Embedded Intelligent Edge For Predictive Maintenance


Historically in a full-scale production setting, one of the best company assets was the experience of machine operators, as they had the ability to predict when maintenance was required. Plant managers reported about any unusual behavior such as a clatter or clank in the machinery, prompting a check-up by the maintenance crew. Today, the level of automation greatly reduces the operator’s abil... » read more

Why Comparing Processors Is So Difficult


Every new processor claims to be the fastest, the cheapest, or the most power frugal, but how those claims are measured and the supporting information can range from very useful to irrelevant. The chip industry is struggling far more than in the past to provide informative metrics. Twenty years ago, it was relatively easy to measure processor performance. It was a combination of the rate at ... » read more

Robots Become More Useful In Factories


Most people associate factory automation with large robotic machines, such as those that weld automobile chassis on assembly lines. But as prices drop and technology improves, robots are being deployed for smaller and more varied tasks, and they are getting better at all of them. Inside of factories, robots can significantly improve output, consistency, and reliability. They can work around ... » read more

Machine Learning Showing Up As Silicon IP


New machine-learning (ML) architectures continue to appear. Up to now, each new offering has been implemented in a chip for sale, to be placed alongside host processors, memory, and other chips on an accelerator board. But over time, more of this technology could be sold as IP that can be integrated into a system-on-chip (SoC). That trend is evident at recent conferences, where an increasing... » read more

Building Multipurpose Systems With Dynamic Function Exchange Part Three: Tools For Deploying DFX


In our previous two articles, we introduced you to the concept of Dynamic Function Exchange (DFX), a design approach that dynamically reallocates unused system resources to other tasks. We also introduced you to some techniques for bundling and managing your DFX resources. In this article, we will discuss some of the adaptive computing tools that make DFX possible. As part of its investment ... » read more

Open RAN Direct RF Sampling Radio Transceiver Architectures For Massive MIMO


With the exponential increase in wireless traffic, mobile networks are transformed into more software-driven, virtualized, flexible, intelligent, and energy efficient systems. These trends have stimulated significant change in the core network with the advent of software defined networks (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV), which have enabled building more agile and less expensive ... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


AMD completed its acquisition of Xilinx. The all-stock deal ended up being valued at approximately $50 billion due to a rise in AMD's share price (the deal was valued at $35 billion when announced). The Xilinx business will become the newly formed Adaptive and Embedded Computing Group (AECG), led by former Xilinx CEO Victor Peng, and will continue its FPGA, adaptive SoC, and software roadmaps a... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Automotive Renesas and AVL Software and Functions are collaborating to support developers of automotive ISO 26262-compliant electronic control units (ECUs). Renesas sells automotive R-Car SoCs, RH850 automotive control MCUs, PMICs, and software for levels ASIL B to ASIL D of ISO26262, but even with automotive ISO26262 parts, ECU system development process is never plug and play. Functional saf... » read more

Technology Advancements For Dynamic Function eXchange In Vivado ML Edition


As systems become more complex and designers are asked to do more with less, adaptability is a critical asset. While Xilinx FPGAs and SoCs always provided the flexibility to perform on-site device reprogramming, current constraints including increased cost, tighter board space, and power consumption demand even more efficient design strategies. Xilinx Dynamic Function eXchange (DFX) extends the... » read more

Design Challenges Increasing For Mixed-Die Packages


The entire semiconductor ecosystem is starting to tackle a long list of technology and business changes that will be needed to continue scaling beyond Moore's Law, making heterogeneous combinations of die easier, cheaper, and more predictable. There are a number of benefits to mixing die and putting them together in a modular way. From a design standpoint, this approach provides access to th... » read more

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