November 2012 – Page 2

Breker Tests Multicore

November 13, 2012

Earlier this year we were introduced to Breker, a company that generates C tests for stressing SoC architectures and verifying that things work even with bizarre corner code that someone writing directed tests might not think to create.

The original version supported a single CPU along with all of the surrounding circuitry. They have recently announced their multicore version. While this might sound like simply a matter of being able to run their previous tests on multiple CPUs, it’s far from that.</ … Read More → "Breker Tests Multicore"

MIPS Gets a New Home

by Kevin Morris

November 6, 2012

Hey, wanna buy a CPU company? You’re too late, because MIPS Technologies was just sold for $60 million in cash. If that’s more than you have in your pocket, it’s still a tiny sum for a company that helped pioneer the idea of RISC processors. Once the deal goes through, the MIPS processor familiy will belong to Imagination Technologies, the same IP company that offers PowerVR graphics, HelloSoft code, Ensigma network IP, and other doodads for SoC developers. Now MIPS becomes the jewel in Imagination’s crown.

Interestingly, Imagination gets only 82 of MIPS’s collection … Read More → "MIPS Gets a New Home"

Higher-Density Solid-State Battery Technology

by Kevin Morris

November 6, 2012

Last year we took a look at Infinite Power Solutions (IPS), one of a couple of companies that have commercialized a solid-state lithium ion battery technology licensed from Oak Ridge Labs. Their current offering (pun intended) focuses on thin, flexible cells. But they have just announced a new technology, and at this point, it’s only a technology; they haven’t released any information on how it will be productized (and they may still be figuring that out).

The upshot is what … Read More → "Higher-Density Solid-State Battery Technology"

Using Formal to Help Simulation

by Jim Turley

November 1, 2012

While simulation is the granddaddy of verification, there are thorny problems that simulation doesn’t handle well, and formal analysis has gradually come of age over the years to attack those problems. So the two technologies end up working side by side on different issues to complete the verification plan.

While that is still largely true, Mentor has added a feature to their Questa verification platform to allow the formal part to help the simulation part. The formal part can help determine the simulation coverage; the feature is called CoverCheck.

The formal analysis engine … Read More → "Using Formal to Help Simulation"