CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

15 April 2008

Product News

ARM Joins Synplicity's ReadyIP Program

ARM and Synplicity®, Inc. announced the availability of ARM IP through Synplicity's ReadyIP Program, also announced today (see related release: Synplicity Launches ReadyIP Program; The Industry's First Universal, Secure IP Flow for FPGA Implementation). The ReadyIP program facilitates a vendor-independent design flow using Synplicity's industry standard FPGA synthesis and system design environments, giving designers secure access to the ARM® Cortex™-M1 field programmable gate array (FPGA) processor for quick evaluation, free of charge.

At the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC), the companies will showcase an ARM Cortex-M1 processor application, based on the AMBA® interconnect, running with peripheral IP from CAST, Inc. that was designed using Synplicity's FPGA synthesis environment. This flow includes Synplicity's new System Designer capability that facilitates easy configuration, assembly, and integration of the Cortex-M1 processor and its peripherals. ESC attendees can visit Synplicity's booth #2302 to view this demonstration and receive more information about the benefits of the ReadyIP Initiative and the Cortex-M1 processor.

"As designers increasingly turn to third-party IP to implement FPGA-based systems, it is time for industry leaders to step up with a solution that provides easier and more efficient access to the IP options available today," said Graham Budd, EVP and general manager, Processor Division, ARM. "We have been working with Synplicity for some time now, and there is obvious synergy between having a vendor independent synthesis tool and vendor independent IP to go into it. We are able to help move this effort forward by providing the Cortex-M1 processor in the Synplicity ReadyIP encrypted flow thereby, improving the design process with IP that universally targets multiple FPGA devices."

"Having strong support from industry leader ARM validates the ReadyIP solution and gives customers many benefits including easy evaluation of the company's IP before entering into licensing arrangements, significant improvement in design productivity, and industry standards to create internal IP-based design reuse practices," said Joe Gianelli, Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Alliances, Synplicity.

About Cortex-M1

The ARM Cortex-M1 processor is the first ARM processor designed specifically for implementation as a soft core in FPGAs. The Cortex-M1 processor targets all major FPGA devices and includes support for leading FPGA synthesis tools, allowing the designer to choose the optimal implementation for each project.

The processor implements the popular, high density 16-bit Thumb® instruction set. This enables both the processor and software footprint to meet the area budget of the smallest FPGA devices, while retaining compatibility with Thumb code for any ARM processor from the ARM7TDMI® processor upwards. Despite being the smallest processor in the Cortex family, the Cortex-M1 processor can deliver 0.8 DMIPS/MHz.

Become a member of the CIMdata PLM Community to receive your daily PLM news and much more.

Tell us what you think of the CIMdata Newsletter. Send your feedback.

CIMdata is committed to your privacy. Your personal information will never be sold or shared outside of CIMdata without your express permission.

Subscribe