Across the commercial, military, and industrial sectors, customers are looking for lightweight, low-power, and cost-effective alternatives to traditional COTS solutions to meet the demands of an expanding range of applications.
In this blog, you’ll learn more about small form factor Mini PCs and mission computers, their major benefits, and how two of Elpro Technologies most advanced solutions come into play.
What is a small form factor computer?
A small form factor computer refers to any computer that is specifically designed to take up as little space as possible.
These devices are designed to be smaller than other similar designs in its field.
Small form factor computers come in all shapes and sizes, with a variety of backplanes, motherboards, and environmental specifications.
Why did the need for small form factor computers arise?
Traditional commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions are oftentimes too large or costly for new, complex applications.
Small form factor computers emerged in response to these concerns, and many of these systems have proven to be quite effective due to their low-cost, lightweight architecture, low-power requirements, easy upgradability, and ability to operate in harsh environments. (More on this in the next section.)
What are the benefits of small form factor computers?
Optimization means optimized to reduce size, weight, power, and cost.
Due to their small size, small form factor computers take up less space, and they are often lighter than other computing systems, which helps to reduce compute footprint, enhance compute density, and increase portability.
Additionally, small form factor computers use fewer (or no) fans for cooling and low-power hardware, reducing costs, decreasing power consumption and, as a result, avoiding overheating.
Multiple systems can fit into a smaller space, making room for more technology and, as a result, reducing storage costs. With their lightweight architecture, less energy is required to transport these systems, lowering fuel costs.
Modularity and scalability
Small form factor computers are designed with the Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) in mind, bringing extensive flexibility and scalability when dealing with legacy or new sensors, networking devices, and onboard systems.
Withstanding harsh environments
Thanks to their ruggedized, hardened enclosure, small form factor computers are able to withstand extreme shock, vibration, temperatures, and humidity, and they can resist the ingress of solids and liquids such as water, dust, dirt, and debris. (More on that later.)
Variations of small form factor computers
Within the commercial, military, and industrial sectors, there are two main types of small form factor computers: mini PCs (personal computers) and mission computers.
What is a mini PC?
A mini PC is small, lightweight, ruggedized personal computer that has undergone extensive testing and certification for usage in extreme conditions and environments.
Mini PCs weigh much less than a full-sized rugged server or workstation, and they take up a lot less space.
For a more comprehensive look at mini PCs, click here.
What is a mission computer?
Mission computers are custom, ruggedized systems that are designed to maximize data processing and meet the most complex SWaP-C requirements.
These computers are often used within the military sector, certified to the most stringent military standards to operate at peak performance within the harshest of environments.
