Skip to main content

Category Archives: Critical Link News

Critical Link Announces Embedded Imaging Systems with Full Engineering Support

Posted on by

 Photonics West embedded imaging technology demonstration

Company will showcase its engineering support services and custom imaging design capabilities at SPIE’s Photonics West, Moscone Center, San Francisco, Jan. 30 – Feb. 1, 2018, in South Hall booth #210.

 

Critical Link, LLC, experts in image sensor technology, system-on-chip (SoC) and field-programmable gate array (FPGA) designs, vision protocols, and signal processing, announces its full engineering support services to enhance the company’s product development and manufacturing capabilities. Specializing in embedded systems and custom imaging platforms, the company’s engineering team designs, manufactures, and supports sensor board development, on-board processing, and a wide variety of interfaces/ protocols for industrial applications including test and measurement, medical/scientific instrumentation, factory automation, transportation, and defense. Critical Link’s imaging platforms incorporate CMOS/sCMOS, CCD, indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs), and other sensor technologies, including 1D and 2D arrays.

Director of marketing, Amber Thousand, notes, “Our expert engineering team supports our customers at any step in their product development through manufacturing and the assembly process. We pride ourselves on our flexibility to provide the exact elements required, at the time needed, to meet our customer’s specifications. We offer a wide variety of engineering skills and services, but only deploy them as needed, which helps keep our customers’ costs under control.”

To learn more about Critical Link’s cost-effective, full engineering support services and product development, please go to: https://www.criticallink.com/services/ or stop by South Hall booth #210 at SPIE’s Photonics West, Moscone Center, San Francisco, Jan. 30 – Feb. 1, 2018. The company will be giving away two embedded imaging development kits and all booth visitors will be entered into the drawing for a chance to win a MitySOM-5CSX Vision Development Kit.

For more information about the company’s custom imaging design platforms, visit: https://www.criticallink.com/services/custom-imaging/. For details about Critical Link’s product development, including customizable system on modules (SOMs), development kits, board sets, image processing building blocks, interface options and more, please see: https://www.criticallink.com/products/.
 

About Critical Link

Critical Link, LLC (Syracuse, NY www.criticallink.com), founded in 1997, develops embedded systems solutions, system on modules (SOMs) and imaging systems for a wide variety of electronic applications. As experts in image sensor technology, system on chip (SoC) and field-programmable gate array (FPGA) design, signal processing, and vision protocols, we support all product development tasks, from concept to final production.

Our flexibility allows us to deliver full lifecycle support and services at any step along the product development path, when and where needed, to effectively keep costs down. From engineering to hardware and software development, and mechanical engineering to prototyping and manufacture/assembly, Critical Link is committed to helping our OEM customers reach their project goals quickly and cost-effectively.

Privately held, Critical Link is a Platinum member of the Intel FPGA Design Services Network and Intel IoT Solutions Alliance, a Platinum Partner of the TI Design Network, and a certified member of the Arrow Consulting Engineering Services (ACES) network, and is ISO 9001:2008 Registered by SRI Quality System Registrar.

Looking back on 20 great years

Posted on by

Hard to believe, but it was twenty years ago this past summer that four young (or youngish) embedded systems engineers –  John Fayos, Omar Rahim, Dave Rice, and myself – got together and founded Critical Link. And here we are, maybe not quite so young anymore, but all still together, working closely with our customers to help get their products to market faster than if they built them from scratch. I don’t know if there are stats readily available about our staying power – all of our “founding fathers” still working together – but I have to imagine that this is a rare accomplishment.

Our first and second official employees, Nancy Watterud and Zetta Fayos, are still with Critical Link as well, heading up our accounting team. Zetta and Nancy are among the more than 40 employees we have today. And while our back office staff has grown through the years, today the majority of our employees are still engineers. And one of the most gratifying aspects of my job is seeing the new young engineers coming along.

Looking back on our origins, in the early days our projects were focused in the rail industry. We still maintain a contingent of rail customers today, but have leveraged the experience gained there into other areas such as test & measurement, industrial automation, medical instrumentation, and, of course, imaging. In addition, as a result of being based in Syracuse, much of our staff has extensive experience in radar and software defined radio applications, which has created opportunities for us in the defense market.

Today, we work with customers ranging from promising start-ups to Fortune 50s. Products that we have designed are operating around the world 24/7. And products we’ve designed have won numerous awards. (Not to brag, but to name a few: R&D100, Processing Magazine’s Breakthrough Products of the Year, multiple Prism Awards, Vision Systems Design Innovator Awards, Plant Engineering Product of the Year, and multiple Best of NAB awards.)

And, of course, we have products of our own. They’re not standalone though; they’re embedded in our customers’ apps. The original Mity (read “Mighty”) system on module, the MityDSP-6711, was designed in 2003 and made commercially available a year after that. It’s still in production today, part of a continually growing family of MityDSPs and MitySOMs.

We also work with OEMs to design and manufacture custom imaging platforms around a wide array of image sensor technology. As with the MitySOM, a continually growing family.

Twenty years. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it! The kids who were babies when John, Omar, Dave, and I got together to found Critical Link are all grown up now. (Looking at them is when you realize you’re not a kid anymore, that’s for sure.) We’re all proud of our kids, and we’re proud of Critical Link. Proud of our employees. Proud of our work. Proud of our customers. Proud of our partners. Proud of our reputation.

Twenty years! There’s an Italian birthday greeting, cent’anni, that wishes someone a hundred years. I may not be around to see it, but I am taking note that we’re twenty percent of the way there.

 

Embedded Vision Demo & Maker-Pro Kit on Display at DelMar Electronics

Posted on by

Critical Link’s MitySOM-5CSx Embedded Imaging Development Kit and our MitySOM-335x Maker Transition Kit will be on display at the DelMar Electronics & Manufacturing Show in San Diego, CA on May 3-4, 2017. Stop by booth #226 to learn more.

The Embedded Imaging Development Kit pairs Critical Link’s MitySOM-5CSx with a Dart®, the latest camera from Basler, a world leader in vision technology. This power-packed combination is the fastest path for embedded imaging application development. The kit enables real-time image processing in the MitySOM’s Cyclone V SoC, using dual-core Cortex-A9 ARMs and FPGA fabric, and leveraging IP Cores from Altera’s VIP Suite. Image data feeds directly from the MitySOM-5CSx with no PC in the loop – a key out-of-the-box feature for embedded applications.

The MitySOM-335x Maker Transition Kit enables maker-pros to convert prototypes based on the BeagleBone Black with TI’s AM335x ARM processor to production-suitable designs leveraging Critical Link’s proven MitySOM platform. The kit is designed to minimize changes when transitioning from the BeagleBone Black, and in many cases is a drop-in replacement. Interested developers can visit Critical Link’s engineering site to review all design documentation and engage with our engineering team.

We look forward to seeing you at DelMar in San Diego!

 

About Critical Link

Syracuse, N.Y.-based Critical Link (www.criticallink.com) is an embedded systems engineering firm offering customizable system-on-modules (SOMs) and imaging platforms for industrial, medical, scientific, and defense applications. Critical Link’s end-to-end product engineering services include design, development, and production. Critical Link is a premier Partner in the ImagingHub by Basler, a Platinum Member of the Altera (Intel) Design Solutions Network, a member of the Intel IoT Solutions Alliance, and is ISO 9001:2008 Registered by SRI Quality System Registrar.

 

New Embedded Imaging Kit for Basler Dart at SPIE DCS

Posted on by

 

Critical Link’s new MitySOM-5CSx Embedded Imaging Development Kit will be on display at the SPIE Defense & Commercial Sensing show in Anaheim, April 11-13, 2017.

This kit pairs Critical Link’s MitySOM-5CSx Development Kit with a BCON Dart®, the latest camera series from Basler, a world leader in vision technology. This power-packed combination is the fastest path for embedded imaging application development.

SPIE DCS is the leading global sensing and imaging event, drawing attendees from commercial and defense sectors working on next generation designs in areas of robotics, test & measurement, unmanned systems, machine vision, and many others. Critical Link’s MitySOM-5CSx platform is designed for embedded applications across these areas, ensuring a faster time to market and a significantly reduced development budget. Add in integration with Basler’s dart series, the result is development platform perfectly fit for embedded vision products.

At Critical Link’s booth #219 you’ll see how a dart with BCON for LVDS  works using an edge detection application running on the MitySOM-5CSx. The demo features real-time image processing in the MitySOM’s Cyclone V SoC, using dual-core Cortex-A9 ARMs and FPGA fabric, and leveraging IP Cores from Altera’s VIP Suite. Images feed from the MitySOM-5CSx directly to a display port monitor with no PC in the loop – a key out-of-the-box feature for embedded applications.

A fully-bundled kit will be available from Critical Link in early Q2, 2017. Contact us today at info@criticallink.com to ensure earliest delivery.

View details on the MitySOM & Basler dart with BCON for LVDS demo.

 

About Critical Link

Syracuse, N.Y.-based Critical Link (www.criticallink.com) is an embedded systems engineering firm offering customizable system-on-modules (SOMs) and imaging platforms for industrial, medical, scientific, and defense applications. Critical Link’s end-to-end product engineering services include design, development, and production. Critical Link is a premier Partner in the ImagingHub by Basler, a Platinum Member of the Altera (Intel) Design Solutions Network, a member of the Intel IoT Solutions Alliance, and is ISO 9001:2008 Registered by SRI Quality System Registrar.

 

Embedded Imaging Dev Kit for Basler Dart at Automate

Posted on by

 

Critical Link’s MitySOM-5CSx Development Kit has been paired up with Basler’s latest camera series, the dart® with BCON for LVDS interface. This power-packed combination is the fastest path for embedded imaging application development, and will be on display at Basler’s booth #2666 at the Automate show in Chicago, April 3-6, 2017.

Automate is the biggest North-American show for automation, robotics, motion control, and vision. Critical Link’s MitySOM-5CSx platform is designed for embedded applications across each of these areas, ensuring a faster time to market and a significantly reduced development budget. Add integration with Basler’s dart series, the result is development platform perfectly fit for embedded vision products.

At Basler’s booth #2666 you’ll see how a dart with BCON for LVDS  works using an edge detection application running on the MitySOM-5CSx. The demo features real-time image processing in the MitySOM’s Cyclone V SoC, using dual-core Cortex A9 ARMs and FPGA fabric, and leveraging IP Cores from Altera’s VIP Suite. Image data feeds directly to a monitor with no PC in the loop – a key out-of-the-box feature for embedded developers.

A fully-bundled kit will be available from Critical Link in early Q2, 2017. Contact us today at info@criticallink.com to ensure earliest delivery.

 

About Critical Link

Syracuse, N.Y.-based Critical Link (www.criticallink.com) is an embedded systems engineering firm offering customizable system-on-modules (SOMs) and imaging platforms for industrial, medical, scientific, and defense applications. Critical Link’s end-to-end product engineering services include design, development, and production. Critical Link is a premier Partner in the ImagingHub by Basler, a Platinum Member of the Altera (Intel) Design Solutions Network, a member of the Intel IoT Solutions Alliance, and is ISO 9001:2008 Registered by SRI Quality System Registrar.

 

New Maker-Pro Kit & Embedded Vision Demo on Display at TI Tech Day Milwaukee

Posted on by

 

 

Critical Link’s MitySOM-335x Maker Transition Kit will be on display at the Texas Instruments Tech Day in Milwaukee, WI on March 30, 2017. Visit our table to learn more about the kit, and register to win one free.

The MitySOM-335x Maker Transition Kit enables maker-pros to convert prototypes based on the BeagleBone Black with TI’s AM335x ARM processor to production-suitable designs leveraging Critical Link’s proven MitySOM-335x platform. The kit is designed to minimize changes when transitioning from the BeagleBone Black, and in many cases is a drop-in replacement. Interested developers can visit Critical Link’s engineering site to review design documentation and engage with our engineering team.

Critical Link will also be featuring an embedded vision demo using our MityDSP-L138F, a system on module based on TI’s OMAP-L138 with Spartan FPGA. Originally introduced in 2010, the MitySOM-L138F continues to be selected for new applications in unmanned systems, utilities management, networking & communication systems, factory automation, and test & measurement, among many others.

Register for free today to attend this great event!

 

 

About Critical Link

Syracuse, N.Y.-based Critical Link (www.criticallink.com) is an embedded systems engineering firm offering customizable system-on-modules (SOMs) for industrial, medical, scientific, and defense applications. Critical Link’s end-to-end product engineering services include design, development, and production. Critical Link is a Platinum Member of the Texas Instruments Design Network and is ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001 Registered by SRI Quality System Registrar.

 

Critical Link Introduces the MitySOM®-335x Maker Transition Kit

Posted on by

MitySOM-335x Helps Bring Maker Prototypes to Market

Critical Link is pleased to announce the MitySOM-335x Maker Transition Kit. Makers can now convert prototypes based on the BeagleBone Black with Texas Instruments AM335x ARM processor to production-suitable designs leveraging Critical Link’s proven MitySOM platform.

The Maker Transition Kit has been designed to minimize changes required for those transitioning from the BeagleBone Black, and in many cases is a drop-in replacement. Interested developers can visit Critical Link’s engineering site to review all design documentation and engage with our engineering team.

“Leading-edge designs come out of the maker community all the time, but often high potential prototypes encounter hurdles on the path to production,” says Thomas Catalino, Vice President, SOM Solutions at Critical Link. “Undocumented design changes, availability, design for manufacturability, and production costs can all derail a great product design making it to market. Our new platform helps overcome many of these challenges.”

The BeagleBone Black continues to be one of the most popular maker development platforms. It follows the community-supported model which provides numerous advantages in initial hardware costs, open source design documentation, and a large user base of talented developers willing to lend support. To take designs to market however, developers may need to step away from the community-based model and find a reliable partner to supply and support their production needs.

“Critical Link designs boards for industrial applications, meaning our customers can rely on us for long product lifespans and reliability in the field,” says Catalino. “We provide all design documentation for our base boards, and work with customers to customize designs, adding features and minimizing recurring costs as needed. Our goal is to help developers successfully launch their ideas.”

The Maker Transition Kit was introduced to select developers in late 2016, and was met with tremendous response that consumed all initial supply. General availability is projected later in Q1 2017. To order, contact the Critical Link sales team or visit https://www.criticallink.com/product/mitysom-335x-maker-transition-kit/.

About Critical Link

Syracuse, N.Y.-based Critical Link (www.criticallink.com) is an embedded systems engineering firm offering customizable system-on-modules (SOMs) for industrial, medical, scientific, and defense applications. Critical Link’s end-to-end product engineering services include design, development, and production. Critical Link is a Platinum Member of the Texas Instruments Design Network and is ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001 Registered by SRI Quality System Registrar.

 

Altera SoC Board Solution Adds OpenCL Support

Posted on by

Critical Link is pleased to announce support for Altera’s SDK for OpenCL on our MitySOM®-5CSx module. With this, customers now have a path to work with OpenCL in a general purpose SoC-based board, exploring the benefits of OpenCL for solving real-world problems.

OpenCL is an open framework for writing programs across an array of processing platforms. FPGA programming has proven to be a major hurdle for development teams who are inexperienced with FPGAs or are resource limited. OpenCL allows users to work with FPGAs in common programming languages such as C and C++, enabling software engineers to readily tackle this otherwise complex task.

In addition to featuring familiar language options, OpenCL allows developers to accelerate their application and drive power efficiency, providing opportunity to developers of unmanned and autonomous systems, or wherever temperature or power constraints exist.

With this Board Support Package, Critical Link is providing an off the shelf embedded platform with a first class out-of-the-box experience to help Altera customers rapidly build from source and see live examples in action. The MitySOM-5CSx module has been tested to run examples using Altera’s SDK for OpenCL integrated with version 16.0 of the Altera Quartus Prime and SoC Embedded developer’s kit.

The MitySOM-5CSx OpenCL BSP is available today as a downloadable file provided via Critical Link’s engineering support site. This site also contains instruction for use under a Linux or Windows environment. In the future, files and examples will be included on SD card images provided with MitySOM-5CSx development kits to allow users to run the examples without the need to compile them.

For customers developing imaging applications, contact Critical Link for an update on implementation of the OpenCL BSP on our MityCAM imaging development platforms.

For specifications or information on purchasing a MitySOM-5CSx module or development kit, visit https://www.criticallink.com/product/mitysom-5csx/.

 

About Critical Link

Syracuse, N.Y.-based Critical Link (www.criticallink.com) is an embedded systems engineering firm offering customizable system-on-modules (SOMs) for industrial, medical, scientific, and defense applications. Critical Link’s end-to-end product engineering offerings include design, development, and production services. Critical Link is a Platinum Member of the Altera Design Solutions Network and is ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001 Registered by SRI Quality System Registrar.

 

Critical Link Partners with Gumstix® for Online Design-to-Order Service

Posted on by

 

BoardGeppetto® D2O Custom Expansion Boards Available for MitySOM®-335x

 

Gumstix®, Inc., the leader in design-to-order embedded systems, today announced a partnership with Critical Link, LLC to provide support for Critical Link MitySOM-335x COMs in Geppetto® Design-to-Order (D2O) platform created by Gumstix engineers. Using Geppetto D2O, customers can rapidly design and manufacture small form-factor boards custom tailored for industrial applications that require the versatility of the MitySOM®-335x powered by the Texas Instruments Sitara™ AM335x family of processors.

Critical Link specializes in building both affordable and powerful system-on-modules (SOMs), also known as COMs, for scientific and industrial applications. With the inclusion of the Geppetto D2O MitySOM-335x Connector and Gumstix  MitySOM-335x development board into the Geppetto D2O platform, Critical Link customers now have two paths to create custom expansion boards to actualize the audio, visual, networking and robotic potential of the MitySOM-335x.

“In today’s world, the ability to get to market faster than the competition can make or break the success of a product,” says Tom Catalino, Vice President of Sales and founding Partner at Critical Link. “Our SOMs have been helping customers accelerate their time to market while cutting development costs for over a decade, and now the Gumstix partnership puts Geppetto D2O, a simple and powerful online design tool, in the hands of our customers, further maximizing their potential for success.”

Geppetto_design_screen

Using Geppetto D2O within their browser, customers can clone and drop the Gumstix  MitySOM-335x dev board into the Geppetto D2O workspace to jumpstart their design or custom build an expansion board for the MitySOM-335x from scratch utilizing the simple drag and drop interface. The Gumstix  MitySOM-335x expansion board is especially suited for video and audio applications incorporating an audio codec for left and right speakers, an HDMI port for audio and visual displays and SPI, UART, I2C  and 20-pin Male headers.

“Critical Link customers can now evaluate development boards from Gumstix that are also available for rapid customization in Geppetto.” says Gordon Kruberg, Gumstix CEO,  “Geppetto provides them a path to manufacturing the embedded product in one online order, deliverable in three weeks.”

Once customers are satisfied with their expansion board designs in Geppetto D2O, engineers at Gumstix will test and validate the board design, manufacture and ship the production ready board 15 days from order; reducing both the production and development time for the customer. All Gumstix products and quantity discounts are available at www.gumstix.com.

 

About Gumstix, Inc.

As a global leader in design-to-order hardware and manufacturing solutions, Gumstix® gives its customers the power to solve their electronic design challenges with Geppetto® D2O — the online design-to-order system– and a broad portfolio of small computers and embedded boards. In addition to engineers and industrial designers, Gumstix helps students, educators, and makers unlock their creative ideas to bring them to market. Since pioneering the concept of an extremely small computer-on-module (COM) with a full implementation of Linux in 2003, the company has grown to support over 20,000 diverse customers. Our systems have launched some of the world’s coolest products – from phones to drones – on commercial, university, and hobbyist workbenches in over 45 countries. For more information, visit www.gumstix.com

 

About Critical Link

Syracuse, N.Y.-based Critical Link (www.criticallink.com) is an embedded systems engineering firm, offering a broad range of highly customizable, small form factor system-on-modules (SOMs) for highly integrated, embedded systems for industrial, medical, scientific, and defense applications. Critical Link’s end-to-end product engineering offerings include design, development, and production services. Critical Link is a Platinum Member of the Texas Instruments Design Network and is ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001 Registered by SRI Quality System Registrar.

 

About the Texas Instruments Design Network

Gumstix, Inc. and Critical Link are members of the TI Design Network, a premier group of independent, well-established companies that offer products and system-level design and manufacturing services complementing TI’s semiconductors to a worldwide customer base to accelerate product innovation and time-to-market. Network members provide product design, hardware and software system integration, turnkey product design, RF and processor system modules, reference platforms, software development, proof-of-concept design, feasibility studies, research, certification compliance, prototyping, manufacturing, and product life cycle management. For more information about the TI Design Network, please visit http://www.ti.com/designnetwork.

 

IR-Enhanced CCD Camera for Scientific Imaging

Posted on by

Critical Link is pleased to announce the release of our newest CCD camera equipped with the latest sensor technology from Hamamatsu, a world leader in photonics research and development.

MityCCD-E3011-web3The Hamamatsu S11501-1007S is a back-thinned, area scan CCD image sensor with enhanced near infrared (NIR) sensitivity. The sensor’s superior performance at wavelengths longer than 800 nm delivers advantages for photometric applications beyond the previous generation of CCDs. This sensitivity is enabled by the unique MEMS structure on the back of the sensor, created using Hamamatsu’s proprietary laser processing technology.

In addition to its advanced NIR sensitivity, the sensor’s binning capability makes it an optimal choice for detectors in Raman spectroscopy. The binning operation enables higher signal-to-noise and signal processing speed than traditional methods using external circuits to add signals digitally.

Critical Link’s decision to build a camera around the S11501-1007S was an easy one since the sensor is pin compatible with it predecessor, the S7031-1007S. Our high performance CCD camera platform, known as the MityCCD, provides on-board image processing with both a DSP and FPGA available for algorithm development. The MityCCD software offers an easy-to-use interface for image setup, acquisition, viewing, and data analysis.

“We are pleased to once again partner with Hamamatsu, and are excited about the advancements this sensor will create in scientific imaging applications,” said Omar Rahim, Vice President of Imaging Solutions at Critical Link. “MityCCDs are used by customers around the world as off-the-shelf solutions and as baselines for OEM development. In addition, Critical Link engineers work with clients to customize our cameras so that they meet their distinct set of requirements.”

Visit Critical Link at Photonics West booth #630, or contact via info@criticallink.com to request additional detail or to inquire about ordering.

About Critical Link

Syracuse, N.Y.-based Critical Link (www.criticallink.com) is an embedded systems engineering firm, offering a broad range of customizable imaging solutions for OEMs and systems integrators working on medical, scientific, surveillance, and industrial applications. Our end-to-end product engineering offerings include design, development, prototyping, and production. Critical Link is ISO 9001:2008 Registered by SRI Quality System Registrar.

Use our SOM Selector Product Quote Engineering Support Inquiry General Contact Email Us