Ampro and White Electronic Designs Co-operate to Combine Embedded Motherboards
With Elastomer Keypad Technology in a Small, Rugged Enclosure
BOSTON, Sept. 13, Embedded Systems Conference /PRNewswire/ -- Ampro
Computers, Inc., the inventor and a leading supplier of PC/104, EBX and EPIC
single board computers and White Electronic Designs Corporation, a leading
supplier of industrial keypad and electronic systems, today announced the
joint development and demonstration of a prototype industrial computer system
contained entirely within a 5.5" x 8" keypad enclosure. Utilizing Ampro's
broad line of ReadyBoard(TM), EPIC-compatible single board computers and
White's elastomer keypad mounted over sealed keypad circuitry, the system is
highly resistant to contaminants and ideal for users who need to be able to
clean and/or disinfect the keypad surface. The keypad is backlit and includes
a mini-joystick for cursor control.
The systems are available with twelve processor models ranging from a
300MHz Via Eden CPU to a 1.4GHz Low Voltage Pentium(R) M 738 CPU. The systems
features include dual Ethernet (including Gigabit Ethernet), four USB ports,
four serial ports, high resolution CRT support and audio. Mass storage is
provided through White Electronic Designs' CompactFlash devices.
Demonstration systems run the Windows(R) XP Embedded Operating System.
Production versions will be also be available with Windows CE or Linux(R)
v2.6.
"Ampro is pleased to work closely with White Electronic Designs to bring
these innovative new systems to life," said Paul Rosenfeld, Ampro's CTO and
vice president of marketing. "These systems represent an important alternative
to Panel PC products where keyboard entry is critical and/or where harsh
environments forbid the use of touchscreen technology."
"In providing turnkey custom keypad solutions, White has detected
increasing customer interest in a standard, off-the-shelf keypad-based
industrial computer system," said Wayne Parkinson, vice president of business
development for White Electronic Designs Corporation. "Ampro's ReadyBoard
Single Board Computers are an ideal computing engine to meet the size, cost
and power/thermal constraints necessary to bring a successful keypad-based
system to market."
The new systems will be manufactured by White Electronic Designs and sold
by the Ampro sales team. Both companies expect a significant amount of
customization of the products, both in customization of the keypad and in the
feature content of the single board computer. Prototypes are available in 30
days for demonstration and evaluation. Prices have not yet been set.
About ReadyBoard
Ampro offers 12 ReadyBoard models within five major product families. The
original ReadyBoard 550 (with Via Eden CPUs) and ReadyBoard 700 (with Intel
Pentium III and Celeron CPUs) offer an extensive set of standard I/O
functionality in a cost effective 4.5" x 6.5" EPIC form factor. The ReadyBoard
800 offers high performance Pentium M and Celeron(R) M CPUs with DDR memory
and advanced I/O functionality, including USB 2.0 and Gigabit Ethernet.
ReadyBoard 560 and ReadyBoard 710 provide low cost, low power CPUs (1GHz Via
Eden or 650MHz Celeron) with advanced I/O (USB 2.0 and Gigabit Ethernet) along
with very high graphics and video performance (AGP 8x video with MPEG2 / MPEG4
hardware assist).
About White Electronic Designs' Industrial-Grade Keypad Technology
The Electronic Systems Division of White Electronic Designs has been
designing and manufacturing rugged keypad solutions for many years. White
designs are currently used in many industrial control and medical
instrumentation applications, where environmental sealing and /or extended
temperature ranges are required.
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, and co-invented both the EPIC standard and
the new EPIC Express standard. The EnCore and ETX families are rugged
Computers-on-Modules (COMs) products that enable 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 and ETX, Ampro offers
PC/104-compatible CoreModule CPUs and MiniModule expansion products, EBX form
factor LittleBoard single-board computers (SBCs), EPIC form factor ReadyBoard
SBCs, and Mini-ITX form factor MightyBoard SBCs. Ampro also offers the
ReadyBox and ReadySystem, a complete turnkey industry computer solution. For
more information please visit our website at http://www.ampro.com .
About White Electronic Designs Corporation
White Electronic Designs Corporation designs, develops and manufactures
innovative solutions for military, industrial and commercial markets; advanced
semiconductor packaging, high-density memory products and state-of-the-art
microelectronic multi-chip modules for data communications and
telecommunications providers, defense and aerospace system suppliers; LCD
panels and ruggedized displays for commercial/military aircraft and ordnance
delivery systems; designs and manufactures membrane and elastomer keypads,
medical sensors and RFID antennae; and electromechanical assemblies for OEM's
in commercial and military markets. White is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona
and has design and manufacturing centers in Arizona, Indiana, Oregon and Ohio.
To learn more about White Electronic Designs, visit our web site at
http://www.wedc.com.
NOTE: AMPRO is a registered trademark and EnCore, CoreModule, MiniModule,
ReadyBoard, LittleBoard and Little Board,, ReadyBox, ReadySystem and
MightyBoard are trademarks of Ampro Computers, Inc. All other trademarks and
registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
SOURCE Ampro Computers, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.ampro.com
CONTACT:
Victoria Kostka of Ampro Computers, Inc.,
+1-408-360-4324, or vkostka@ampro.com; or Marsha Sexton of White
Electronic Designs Corp., +1-602-437-1520, or msexton@wedc.com
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