Agilent Technologies enters ESL Market

Venice, Florida — Agilent Technologies has introduced SystemVue 2008, a new electronic design automation (EDA) platform for electronic system-level (ESL) design. Frank Ditore, the company ESL Product Marketing Manager, as stated that preliminary results show that the new platform cuts physical layer (PHY) design time in half for high-performance communications algorithms and system architectures, for both wireless and aerospace/defense applications.

The new SystemVue 2008 platform goes beyond previous Agilent EDA offerings, representing a new category of design tool from Agilent for system architects and algorithm developers at the highest levels of the communications product design chain. The new product provides an easy-to-use environment with simulator and modeling technologies, along with links to hardware implementation and test. It allows algorithm creation and prototyping for communications system architectures at the physical layer. SystemVue bridges an important design flow gap between algorithm developers and the mainstream design community by unifying a disjointed flow at an affordable price. SystemVue complements existing general-purpose EDA tools used to design field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and Analog/RF components.

SystemVue 2008 is well suited to system architects of high-performance PHYs as well as to algorithm developers for emerging wireless PHYs, such as 3GPP LTE. Aerospace/defense applications, such as software-defined radio (SDR), satellite communications and radar will also benefit from SystemVue 2008. Key features of Agilent's SystemVue 2008 include:

• Advanced Simulation. Dataflow simulator handles multirate and multicarrier signals with RF-true effects faster than general-purpose simulators.
• RF architecture tools provide valuable analog insights.
• Advanced modeling. Richer set of accurate RF/Analog models allows effective system partitioning. Hundreds of extendable block libraries save time for communications, signal processing, RF, fixed-point and standards-compliant functions.
• Native polymorphism switches easily between language-based C++, m-code, Verilog/VHDL or GUI-based blocks, to work naturally with ESL design flows.
• Native math language support. This feature maintains compatibility with existing algorithms and processes.
• support for the creation, simulation, debugging, TCP/IP instrument connectivity and scripting.
• The environment is built for fast-turnaround communication system design with convenient verification.
• VHDL/Verilog generation includes support for FPGA rapid-prototyping.

Agilent SystemVue 2008 is expected to be available in November 2008, with prices starting at approximately $14,000. For more information about SystemVue 2008, visit www.agilent.com/find/eesof-systemvue.