Articles – Page 258

August 16, 2011

Quietly and steadily, the FPGA company that pretends not to be an FPGA company is growing and expanding – careful never to use the F word. A few years ago, they created their own term for what they do – “CSSP” for “Customer-Specific Standard Product.” What’s a CSSP? Think of it as an FPGA with a purpose.

One of the hardest things about being an FPGA company, you see, is supporting all the people who are trying to design things with your FPGAs. You have to make, distribute, and … Read More → "Kicking It Up"

Moving MEMS to the Mainstream

Semicon West Presentations Address Technology and Economics

by Bryon Moyer

August 15, 2011

As MEMS and sensors continue to move into the mainstream, they garner more and more floor and session space at conventions. While this is often the sign of the flavor-of-the-week, the attention at this year’s Semicon West appeared, in part, more intended to turn the exotic flavors into something more resembling vanilla.

While we looked at some MEMS basics a while ago and dove into great detail on some of the sensors … Read More → "Moving MEMS to the Mainstream"

Xilinx Documentation Navigator Overview

by Kevin Morris

August 11, 2011

The Xilinx Documentation Navigator helps customers find the information they need quickly, ensures customers are always reading the latest information, and offers single-click download management. This short video provides an overview of the Xilinx Documentation Navigator which can be downloaded from http://www.xilinx.com/support/

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First Xilinx Virtex-7 FPGA Demonstration

by Kevin Morris

August 11, 2011

Watch demonstration of the second device in the Xilinx 28nm FPGA family — the high performance Virtex-7 XV485T.

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Certifiable Software

Trying to Make Sense of the Dizzying Number of Language and Coding Standards

by Bryon Moyer

August 11, 2011

Be afraid.

Be very afraid.

That car you’re driving? There’s probably a bug in the control software that could, at any moment, introduce you to that big rig over there at 70 mph. Oh, that would be 140-mph closing speed. Woohoo!

The power grid that’s supplying the juice to the computer you’re reading this on? (Or supplied it yesterday if you’re on battery power, wise guy?) Don’t count on it when the going gets rough… Someone has assuredly planted electronic time … Read More → "Certifiable Software"

Do Instruction Sets Matter?

As Assembly-Language Coding Dies, CPUs Become Interchangeable

by Jim Turley

August 10, 2011

Nerd trivia: Name the microprocessor with the “Old McDonald Instruction,” EIEIO.

Give up? Or more importantly, did you even understand the question?

There was a time—perhaps lost in the previous millennium—when embedded programmers could name the assembly-language mnemonics of just about any microprocessor. What’s more, they had strong opinions about which ones were best. “My MOV AH, AL is way better than your dumb chip’s MOV R3, R4 because x86 sets CF and ZF automatically.”

If that sounds Greek … Read More → "Do Instruction Sets Matter?"

Managing Image Data in Automotive Infotainment Applications Using Low Cost PLDs

by Bryon Moyer

August 10, 2011

7:1 LVS interfaces are popular in auto infotainment imaging applications due to their cost and power advantages. Lattice MachXO2 PLDs can be deployed in driver assistance systems to manage the display, scaling and rotation of images from the cameras. The devices can dynamically switch between camera images and can combine the images as well. Check out this whitepaper to learn more.

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GEN2 Serial RapidIO and Low Cost, Low Power FPGAs

by Kevin Morris

August 10, 2011

System designers will continue to be under pressure to produce higher performance systems yet maintain lower build and operational costs. DSP and Network Processing Unit (NPU) devices, coupled with low cost, low power FPGAs like the Lattice ECP3 that support Gen2 Serial RapidIO (SRIO), can provide an ideal platform for meeting these challenges.

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Supporting Enterprise-Grade Flash with Programmable State Machines

by Kevin Morris

August 10, 2011

This white paper presents how the latest advances in FPGA technology support programmable state machines to support a dynamic RAID architecture using enterprise-grade flash memory. The benefits associated with programmable logic devices (PLDs)—design flexibility, modular IP integration, hardened memory controllers, and high-speed serial interfaces—provide an effective technology option in the design of flash memory array architectures. Programmable state machines provide the best performance in supporting storage subsystem requirements. The use of programmable technology as a means to support emerging and demanding memory-array architectures from prototype to … Read More → "Supporting Enterprise-Grade Flash with Programmable State Machines"

Cloak and Smoke and Dagger and Mirrors

Debunking the Debacle of FPGA Security

by Kevin Morris

August 9, 2011

“Heeeyyy, them’s some real nice FPGAs you got there.”

“Why, thank you.”

“Yeah, my brother and me – we was just discussin’ how you got yourself all them nice FPGAs, and how it would be a shame if somethin’ bad was to happen to ‘em.”

“Bad? What do you mean?”

“Well, y’know – like if somebody was to bust your security and get in there and, uh, … Read More → "Cloak and Smoke and Dagger and Mirrors"