The ARM PrimeXsys platform verification tool kit allows users to verify that an ASIC under development will meet its functional requirements. The companies said the kit is reusable across multiple partners and projects, which saves engineering effort. ARM supplies many of the verification tests, another time saver. It also provides tests to check that all the components of the ASIC comply with Amba-bus technology.

The companies said the verification tool kit can test an entire ASIC's functionality, not just the ARM PrimeXsys wireless platform. STMicroelectronics has adopted the platform as the foundation of its large mobile-Internet application-specific standard-product line and is using the verification and validation testbenches to add its own unique intellectual property.

The PrimeXsys platform is available now, under ARM's standard IP licensing model for implementation in an ASIC or ASSP design. It includes register-transfer-level code, simulation models, development tools, firmware, OS ports, validation suites and methodologies. Key ARM partners will sample products based on the platform in the first half.

Wireless and DSP system-development company Adamya Technologies Inc. and configurable-core vendor Tensilica Inc. have linked up to offer the C-Blue Bluetooth application solution package for Tensilica's Xtensa configurable microprocessor architecture. Used in conjunction with an external Blue RF-compliant radio, the package enables designers to meet the critical sub-$5 cost point in their Bluetooth system-on-chip (SoC) designs, the companies said. The Bluetooth 1.1-compliant software baseband and stack combine special hardware to accelerate baseband and protocol functions created in the Tensilica Instruction Extension (TIE) language with an optimized implementation of Adamya's Bluetooth software that uses this special hardware.

Traditionally, Bluetooth solutions have been developed using either standard products or dedicated hardwired logic in ASICs. The standard-product approach, according to the companies, requires dedicated components that add cost and consume valuable pc-board real estate, while the hardwired logic in ASICs creates integration and verification challenges with a resulting increase in development time.

By contrast, the companies said, the Xtensa C-Blue package is a processor-based solution that facilitates SoC integration and simplifies verification through standard software development tools. The companies claim that the use of TIE customized hardware instructions results in an extremely efficient implementation that requires an average of only 8 MHz to run both the baseband and protocol stack functions. The result is faster time-to-market of SoC devices for consumer applications such as digital imaging systems, set-top boxes, wireless handsets and PDAs.