Radiation-characterized COTS GPGPU optimized for sat clusters, short spaceflights

Aitech has developed the S-A1760 Venus, the most powerful and smallest radiation-characterized space AI GPGPU. The new, small form factor (SFF) system is rated for space flight and small satellite constellations used in near-earth orbit (NEO) and low earth orbit (LEO) applications.

The COTS-based system is validated for use in these short-duration and NEO/LEO environments through the Series 300 level qualification standard that identifies the rad-tolerant needs of space components and systems not used in deep space or long-haul applications.

Based on Aitech’s popular A176 Cyclone GPGPU system, the S-A1760 Venus also uses the NVIDIA Jetson TX2i system-on-module (SoM) that features the Pascal architecture with 256 CUDA cores and reaches 1 TFLOPS of processing. This compact, rugged, space-rated system is ideal for high-performance, small-footprint environments. It is the most advanced solution for onboard edge computing such as AI, deep learning, and video and signal processing for the next generation of short-duration spaceflight, NEO and LEO satellites applications.

The new AI supercomputer includes a robust set of I/O interfaces including Gigabit Ethernet, UART Serial, USB 2.0, CANbus, and discrete as well as DVI/HDMI output. Video capture includes an HD-SDI input with a dedicated H.264 encoder and eight RS-170A (NTSC)/PAL composite channels available simultaneously.

The S-A1760 Venus is a truly SFF SWaP (size, weight, and power) optimized system. It meets MIL-STD-810H requirements for bench handling and conforms to VITA 47 for shock and vibration.