Since “context-aware” systems must be “always on” to track changes in the environment, these capabilities represent a potentially significant drain on system power.
Today’s mobile systems are more intelligent than ever. As users demand more functionality, designers are continually adding to a growing list of embedded sensors. Image sensors support functions such as gesture and facial recognition, eye tracking, proximity, depth, and movement perception. Health sensors monitor the user’s EKG, EEG, EMG, and temperature. Audio sensors add voice recognition, phrase detection, and location-sensing services.
To address this problem, a growing number of developers are adopting Mobile Heterogeneous Computing (MHC) architectures. As the name implies, heterogeneous architectures employ different types of processors. Instead of using just a single CPU or GPU, a heterogeneous architecture might add an ASIC or FPGA to perform highly dedicated processing tasks.
One of the primary reasons system designers are moving to MHC is the ability it gives developers to move repetitive computation tasks to the most efficient processing resources so as to lower power consumption. For example, one key distinction between GPUs, CPUs, and FPGAs is how they process data.
FPGAs, on the other hand, enable a system to perform calculations in parallel, which — in turn — reduces power consumption, particularly in compute-intensive repetitive applications.
The fact that FPGAs have, thus far, been used sparingly for these tasks can be attributed to a common misconception — many designers think of FPGAs as relatively large devices. However, this is not necessarily the case.
Low-density FPGAs offer a number of other advantages in the current generation of intelligent systems. The rapid proliferation of sensors and displays in today’s mobile devices presents new challenges from an I/O interface perspective.
Data is an increasingly valuable commodity in today’s “context-aware” systems. More than ever before, systems rely on a rapidly expanding array of sensors to support an ever-growing list of functions. But data is only useful if can be captured, transferred, and analyzed quickly and efficiently.
Cornell students [Erissa Irani], [Albert Xu], and [Sophia Yan] built a FPGA wave equation music synth as the final project for [Bruce Land]’s ECE 5760 class.
The team used the Kaplus-Strong string synthesis method to design a trio of four-stringed instruments to be played by the Cyclone V FPGA. A C program running on the development board’s ARM 9 HPS serves as music sequencer, controlling tempo and telling the FPGA which note to play.
Mentor and Xilinx have partnered to provide a no-charge Android™ implementation for the Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC developer platform.
Mentor and Xilinx are committed to delivering a robust embedded development ecosystem to customers, easing the complexities of today’s highly advanced embedded systems.
The Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC development platform addresses the stringent performance, power efficiency, security, and safety requirements of applications targeting the global medical, industrial Internet-of-Things (IoT), automotive, and mil/aero markets.
Mentor, a Siemens business, today announced the availability of Android™ 6.0 (Marshmallow) for the Xilinx® Zynq® UltraScale+™ MPSoC. By combining the features of the Mentor® Embedded software solutions and the Xilinx heterogeneous multiprocessor system-on-a-chip (SoC), developers can safely introduce Android into advanced applications targeting the industrial, medical, automotive, and aerospace and defense markets.
This Android implementation includes the Mentor ® Android 6.0 board support package (BSP) built on the Android Open Source Project, as well as source code and pre-compiled binaries for the Xilinx ZCU102 development platform. Graphics output can be routed to the built-in Display Port, or to an Ozzy display and I/O module offered by iVeia. The Android software is available for immediate, no-charge download directly from the Mentor Embedded Systems Division. Users can leverage the Android support community, or they can engage directly with Mentor for support, customization, or extension for new versions of the Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC family of devices. Embedded developers can mitigate risk, realize time and cost savings, and create graphics using this solution.
“By providing Xilinx customers with an embedded ecosystem that includes technologies and services for Linux and Android-based devices, we are enabling our customers to create innovative products. The combination of low power consumption, high performance integrated programmable logic, isolation between general-purpose and real-time subsystems, and safety certification provides many opportunities for the deployment of Android into non-traditional markets,”
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3 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Using FPGAs in Mobile Heterogeneous Computing Architectures
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1331184&
Since “context-aware” systems must be “always on” to track changes in the environment, these capabilities represent a potentially significant drain on system power.
Today’s mobile systems are more intelligent than ever. As users demand more functionality, designers are continually adding to a growing list of embedded sensors. Image sensors support functions such as gesture and facial recognition, eye tracking, proximity, depth, and movement perception. Health sensors monitor the user’s EKG, EEG, EMG, and temperature. Audio sensors add voice recognition, phrase detection, and location-sensing services.
To address this problem, a growing number of developers are adopting Mobile Heterogeneous Computing (MHC) architectures. As the name implies, heterogeneous architectures employ different types of processors. Instead of using just a single CPU or GPU, a heterogeneous architecture might add an ASIC or FPGA to perform highly dedicated processing tasks.
One of the primary reasons system designers are moving to MHC is the ability it gives developers to move repetitive computation tasks to the most efficient processing resources so as to lower power consumption. For example, one key distinction between GPUs, CPUs, and FPGAs is how they process data.
FPGAs, on the other hand, enable a system to perform calculations in parallel, which — in turn — reduces power consumption, particularly in compute-intensive repetitive applications.
The fact that FPGAs have, thus far, been used sparingly for these tasks can be attributed to a common misconception — many designers think of FPGAs as relatively large devices. However, this is not necessarily the case.
Low-density FPGAs offer a number of other advantages in the current generation of intelligent systems. The rapid proliferation of sensors and displays in today’s mobile devices presents new challenges from an I/O interface perspective.
Data is an increasingly valuable commodity in today’s “context-aware” systems. More than ever before, systems rely on a rapidly expanding array of sensors to support an ever-growing list of functions. But data is only useful if can be captured, transferred, and analyzed quickly and efficiently.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Synthesizing Strings on a Cyclone V
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/18/synthesizing-strings-on-a-cyclone-v/
Cornell students [Erissa Irani], [Albert Xu], and [Sophia Yan] built a FPGA wave equation music synth as the final project for [Bruce Land]’s ECE 5760 class.
The team used the Kaplus-Strong string synthesis method to design a trio of four-stringed instruments to be played by the Cyclone V FPGA. A C program running on the development board’s ARM 9 HPS serves as music sequencer, controlling tempo and telling the FPGA which note to play.
Big Red Strings: A FPGA Musical Trio
Erissa Irani, Albert Xu, and Sophia Yan
http://people.ece.cornell.edu/land/courses/ece5760/FinalProjects/s2017/eli8_sjy33_awx2/ece5760finalproject/ece5760finalproject/index.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mentor Accelerates Android Development for Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC
https://www.mentor.com/company/news/siemens-mentor-accelerates-android-dev-xilinx-zyng-ultrascale-mpsoc?cmpid=10168
Mentor and Xilinx have partnered to provide a no-charge Android™ implementation for the Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC developer platform.
Mentor and Xilinx are committed to delivering a robust embedded development ecosystem to customers, easing the complexities of today’s highly advanced embedded systems.
The Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC development platform addresses the stringent performance, power efficiency, security, and safety requirements of applications targeting the global medical, industrial Internet-of-Things (IoT), automotive, and mil/aero markets.
Mentor, a Siemens business, today announced the availability of Android™ 6.0 (Marshmallow) for the Xilinx® Zynq® UltraScale+™ MPSoC. By combining the features of the Mentor® Embedded software solutions and the Xilinx heterogeneous multiprocessor system-on-a-chip (SoC), developers can safely introduce Android into advanced applications targeting the industrial, medical, automotive, and aerospace and defense markets.
This Android implementation includes the Mentor ® Android 6.0 board support package (BSP) built on the Android Open Source Project, as well as source code and pre-compiled binaries for the Xilinx ZCU102 development platform. Graphics output can be routed to the built-in Display Port, or to an Ozzy display and I/O module offered by iVeia. The Android software is available for immediate, no-charge download directly from the Mentor Embedded Systems Division. Users can leverage the Android support community, or they can engage directly with Mentor for support, customization, or extension for new versions of the Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC family of devices. Embedded developers can mitigate risk, realize time and cost savings, and create graphics using this solution.
“By providing Xilinx customers with an embedded ecosystem that includes technologies and services for Linux and Android-based devices, we are enabling our customers to create innovative products. The combination of low power consumption, high performance integrated programmable logic, isolation between general-purpose and real-time subsystems, and safety certification provides many opportunities for the deployment of Android into non-traditional markets,”