Xilinx MicroBlaze Processor Supports Full Linux and Impulse C-to-FPGA Acceleration

     FPGA soft processor adds memory management and supports C-language hardware acceleration

       Kirkland, WA ?November 14, 2007 ?Impulse Accelerated Technologies, Inc. today announced C-to-FPGA compiler support for the Xilinx?MicroBlaze?v7 processor with MMU. The Impulse software tools allow embedded systems developers to create hardware-accelerated, single-chip applications that take advantage of the new MicroBlaze processor features and C-to-hardware acceleration for complex, performance-critical applications.

     揟he addition of memory management to the MicroBlaze processor provides embedded systems designers with a powerful new alternative for hardware-accelerated embedded systems,?said David Pellerin, Impulse CTO. 揃y offloading critical C-language processes to dedicated hardware coprocessors, the system as a whole can operate at a slower clock speed, consume less power and yet provide vastly more processing performance than would be possible using a discrete processor.?o:p>

      Using the automated C-to-hardware compiler tools and interactive optimizers, users of Impulse C have reported performance gains well in excess of 100X over software-only approaches, in applications that include image processing, DSP and secure communications. With the addition of memory management in the MicroBlaze, these accelerated applications can now run under the control of a full Linux operating system.

      The MicroBlaze configurable soft processor includes configurable coprocessor capabilities through its high-performance Fast Simplex Link (FSL) accelerator interface. The Impulse C compiler automatically parallelizes and pipelines C-language algorithm and generates FSL interfaces, with little or no need for hardware design experience or hardware description language (HDL) coding. The automatic C-to-HDL capabilities of Impulse C dramatically accelerate system design. Impulse C users have reported 2X or greater productivity gains when compared to traditional hardware design methods.

     揟he Impulse C tools represent a powerful new way of thinking about FPGA-based applications,?said Tim Erjavec, Director of Embedded & DSP Marketing for Xilinx. 揇evelopers of advanced embedded applications demand faster time-to-prototype and time-to-market. Software-to-hardware tools like Impulse C help to fill this demand by reducing overall hardware/software design times.?o:p>

      The Impulse C tool flow co-development includes the use of standard software profiling and debugging tools for C application development. By combining Impulse C development tools with full, memory-managed Linux, embedded systems designers now have the ability to create hardware-accelerated, multi-processing, multi-threaded and high-reliability applications.

      About Impulse

     Impulse C allows developers of advanced embedded systems to rapidly and cost-effectively move applications originating in ANSI C to FPGA coprocessors. Impulse tools are in use in thousands of locations worldwide. For more information on Impulse C-to-FPGA software, visit www.ImpulseC.com.