Abaco Systems helps military and aerospace organizations minimize program risk and bring programs in on time and on budget. Our integrated, rugged systems solutions are based on a product range that includes single board computers, high performance embedded computing (HPEC), digital signal processing, GPGPU, image processing, sensor processing and avionics. We ally to those products our understanding of applications including ISR, EW, SIGINT, radar, sonar and 360 degree situational awareness. Our customers know that Abaco System brings industry-leading expertise and experience, together with broad and deep customer support.
WE INNOVATE. WE DELIVER. YOU SUCCEED.
New season, new beginning
It’s official. Well, not quite, but it’s getting close. Today’s weather here in western NC feels like fall is just around the corner. Yesterday, I saw a truck full of pumpkins heading down the mountain on their way to becoming jack-o'-lanterns that will adorn front porches across the south. The Christmas tree farms are tagging trees that will soon be removed from these cool, quiet hills and make their way to living rooms all over the country. Of...
Leading edge products need leading edge manufacturing
It’s incredible to think that, way back in 1989, Intel’s 80486 processor was manufactured using a 1,000 nanometer process. The company is planning to manufacture 7 nanometer devices in 2021. That means, in effect, almost 150x the number of devices are occupying a given unit of space. For the non-technical: imagine around 10,000 transistors laid side by side being equal to the width of a human hair. The sophistication of the manufacturing process...
COTS: Improving Space Travel Accessibility and Affordability
At the beginning of this month, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico after a two-month mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). This marked the first time in history that a commercially developed spacecraft carried humans into Earth’s orbit. In addition to the outstanding technological achievement, it is a reminder that spaceflight for the masses is almost within reach. Almost. NASA states that it...
Our new SOSA aligned multiprocessor: you can have it all
Maximizing the value of customer investments and minimizing long term cost of ownership has long been central to how Abaco approaches product development. That has shown itself in a number of ways over the past three decades – but perhaps the most striking is the continuing commitment to regularly making available new products that are form, fit and function compatible with their predecessors. Simple, straightforward The principle is based on...
Pursuing innovation, driving excellence
The first half of 2020 has come and gone in the blink of an eye, but history has been made and we are still in the midst of all this year has brought us thus far. We began with the loss of a basketball legend, have since moved into a global pandemic, and now by mid-year we are in the throes of political and social unrest across the world. Personally, this year has also brought a career move from Siemens to Abaco Systems at a time when I am truly...
Our SOSA-aligned SBC: the first to be real, deliverable and ready for action
The technology industry has long been full of wares. Hardware. Software. Firmware. Middleware. And: it’s been no less full of vaporware – products that were announced, with much anticipation, but that never actually made it to market. Or at least, they saw the light of day long after they were announced. Ask any gamer who waited from 1997 when Duke Nukem Forever was first announced to 2011 when it finally shipped. A product that was certainly...
Realizing the advantages of Machine Learning in COTS and MOSA Aligned RF Systems – EW, ELINT and SDR Applications
You are not alone if… You are struggling to meet schedule deadlines for releasing radio frequency (RF) processing sensors or systems You don’t have the answer to the contested Electro Magnetic Spectrum (EMS) of Tomorrow Your sensor or system is being asked to do more and share actionable data across boundaries Can you relate? If so, you may need a Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Modular Open System Architecture (MOSA) to meet your RF processing...
Honoring the past – looking ahead towards victory over a common enemy
As Memorial Day approaches in the US, I am often reminded of my grandfather who passed away several years ago. He was a retired colonel in the US Army and recipient of the purple heart award who was quite persistent in reminding his family of the great value and asset our nation has in our military men and women. He taught us to honor and respect all those who serve, giving of themselves day in and day out to protect our life and liberty here at...
Abaco Achieves AS9100 Certification Amidst Global Pandemic
In a time when our world has moved primarily to remote working and social distancing, the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be one of the biggest challenges workforces are facing today. It may seem improbable during this time we would be able to obtain certification for our quality management system in what would traditionally be an onsite certification process. However, our commitment to the quality and safety of our products is top of mind during...
The necessity for minimal redesign effort
I’m sure we’ve all had this experience. You’re working on a “quick” home repair, figure out what’s wrong, and run to the hardware store - only to discover the part you need isn’t available anymore. Now, instead of replacing a single, three dollars part in a faucet, you need to buy a new $50 faucet. Instead of a “quick” repair, you’re looking at several hours to have a working faucet. How frustrating. Now take that situation and instead of a $50...
Mixing the old and the new
Today’s world has conveniences that were unimaginable just a few decades ago. Seemingly any movie, music, book, or TV show is available whenever we want at just the touch of a button. We can achieve the same surround sound quality at home that we can in a movie theater. Our modern sources range from televisions to BluRay players to internet streaming sources - and there are even record turntable and cassette players available for those with a...
Meeting the Need for Technically Diverse Solutions to Complex Issues
In a day and age where change is the name of the game, it’s imperative that we continue to seek out mutually beneficial partnerships to advance joint interests and bring out the best in one another. Sometimes a good partnership looks like a family teaming up to make sure surprise guests under the age of five do not end up in the background of an otherwise important video conference during the COVID-19 pandemic. Other times a good partnership is...
Evolving to meet tomorrow's new missions
Guest blog post by Rob Andzik Founded in 2008, AMERGINT started with a team of engineers experienced in the design and development of satellite ground networks and communications systems. This allowed us to quickly bring our vast experiences and skills to the partnership with Abaco. Our company started with a blank slate and began work on a software-based architecture that handles the functionality traditionally done in hardware - such as...
Taking legacy products into the future
In 2010, high-definition televisions were becoming quite prominent. With them came the high-definition media input, or HDMI cable, providing better audio and video quality. New technology makes it tempting to ignore the legacy technology and say “Out with the old, in with the new!” – but it’s not a great idea. The market needs time to adjust and convert from the legacy to the new, and manufacturers must build that bridge to allow that adjustment...
There’s not always a right answer
A little over two weeks ago I was out of the office attending the first induction week of my Executive MBA at Warwick University. After two days of shaking hands (and washing them) while making introductions with other members of the course cohort and some of our lecturers, it was time for four days of lectures, debates and working on a group presentation. This first module was about how organizations, teams and individuals’ coordinate and are...