Posts by GDCA
Get your boards…while you still can.
April 10, 2016
Have you ever requested additional post-EOL LTBs from your board OEM, only to find you need more boards later on? Board OEMs care about their customers. If these OEMs could continue to provide the quality products their customers have come to depend on, most would. For the majority of customers, upgrades are a welcome and…
Innovating Obsolescence: When the Supply Chain Is Around Your Throat
February 26, 2015
Obsolescence can pose a grave threat to individuals, economies, and nations. Security and defense receive a great deal of attention in our Critical Thoughts section, partly because they are domains in which obsolescence is highly visible and easily conceived. In fact, the defense industry has its own acronym, that specifically outlines the necessary steps to…
Counterfeits Take To the Road
January 16, 2015
Those who have been keeping up know the threat counterfeiting poses to the embedded world. To this point, most of our conversations regarding counterfeits have been focused on the damage they can do to projects, the costs incurred to replace them, and the threat they pose to the security of the supply chain. However, there…
Happy Holidays from GDCA!
December 1, 2014
As the curtain begins to close on 2014, we at GDCA wanted to take a moment to say thank you to all of our customers, partners, and allies in the field.
Building for VICTORY: The U.S. Army and the Vehicle Integration Network Initiative
October 20, 2014
It isn’t a high-profile battle, but those who know are aware that our armed forces are engaged in a perpetual war with an enemy that is, ultimately, unbeatable. That enemy is obsolescence. However, just because obsolescence is inevitable, it doesn’t mean there aren’t victories. Or one singular “VICTORY,” as the case may be.
Sensors Going Blind: Obsolete Medical Scanners in the Developing World
August 20, 2014
Imagine waking up in the middle of the night with chest pains. You can’t call 911 because you live in a region without telephone service. There are few emergency services available and, even so, there are few functional roads. The pains pass, but you know you need to have it looked at. You begin the…
What Happens When IVs Dry Up: Interruptions in the Saline Supply Chain
July 28, 2014
Saline isn’t one of the products that most people tend to think about in terms of supply and demand. It has become almost universal in the medical world—especially if you stop to consider how often you see it adorning the background of hospital scenes in film and TV. In addition to being thought of as…
The JTAG Interrogator: The Arrival of a New Counter-Counterfeiting Tool
June 18, 2014
The extent of component counterfeiting can be staggering when you think about it: Unmarked refurbished units Salvaged components dressed up to look new Illegal clones or second-run components Tainted components manufactured with malicious hidden features If non-authentic components have made their way into your production line, then each such situation represents a unique set of…
US Navy: Sailing Full Steam Ahead… and Making Petro-Fuels Obsolete?
June 4, 2014
Earlier this spring, scientists at the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) announced a prototype process for producing liquid hydrocarbon fuel from seawater. NRL’s proprietary process uses a modular reaction system to remove CO2 from seawater (with 92% efficiency) while producing hydrogen gas. Once separated, the nickel-supported catalyst conversion system combines them again into liquid hydrocarbon…
DARPA’s Defense Against Counterfeiting: SHIELD
May 21, 2014
At DARPA’s Microsystems Technology Office (MTO), proposals are already being accepted for the new Supply Chain Hardware Integrity for Electronics program, aka SHIELD. The SHIELD program will be the DOD’s response to component counterfeiting in the supply chain and will include the use of a “a small (100 micron x 100 micron) component, or dielet, that authenticates…