FPGA adoption for sensors is here today: Reconfigurable computing still waits in the wings

FPGAs have been heralded as the key to the realization of flexible, high-performance computing, but their promise has been slower than expected in reaching deployable status in military applications. Despite COTS vendors offering FPGA products in many sizes and form factors, including VMEbus and PMC mezzanines, it is their flexibility and complexity that makes them difficult to integrate and test most effectively.