Articles – Page 277

Versatile Digital QAM Modulator

January 3, 2011

Combined with enhanced DSP blocks, the logic structure of Altera’s Stratix® series and Arria® series FPGAs offer a flexible way to implement the key elements of the Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) signal-processing path in any region. With their innovative logic structure, enhanced dedicated DSP blocks, and the revolutionary memory blocks, Stratix series and Arria series FPGAs are perfect for cable head-end system designers who want flexibility and speedy time to market. In addition to these advanced features, Altera also provides … Read More → "Versatile Digital QAM Modulator"

GreenPeak launches three new chips for the RF4CE market

by Bryon Moyer

January 3, 2011

Utrecht, Netherlands 3 January 2011 GreenPeak Technologies, a leading fabless semiconductor company, today announced the launch of three new chips, allowing the development of robust and low cost ZigBee RF4CE remote control applications for TVs and set-top boxes, addressing an overall one billion unit annual market.

The three devices all have full RF4CE functionality with ZRC embedded, targeting specific product applications:

GP520: front-panel controller for set-top … Read More → "GreenPeak launches three new chips for the RF4CE market"

VIA Launches VIA eH1, Embedded Industry’s First Dedicated Graphics Card

by Bryon Moyer

January 3, 2011

TAIPEI, TAIWAN, January 3, 2011 – VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the world’s first graphics card designed specifically for the embedded market with the VIA eH1, a DX10.1 compliant, multi-display card that thrusts any system with a PCI Express slot into a new realm of graphics and video capability.

The VIA eH1 comes with a three year product longevity guarantee and is the most power-efficient discrete graphics and video solution on the market today. The VIA eH1 AIB features an advanced DirectX 10.1, OpenGL 3.1, OpenGL ES 2.0 compatible 64 … Read More → "VIA Launches VIA eH1, Embedded Industry’s First Dedicated Graphics Card"

Avnet Electronic Marketing, MathWorks, Texas Instruments and Xilinx Deliver Workshops on Co-Processing Design Solutions

by Bryon Moyer

January 3, 2011

PHOENIX— January 3, 2011 — Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas, a business region of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), along with MathWorks, Texas Instruments (TI) and Xilinx is offering a new series of SpeedWay Design Workshops™ focusing on designing Read More → "Avnet Electronic Marketing, MathWorks, Texas Instruments and Xilinx Deliver Workshops on Co-Processing Design Solutions"

The Counting of the Beans

Engineering Practicality

by Kevin Morris

December 28, 2010

In engineering school, we are taught that our discipline is about solving problems. We learn proven, methodical approaches to problem solving, and we work to gain the experience and expertise we need to look at a set of requirements and create a solution that most efficiently and elegantly satisfies those requirements.

Our profession is part art and part science.

As engineers, we do not follow the scientific method, but we reap rich bounty from its application. As a painter applies pigments of known color to canvas – creating something that transcends the materials … Read More → "The Counting of the Beans"

The Bisquick Dilemma

by Jim Turley

December 28, 2010

Integration is part of our business. We take small components and combine them into bigger components. Our skill and talent as engineers determine how much value we’ve added in the process. With any luck, we’ve created something our customers will pay us for, plus a little extra to invest in R&D.

But what happens when our suppliers have already done the integration for us? A “system on a chip” leaves little room for improvement. That’s by design; the chip manufacturer wants to make your life easier, but … Read More → "The Bisquick Dilemma"

Altera Acquires Avalon Microelectronics, Extending Its Communication System IP for FPGA and ASIC Product Portfolio

by Kevin Morris

December 28, 2010

SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 14, 2010–Altera Corporation (Nasdaq: ALTR) announced today it has acquired Avalon Microelectronics Inc., an industry leader in flexible Optical Transport Network (OTN) IP, for use in its FPGA and ASIC products. With the acquisition of Avalon, Altera expands its portfolio of customizable IP solutions for OTN applications, supporting data rates at 1.2G, 2.5G and 10G, as well as 40G and 100G.

“As FPGAs increasingly replace ASICs and ASSPs in the heart of … Read More → "Altera Acquires Avalon Microelectronics, Extending Its Communication System IP for FPGA and ASIC Product Portfolio"

Curtiss-Wright Controls Enhances VPX Memory Card to Support Large HPEC Systems

by Kevin Morris

December 28, 2010

CHATSWORTH, CA – December 23, 2010 — Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing (CWCEC), a business group of Curtiss-Wright Controls and a leading designer and manufacturer of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) VME, VPX, OpenVPX™ and CompactPCI products for the rugged deployed aerospace and defense market, has announced that it has enhanced the MFC700 OpenVPX high-density memory card with significantly increased available on-board memory. CWCEC is also pleased to announce that it has completed the rugged qualification of the conduction cooled variant of the MFC700. The rugged 6U VPX MFC700 card now provides Serial RapidIO (SRIO) host interfaces with up to 32 … Read More → "Curtiss-Wright Controls Enhances VPX Memory Card to Support Large HPEC Systems"

Curtiss-Wright Controls Adds 8GB SDRAM option to Dual-Core Intel® Core™ VME64x Single Board Computer

by Kevin Morris

December 27, 2010

SAN DIEGO, CA – December 23, 2010 – Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing (CWCEC), a business group of Curtiss-Wright Controls and a leading designer and manufacturer of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) VME, OpenVPX™ and CompactPCI products for the rugged deployed aerospace and defense market, has expanded the onboard memory capacity of its dual-core Intel® Core™-based SVME/DMV-1905 VME64x single board computer (SBC) with support for up to 8GB of SDRAM. The rugged SVME/DMV-1905 features a dual-core Intel® Core™ i7-610E processor and brings the low-power, high-performance advantages of … Read More → "Curtiss-Wright Controls Adds 8GB SDRAM option to Dual-Core Intel® Core™ VME64x Single Board Computer"

Curtiss-Wright Controls Enhances Popular VPX3-1252 3U VPX SBC with 8GB SDRAM and SERDES Options

by Kevin Morris

December 26, 2010

SAN DIEGO, CA – December 23, 2010 — Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing (CWCEC), a business group of Curtiss-Wright Controls and a leading designer and manufacturer of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) VME, OpenVPX™and CompactPCI products for the rugged deployed aerospace and defense market, has announced the availability of an enhanced version of their popular VPX3-1252 Intel® Core™2 Duo processor-based 3U VPX single board computer (SBC). The updated SBC now features an increased memory option, with onboard SDRAM up to 8GB now supported. CWCEC also announced a new SERDES version of the high performance, small form … Read More → "Curtiss-Wright Controls Enhances Popular VPX3-1252 3U VPX SBC with 8GB SDRAM and SERDES Options"