News Release
VIA Showcases Robotics Platforms at IEEE International
Conference on Robotics and Automation 2003
VIA EPIA Mini-ITX mainboard compact, low power and
rich connectivity x86 platform simplifies development
for sophisticated robotics projects
Taipei, Taiwan, 16 September 2003 - VIA Technologies,
Inc, a leading innovator and developer of silicon chip
technologies and PC platform solutions, today announced
the display of feature-rich VIA EPIA Mini-ITX mainboards
ideally suited to robotics applications at the 2003
IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation
(ICRA), being held in Taipei, Taiwan from 16th to 18th
September 2003.
The low power consumption of VIA EPIA Mini-ITX mainboards
is crucial for the mobile nature of many robot designs
that seek to minimize PC power requirements, so reserving
critical power supplies for the numerous power-hungry
motors typically used. At just 17cm x 17cm, the native
x86 VIA EPIA mainboard enables significant computational
functionality in a smaller, lighter design, which further
contributes towards conserving power in mobile designs.
"Today's sophisticated robots need the software
development environment of the x86 platform with minimal
power needs," said Richard Brown, Associate Vice
President of International Marketing for VIA Technologies,
Inc. "The VIA EPIA Mini-ITX series is proven to
answer that need, while also bringing the benefits of
numerous connectivity options and a small form factor
that provides greater design flexibility."
VIA EPIA Mini-ITX mainboards are already being utilized
in the design and development of pioneering robotics
projects by a number of organizations and educational
groups, including the Stanford Research Institute (SRI)
mapping and surveillance Centibots project, and several
autonomous race vehicle teams competing in the DARPA
Grand Challenge, such as Team LoGHIQ.
Autonomous vehicles are sophisticated mobile robots
that traverse land, sea and air under the guidance of
their own internal artificial intelligence. Typically
they require robust, low power computing platforms to
act as the complex software control environments that
run the mechanical movement instructions, sensors, positioning,
and navigation equipment that enable their independent
operation.
The IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation
2003 exhibition takes place at the Grand Hotel in Taipei,
Taiwan from 16th to the 18th September 2003. More information
can be found at http://icra.ntu.edu.tw/icra/index.html.
About the VIA Robotics Initiative
The VIA Robotics Initiative is the first phase of
VIA's efforts to promote PC architecture and VIA platforms
for the robotics industry. By highlighting some of the
ongoing projects using existing VIA EPIA-Series mainboards,
VIA intends to validate design strategies that are highly
applicable for today's robot markets while laying the
groundwork for platform advances that will continue
to progress the future development of robot-specific
technologies and products into mainstream markets.
As part of a greater effort in 2003 for VIA to participate
in the robotics community, the VIA Robotics Initiative
plays an important role for defining the longer-term
direction of VIA's "Total Connectivity" message.
Robot and PC industry watchers can expect to see a series
of projects and announcements throughout the remainder
of the year.
For more details about the VIA Robotics initiative
please visit the VIA website at:
http://www.via.com.tw/en/robotics/robotics.jsp
For more information about the SRI Centibots project,
please visit the SRI website at:
http://www.ai.sri.com/project/Centibots
For more information about DARPA Grand Challenge contenders
Team LoGHIQ please visit:
http://www.cabecomposites.com/team.html
About the VIA EPIA M10000 Mini-ITX Mainboard
The VIA EPIA M10000 Mini-ITX mainboard is the second-generation
17cm x 17cm platform optimized for today's killer digital
video, audio and more complex processor intensive applications.
In addition to its integrated 1GHz VIA C3 processor,
the board features the VIA CLE266 chipset with embedded
MPEG-2 decoder and a new integrated 2D/3D graphics engine
to ensure smooth DVD playback and a rich overall entertainment
experience. With the sizable memory bandwidth of DDR266
SDRAM and the high data transfer speeds of ATA-133,
the VIA EPIA M10000 ensures the high performance levels
required of today's most popular digital media and productivity
applications. The user's digital media experience is
further enhanced by support for 5.1 surround sound,
courtesy of the onboard VIA Vinyl Six-TRAC Audio.
The latest in high-bandwidth connectivity is supported
with IEEE 1394 and USB2.0 connections, as well as S-Video
and RCA TV-Out (NTSC & PAL) and 10/100 Mbps Fast
Ethernet for seamless broadband connectivity. The VIA
EPIA M-Series also offers support for a growing number
of LVDS embedded LCD panels, has a PCI slot for expandability
options, and is compatible with a full range of Mini-ITX
chassis as well as FlexATX and MicroATX enclosures.
It is also compatible with Microsoft® Windows®
2K/ME/XP and a variety of Linux-based operating systems.
The VIA EPIA M10000 Mini-ITX mainboard is available
in volume now from VIA's global distribution partners
listed here: http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=242,
including leading US online stores www.mwave.com,
www.newegg.com,
and www.outpost.com,
at an estimated retail price of US$199. For more information
on the full range of VIA EPIA M-Series Mini-ITX mainboards
please visit:
www.viavpsd.com/product/epia_m_spec.jsp?motherboardId=81
|
Print page
E-mail page
