Introduction
Highlights of this issue include new product releases from Hitex, National Instruments, Sarsen Technology and Altera; design features on multiprocessing options and linking FPGA pin allocation to PCB-layout tools; embeedded systems-related design ideas; schedule of the Embedded Systems Week event and the IWTCA '09 workshop; and research studies on 2008 microcontrollers market share.
 

6 August 2009

Development kit for STM32 connectivity line
Hitex has introduced the STM32-comStick designed for an easy and low-cost start in STMicroelectronics’ new Cortex-M3-based STM32 connectivity line. The STM32-comStick is a complete small-sized development kit that provides a comprehensive entry to the STM32 connectivity line’s features.
Hitex

Multifunction RIO boards with NI LabVIEW FPGA module
National Instruments has unveiled four R Series multifunction RIO boards for PCI Express. The boards offer engineers and scientists the benefits of FPGA (field-programmable gate array) technology in a widely adopted form factor and deliver high performance by combining eight analogue inputs, eight analogue outputs and 96 digital I/O lines on a single board.
National Instruments

Compact PC/104-Plus single board computer
Sarsen Technology has announced that VersaLogic has released the PC/104-Plus SBC (single board computer) for embedded OEM applications. The Manx is a mid-range SBC featuring an efficient AMD Geode LX 800 processor. The product is function and pin-out compatible with VersaLogic's older Puma SBC.
Sarsen Technology

Single-chip FPGAs for LDPC system
Altera has announced that Sumitomo is using its 40nm Stratix IV GX FPGAs in LDPC (low-density parity-check) high-speed measurement system. Sumitomo’s high-throughput LDPC system features an encoding and decoding algorithm that is capable of improving the signal quality in applications that require efficient data transmission.
Altera
 

Tee Up Your Multiprocessing Options
Vendors categorize single-processor architectures by the types of applications that they target. For example, microcontrollers, DSPs, network processors, and DSCs (digital-signal controllers) employ different implementations to meet the needs of their target domains. Classifying processors at this top level enables designers to quickly identify candidate processors without going deeply into the implementation details of every processor.

Cadence links FPGA pin allocation to PCB-layout tools
Designers who use today’s large FPGAs on their PCB face an increasing problem handling the pin-out and board tracking around the packages of those programmable devices. The FPGAs have large, sometimes very large, pin-outs; they offer considerable flexibility in allocation of pins to internal logic functions, but also have complex rules that you must follow when doing so. The FPGA designer who does this, according to Cadence, typically does so today with minimal knowledge of the connectivity of those pins to other packages on the PCB.

Implement a simple digital-serial NRZ data-recovery algorithm in an FPGA
Serial-data links embed clocks in their data streams, and those clocks must be recovered at the receiver end. This Design Idea describes a data/clock-recovery algorithm for an NRZ (non-return-to-zero), 1.5-Mbps data stream in a Xilinx Spartan XC3S200 FPGA. The algorithm employs a modified datarecovery application note.

Simple FSK modulator enables data transmission over low-speed link
FSK (frequency-shift keying) is a type of signal modulation for transmitting digital data over an analog communication link. An FSK modulator comprises a digitally controlled sine-wave generator whose frequency shifts between two predetermined frequencies in response to the two logic levels of the digital data. The circuit generates a sine wave by continuously sampling a single sine cycle.
 

Embedded Systems Week, 11 - 16 October 2009, at Grenoble, France
Embedded Systems Week is an event, which brings together conferences, tutorials and workshops centered on various aspects of embedded systems research and development. Three conferences - CASES, CODES+ISSS and EMSOFT - will take place at the same time and location, allowing attendees to benefit from a wide range of topics covered by these conferences and their associated tutorials and workshops.

The International Workshop on Time Critical Application - IWTCA 2009, 12 – 14 October 2009, at St.Petersburg, Russia
International Workshop on Time Critical Applications (IWTCA '09) will be held in conjunction with International Conference on Ultra Modern Telecommunications (ICUMT 2009), sponsored by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), USA. IWTCA '09 is to provide a platform for sharing the fundamental research and design issues of time critical application on real time system, embedded system and multimedia communication.
 

2008 Microcontrollers Market Share (2009 Report)
The 2008 Microcontroller market was highly profitable and is predicted to grow 10 percent annually over the forecasted period due to numerous applications in automotive, medical, consumer, communications, and, to a lesser degree, computer market. Microcontrollers are single, simple programmable ICs that are designed for embedded applications and are relatively inexpensive to produce compared to more complex and expensive microprocessors used in PCs.
 

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