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SAFe-VX-DEV – SIL4-Certifiable VPX Safety Computing Platform by Kontron

The Kontron SAFe-VX-DEV is a half-19-inch modular vital computing development platform built on 3U VPX building blocks, designed for safety-critical railway applications in both rolling stock and wayside environments. Its redundant architecture featuring three VPX processor modules interconnected via a Gigabit Ethernet switch is certifiable to SIL4, with no single point of failure. Supporting Intel Xeon D or Intel Core i7 processors, ECC DDR4 memory, and PikeOS SIL4 RTOS hypervisor partitioning, it enables critical and non-critical applications to coexist on a single platform. Available from Recab, your Nordic partner for Kontron railway computing solutions.
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Description
The Kontron SAFe-VX-DEV is a vital computing development platform engineered specifically for safety-critical railway control applications in both wayside and rolling stock environments, including train protection, interlocking, autonomous train functions, and data analytics. The platform is built on open-standard 3U VPX building blocks in a compact half 19-inch chassis, offering a certifiable architecture up to SIL4 in accordance with EN 50126, EN 50128, and EN 50129 railway safety standards. Its base configuration includes three identical Kontron x86 3U VPX processor modules serving roles as Channel A, Channel B, and gateway or monitoring functions, interconnected by a Gigabit Ethernet switch module via a common backplane. The system eliminates single points of failure through electrical isolation of boards via the backplane design, and when two platforms are deployed in parallel, the required availability at SIL4 level can be achieved. Each CPU board supports Intel Xeon D quad-core processors at 1.5GHz or Intel Core i7-1185GRE quad-core at 1.8GHz, with 8GB or 32GB DDR4 ECC memory, onboard SSD, front 1000Base-T Ethernet, and serial and USB interfaces. Safety-oriented hardware features include ECC memory with error injection for testing, 2-microsecond precision watchdogs, dedicated memory for permanent history logs, software-verifiable master clock frequency, and temperature and power supply monitoring. The recommended RTOS is PikeOS from SYSGO, a TUV-certified SIL4 hypervisor that partitions safety-critical hard real-time code from non-critical Linux applications on the same hardware, enabling data analytics, AI, or autonomous train functions to run safely alongside vital control logic. Kontron supports the SAFe-VX-DEV platform for programme lifetimes exceeding 25 years with proactive obsolescence management and technology refresh capability. Available from Recab, your Nordic partner for Kontron railway computing solutions.
Features
  • Redundant triple-CPU 3U VPX architecture with Gigabit Ethernet backplane interconnects and no single point of failure supports SIL4 certification for the most demanding railway safety applications.
  • Intel Xeon D or Intel Core i7-1185GRE quad-core processors with 8GB or 32GB ECC DDR4 memory provide deterministic high-performance computing suited to safety-critical real-time control.
  • PikeOS SIL4 hypervisor from SYSGO partitions hard real-time vital functions from non-critical Linux applications, enabling AI, analytics, and vital control to coexist on a single platform.
  • Safety-oriented CPU board hardware features include 2-microsecond precision watchdogs, ECC error injection for testing, dedicated history log memory, and clean power interruption mechanisms.
  • Modular 3U VPX VPX architecture with fit/form/function technology refresh capability supports programme lifetimes exceeding 25 years with proactive obsolescence management from Kontron.
  • Comprehensive safety artefacts including TUV-certified PikeOS certificates, FMECA reports, MTBF analyses, environmental test reports, and Board Support Package certification artefacts are available for customer projects.
Specifications
  • Railway train protection and interlocking system development on VPX platform
  • Autonomous train and AI analytics computing in rolling stock applications
  • Wayside safety control for signalling and level crossing management systems
  • Refurbishment of existing trains with modern SIL4-certifiable computing platforms

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