Long-term AI solutions for defense—Overcoming technology obsolescence
Future-proofing AI for military applications One of the biggest challenges in defense technology is keeping AI solutions operational for...
Designing for the harshest conditions—the science of ruggedization
Engineering AI solutions that survive the toughest environments Deploying AI at the tactical edge isn’t just about performance—it’s about...
The future of defense: AI at the edge for real-time tactical advantage
Why high-performance edge computing is critical for defense Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the modern battlespace, enabling faster decision-making,...
Revolutionizing field operations: The strategic imperative of custom transit case integration
In today’s dynamic operational landscapes, the demand for rugged, portable technology solutions is more critical than ever. At Crystal...
Crystal Group’s integration of drive pack technology in rugged storage solutions
In the demanding environments of defense, industrial and commercial sectors, data storage solutions must be both robust and adaptable....
Honoring those who served with the Eastern Iowa Honor Flight
By Chad Hutchinson, VP of Engineering Protecting the warfighter when they’re serving is just one aspect of support that...
Looking beyond initial purchase price
When purchasing high reliability computing hardware, some buyers may only look at the initial purchase price of the unit...
U.S. Armed Forces require a power grid update for continued success
By Lindsay Palma, Program Manager Last week, I attended the Department of Defense Power and Energy Summit in Washington...
Scalable, customizable computing designed for the tactical edge
Modern avionics and military platforms require field-ready, scalable, and high-performance mission computers to run compute-intensive, safety-critical workloads. However, these...
A closer look at our portable workstation computer
In our latest Jim on Engineering video, he goes in-depth into the features, use cases and design considerations of...
Celebrating the new USS Iowa
By Tedde Orton, U.S. Navy Program Manager Almost finished with its build in Groton, CT at General Dynamics Electric...
Custom drive pack history
Over 10 years ago, a defense customer came to us with concerns about wear on drive connectors from frequent...
Small form factor on a short timeline
About one year ago, we expanded our engineering department by adding the Advanced Program Pursuits (APP) team. This team...
Making the leap
Read the first and second part of the nationwide substation makeover series here. By Chad Hutchinson, VP, Engineering It...
Edge computing for AI-enabled oil and gas applications
Oil platforms and offshore rigs operate in some of the toughest environmental conditions. Whether it’s salt fog, extreme temperatures,...
Operation: Substation transformation
Read the first part of the nationwide substation makeover series here. By Chad Hutchinson, VP, Engineering The challenges we...
Super server designed for autonomous and AI applications
Improving SWaP is a constant requirement for our customers and a design challenge that we regularly face. So, when...
Why we need to stage a nationwide substation makeover
By Chad Hutchinson, VP, Engineering Aging substations across the U.S. are buckling under the pressure of an evolving energy...
How liquid cooling impacts hardware design
When considering liquid cooling for any rugged system, the overall design of the system needs to be addressed to...
COTS components in custom builds for Special Operations Forces
New, high-tech equipment is projected to enhance and expand Special Operations warfighters capabilities, and help hyper-enabled operators be as...
AI servers for autonomous trucks
As the trucking industry continues to implement autonomous vehicles into their fleet, they need compute hardware that is built...
Liquid cooling component considerations
In last week’s Jim on Engineering video, our EVP of engineering discussed Crystal Group’s 12-year history with implementing liquid...
The evolution of liquid cooling techniques at Crystal Group
A lot has changed since we first began implementing liquid cooling features into our systems in 2011. As our...
Suitcase computer steals the show at AFCEA WEST 2023
Our new RE2500 portable workstation computer made its tradeshow debut at AFCEA WEST 2023, showcasing our ability in rapid...
New vPAC Alliance accelerates next-generation Smart Grid
The global move to a sustainable energy infrastructure places stress on the power grid, as weather-dependent renewable energy sources...
AV servers for edge environments
While some autonomous applications only require successful operation in test labs or pristine conditions, many of our industrial and...
Vertical integration: A clear advantage
Our state-of-the-art facility was designed with our customer’s need for high-quality, custom solutions delivered on condensed timelines. As a...
Protecting Data in Use
What is Data in Use? Use it or lose it. As the adage goes, you have to use your...
Protecting Data at Rest
What is Data at Rest? It’s not as relaxing as it seems. We live in a hustle-bustle age when...
Protecting Data in Motion
What is Data in Motion? It’s exactly what it sounds like. Anytime information is moving between systems, it is...
Custom industrial server to eliminate oil platform downtime
Because of the remote nature of an oil platform or rig, any technology point of failure resulting in operational...
Innovative AV solutions for an evolving market
As the autonomous vehicle (AV) market continues to grow, evolving needs and new challenges have impacted the industry. Compute...
Introduction to secure data targets, attacks, and protections
How your secure data is being targeted every day. The steps you can take to protect your system: When...
Bringing AI to the power grid
Artificial intelligence (AI) enabled servers are one requirement for the adapting needs of the utilities market as substation computing...
How to clean and maintain our products
Our products are built for extremely tough environmental conditions. This means they are deployed in areas where they will...
How we test our components
Ensuring our products are reliable is always a priority, especially since they’re trusted to operate in some of the...
Computing power: Giving industrial and off-road equipment a brain
Teaching a compact excavator or a long-haul truck – or any type of machine – to perform tasks safely...
Journey toward a smarter grid: Substation virtualization is here and now
The current U.S. Smart Grid is outdated and inflexible, making power outages become even more frequent when extreme weather...
The support you need, when and where you need it
Our technical services team provides resources to our customers around the clock and around the world. Whether it’s answering...
Advancing energy modernization with VMware Validated Solutions
The ES373S17 substation server combines real-time automation, remote management, cybersecurity, auto failover, and zero-trust security features for the changing...
How oil companies can avoid pitfalls of automation technology
The allure of automation is surging across the oil and gas industry. Yet, even with its consistency, efficiency, safety,...
Substation server designed for the modern power grid
As the power industry goes through a major transformation to improve and protect energy resources, we developed our Crystal...
Wire harness quality testing
With the large and diverse amount of hardware that goes into our equipment, testing the quality of individual components...
Pride in the skies: Celebrating 75 years of the U.S. Air Force
Since 1947, the U.S. Air Force has worked relentlessly to protect the United States and its allies. Upholding their...
How we choose the perfect motherboard solution
There are many choices on the market when it comes to motherboards, with just about as many considerations when...
Bringing AV compute solutions to the edge
When we ship out products to our customers, we rarely get to see exactly how it’s being used, especially...
RS1004L21X2: Rugged 1U Twin Server
The RS1004L21X2 rugged 1U twin server is designed to provide high-power compute capabilities to applications like small aircraft or...
Getting to the ‘core’ of AV thermal management
By Jim Shaw, Executive Vice President Data-gobbling processors require new cooling solutions – and the AV industry needs standards,...