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Category Archives: Critical Link News

Critical Link Expands MityCAM Family to Include New Low-Light Options

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MityCAM-B2521F-webCritical Link is pleased to announce additional low-light options in its MityCAM family of imaging and vision solutions. The MityCAM-B1910F is based on Fairchild Imaging’s CIS 1910F sCMOS sensor, and complements the original MityCAM-B2521F, which is now shipping.

Both products were developed with the support of partner Fairchild Imaging, a division of BAE Systems and the premier supplier of high-performance sCMOS image sensors. sCMOS, or scientific CMOS, sensors combine benefits of CMOS and CCD sensors currently on the market, delivering high-quality images in low-light situations where other technology would be ineffective.

MityCAM-B2521F offers a 5.5MP resolution, and represents the upper limit of technology in terms of low-light image quality and on-board processing capability.  At 2.1MP, the MityCAM-B1910F provides a cost-effective option for applications requiring on-board processing at a lower resolution. Both platforms feature very low read noise, wide dynamic range, a large format, and high frame rates that are useful for intra-scene image processing and monitoring of dynamic events.

The MityCAM platformMityCAM_RGB is designed to be customizable with a variety of high-performance sensors, SoC processors featuring tightly integrated ARM and FPGA fabric, and multiple I/O options. Customers benefit from the platform’s flexibility, with each building block tailorable to suit the application. Production-ready configurations include full cameras, complete 3-board sets, and partial board sets for customers who elect to design their own sensor or I/O boards.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Fairchild Imaging to develop platforms that combine two potent technologies: their sCMOS sensors with our Altera Cyclone V SoC System on Modules,” said Omar Rahim, Critical Link’s co-founder and Vice President of Imaging Solutions. “This fills a gap for OEMs seeking turn-key embedded imaging solutions with on-board processing, allowing them to focus on developing their algorithms and other Intellectual Property.”

The Critical Link team will be demonstrating these new products November 4-6, 2014 in Stuttgart, Germany at VISION, the leading world trade fair for machine vision. At the show, the company plans to conduct a low-light demo with the MityCAM-B2521F. They will also demonstrate niche benefits of other available sensors, like the windowing capabilities of MityCAM-C8000, a soon-to-be released product Critical Link plans to unveil at VISION.

“MityCAM-B2521F, -B1910F, and -C8000 are highly configurable products and we’re looking forward to showing them off,” said Rahim. “We’re also excited to discuss future Critical Link technology with industry leaders. For instance, we plan to integrate next-generation sensors like the Hawkeye from Fairchild Imaging. The Hawkeye is a sCMOS sensor similar to the others, but offers superior low-light image quality and intra-scene dynamic range in a more economical package. That’s a combination of features that is sure to interest a lot of industries.”

For more information about the MityCAM platform and currently available models, visit https://www.criticallink.com/products/scientific-cameras/mitycam-platform/.

About Critical Link

Syracuse, N.Y.-based Critical Link is an embedded systems engineering firm, offering a broad range of highly customizable, small form factor SOMs and development kits for highly integrated, embedded systems for medical, scientific, and industrial applications. Critical Link’s end-to-end product engineering offerings include design, development, and production services. Critical Link is a member of the Altera Design Services Network, a Platinum Partner of the TI Design Network, and a certified member of the Arrow Consulting Engineering Services (ACES) network. Critical Link is ISO 9001:2008 Registered by SRI Quality System Registrar.

Critical Link Expands Customer Support, Forges Partnership with Schillinger Associates, Inc.

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Critical Link is pleased to announce a new partnership with Schillinger Associates, Inc. (SAI) that will provide increased product and service support for customers in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Western Pennsylvania. Based out of Kokomo, Indiana and Brighton, Michigan, SAI is a professional field sales organization with more than 200 years of collective engineering experience.

“SAI employs talented engineers and has a reputation for delivering outstanding service to their customers,” said Critical Link Vice President, Thomas Catalino. “The long lifespan of our System on Modules complements that of our customers’ products, which are typically in production for 10-15 years. We’re committed to supporting them throughout their product life cycle – and confident that our partnership with SAI will help strengthen that commitment in their region.”

SAI’s staff of highly qualified engineers is dedicated to supporting product development teams throughout the design life cycle. The addition of Critical Link’s System on Modules (SOMs) to SAI’s line card means the company can now offer a solution to customers facing schedule, technical, or other resourcing challenges. Critical Link’s embedded SOMs allow customers to get to market more quickly and cost-effectively than they could on their own.

“At SAI, our mission is to provide a competitive advantage for our customers as well as our principals through unparalleled service and support,” explained SAI President, Des Schillinger. “We’re proud to be able to help businesses accelerate their time to market with Critical Link’s high-quality products and engineering services.”

About Critical Link

Syracuse, N.Y.-based Critical Link is an embedded systems engineering firm, offering a broad range of highly customizable, small form factor SOMs and development kits for highly integrated, embedded systems for medical, scientific, and industrial applications. Critical Link’s end-to-end product engineering offerings include design, development, and production services. Critical Link is a member of the Altera Design Services Network, a Platinum Partner of the TI Design Network, and a certified member of the Arrow Consulting Engineering Services (ACES) network. Critical Link is ISO 9001:2008 Registered by SRI Quality System Registrar.

On the Road Again

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Some of you (and some of us) may be taking road trip vacations with the family this summer, but Critical Link is hitting the road, starting in mid-August. Our travels will be taking us across the country, and even across the pond.

We have a fantastic lineup on our calendar:

RTECC(short for Real-Time & Embedded Computing Conference):We’ll be exhibiting at a couple of RTECC conferences:

  • Orange County, California (August 19)
  • San Diego, California (August 21)

And if you don’t think there’s any such thing as a free lunch, think again! RTECC events have no registration fee, and lunch is free. The Orange County conference will be held at the Richard Nixon Library & Museum in Yorba Linda, which folks of a certain age, and history buffs, might get a kick out of. The San Diego event will be at the more prosaic Crowne Plaza Hotel in Mission Valley.

There are several other RTECCs we may be participating in through the rest of the year. We’ll keep you posted.

ARM TechCon, which is going to be held in Santa Clara (at the Convention Center), October 1-3, is a show that we’ll be attending, but not exhibiting at. This is a pretty big event, and is aimed at helping hardware engineers and software developers work together to optimize their future ARM-based embedded products.

No rest for the weary I guess, so back on the East Coast the next week:

TI Tech Days (now TI Tech Summits) are something that we have very much enjoyed participating in. They offer a great opportunity to see TI’s latest embedded processors, and to check out what vendors like Critical Link are doing with them. The exhibits (and that all important lunch) are free.

So far, we know we’ll be exhibiting at these locations: (No info yet on specific venues.)

  • Anaheim, California (October 14)
  • Santa Barbara, California (October 15)

We may be adding others as well.

Come November, we’ll be brushing up on our German.

Vision Expo: We’ll be exhibiting at this event, “the world’s leading machine vision trade fair”, which will be held in Stuttgart, November 4-6, at the Messe Stuttgart. (In case you’re wondering, “messe” is German for “fair.”) Last time he was in Germany, Tom managed to sneak in a tour of the BMW Factory.

Arrow Centralized Training (also known as ACT) will be held in Denver, Colorado, from November 17 – 21, and Critical Link will be exhibiting and training Field Application Engineers on our SOMs and Imaging products. We participated in each of the last 2 ACTs, and can’t wait to see what Arrow has up its sleeve to top the tremendous value received from each of those events.

That’s what’s on the Critical Link calendar, for the rest of the year.

If you’re planning on attending any of these events, we’d love to have you stop by and say hello. If you’d like to schedule a time to meet (especially at ARM TechCon, where we’ll be attending but not exhibiting), please drop us a line and we’ll set something up.

 

It’s Official: Critical Link is ISO 9001:2008 certified

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ISO 9001It’s official.

In late June, we received the official certificate that lets the world know that we’re ISO 9001:2008 certified.

What does this all mean?

First off, the International  Organization for Standards, a.k.a., ISO (even though that’s not the acronym for the organization in English, German, or French…):

…is the world’s largest developer of voluntary International Standards.

International Standards make things work. They give world-class specifications for products, services and good practice, to ensure quality, safety and efficiency. And because they are developed through global consensus, they help to break down barriers to international trade. (Source: ISO)

The standards that we chose to adopt are those set down in ISO 9001:2008, which establishes the criteria for an organization’s quality management system. To follow ISO 9001:2008 standards, you need to put into practice eight principles (shown below with our short hand definitions):

  • Customer focus (all about meeting your customers’ needs – and exceeding their expectations)
  • Leadership (i.e., the organization’s  leaders set and communicate clear objectives)
  • Involvement of people (employees at all levels are involved in making the organization succeed)
  • Process approach (a systematic – and measurable – way to get things done)
  • System approach to management (making sure that systems are in place, and integrated)
  • Continual improvement (always looking for ways to better the organization)
  • Factual approach to decision making (making sure that your information is correct, and acting on it)
  • Mutually beneficial supplier relationships (working with the bes t- and making sure the relationships are built to last)

Critical Link has always been a quality-focused organization, but we decided to formalize our approach, and adopt the ISO standards, for a number of reasons.

One, we really do believe in continual improvement, and adhering to the ISO standards makes us more improvement-conscious.

Two, these are international standards, and, as our customer base becomes more global, and our customers’ products more international, we felt that adopting an internationally established and recognized approach to quality was important.

Our quality focus,  is, of course, the most important driver here. The applications that our customers bring to market perform essential and complex tasks, and must be built to last. They take care of extremely critical, often life-and-death, functions in industrial settings like transportation, defense, medical, security, scientific, and manufacturing. They’re not throwaway apps that get tossed when the next best thing comes along.

Another thing that appealed to us is the focus on process, systems, and fact-based decision-making. I don’t know how other professions approach these things, but for engineers, it’s heaven!

It’s not enough to just follow the rules and declare yourself certified.

You need to get an objective, third party organization to conduct an audit and assert that you are, in fact, following the ISO standards.

For our certification, we chose SRI to conduct the audit.

So, as of late June, it’s official: Critical Link is ISO 9001:2008 certified, one of the few SOM manufacturers who have earned this achievement.

To say that I am immensely proud of the Critical Link team would be an understatement.

Critical Link Awarded ISO 9001:2008 Registration

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Syracuse, NY (July 9, 2014) – Critical Link today announces that it is ISO 9001:2008 Registered by SRI Quality System Registrar, making the company one of only a few System on Module (SOM) manufacturers in the United States that holds this distinction. The registration indicates Critical Link’s customer support, engineering design, and production processes meet the rigorous requirements of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), giving customers additional confidence in the consistency of Critical Link systems and services and commitment to providing quality products. This achievement also means companies and programs that require ISO 9001:2008 registered suppliers can now benefit from Critical Link’s embedded SOMs and imaging solutions.

“The entire company is energized and enthusiastic to continually improve our processes and products. It’s a challenge we thrive on,” explained Critical Link President, John Fayos. “We’ve always had high-quality products. Our failure and return rates are extremely low. This is only going to push that quality up even higher, so we’re really excited.”

ISO is the world’s largest developer of voluntary International Standards, state-of-the-art specifications that help ensure products and services are high-quality, reliable, and safe. There are more than 19,500 ISO standards for nearly all aspects of business and technology. ISO 9001:2008 specifies requirements for quality management systems (QMS) in which organizations demonstrate their ability to consistently provide products that meet customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

“Achieving registration to ISO 9001:2008 is a great accomplishment for Critical Link”, said Nina Lott, Quality Manager. “It demonstrates our willingness to meet our customers’ expectations and represents our commitment to continual improvement.”

As one of the only completely US-based ISO 9001:2008-registered SOM manufacturers, Critical Link’s future looks bright – and earning the certification proves the team’s commitment to making that future a reality.

“This is a major accomplishment for our customer support, engineering, and production teams. They worked hard and were extremely committed to the task of formalizing every aspect of the way we produce, test, ship, and support our products,” said Fayos. “Neha Chopra, our production manager, has been instrumental in the implementation. Over the last two years, she’s been whole-heartedly dedicated to establishing and promoting these processes. We’re very proud of the entire Critical Link team.”

Click here to view Critical Link’s Certificate of Registration

About Critical Link

Syracuse, N.Y.-based Critical Link is an embedded systems engineering firm, offering a broad range of highly customizable, small form factor SOMs and development kits for highly integrated, embedded systems for medical, scientific, and industrial applications. Critical Link’s end-to-end product engineering offerings include design, development, and production services. Critical Link is a member of the Altera Design Services Network, a Platinum Partner of the TI Design Network, and a certified member of the Arrow Consulting Engineering Services (ACES) network. Critical Link is ISO 9001:2008 Registered by SRI Quality System Registrar.

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