Design Article
Comment
Dr DSP
I'd like to see more details on the contents of the kit and less on the features ...
Rich Krajewski
Did you ever check out benchmark claims with your own tests? Interesting stuff. ...
Unpack, switch on and get going
Mark Müller, Fujitsu Semiconductor Europe
9/3/2010 6:59 AM EDT
Applications that demand high CPU potential and 2/3-D graphics functions must be complemented by a specific selection of peripherals. All semiconductor manufacturers want to see lower development costs. Products generously equipped with interfaces can reduce the system costs of the application and set themselves apart from conventional solutions. Highly-integrated components such as SoCs (System-on-Chip) combine a processor, memory controller and graphics unit with dedicated peripherals to form a compact solution.
The latest member of Fujitsu’s ‘Jade’ family is the MB86R03 ‘Jade-L’, which provides a complete development environment to speed-up the development of graphics and application systems. The ‘Jade-1’ and ‘Jade-D’ variants, which have already been introduced, are now being deployed in industrial and automotive applications. The CPU core, which is compatible with the existing members of the ‘Jade’ series, enables software to be re-used and supports scalability across various display applications.
An evaluation kit for the ‘Jade-L’ provides a simple introduction to the world of graphics through a development environment comprising Embedded Workbench, an authoring tool and sample programs. The out-of-the-box kit is based on the MB86R03 ‘Jade-L’ controller - see figure 1. As with the rest of the ‘Jade’ family, the CPU is a 32-bit ARM9 with 333 MHz. An integrated graphics processor that supports floating-point calculations for fluid graphics animation ensures that graphics are reproduced without distortion, even at times of high CPU utilization.
Synthesisable 32-bit processor from ARM
ARM926EJ-S is a fully synthesisable processor with a CPU, command and data cache enhanced to include Jazelle (Java acceleration), a closely linked memory for commands and data, and an MMU (Memory Management Unit). Further functions of the ARM926EJ-S include ETM9 (medium) and JTAG-ICE interfaces – the standards required for development. The controller offers several graphics interfaces for input and output so that complex applications with high resolutions can be implemented.
The two independent display controllers allow up to four displays to be connected simultaneously. A controller-specific function is deployed that uses the double data stream to provide information at the output. 2/3-D objects generated or the contents of the video input units can be displayed.
The component also has two independent digital video inputs (YUV 4:2:2 CCIR-656, RGB666) with which the image can be scaled and output with an overlay. The brightness, saturation and contrast of each scalable video input can be modified separately via a matrix and thus adapted to the display.
Fulfilling increasing graphics requirements
The MB86R03 has an addressable DDR2 memory area of 128 Mbyte with a bus width of 32 bits. This memory band width, along with increasing graphics display requirements, allow applications with 1280 x 1024 pixels and a refresh rate of 60Hz to be displayed. Universal peripherals are also available, e.g. a parallel flash/SRAM host interface, CAN, A/D converter, I2C, I2S, PWM, SPI, UART, SD, GPIO and an external interrupt. These embedded-specific interfaces ensure connection to the adjacent components in the system.
The alpha-blending functions of the graphics controller are a further innovation, enabling the use of an alpha plane to mix together any two layers. When anti-aliasing text is displayed, this function increases graphics quality without consuming the resources of the CPU core.
Tooling for an immediate start
A starter kit is provided for the ‘Jade-L’ (figure 2) to ensure that tools can be accessed quickly and hassle-free. The kit covers all of the basic parts of a graphics controller platform and contains everything required for an immediate start. Once Embedded Workbench has been installed, the source code of all demos can be modified, compiled and used as templates for custom applications.
Fig 2
The ‘Jade-L’ evaluation kit is a stand-alone system that can be used to easily evaluate and demonstrate the functions of the MB86R03 ‘Jade-L’. All peripheral functions are available on a pin-header to support developments and check applications. Additional hardware is provided on the board for some functions (e.g. Ethernet, UART transceiver, LED, switches, etc.). ‘J-Link ARM Lite’ (connected via USB) is a JTAG emulator with a low form factor that connects the evaluation board with the PC.
Embedded Workbench from IAR Systems is a collection of development tools for creating and analyzing applications by means of assemblers, C and C++. IAR provides a fully integrated development environment with a project manager, code editor, code generator and debugger. In an uninterrupted workflow, source code and projects can be generated and applications can be created. These can then be tested in simulation mode or on the hardware directly - see figure 3.
Fig 3
Developing professional user interfaces in half the time
The specification of an entire display series with a compatible interface allows TFTs of sizes 3.5” QVGA to 7” WVGA to be connected to the development kit. In this way, a program is provided with the board for the TFTs available from the series so that you can start straight away with the display without any connection or configuration tasks.
Fujitsu is offering a software development tool with the ‘Jade-L’ board support package that allows up-to-date graphical user concepts to be created and provides a simple introduction to the world of graphics. The kit will be delivered with a test version of the new ‘Graphical Display Controller Human Machine Interface Creator V2’ (GHC). This authoring tool enables attractive user interfaces to be created without any graphical programming experience and the source code for the ‘Jade-L’ controller platform to be generated, halving the considerable time required to develop a professional user interface for embedded applications.
A Linux build system is also available for the ‘Jade-L’ evaluation board containing a script, patches, a build toolchain (gcc-4.3, glibc-2.7), kernel (2.6.27) and a root file system. The entire package is rounded-off by workshops that participants can use to gather practical experience of the ‘Jade-L’ kit and the opportunities it provides. The automotive qualification for the ‘Jade-L’ graphics controller is planned for the third quarter of 2010.
Further developing graphics controllers
The widespread use of ‘Jade’ variants in automotive and industrial electronics provides Fujitsu with a foundation for expanding its presence in these markets. New high-performance SoC solutions are also being developed. The aim is to advance the development of subsequent variants - in terms of interfaces, functionality, integration and price/performance ratio - in collaboration with Fujitsu’s customers and automotive manufacturers.
About the author:
Mark Müller is Application Support Manager at Fujitsu Semiconductor Europe in Langen, Frankfurt, Germany.
The latest member of Fujitsu’s ‘Jade’ family is the MB86R03 ‘Jade-L’, which provides a complete development environment to speed-up the development of graphics and application systems. The ‘Jade-1’ and ‘Jade-D’ variants, which have already been introduced, are now being deployed in industrial and automotive applications. The CPU core, which is compatible with the existing members of the ‘Jade’ series, enables software to be re-used and supports scalability across various display applications.
An evaluation kit for the ‘Jade-L’ provides a simple introduction to the world of graphics through a development environment comprising Embedded Workbench, an authoring tool and sample programs. The out-of-the-box kit is based on the MB86R03 ‘Jade-L’ controller - see figure 1. As with the rest of the ‘Jade’ family, the CPU is a 32-bit ARM9 with 333 MHz. An integrated graphics processor that supports floating-point calculations for fluid graphics animation ensures that graphics are reproduced without distortion, even at times of high CPU utilization.
Synthesisable 32-bit processor from ARM
ARM926EJ-S is a fully synthesisable processor with a CPU, command and data cache enhanced to include Jazelle (Java acceleration), a closely linked memory for commands and data, and an MMU (Memory Management Unit). Further functions of the ARM926EJ-S include ETM9 (medium) and JTAG-ICE interfaces – the standards required for development. The controller offers several graphics interfaces for input and output so that complex applications with high resolutions can be implemented.
The two independent display controllers allow up to four displays to be connected simultaneously. A controller-specific function is deployed that uses the double data stream to provide information at the output. 2/3-D objects generated or the contents of the video input units can be displayed.
The component also has two independent digital video inputs (YUV 4:2:2 CCIR-656, RGB666) with which the image can be scaled and output with an overlay. The brightness, saturation and contrast of each scalable video input can be modified separately via a matrix and thus adapted to the display.
Fulfilling increasing graphics requirements
The MB86R03 has an addressable DDR2 memory area of 128 Mbyte with a bus width of 32 bits. This memory band width, along with increasing graphics display requirements, allow applications with 1280 x 1024 pixels and a refresh rate of 60Hz to be displayed. Universal peripherals are also available, e.g. a parallel flash/SRAM host interface, CAN, A/D converter, I2C, I2S, PWM, SPI, UART, SD, GPIO and an external interrupt. These embedded-specific interfaces ensure connection to the adjacent components in the system.
The alpha-blending functions of the graphics controller are a further innovation, enabling the use of an alpha plane to mix together any two layers. When anti-aliasing text is displayed, this function increases graphics quality without consuming the resources of the CPU core.
Tooling for an immediate start
A starter kit is provided for the ‘Jade-L’ (figure 2) to ensure that tools can be accessed quickly and hassle-free. The kit covers all of the basic parts of a graphics controller platform and contains everything required for an immediate start. Once Embedded Workbench has been installed, the source code of all demos can be modified, compiled and used as templates for custom applications.
Fig 2
The ‘Jade-L’ evaluation kit is a stand-alone system that can be used to easily evaluate and demonstrate the functions of the MB86R03 ‘Jade-L’. All peripheral functions are available on a pin-header to support developments and check applications. Additional hardware is provided on the board for some functions (e.g. Ethernet, UART transceiver, LED, switches, etc.). ‘J-Link ARM Lite’ (connected via USB) is a JTAG emulator with a low form factor that connects the evaluation board with the PC.
Embedded Workbench from IAR Systems is a collection of development tools for creating and analyzing applications by means of assemblers, C and C++. IAR provides a fully integrated development environment with a project manager, code editor, code generator and debugger. In an uninterrupted workflow, source code and projects can be generated and applications can be created. These can then be tested in simulation mode or on the hardware directly - see figure 3.
Fig 3
Developing professional user interfaces in half the time
The specification of an entire display series with a compatible interface allows TFTs of sizes 3.5” QVGA to 7” WVGA to be connected to the development kit. In this way, a program is provided with the board for the TFTs available from the series so that you can start straight away with the display without any connection or configuration tasks.
Fujitsu is offering a software development tool with the ‘Jade-L’ board support package that allows up-to-date graphical user concepts to be created and provides a simple introduction to the world of graphics. The kit will be delivered with a test version of the new ‘Graphical Display Controller Human Machine Interface Creator V2’ (GHC). This authoring tool enables attractive user interfaces to be created without any graphical programming experience and the source code for the ‘Jade-L’ controller platform to be generated, halving the considerable time required to develop a professional user interface for embedded applications.
A Linux build system is also available for the ‘Jade-L’ evaluation board containing a script, patches, a build toolchain (gcc-4.3, glibc-2.7), kernel (2.6.27) and a root file system. The entire package is rounded-off by workshops that participants can use to gather practical experience of the ‘Jade-L’ kit and the opportunities it provides. The automotive qualification for the ‘Jade-L’ graphics controller is planned for the third quarter of 2010.
Further developing graphics controllers
The widespread use of ‘Jade’ variants in automotive and industrial electronics provides Fujitsu with a foundation for expanding its presence in these markets. New high-performance SoC solutions are also being developed. The aim is to advance the development of subsequent variants - in terms of interfaces, functionality, integration and price/performance ratio - in collaboration with Fujitsu’s customers and automotive manufacturers.
About the author:
Mark Müller is Application Support Manager at Fujitsu Semiconductor Europe in Langen, Frankfurt, Germany.
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Rich Krajewski
9/11/2010 3:20 PM EDT
Okay, skip the first paragraph. It's like the first disjointed thoughts of an amnesia victim, who is plagued by snippets of vaguely connected memories.
Short version: he's selling an evaluation kit for a graphics processor. It can run Linux. It has an authoring tool. And it can speed development of a graphically based control platform (the kind you might use in the automobile industry). Fujitsu's a good name, so try it out.
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KB3001
9/11/2010 5:02 PM EDT
Hi Mark,
How does your graphics processor compare to the competition on power consumption? Any benchmarking figures?
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Rich Krajewski
9/12/2010 1:44 AM EDT
Did you ever check out benchmark claims with your own tests? Interesting stuff. Sometimes they're right, sometimes they're wrong.
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Dr DSP
12/20/2010 8:22 PM EST
I'd like to see more details on the contents of the kit and less on the features of the processor. These processors all seem to have similar hardware features- more and more it is the software, sample code, drivers, OS, and good docs that buy me timt to market acceleration. How about a kit for target applications- (example- home security)? That is were you can really save me time and effort.
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