Eurotech
Encyclopedia
Eurotech is a company dedicated to the research, development, production and marketing of miniature computers (NanoPCs) and high performance computers (HPCs).
By constantly working on this paradigm, Eurotech in just a few years has become an important player in the field of embedded computers for pervasive computing applications.
• Eurotech S.p.A. is the parent company, based in Amaro (Udine
- Italy
). It designs and produces - in the field of NanoPCs - modules, systems and devices for the transportation, defence, medical and industrial sectors. Through its division based near Varese (IPS Sistemi Programmabili s.r.l.) Eurotech develops, manufactures and sells intelligent human-to-machine (H2M) and machine-to-machine (M2M
) interfaces for harsh industrial applications. Eurotech has also a division active in the field of HPCs, which designs, produces and markets high performance computers for extremely demanding applications: these supercomputers are used in the fields of nano and bio-technologies, healthcare, high energy physics and in other applications requiring complex simulations and hence a great computational power.
• EthLab is the Group's research centre: it's based in the Trento
area and has a satellite office in Amaro (Udine), close to the Group's headquarters.
• Eurotech France is based in Lyon
(France
). It operates in the field of NanoPCs, mainly in the transportation and in the industrial sectors. Eurotech France participates to the United Nations Global Compact, the world's largest corporate citizenship and sustainability initiative.
• Eurotech Ltd is based in Cambridge
(UK) and operates in the field of NanoPCs and is active especially in the industrial and in the communication sectors.
• Eurotech Finland is based in Helsinki
(Finland
) and it addresses the markets of the Far East, with a focus on South and Southeast Asia.
• Eurotech Inc is based in Columbia, Maryland
(USA) and has a satellite office in Kansas City
, Kansas
(USA). It's active in the design, development and production of embedded systems for the transportation and the industrial sectors. Eurotech Inc is an Associate Member of Intel's Embedded and Communications Alliance (ECA).
• Parvus is based in Salt Lake City, Utah
(USA). Its focus is on COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf) ruggedized systems for the defence sector.
• Advanet Group is based in Okayama (Japan
). It's a manufacturer of single board computers, I/O, data acquisition, and communication products for the embedded markets. Advanet products include VME
, CompactPCI
, PCI & PMC
boards for PowerPC
and Intel Pentium
architectures.
• Vantron is located in Chengdu
, in the Sichuan province of China
. Besides being a development centre of hardware and software components for embedded solutions, Vantron offers embedded platforms for mobile and multimedia applications to its local market.
To achieve its mission, Eurotech integrates the state of the art of computing and communication technologies to develop highly innovative applications, aimed to anticipating market demand.
Eurotech is presently working on many projects, mainly addressing three areas: new-generation supercomputers, wearable PCs and Grid computing.
Description
Eurotech, created in 1992, is a pocket multinational active on a global scale which follows the technological paradigm of Pervasive Computing. The concept of pervasive computing, or ubiquitous computing, does not involve only miniaturisation, but also the distribution in the environment of intelligent devices and their possibility of communicating. In this respect, NanoPCs and HPCs are the two major classes of devices that, by connecting to and co-operating with each other, form that pervasive computing infrastructure commonly known as the pervasive GRID or pervasive computing grid.By constantly working on this paradigm, Eurotech in just a few years has become an important player in the field of embedded computers for pervasive computing applications.
History
- 1992: Eurotech S.r.l. is founded, based on the idea to miniaturize personal computers and use them in as yet unexplored applications.
- 1995: Eurotech is the first company worldwide to introduce a PC/104PC/104PC/104 is an embedded computer standard controlled by the which defines both a form factor and computer bus. PC/104 is intended for specialized embedded computing environments where applications depend on reliable data acquisition despite an often extreme environment...
module based on the Intel 32-bit 486DX processor.
- 1997: Eurotech goes international through commercial agreements with European distributors. Eurotech moves its headquarters to Amaro (province of Udine in North-East Italy) and the company becomes a joint-stock company (Italian short form = S.p.A.).
- 1998: Eurotech's internationalization proceeds through distribution agreements in America, Asia and Australia. To increase its know-how in miniaturization and integration of electronic circuits, Eurotech sets up Neuricam S.p.A., a spin-off of the TrentoTrentoTrento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...
institute for scientific and technological research (IRST).
- 1999: Eurotech starts to co-operate with INFN (Italian Institute of Nuclear Physics) for the study and implementation of its third generation of APE (Array Processor Experiment) supercomputers, called APEmille. Activity of Eurotech's HPC business unit starts with this co-operation.
- 2000: The company opens a commercial brench in the United States, and announces the launch on the HPC market of clusters based on CompactPCICompactPCIA CompactPCI system is a 3U or 6U Eurocard-based industrial computer, where all boards are connected via a passive PCI backplane. The connector pin assignments are standardized by the PICMG US and PICMG Europe organizations. PICMG stands for PCI Industrial Computers Manufacturers Group...
systems.
- 2001: To support further growth, the private equity fund First Gen-e of Meliorbanca Spa and Friulia, development finance company of the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia Region, enter the Group's shareholding subscribing a capital increase of 3,7 million Euros.
- 2002: Eurotech acquires IPS Sistemi Programmabili S.r.l. (VareseVareseVarese is a town and comune in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 55 km north of Milan.It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or urban part of the city is called Varesotto.- Geography :...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
).
- 2003: Eurotech acquires Parvus Corporation (Salt Lake City, USA).
- 2004: The Group continues its internationalization through the acquisition of the French company Erim Développement S.a.s and of the Finnish company Vikerkaar Oy, now Eurotech France and Eurotech Finland respectively.
- 2005: Eurotech officially presents in Rome its apeNEXT supercomputer, realized in collaboration with INFN. A research centre on pervasive computing is activated at the Nanjing University of Technology (NJUT) in China. A Scientific Committee is set up, dedicated to the identification and study of trends in future technological scenarios. To finance its international growth, Eurotech goes public on November 30: the company is listed in the Star segment (high performance equities segment) of the Italian Stock Exchange (Borsa Italiana), raising 23.64 million Euro at IPO.
- 2006: Eurotech acquires Arcom Control Systems Ltd (based in CambridgeCambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) and Arcom Control Systems Inc. (based in KansasKansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, USA). EthLab is created in the Trento area to become the Group's research centre. Eurotech's Board of Directors decides to increase share capital via the issuance of ordinary shares for a total value of € 109.24 million. The first prototype of the wrist-worn computer Zypad is presented at the 2006 Soldier Technologies Conference in London and wins the prize for the most innovative product presented. Eurotech signs a partnership agreement with FinmeccanicaFinmeccanicaFinmeccanica S.p.A. is an Italian conglomerate. Finmeccanica is the second largest industrial group and the largest of the hi-tech industrial groups based in Italy. It works in the fields of defence, aerospace, security, automation, transport and energy...
SpA.
- 2007: In January Eurotech acquires Applied Data Systems (ADS), an American company controlling 65% of the Chinese R&D company Vantron. In September, Arcom Control Systems Ltd changes its name to Eurotech Ltd. In October Eurotech acquires the 65% of the outstanding shares of the Japanese Group Advanet.
- 2008: Janus, the new generation of supercomputers born from an Italian-Spanish collaboration involving several Universities and Research Institutes, is presented in February. On July 1 Eurotech announces the completion of the merger between United States-based subsidiaries Arcom Control Systems Inc and Applied Data Systems into Eurotech Inc, which thus become the main US subsidiary. On November 5, pursuant to the resolution passed by the Board of Directors of Finmeccanica on 12 May 2008 and agreements reached with some of the Eurotech's founding shareholders, Finmeccanica completes the acquisition of 11.1% of Eurotech's share capital.
Headquarters
The Eurotech Group is composed of nine main operating units:• Eurotech S.p.A. is the parent company, based in Amaro (Udine
Udine
Udine is a city and comune in northeastern Italy, in the middle of Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic sea and the Alps , less than 40 km from the Slovenian border. Its population was 99,439 in 2009, and that of its urban area was 175,000.- History :Udine is the historical...
- Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
). It designs and produces - in the field of NanoPCs - modules, systems and devices for the transportation, defence, medical and industrial sectors. Through its division based near Varese (IPS Sistemi Programmabili s.r.l.) Eurotech develops, manufactures and sells intelligent human-to-machine (H2M) and machine-to-machine (M2M
Machine to Machine
Machine-to-Machine refers to technologies that allow both wireless and wired systems to communicate with other devices of the same ability...
) interfaces for harsh industrial applications. Eurotech has also a division active in the field of HPCs, which designs, produces and markets high performance computers for extremely demanding applications: these supercomputers are used in the fields of nano and bio-technologies, healthcare, high energy physics and in other applications requiring complex simulations and hence a great computational power.
• EthLab is the Group's research centre: it's based in the Trento
Trento
Trento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...
area and has a satellite office in Amaro (Udine), close to the Group's headquarters.
• Eurotech France is based in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
(France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
). It operates in the field of NanoPCs, mainly in the transportation and in the industrial sectors. Eurotech France participates to the United Nations Global Compact, the world's largest corporate citizenship and sustainability initiative.
• Eurotech Ltd is based in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
(UK) and operates in the field of NanoPCs and is active especially in the industrial and in the communication sectors.
• Eurotech Finland is based in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
(Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
) and it addresses the markets of the Far East, with a focus on South and Southeast Asia.
• Eurotech Inc is based in Columbia, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
(USA) and has a satellite office in Kansas City
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
(USA). It's active in the design, development and production of embedded systems for the transportation and the industrial sectors. Eurotech Inc is an Associate Member of Intel's Embedded and Communications Alliance (ECA).
• Parvus is based in Salt Lake City, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
(USA). Its focus is on COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf) ruggedized systems for the defence sector.
• Advanet Group is based in Okayama (Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
). It's a manufacturer of single board computers, I/O, data acquisition, and communication products for the embedded markets. Advanet products include VME
VMEbus
VMEbus is a computer bus standard, originally developed for the Motorola 68000 line of CPUs, but later widely used for many applications and standardized by the IEC as ANSI/IEEE 1014-1987. It is physically based on Eurocard sizes, mechanicals and connectors , but uses its own signalling system,...
, CompactPCI
CompactPCI
A CompactPCI system is a 3U or 6U Eurocard-based industrial computer, where all boards are connected via a passive PCI backplane. The connector pin assignments are standardized by the PICMG US and PICMG Europe organizations. PICMG stands for PCI Industrial Computers Manufacturers Group...
, PCI & PMC
PCI mezzanine card
A PCI Mezzanine Card or PMC is a printed circuit board manufactured to the IEEE P1386.1 standard. This standard combines the electrical characteristics of the PCI bus with the mechanical dimensions of the Common Mezzanine Card or CMC format .A mezzanine connector connects two parallel printed...
boards for PowerPC
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
and Intel Pentium
Pentium
The original Pentium microprocessor was introduced on March 22, 1993. Its microarchitecture, deemed P5, was Intel's fifth-generation and first superscalar x86 microarchitecture. As a direct extension of the 80486 architecture, it included dual integer pipelines, a faster FPU, wider data bus,...
architectures.
• Vantron is located in Chengdu
Chengdu
Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...
, in the Sichuan province of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Besides being a development centre of hardware and software components for embedded solutions, Vantron offers embedded platforms for mobile and multimedia applications to its local market.
Mission
Eurotech's mission is to improve everyday life, making it simpler, safer and more pleasant through the ubiquitous and pervasive use of technology.To achieve its mission, Eurotech integrates the state of the art of computing and communication technologies to develop highly innovative applications, aimed to anticipating market demand.
Research cooperation with Universities
The Eurotech Group focuses on the study and development of innovative solution based on cutting-edge technologies, employing around 40% of its staff in R&D programs. Eurotech has always operated in close connection with the Universities of Milan, Trento, Trieste and Udine, with IRST (Institute for Scientific and Technological Research of the Trentino region), with Sissa (International School of Advanced Studies based in Trieste) and with INFN (Italian Institute of Nuclear Physics).Eurotech is presently working on many projects, mainly addressing three areas: new-generation supercomputers, wearable PCs and Grid computing.
Markets and products
Eurotech Group's NanoPC offering is structured in three lines of products and solutions, each dedicated to a specific market segment:- TMS (Transportation - Mobility - Surveillance), focusing mainly on mobile devices
- ICN (Industrial - Commercial - Networking), focusing mainly on fixed devices
- DSA (Defence, Security & Aerospace), focusing mainly on rugged devices.
New products
- Catalyst, an embedded module based on the new Intel AtomIntel AtomIntel Atom is the brand name for a line of ultra-low-voltage x86 and x86-64 CPUs from Intel, designed in 45 nm CMOS and used mainly in netbooks, nettops, embedded application ranging from health care to advanced robotics and Mobile Internet devices...
processor. The Catalyst combines high performances and low power consumption in a small proprietary form factor: for typical applications, the module is able to operate at under 3W.
- Zypad, the wrist-worn personal computer, is a powerful computer designed to be worn on the user's wrist. The wearability and hands-free operation of the Zypad makes it of interest to Logistics, Emergency Services, Security, Defense, Healthcare, Maintenance and any area where hands-free access to large amounts of information is necessary. The Zypad implements the concept of ubiquitous computing by integrating all the power and capabilities expected from a full size PC within a highly versatile device.
- PCN-1001 Passenger Counter, a compact and fully integrated device based on noncontact stereoscopic vision technology; it is able to count passengers entering or leaving buses, trams or trains. The device also has the capability to record time and date information of such events, allowing users to make various statistical analyses at a later time.
- JANUS, the High Performance Computer which is the result of an Italian-Spanish partnership that involved several universities research centres such as: the physics departments of the University of FerraraUniversity of FerraraThe University of Ferrara is the main university of the city of Ferrara in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. In the years prior to the First World War the University of Ferrara, with more than 500 students, was the best attended of the free universities in Italy...
, Rome's La SapienzaUniversity of Rome La SapienzaThe Sapienza University of Rome, officially Sapienza – Università di Roma, formerly known as Università degli studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a coeducational, autonomous state university in Rome, Italy...
, the Institute of Biophysics and Complex Systems of Physics of Saragozza (BIFI), the University of ZaragozaUniversity of ZaragozaThe University of Zaragoza or sometimes Saragossa University is a university located in Zaragoza, in the Aragon region of Spain...
, the Institute of Engineering Investigation of Argon in addition to Madrid's ComplutenseComplutense University of MadridThe Complutense University of Madrid is a university in Madrid, and one of the oldest universities in the world. It is located on a sprawling campus that occupies the entirety of the Ciudad Universitaria district of Madrid, with annexes in the district of Somosaguas in the neighboring city of...
University and the University of Extremadura, Badajoz. In "road tests", i.e. running the specific calculations for which it was designed, Janus has proven to be the smallest, fastest, and most energy-efficient supercomputer currently available: in fact it provides 8 PetaOps (i.e. 8 million billion operations per second) while consuming just 10 kW of power.
- Aurora, a family of supercomputers, developed in collaboration with Aurora Science consortium. Aurora systems were among the first liquid cooled machines to be present in the HPC market. The Aurora supercomputers are also notable for the coexistence of 3D Torus and Infiniband networks (although the 3D Torus is an optional feature) and for the synchronization networks. Eurotech recently released an Aurora supercomputer based on the still to be released (as for now September 2011) Intel Xeon E5, which makes a standard rack delivering more than 100 Teraflops.