“The challenges facing OEM to build a reliable gaming machine are complex”

What does it take to build a reliable gaming machine?
Slot machines have become sophisticated high performance multimedia engines designed to deliver captivating and entertaining content to the user. While the casino gaming industry can be considered a segment of the embedded computing industry, the demands of this segment are quite unique in many ways. The OEM must produce a compliant product that will be certified by multiple regulatory authorities and offer a high level of performance and can be supported over a widely distributed installed base for a long service life.

As such the challenges for the OEM to build a reliable gaming machine are complex.

The OEM must carefully select a platform to meet many requirements including:

•  High performance

•  A reliable product designed for 24/7 operation

• A product compliant with gaming regulations worldwide

•  A comprehensive product feature set, compatible with the wide range of gaming peripherals and communication systems in the market. 

• Security features

•  Extensive, reliable software drivers/API and other software solutions

•  Product availability for 5 years from the date of launch with strictly controlled changes

•  In-depth customer product support and industry knowledge

Why should I use an all in one gaming board instead of a standard PC with an I/O card for the gaming features?
A dedicated gaming platform such as those produced by Advantech offers the OEM a number of key advantages over a standard PC and separate IO board.Firstly the high level of integration of a single board platform means that the OEM has all the features needed on the single PC platform. Having only one component to manage simplifies purchasing, product maintenance, compatibility testing and eventually end of life issues.

Security and performance are key consideration in slot machine design. The single integrated platform also brings performance benefits and better security than other architectures. Regulatory requirements for slot machines mean that the “CPU platform” must include a number of specialized features. Integrating the I/O, extra memory, COM ports and security functions on a single board means that those devices can offer faster access and higher bandwidth. It also means that they are much more secure and more reliable than if they were located on a separate I/O board.   Indeed the very specialized and highly integrated design of a “gaming board” means that it is inherently more secure than an open architecture approach consisting of multiple boards.  

The single integrated platform also means the OEM benefits from existing reliable software drivers and libraries that are tested and ready to use.  If the OEM designed and maintained his own I/O board he would have to develop and maintain those drivers and test their compatibility with other components in the system.

Another big advantage of an integrated platform from an established supplier is the reduced risk of delays and problems in development and in the regulatory certification process.  Advantech-Innocore products for example have been approved in most of the markets around the world.  So the OEM can safely select those CPU platforms, knowing that his product will pass local and even global market certifications.

So the integrated single platform speeds up the time to market and reduces the OEMs’ overall cost of ownership while increasing the levels of performance and security.

What are the must-haves that fit into the general gaming machine design?
In the opening section we mentioned some of the top level requirements of the OEM when selecting a CPU hardware platform for a slot machine. There are a number of specialized lower level hardware features that will be needed on a CPU platform for regulated markets.  These include:

• Digital input/outputs for interface to lamps buttons etc.

• COM ports, USB for interface to printers, bill validators, hoppers, coin comparators, top box other peripherals 

.  System health monitoring for fan speeds, voltages, temperatures

•  Write protected and self-verifying firmware including BIOS

• Intrusion /anti tamper system with battery back up

• NVRAM for machine state and gameplay history data

• OTPROM socket for some jurisdictions as part of security “chain of trust”

• Other security hardware to support other security measures such as encryption, platform authentication, digital rights management, license control- all server based and downloadable.

How do I know if your products are right for me? 
Do’s& Don’ts

Do and don’ts for the slot machine OEM  

•  Don’t design specialized hardware for gaming machines. 

•  Do choose an integrated CPU platform from an established supplier.  

  Do check that the supplier has a good track record with experience in the gaming industry.  

• Do check that the supplier’s products have been approved in the OEM’s target markets.  

• Do check if the supplier is financially strong and has the resources to support the product including in-house manufacturing, driver development, hardware design and validation.  

.  Do ask to visit the supplier’s factories and design centers.

Advantech-Innocore has been supplying the gaming industry for fifteen years, and understands the requirements of the industry. Advantech-Innocore is one of only four Premier Level partners with Intel and also a strategic partner of AMD.  We have the widest range of gaming specific CPU platforms designed to provide customers with the latest technology and highest performance tailored to the needs of slot machine OEMs.

Advantech-Innocore is also careful to plan our product roadmap to facilitate the easy migration to the next generation products. Mechanical format, mounting points and connector locations are kept consistent so that customers can easily move to the next generation of a product without major redesign and re-certification. The cross-generational compatibility extends to the driver/API (application programmers interface) of the products.  This is so that the customer’s application code that was written for an earlier board can be ported easily to the newer products, thus simplifying the customers migration and safeguarding his investments in tooling and engineering development.

We provide complete CPU platforms with associated software to speed the customers’ time to market, reduce the risks associated with the certification process, streamline the supply chain and support extended product lifecycle.  Overall, our products significantly reduce the total cost of ownership for the gaming OEM. This frees the OEM to concentrate not on the hardware, but on the software, content and player experience - the areas that will differentiate his product in the marketplace.