Xilinx' Zynq All Programmable SoCs accelerate productivity in industrial automation

The folks at Xilinx have just introduced some new All Programmable solutions for meeting the challenges of advanced motion control, real-time industrial networking, machine vision, and a host of other next-generation industrial automation applications.

Xilinx’s hardware and software technologies for developing systems with Zynq-7000 All Programmable SoCs at their heart, accelerates design productivity while increasing system performance and safety through single-chip system integration.

Xilinx is showcasing its latest solutions, which are available today, for industrial automation at SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2012, Europe’s leading conference and exhibition on industrial automation, in Hall 6, Stand 200.

“The industrial automation market is driven by increasing of Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) to achieve higher productivity, lower total cost of ownership, while increasing safety requirements and system features,” said Yousef Khalilollahi, senior director, business segments at Xilinx. “Meeting this demand requires systems with faster compute performance, higher data bandwidth, real-time monitoring and system level integration. Xilinx’s Zynq-7000 All Programmable SoCs and FPGAs enable system developers to meet such stringent design goals not achievable with a traditional multi-chip approach.”

The Zynq-7000 All Programmable SoC architecture seamlessly integrates a feature-rich ARM dual-core Cortex-A9 MPCore processing system that supports the ARM TrustZone safety technology within the Xilinx 28nm programmable logic in a single device. The Zynq-7000 devices target numerous applications in various markets that have strict needs of safety and reliability requirements such as industrial, scientific and medical, as well as Aerospace & Defense and automotive applications. The Zynq-7000 All Programmable SoCs have already been adopted by industrial customers for system integration, increased performance and reduced BOM costs.


Xilinx at SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2012
At SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2012, attendees can see Zynq-7000 All Programmable SoCs in action in several industrial automation systems including motion control and real-time networking. Xilinx Alliance Program member, QDESYS, will be at Xilinx’s booth demonstrating a high-performance motion control application on the Zynq-7000 All Programmable SoC Intelligent Drives Platform, showcasing Gigabit Ethernet tightly coupled networking, advanced motor and motion control implementing innovative low EMI power modulation scheme. Enabled with graphical user interface (GUI) and a powerful component object model (COM) interface for Windows applications, designers can perform in-depth analysis and control of their motion systems achieving performance increase compared to traditional ASSP solutions.

Visitors can also see how POWERLINK, the industrial market’s leading real-time networking protocol, is implemented using the programmable system integration capabilities of the Zynq-7000 family. Open Source IP cores and source code for Zynq-7000 devices are available for free at the Ethernet POWERLINK Consortium web site.

The Avnet Motor Control FMC Module in combination with the Xilinx Spartan-6 FPGA Industrial Ethernet Kit will showcase a state-of-art dual-core lockstep motor control application only available from Xilinx that will assist designers in achieving IEC61508 functional safety certification for their systems.

Finally, Xilinx Alliance Program member, SOC-e, will demonstrate high availability seamless redundancy (HSR) Ethernet communications based on Spartan-6 FPGAs according to IEC62439.

Zynq-7000 All Programmable SoC Intelligent Drives Platform
Xilinx’s new Zynq-7000 All Programmable SoC Intelligent Drives Platform in conjunction with Xilinx Alliance Program members provide the necessary hardware, design tools, motors, IP cores, and reference designs for accelerating the design and implementation of industrial embedded control systems. The platform is ideal for designs requiring single-chip, high-performance motor control and/or industrial networking capability. The Zynq-7000 All Programmable SoC Intelligent Drives Platform, the industrial networking IP cores and the motor control IP cores are available now. Zynq-7000 All Programmable SoCs are available today in industrial grade temperatures –40°C to +100°C.

Xilinx will also be presenting an upcoming webinar titled, “Increasing System Efficiency and Performance in Factory Automation: How All Programmable Technology is Displacing Traditional MCU Approaches” on Tuesday, December 11 at 4:00 p.m. PST. Register Here.

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