No 02 Aug 2011
Developers give big
thumbs-up to
iWave’s SOM for
Freescale’s i.MX53 chip Ideal for vehicle infotainment apps
Developers worldwide have given an
enthusiastic thumbs-up to iWave’s high end, Low
cost, Low power SOM based on Freescale’s i.MX53
(Cortex-A8) Multimedia application processor --
launched on the same day Freescale announced
its i.MX53 processor development platform
availability
The iWave i.MX53 SOM has been seen to significantly
cut the development time for OEMs working to create a
whole family of automotive electronic systems from
dashboard displays to High Definition rear seat video
entertainment and Internet devices to in-vehicle health
monitoring and navigation systems to industrial control
systems.
This i.MX53 SOM module will support the major
operating system including Windows Embedded
Compact 7/CE 6.0 R3, Android 2.1, Linux and
QNX/VxWorks OS platforms. It provides all the latest
features such as Silverlight 3.0, Connect and Consume
Media, MPEG-4 HD, MTP, Multi-Touch, Expression
Blend, AirSync and also Adobe Flash10.1. A dedicated
video processor offloads the main core by performing
video 1080p decoding and 720p encoding for multimedia
applications like playing movies
and monitoring cameras. “To speed up the product
development at low cost, we have designed this module
in MXM-3 form factor. Anybody can buy this module
and quickly develop their own application specific
carrier card," says Immanuel Rathinam, iWave’s
Associate Director (Hardware).
This module is iWave's latest addition to its growing
family of multimedia focused products offering high
performance processing with a high degree of functional
integration, aimed at the growing Automotive
Infotainment, Telemedicine, HMI & Display based
cluster markets.
The key features are i.MX53 / 1GHz processor includes
3D and 2D graphics, 1080i/p video processing, on board
1GB/2GB DDR2 RAM, 8GB eMMC4.41 Flash, 16MB
SPI Flash for Boot, 10/100Mbps Ethernet PHY, Micro
SD, UART and USB OTG.
The module supports MXM-3 form factor of size 85mm
x 85mm and MXM3 edge connector for IO expansion to
support Dual LCD, Dual Camera, USB2.0, SATAII,
SD/SDIO, CAN, MLB, ESAI, SSI, SPDIF, Video-In,
TVout, S PI, I2C, UART and various IO interfaces.
Freescale’s i.MX53 processors: made for multimedia
Freescale’s i.MX53 processor (left) and a display
application
The i.MX53 family of processors represents
Freescale's next generation of advanced
multimedia and power-efficient implementation
of the ARM Cortex™-A8 core. With core
processing speeds up to 1.2 GHz, the i.MX535 is
optimized for both performance and power to
meet the demands of high-end, advanced
applications requiring mobility and a long
battery life. 1080p HD video decode and 720p
video encode, two dedicated graphics cores,
multiple display and connectivity options, and
high level of integration make the i.MX535 a
choice platform for smart mobile devices
Consumer applications
The i.MX535 is the first i.MX processor to support
1080p multi-standard video playback with industry-
leading low power consumption. With up to 1.2 GHz
core speed, a faster graphics core enabling a more
responsive user experience, and higher level of system
integration, the i.MX535 leverages a common hardware
and software platform with the i.MX51 to boost
performance with reduced development effort and
faster time to market. Following in the i.MX535
processor's footsteps, Freescale introduces the i.MX538
processor which leverages the i.MX535 features and
puts them in a small compact Package-on-Package
(PoP) device for slim, mobile applications.
Automotive applications:
Freescale's automotive i.MX53 processors provide the
advanced performance required to drive the latest
automotive systems. These processors are designed for
applications that require advanced user interfaces,
sophisticated video processing, 2D and 3D graphics,
multiple connectivity options and a high level of system
integration.
Building on the success of the i.MX515 and i.MX535 in
the consumer market, the automotive family of i.MX53
processors will bring the consumer electronics user
experience and device connectivity into the vehicles of
the future.
Industrial applications
The i.MX537 with core processing speeds up to 800
MHz, is optimized for both performance and power to
meet the demands of high end, advanced industrial and
medical applications. Integrated display controller,
1080p HD video decode and 720p video encode,
enhanced graphics and connectivity features make the
i.MX537 suitable for a wide range of applications such
as Human Machine Interfaces (HMI) and patient
monitors which require rich user interfaces with high
color displays and user interaction.
The i.MX537 provides key environmental
differentiators for the industrial market. These include
3.3V I/O support, a 0.8 mm pitch package to reduce
PCB and manufacturing costs, extended temperature
coverage for harsh environments, industrial
qualification for extended reliability and a formal long
product supply guarantee to support product life spans.
Automotive infotainment systems are entering
their fourth generation of evolution, a phase in
which the capabilities of the hardware are
unlimited because they allow consumers to
customize their own experience, according to
market researchers, HIS (formerly iSuppli Corp).
“Infotainment hardware has undergone a rapid
evolution during the last 13 years, moving from the
traditional approach of dedicated hardware blocks, to
the advent of bus-connected distributed architecture
systems in the 2000 time frame, to the highly-
integrated navigation-centric systems of 2006, to the
new user-defined systems of today,” says Richard
Robinson, principal analyst for automotive
infotainment at iSuppli.
He adds: “With the launch of the fourth-generation
design in2010, a new architectural philosophy in
infotainment is born. This represents the first industry-
wide platform design that has been launched without a
limit to the features and functions that can be added by
the consumer after the purchase of the vehicle, using
links to external devices like smart phones and
personal media players.”
Advances in silicon technology mean that the fourth-
generation architecture can launch with a feature set
that is not pre-defined on the production line. The
consumer-driven approach of the fourth-generation
design represents a dramatic departure from the
previous approach to infotainment, where the
capabilities of the hardware were defined by the
automotive engineers.
Amid this evolution in hardware design, global
revenue from shipments of automotive
infotainment systems is set to rise from $30.8
billion in 2010 to $37 billion in 2016.
iWave ‘cool’ solutions on Intel's new Stellarton, processor-FPGA combo Intel's Atom E600C, a processor paired with an Altera
Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) in a single
package has created a compelling option for designers
and original equipment manufacturers with the
flexibility to incorporate a wide range of standard and
user-defined I/O interfaces, high-speed connectivity,
memory interfaces and process acceleration to meet the
evolving needs of embedded device market segments
such as industrial machines, portable medical
equipment, communications gear, vision systems, voice
over Internet protocol devices, high-performance
programmable logic controllers and embedded
computers. The main features of an integrated FPGA
from Altera are: communication speed up to 3.125 Gb/s;
Support for DDR3, DDR2, DDR, QDR II and QDR II +
memory;Up to four universal PLL;312 18 × 18
multipliers;350 user I / O pins. iWave is happy to
announce that it is among the first in the
industry to provide complete solutions for a wide
spectrum of applications, built around the E
6X5C series. These include the PCIe to SDXC
host controller implementation on the Stellarton
platform. Other IPs that can be tested are as below:
The setup consists of Altera PCIe Hard core, application
logic and SDXC controller as shown in graphic below.
The host Processor (Intel E600 on Stellarton MCP) can
access the SDXC card by performing memory cycles for
BAR0 space. The SDXC host controller which supports
SD specification version 3.0, is implemented on user
interface of the application logic. The SDXC host
controller consists of, Host interface, command and
data path modules and synchronous FIFO module on
both transmit & receive path.
iWave’s PCIe to SDXC Host Controller Test setup
iWave’s multibus platform using 64bit processor and x86 FPGA, is used by Japanese Air Traffic Control
iWave’s x86 FPGA Core fuels mission-critical systems for Japan’s
Air Traffic Control iWave Systems Technologies is honoured and proud
that x86-based 16-bit processor cores, designed at
developed at its India centre have been chosen for
mission critical applications in Japan's Air Traffic
Control system. The complex design was realised in
the first prototype itself, with no cuts or straps
The project involved the development of a legacy
multibus platform using 64bit processor and x86 SOC
(FPGA) and the complete platform software.
The board design included an 8 layer PCB with the
TX4938 Processor from Toshiba, x86 FPGA core from
iWave and separate SRAM & FROM Interface to x86
core. There were two FPGAs and a CPLD. Xilinx
Spartan III FPGA for X86 SOC logic, Xilinx Spartan-3E
FPGA for Multibus & DPRAM control logic and Altera
CPLD for address decoding and various peripheral
control signal generation. iWave ported customer
proprietary iTRON software onto TX4938 and
developed the iTRON drivers, PCI Stack & Common
memory driver.
iWave has a bundle of well tested and proven FPGA IP
cores, which include Processor & peripheral cores,
video/multimedia cores and storage cores. The
Processor Cores includes 8086/80186/80188/V53 and
Peripheral Cores includes Multi Protocol SCC (8251,
8530), DMA Controller (8237), Timer (8254), Interrupt
Controller (8259), I2C, SPI, Parallel port, Key pad. The
storage cores consists of the Host controllers - SDXC
Host, IDE Host (ATA / ATAPI-5), SD/SDIO/MMC/CE-
ATA Host, NAND Flash (MLC) and the Slave
Controller – SDIO Slave
The Video/Multimedia cores consists of Video
Processing cores – De-interlacer, Chroma Resampler,
Color Space conversion, Image scaling, Alpha Blender
and Video Interface Cores - LCD Interface, Camera
Interface, Encoder & Decoder Interface, Scatter Gather
and DMA Controller.
Latest addition to iWave’s SOM
family: Q7-compatible i.MX51 Module
iW-Rainbow-G8 Q7M the i.MX51 Q7-based SOM
iWave Systems has released its latest low power,
high performance, Q7 compatible SOM module
based on Freescale's i.MX515 ARM Cortex-A8
Application processor. This is iWave's latest
addition to its growing family of low power
multimedia focused SOM modules offering high
performance processing with a high degree of
functional integration, aimed at the growing
Industrial automation, healthcare and general
embedded control applications. The board will
support the major operating system including
WinCE6.0, WEC7*, Android 2.3 and Linux OS
platforms.
This Q7 design allows customer to design a simple
custom carrier board that meets their specific
embedded requirements without investing time
and cost on CPU module development. This allows
quick time to market and great cost savings. If
customer doesn’t have in-house capability to
design custom carrier board, iWave offer quick
customization design services at minimum NRE
charges. iWave also provides ARM compatible
generic Q7 carrier board which can be used for
initial prototyping. The module is compatible to
Q7 R1.20 ARM specification and features i.MX515
/ 800MHz CPU, on board 128MB DDR2 RAM,
128MB Nand Flash, Micro SD slot and JTAG
headers. The module is highly packed with
optional on board PATA to SATA converter and
SPI based CAN controller.
Meet iWave engineers and executives at these international shows in 2011:
Freescale Technology Forum:
Bangalore, India, August 24-25 2011, at Leela Palace
http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/overview.jsp?code=FTF_2011_INDIA_HOME_CAT
iWave is a Silver Sponsor of the Bangalore FTF. Look out for our exciting new solution announcements, for the Freescale family of processors: Our Technical Session is at 4 pm, on Aug 25.
Tokyo, Japan, September 13 2011, at Prince Park
http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/overview.jsp?code=FTF_2011_JAPAN_HOME_CAT
ARM Connected Community Technical Symposia
Bangalore, India, September 19 2011, at Le Meridien
http://www.arm.com/about/events/arm-technical-symposia.php
Designing With Freescale (DWF)
Stutggart, Germany, September 22 2011, at Marriott Sindelfingen
https://getregisterednow.com/Training/Register/Regi
ster.asp?e=MarketSolutionsStuttgart2011
Paris, France, October 4 2011, at Cap 15
https://getregisterednow.com/Training/Register/Regi
ster.`asp?e=MarketSolutionParis
www.iwavesystems.com [email protected]
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