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ChakC
It seems that there is an InPA VCP hardware for the active debug, which is kind ...
Dr DSP
Hope they will work with third party hardware vendors like Dini Group. If not it ...
Startup touts 'active debug' for FPGA prototyping
Dylan McGrath
8/16/2010 12:01 PM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO—EDA startup InPA Systems Inc. emerged from stealth mode Monday (Aug. 16) to present details about its FPGA-based rapid prototyping technology, which company executives say could shave months off the verification and validation process for large, complex system-on-chip (SoC) designs.
InPA Systems (San Jose, Calif.) claims the company's patent-pending "active debug" technology gives users unprecedented visibility to better detect hardware faults and reduce the FPGA place and route iterations associated with the SoC debug cycle.
According to Joe Gianelli, vice president of marketing and business development at InPA, the active debug technology will reduce the amount of passive probing required by current prototyping debug methods, which he said amounted to little more than trial and error.
"Everyone is always looking for shortcut and new methodologies to help shorten the time [required for prototyping], but there hasn't been a new breakthrough here for some time," Gianelli said.
Gianelli said the rapid prototyping segment is probably the fastest growing segment in EDA, growing at a greater than 20 percent compound annual growth rate over the past five years.
InPA Systems' active debug technology helps users gain control when running the design, at speed, in the validation process, allowing them to capture complex scenarios in the FPGAs and analyze system faults with full signal visibility, according to the company. The first product based on active debug technology is expected to be available in the fourth quarter. InPA said it's in the process of building its partnership ecosystem with EDA and FPGA prototype providers and key distribution companies who are focused on the rapid prototype market segment so the company can offer customers a completely integrated product.
InPA systems was founded in October 2007 by Chairman and Chief Technology Officer Thomas Huang, former co-founder of PiE Design Systems, and President and CEO Michel Chang, former Cadence Design Systems Inc. executive and co-founder of formal verification startup Verplex. Both are rich in experience in logic emulation, rapid prototyping and equivalence checking.
Gianelli is also a veteran of the EDA industry, having held technical and business positions at Synopsys, Epic Design Technology, Meta Software and Cadence.
The privately-funded company also boasts a board of advisors that includes former Kilopass and Synplicity CEO Bernie Aronson and others.
InPA Systems (San Jose, Calif.) claims the company's patent-pending "active debug" technology gives users unprecedented visibility to better detect hardware faults and reduce the FPGA place and route iterations associated with the SoC debug cycle.
According to Joe Gianelli, vice president of marketing and business development at InPA, the active debug technology will reduce the amount of passive probing required by current prototyping debug methods, which he said amounted to little more than trial and error.
"Everyone is always looking for shortcut and new methodologies to help shorten the time [required for prototyping], but there hasn't been a new breakthrough here for some time," Gianelli said.
Gianelli said the rapid prototyping segment is probably the fastest growing segment in EDA, growing at a greater than 20 percent compound annual growth rate over the past five years.
InPA Systems' active debug technology helps users gain control when running the design, at speed, in the validation process, allowing them to capture complex scenarios in the FPGAs and analyze system faults with full signal visibility, according to the company. The first product based on active debug technology is expected to be available in the fourth quarter. InPA said it's in the process of building its partnership ecosystem with EDA and FPGA prototype providers and key distribution companies who are focused on the rapid prototype market segment so the company can offer customers a completely integrated product.
InPA systems was founded in October 2007 by Chairman and Chief Technology Officer Thomas Huang, former co-founder of PiE Design Systems, and President and CEO Michel Chang, former Cadence Design Systems Inc. executive and co-founder of formal verification startup Verplex. Both are rich in experience in logic emulation, rapid prototyping and equivalence checking.
Gianelli is also a veteran of the EDA industry, having held technical and business positions at Synopsys, Epic Design Technology, Meta Software and Cadence.
The privately-funded company also boasts a board of advisors that includes former Kilopass and Synplicity CEO Bernie Aronson and others.
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Kasisemi
8/31/2010 11:41 AM EDT
I wonder how this compares with chipscope etc. in terms of productivity vs extra load on the place and route process
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Kaisemi
8/31/2010 12:04 PM EDT
I wonder how this compares with chipscope etc. in terms of productivity vs extra load on the place and route process.
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Dr DSP
9/4/2010 2:19 PM EDT
Hope they will work with third party hardware vendors like Dini Group. If not it locks you into the software suppliers hardware- usually not a good thing (for all the obvious reasons).
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ChakC
9/5/2010 9:59 AM EDT
It seems that there is an InPA VCP hardware for the active debug, which is kind of similar to the Xilinx Chipscope. I think this kind of active debug still suffers from the slow design compilation cycle.
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