SCOTTSDALE, Arizona. The VMEbus technical standard has enjoyed a very long life supporting military systems. At almost 40 years old, it’s probably the longest lasting single standard in the history of computing; it has kept up with technology by supporting backwards compatibility while enabling technology upgrades and is still in use across a broad range of applications. This webcast of industry experts will provide a brief history of VMEbus as well as why and how it remains the reliable stalwart of critical systems used across multiple defense platforms. The speakers will discuss how legacy and EOL issues are dealt with, addressing security issues, support for existing and newer operating systems, and how having a healthy ecosystem with wide vendor support has enabled the standard to such enjoy long-lasting technology refreshes and migration. Use case will also be presented along with a sneak-peek at how some platforms are examining next-gen platform migration from VME to OpenVPX and SOSA.

The advent of unmanned systems reflects a huge aspect of warfare – that of protecting the warfighter – through the development of platforms that can be operated by humans from a distance, keeping them out of harm’s way. Some of these platforms are actually on the way to becoming fully autonomous. Hurdles in the way of both manufacturers and end users include interoperability and cost-efficiency. Although these hurdles are challenging, organizations including The Open Group and corresponding consortia have made noticeable strides to standardize in an effort to universalize otherwise complex unmanned systems.

SOSA CONSORTIUM. A group of key contributors to the emerging SOSA Technical Standard teamed up to put together a platform that demonstrates the value of the alignment and interoperability goals driving the SOSA Consortium mission.