Celoxica Unveils ESL Design Kit for SOPC-Based Coprocessor Acceleration

Embedded Systems Conference, San Francisco, USA - April 3, 2006 - Celoxica (AIM:CXA) today introduced their latest system level design kit for developers of complex digital-image and signal-processing applications. A dividend of the long standing technical collaboration between Altera and Celoxica, the SOPC (system-on-programmable-chip) Accelerator Kit provides a complete off-the-shelf solution harnessing the ease-of-use and productivity benefits of C-based design for Altera SOPC technology.

Included in the SOPC Accelerator Kit are more than 140 parameterizable digital video/image-processing IP cores from Celoxica’s PixelStreams library, API standards for processor integration and platform abstraction, a comprehensive mix of Altera and Celoxica design software and a Stratix II FPGA development platform. Using Celoxica’s DK Accelerator tool, designers can program the FPGA directly from software models and integrate Nios II processor cores with hardware logic. Custom logic blocks and custom instructions can be created as library components from C algorithms and automatically integrated into a system. Design time and effort that was previously focused on integration can now be applied to algorithm optimization and product differentiation.

"By creating an environment for stronger partnerships with specialist system-level vendors, we can accelerate the deployment of designs that integrate FPGA logic with microprocessors and DSP," said Jim Smith, director of EDA relations for Altera. "Celoxica has the track record and unique capability to provide application IP and an end-to-end C-based design flow that adds value to the Altera development tools already used by thousands of our customers."

The RC250 development platform supplied with the kit features a 9M-gate Stratix II device and is provided with full board-support libraries. Hardware peripherals include DVI, S-Video, dual gigabit ethernet, integrated dual CMOS cameras and TFT touch screen. DK Accelerator’s system design capabilities include an integrated development environment for C-based design entry; fast cycle-accurate simulation and debugging; mixed language co-simulation including Matlab and RTL; Nios II co-design support; automated SOPC Builder component integration and direct synthesis to Altera EDIF or RTL VHDL and Verilog.

"It’s clear that domain knowledge is not usually in the same person as the structural hardware knowledge and it is these domain experts who want to accelerate their software algorithms using FPGA-based coprocessors," said Chris Sullivan, director of strategic marketing for Celoxica. "By enabling FPGAs to be software programmable they are more accessible to the embedded design community and deliver dramatic improvements in overall system performance and design productivity."

The SOPC Accelerator Kit is available immediately and ships with comprehensive design solutions from Celoxica, and Altera OEM design solutions including SOPC Builder, Nios II and Quartus II. For further information and order details please contact info@celoxica.com or visit www.celoxica.com/altera

About Celoxica

A leader in electronic system level design (ESL), Celoxica is enabling the next generation of advanced electronic products by producing tools, boards, IP and services that turn software into silicon. Celoxica technology raises design abstraction to the algorithm level, accelerating productivity and lowering risk and costs by generating semiconductor hardware directly from C-based software descriptions. Adding to a growing installed base, Celoxica provides the world’s most widely used C-based behavioral design and synthesis solutions to companies developing semiconductor products in markets such as consumer electronics, defense and aerospace, automotive, industrial and security. Celoxica is a publicly traded company on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange under the symbol CXA.