BOHEMIA, NY – September 2026 -- North Atlantic Industries (NAI), a leader in rugged embedded computing solutions, today announced the NIU2U Nano Interface Unit, expanding the company's next-generation family of scalable multifunction I/O and processing platforms. Building on the field-proven NIU2A platform, the NIU2U extends the family to a two-module configuration with up to two user-selectable Configurable Open Systems Architecture™ (COSA®) smart function modules, standard 64-bit multicore processing, integrated deterministic Ethernet options, and a common software foundation—all within a compact, rugged, SWaP-optimized enclosure for air, land, and sea platforms.

Like the NIU1U, the NIU2U is built around a 64-bit AMD Xilinx® Zynq® UltraScale+™ SoC with dual- or quad-core ARM® Cortex®-A53 processing, supported by 4 GB of LPDDR4 memory and 40 GB of onboard SATA flash storage. Compared to the NIU2A, the NIU2U delivers eight times the memory while establishing a common processing and software foundation across NAI's next-generation Nano Interface Unit family. This shared architecture supports application reuse, helps reduce software migration and integration effort, and allows programs to scale from one to two smart function modules without changing their software foundation. With application-class processing standard in every unit, the NIU2U can host customer applications while concurrently managing its configured I/O and communications functions.

The NIU2U is designed to consolidate multifunction I/O and communications requirements within a compact enclosure. Its two module positions support user-selectable COSA smart function modules for configurable I/O and communications, drawing from NAI's extensive library of smart I/O, communications, measurement, simulation, networking, and Ethernet functions. This flexibility enables system architects to tailor each platform to mission-specific requirements, while dedicated processing within every smart function reduces routine I/O management demands on the host processor.

The NIU2U expands NAI's next-generation Nano Interface Unit family with integrated deterministic Ethernet options supporting either Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) or configurable TTEthernet®, AFDX® (ARINC 664 Part 7), and Best-Effort Ethernet operation. These networking capabilities support seamless integration into deterministic digital backbones, enabling the NIU2U to serve as an intelligent I/O endpoint, protocol converter, data concentrator, or embedded processing node within scalable, distributed real-time networks.

"The NIU2A established a proven foundation for rugged dual-module embedded I/O, and the NIU2U builds on that success with a common 64-bit processing architecture, expanded software support, and integrated deterministic Ethernet options," said Lino Massafra, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at North Atlantic Industries. "System integrators can preserve existing software investments, scale I/O capability as mission requirements evolve, and deploy significantly greater processing and networking capability without the cost and risk of a complete system redesign."

Engineered for demanding military and aerospace environments, the NIU2U combines rugged construction, broad operating-system support, configurable multifunction I/O, advanced networking, and comprehensive Built-In Test. Designed to meet applicable MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-461, and MIL-STD-704 requirements and operating from −40°C to +71°C, it is well suited for deployment as a Nodal Access Unit, Data Concentrator Unit, Remote Interface Unit, protocol converter, or Health and Usage Monitoring System. Optional power-supply hold-up and NAI software support—including board support packages, software development kits, and board-specific I/O APIs—help accelerate application development and system integration.

With the introduction of the NIU2U, NAI's next-generation Nano Interface Unit family expands to provide scalable one- and two-module systems based on a common UltraScale+ processing architecture, software environment, and rugged design approach. The family enables system architects to scale I/O capacity, consolidate functionality, preserve investments in software and COSA-based I/O technology, and integrate intelligent endpoints into evolving deterministic, network-centric architectures while providing a straightforward migration path from the widely deployed NIU2A.