Processors have long played a role in embedded systems design, but fundamental changes in the economics, technology and complexity of systems are making processors even more central. New engines for protocol, signal and image processing in communciation and consumer applications must support new data-types and algorithms and yet must be radically smaller and more power efficient than previous 32b processor solutions.
Tensilica has designed the XtensaTM processor generator to allow chip architects to quickly discover and describe the key instruction, memory, and interface functions required by their applications. The generator produces a complete hardware design, verification and software development environment for that custom processor in less than one hour. The resulting designs consistently execute applications faster, dissipate less power, and use less code than previous processors. Automatic processor generation significantly improves application efficiency, eases process portability and simplifies integration into a "system-on-a-chip" design.
This talk with discuss the processor generator tool and the results for several application examples implemented in commodity ASIC CMOS technology.
About the speaker:
Beatrice Fu received her BS from California Institute of Technology in 1980 and MS from UC Berkeley in 1981. From 1981 to 1998, she worked for Intel Corporation and has held various technical and management positions in semiconductor manufacturing, microprocessor design and software development. Her last postion at Intel was Director of Microcomputer SW Labs. She joined Tensilica Inc. in 1998 as the VP of Engineering and is responsible for product development and delivery.
Tensilica company information may be found at //www.tensilica.com.
Contact information:
Beatrice Fu
Tensilica Inc.
3255-6 Scott Boulevard
Santa Clara, CA 95054-3013
408-327-7307/voice
408-986-8919/fax
bfu@tensilica.com