CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

25 May 2005

Implementation Investments

SANYO Selects Mentor Graphics Catapult C Synthesis for Next-Generation Multimedia LSI Design

Mentor Graphics Corporation announced that SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. has selected the Mentor Graphics CatapultT C Synthesis tool after an evaluation comparing leading high-level synthesis tools. SANYO chose the Catapult C Synthesis tool based on quality of results, time savings, ease of use, product maturity, and the tool's compatibility with the company's C/C++ design flow.

In the past, the company employed behavioral synthesis tools to shorten device development time. Recently, SANYO decided to move beyond behavioral synthesis to explore algorithmic synthesis, which uses pure, untimed system models as input. Algorithmic synthesis requires far less user effort, allowing designers to specify interfaces and hierarchy using constraints, and instantly target FPGA or ASIC implementations without changing the original C source.

"We found Catapult C's quality of results and ease-of-use to be very convincing. Using the tool, we were able to start at a higher level of abstraction and produce concise RTL code more quickly than before. Automatically producing ASIC and FPGA hardware from an algorithmic description will enable our hardware designers to spend less time coding details and more time optimizing the more meaningful areas of the design," stated Dr. Hideki Yamauchi, senior LSI design technical manager, SANYO Digital Systems Research Center, R&D H.Q.

The Catapult C Synthesis tool is the only product to synthesize an ANSI C++ source where both the core algorithm and interface are untimed. As a result, designers can perform detailed "what-if" analysis on varying micro-architecture and interface scenarios achieving fully optimized hardware designs. The tool creates RTL that can be synthesized into gates using standard RTL synthesis products, enabling it to fit within a wide variety of tool flows.

"SANYO Electric is a leading global multimedia consumer electronics company with extensive expertise in using high-level synthesis tools. We are delighted that SANYO has selected Catapult C Synthesis to reach its quality and time-to-market goals," said Simon Bloch, general manager of the Mentor Graphics Design Creation and Synthesis Division. "SANYO's selection of Catapult C validates Mentor's recent increased presence and focus on serving the Japanese market."

SANYO's businesses cover a broad range from AV/Information and Communications Equipment, Home Appliances, Commercial Equipments, Electronic Devices, Batteries and Others. The SANYO group is a truly international organization, consisting of 109 subsidiaries and 67 affiliates globally with consolidated sales of 2,490 billion Yen for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2005. For further information, please visit SANYO's web site at http://www.global-sanyo.com/ .

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