Week In Review: Design, Low Power

Cadence teamed up with nine PCB manufacturing partners on an ecosystem to provide easier access to partners’ technology files to improve PCB manufacturability. The program, DesignTrue DFM, allows for automated import of a manufacturer’s latest DFM rules as well as rule checking in real time as part of the PCB layout process. The nine initial PCB manufactures supporting the program are: Bay Area Circuits, CircuitHub, Mass Design, Multek, OSH Park, Rocket EMS, Sierra Circuits, Tempo Automation, and Würth Elektronik.

Synopsys will support the Open Neural Network Exchange (ONNX) format in the upcoming release of its development toolkit for vision and AI applications on ARC EV6x Embedded Vision Processor IP. ONNX is an open standard for representing deep learning models that enables trained models to be transferred between AI frameworks.

Deals
Tiannengbo Information Technology implemented Moortec’s embedded temperature sensor IP to optimize performance and increase reliability in its latest cryptocurrency mining ASIC. Tiannengbo cited the ability to gain greater efficiency from products using the sensors.

Kraftway licensed UltraSoC’s embedded analytics technology for use in advanced SSD controller products. Kraftway cited the ability to see how systems operate in real-world situations.

Artosyn Microelectronics adopted Synopsys’ tRoot Hardware Secure Module (HSM) with Root of Trust, True Random Number Generator (TRNG) and cryptography accelerators for its latest drone SoC. Artosyn cited a high level of protection against threats and tampering during SoC power off, power-up, and runtime phases.

Standards
Accellera formed the IP Security Assurance Working Group, which will focus on creating a security assurance standard for third-party hardware IP and its associated components. Initially, the group plans to define an automated systematic approach that can be consistently supported across multiple target implementations, focusing on existing standards for IP specification, design, verification, and integration where security risks are a concern.

The IEEE published IEEE 2050-2018—Standard for Real-time Operating System (OS) for Small-scale Embedded Systems. Based on the TRON µT-Kernel 2.0, it provides a standard RTOS for 16- and 32-bit microprocessors deployed throughout the IoT ecosystem. Ken Sakamura, chair of TRON Forum, noted, “The OS based on the specification has been used globally in many consumer electronics and other products and is the best fit for lightweight IoT edge nodes.”

Events
Crossing the Chasm: Building a Startup to a Successful Exit: Sept. 13, 6 p.m. – 9 p.m., at SEMI in Milpitas, CA. Jim Hogan of Vista Ventures and Amit Gupta, co-founder of Solido Design Automation, will discuss the experience of growing Solido from an EDA startup through its acquisition by Mentor, a Siemens Business, in 2017.

Electronic Design Process Symposium (EDPS): Sept. 13-14 at SEMI in Milpitas, CA. The meeting will discuss design methodologies, design flows and CAD tool needs. Focus areas include machine learning, smart manufacturing, reliability, and cybersecurity.

AI Hardware Summit: Sept. 18-19 in Mountain View, CA. Focused on the development of hardware accelerators for neural networks and computer vision, the conference features talks from AI chip startups to well-established companies.

Digital Marketing Workshop 2.0: Oct. 3, 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. in Milpitas, CA. A workshop focused on three organizational shifts that are key to mastering digitally-driven marketing and sales and conducting marketing in an agile manner.

Arm TechCon: Oct. 16-18 in San Jose, CA. The Arm-centric conference and expo will feature keynotes by senior Arm executives as well as best-practices for implementing Arm IP in a range of designs, including IoT and automotive. The company has also teased an expanded roadmap for future products to be released at the show.

RISC-V Summit: Dec. 3-6 in Santa Clara, CA. The first annual conference and exhibition dedicated to the RSIC-V ISA ecosystem. Training sessions, workshops, and presentations will be available, followed by a day for Foundation members.