 |
|
|||||||||
|  |
 |
SabreSabre Imaging Platform combines a high-performance PowerPC processor with a multi-head, multi-layer graphics video and radar display capability in a single VME slot. Building on the success with its previous CAT generation of display processor for command and control applications, Curtiss-Wright's Sabre display processor offers a number of advanced capabilities for displaying graphics and real-time video data in a VME or network-centric display configuration. Sabre Graphics - Multi-layer frame store Sabre Graphics capability is provided by high-performance ATI M9 graphics processors, with two devices supporting a total of 128 MB of display memory to drive a dual head display at resolutions up to 1920 x 1200. Sabre's graphics architecture supports independent framestores for overlay and underlay graphics, a feature that enables applications to separate the updates of rapidly changing overlay graphics from slowly changing, yet complex, underlays such as maps or charts. Each frame store can be configured as 8-bit pseudo colour or 24-bit true colour RGB. Since the X Server runs entirely on the Sabre card, communications from the application programme is through the standard X protocol over the 10/100 or 1000 Mbit Ethernet interface, eliminating the need for special graphics driver software running on the host processor. A key feature of the Sabre graphics architecture is that the whole X Server runs locally on the card. With the host processor providing the X Client libraries, an application may use Sabre graphics with no special-purpose device driver on the host. The loose-coupling between the host processor and the Sabre X Server display product simplifies system integration and removes the interdependence of host processor and graphics driver. On a configuration where the host processor is running both the application software and the graphics device driver, careful system and software design is necessary to ensure deterministic performance. Sabre Video Sabre Video acquisition is supported from TV resolution inputs (NTSC/PAL), high-resolution RGB at up to 1600 x 1200 resolution. Sabre can display two video sources (any two selected from two RGB, two TV and two network streams), which are processed by a high-quality video scaler to a window of programmable size and position. Real-time video data may be combined with graphics using either overlays or alpha-blended underlays. Since video data does not share a frame store nor data bus with the graphics processing, Sabre's architecture ensures that video processing and display has no impact on graphics performance. Sabre Radar Sabre is compatible with Curtiss-Wright's Eagle-S radar scan-converter, which may be configured to receive radar video from a network connection or a local radar digitiser such as Curtiss-Wright's own Osprey PMC (requires adaption module to form a two slot assembly). Radar video may be received over a network connection from a remote radar video server, such as Curtiss-Wright's RVP product. The radar video is received on the 10/100/1000 Mbit Sabre network interface (or through the VME interface if desired) and decompressed by Sabre embedded software. The radar video is then transferred over the local PCI bus to the Eagle-S scan converter, which supports the presentation of multiple scan conversion windows. The output of the Eagle-S is a high-resolution scan-conversion image that is transferred through the PMC connector into the Sabre video mixer for combination with the underlay and overlay graphics. Radar Receipt from Network When Sabre is used to receive network radar video, the remote radar server is best provided by Curtiss-Wright's RVP product. RVP provides an integrated radar acquisition and distribution capability (optionally with plot extraction and target tracking) that provides a stream of compressed radar video on the network. RVP is responsible for compressing the radar data and distributing in UDP packets to any number of Sabre display clients (in addition to PCI display clients if required). These video packets are received by Sabre, decompressed by the on-board PowerPC processor and passed over the PCI bus to Eagle-S for scan-conversion. | |
