile environment are listed below (based on information from the company website, updated 2/17/06):
• choice of Transmeta® Crusoe® or Intel® Pentium® M CPU from 1.0 to 1.4 GHz • up to 1 GB system memory
• light weight, super-rugged sealed alloy enclosure with Mil-Spec connectors and conduction cooling
• choice of NVIDIA® discrete or integrated Mobile Graphics / Video Module with up to 128 MB DDR2 shared or dedicated frame buffer memory
• Supports accelerated video capture capability for sensor and/or camera input with a wide range of video input formats
• I/O capabilities include: o USB 2.0; o IEEE 802.1 IX, o IEEE1394F irewire® and optional factory options: o GPS,
o Secure Radio, o Mil-Std-1553B
• extended battery life for reliable, continuous use during deployed operations
• support for Microsoft® WindowsXP®, XP Embedded and BlueCat and Redhat Linux • hot-swappable battery support,
• compatible with BA5590 and BA2590 Batteries,
• rechargeable Li-Ion, Li-Polymer, and Li-Cobalt rechargeable smart batteries option • options for solid state and shock-resistant, extended temperature rotating media drives single or dual RGB QXGA and NTSC, PAL, RS-170/A, and S-Video output configurations.