Ampro Computers Selects Sealevel Systems for Customer Baseboard Designs

Ampro Computers, Inc., the inventor and leading supplier of CPU modules and single-board computers for non-backplane embedded systems, announced today that Sealevel Systems, Inc. has been selected to provide baseboard design services for system OEMs using Ampro’s EnCore family of embedded processor modules. Sealevel, known for its breadth of I/O and connectivity products, is leveraging its I/O expertise and board-level design capability to speed the deployment of custom EnCore-based designs. Ampro and Sealevel will work together to supply solutions for system companies who prefer the advantages of EnCore’s processor-independent modular approach but wish to outsource the design and production of their application-specific baseboard.

In related news, Sealevel today introduced a new Micro-ATX form factor baseboard, the R1000, to allow rapid prototyping of EnCore-based systems and create a starting point for custom baseboard designs. The R1000 makes available all EnCore module I/O plus four PCI slots for expansion. Using this platform, the embedded developer can immediately begin hardware and software design and testing using the target EnCore module along with commercially available PCI expansion cards to emulate I/O that will eventually be included in a custom baseboard. The time-to-market for the final system is dramatically decreased since hardware and software development for custom designs can take place simultaneously and immediately. First articles of the R1000 are available from Sealevel now, with production release and general availability in 45 days. Together, the R1000 and an EnCore module form an inexpensive system prototype that is affordable enough to put on each OEM hardware and software engineer’s desk.

“Sealevel’s design capabilities ensure that Ampro?s OEM customers can quickly and cost-effectively implement EnCore-based designs even when in-house resources are not available for the baseboard design,” said Joanne Williams, president and CEO of Ampro Computers. “Complete with driver support for the leading embedded operating systems, EnCore modules, and Sealevel baseboards combine to meet the I/O and software requirements of a broad base of industrial applications.”

“This synergistic partnership with Ampro will allow Sealevel to combine our core competencies of fast, reliable custom I/O design with the power and flexibility of the EnCore computing platform. The customer will be able to focus on their application software and overall system design while reaping the benefits of a custom-designed embedded computer solution,” said Tom O’Hanlan, president and CEO of Sealevel Systems.

EnCore modules are similar in concept to high-integration chips, interfacing directly with a form-factor-independent system baseboard containing application-specific circuitry and I/O connections. EnCore modules interface to the baseboard through up to 272 pins that provide the PCI bus, I/O signals, and power and ground. A typical EnCore module includes CPU, 10/100 BaseT Ethernet, up to 512MB DRAM, sound, flash memory, serial, parallel and USB ports with support for IDE compatible devices. Some modules also include a 3D graphics controller. EnCore modules are interchangeable, allowing for processor independence, with a 100mm x 145mm (3.94″ x 5.70″) size allowing wide flexibility in baseboard footprint.). The EnCore product family provides a choice of PowerPC, MIPS, and three Intel Architecture processors.

EnCore modules relieve developers of most of the processor-development overhead in creating embedded systems. The module communicates with a custom baseboard via a PCI interface and standardized I/O signals, essentially without regard to processor architecture. Ampro has already taken care of processor integration and operating system BSP development, which shortens OEM product development cycles by up to 40 weeks.

About Ampro Computers, Inc.
Ampro Computers, Inc. is the leading global provider of modular embedded computing solutions for OEM applications. Ampro’s mission is to provide time-saving solutions for embedded systems designers that accelerate the product deployment process. Ampro pioneered the embedded PC industry creating the popular PC/104 and EBX standards. The new EnCore family enables designers to obtain all the benefits of an off-the-shelf CPU solution while maintaining the flexibility of a full custom design. In addition to EnCore, Ampro offers three product lines; PC/104-compatible CoreModule CPUs and MiniModule? expansion products, and EBX form factor Little Board single-board computers (SBC). Ampro was awarded Electronique magazine’s “Electron d’Or 2002” for subsystems for the EnCore M2 product. For more information about Ampro Computers, please visit http://www.ampro.com.