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| Compact FeaturePak Modules Offer a Wealth of I/O |
The FeaturePak initiative, unveiled last month at Embedded World in Nuremberg, Germany, today announced new members and FeaturePak-related products, and revealed that it is formally organizing as the nonprofit “FeaturePak Trade Association.”
The initiative’s newest members are VIA Technologies Inc. and MSC Vertriebs GmbH, which join the eight charter members that jointly launched the nascent embedded I/O standard last month.
“FeaturePak I/O modules are well suited to embedded designs based on VIA’s low-power, high-performance processors and chipsets,” said Alp Sezen, Senior Director of Sales, VIA Embedded Platform Solutions Division, VIA Technologies Inc. “Additionally, FeaturePak sockets are a great way to provide low-profile, small-footprint expansion on carrier boards for COMs such as the Mobile-ITX format VIA EPIA-T700.”
About the FeaturePak Standard
The FeaturePak specification defines tiny, application-oriented personality modules – three-fifths the size of a credit card – that snap into low cost, low profile, highly reliable sockets on single board computers (SBCs), computer-on-module (COM) baseboards, and full-custom electronic circuit boards.
FeaturePak modules interface to the host system via a single low-cost, high-density, 230-pin connector, which carries PCI Express, USB, I2C, and several other host-interface signals, plus up to 100 points of application I/O per module. The host interface is CPU agnostic and is compatible with both x86 and RISC architecture systems. Additionally, the modules provide “zero height expansion,” in that they fit within the normal component envelope of an SBC or COM baseboard and add no height to PC/104-style I/O expansion stacks.
About the FeaturePak Trade Association
The FeaturePak Trade Association (FPTA), a California Mutual Benefit Corporation, is charted to maintain, extend, and promote the FeaturePak standard so that all companies in the embedded market can enjoy its benefits. Although anyone can build products based on the FeaturePak specification, FPTA members will gain the ability to:
•Directly influence the evolution of the FeaturePak specification
•Use the FeaturePak logo in association with FeaturePak-related products
•List FeaturePak-related products on FeaturePak.org
•Participate in FPTA marketing and promotional activities
Prior to formation of the FPTA, the FeaturePak specification was maintained by a collaboration among FeaturePak initiative members Arbor Technology Corp., Cogent Computer Systems Inc., congatec AG, Connect Tech Inc., Douglas Electronics Inc., Hectronic AB, IXXAT Automation GmbH, MSC Vertriebs GmbH, and VIA Technologies Inc., plus FeaturePak standard originator Diamond Systems Corporation.
To learn more about the FeaturePak I/O expansion modules standard and the FeaturePak Trade Association, visit the FPTA’s website at FeaturePak.org, or send an email to [email protected]. A virtual press kit is available at FeaturePak.org/press.
