chamelion chip

Upload: tushar-dhandharia

Post on 07-Apr-2018

218 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    1/46

    CONTENTS

    TOPIC PAGE NUMBER

    Abstract 1

    Introduction 2

    GPP 6

    Chameleon chip 9

    Application 12

    Design style 13

    Classification of design 14

    FPGA 15

    Reconfigurable Architecture 19

    Reconfigurable Processor 20

    Advantage 25

    Disadvantage 26

    Comparison 27

    ASIC 28

    Design process 29

    Conclusion 30

    Future Scope 31

    References 32

    FAQS 33

    Glossary 34

    Seminar guide interaction report 35

    i

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    2/46

    ABSTRACT

    Chameleon chips are able to rewire themselves on the fly to create the exact hardware needed

    to run a piece of software at the utmost speed. an example of such kind of a chip is achameleon chip.this can also be called a chip on demand

    Highly flexible processors that can be reconfigured remotely in the field, Chameleon's chips

    are designed to simplify communication system design while delivering increased

    price/performance numbers. The chameleon chip is a high bandwidth reconfigurable

    communications processor (RCP).it aims at changing a system's design from a remote

    location.

    These new chips are able to rewire themselves on the fly to create the exact hardware

    needed to run a piece of software at the utmost speed. an example of such kind of a chip is a

    chameleon chip. This can also be called a chip on demand Reconfigurable computing

    goes a step beyond programmable chips in the matter of flexibility. It is not only possible

    but relatively commonplace to "rewrite" the silicon so that it can perform new functions in a

    split second. Reconfigurable chips are simply the extreme end of programmability.

    The overall performance of the ACM can surpass the DSP because the ACM only

    constructs the actual hardware needed to execute the software, whereas DSPs and

    microprocessors force the software to fit its given architecture.

    ADVANTAGES OF CHAMELEON CHIP:

    can create customized communications signal processors

    increased performance and channel count

    can more quickly adapt to new requirements and standards

    lower development costs and reduce risk.

    These new chips are able to rewire themselves on the fly to create the exact

    hardware needed to run a piece of software at the utmost speed. an example of such kind of

    a chip is a chameleon chip.this can also be called a chip on demand Reconfigurablecomputing goes a step beyond programmable chips in the matter of flexibility. It is not only

    ii

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    3/46

    possible but relatively commonplace to "rewrite" the silicon so that it can perform new

    functions in a split second. Reconfigurable chips are simply the extreme end of

    programmability.

    INTRODUCTION

    Today's microprocessors sport a general-purpose design which has its

    own advantages and disadvantages.

    Advantage: One chip can run a range of programs. That's why you don't

    need separate computers for different jobs, such as crunching spreadsheets or

    editing digital photos

    Disadvantage: For any one application, much of the chip's circuitry isn't

    needed, and the presence of those "wasted" circuits slows things down.

    Suppose, instead, that the chip's circuits could be tailored specifically for the problem at

    hand--say, computer-aided design--and then rewired, on the fly, when you loaded a tax-

    preparation program. One set of chips, little bigger than a credit card, could do almost

    anything, even changing into a wireless phone. The market for such versatile marvels would

    be huge, and would translate into lower costs for users. So computer scientists are hatching

    a novel concept that could increase number-crunching power--and trim costs as well. Call it

    the chameleon chip. Chameleon chips would be an extension of what can already be done

    with field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAS).

    iii

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    4/46

    The new chips can be called a "chip on demand." In practical terms, this ability can translate

    to immense flexibility in terms of device functions. For example, a single device could

    serve as both a camera and a tape recorder (among numerous other possibilities): you would

    simply download the desired software and the processor would reconfigure itself to

    optimize performance for that function.

    iv

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    5/46

    An FPGA is covered with a grid of wires. At each crossover, there's a switch that can be

    semipermanently opened or closed by sending it a special signal. Usually the chip must first

    be inserted in a little box that sends the programming signals. But now, labs in Europe,

    Japan, and the U.S. are developing techniques to rewire FPGA-like chips anytime--and even

    software that can map out circuitry that's optimized for specific problems.The chips still won't change colors. But they may well color the way we use computers in

    years to come. it is a fusion between custom integrated circuits and programmable logic.in

    the case when we are doing highly performance oriented tasks custom chips that do one or

    two things spectacularly rather than lot of things averagely is used. Now using field

    programmed chips we have chips that can be rewired in an instant. Thus the benefits of

    customization can be brought to the mass market.

    v

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    6/46

    A reconfigurable processor is a microprocessor with erasable hardware that can rewire itself

    dynamically. This allows the chip to adapt effectively to the programming tasks demanded

    by the particular software they are interfacing with at any given time. Ideally, the

    reconfigurable processor can transform itself from a video chip to a central processing unit

    (cpu) to a graphics chip, for example, all optimized to allow applications to run at the

    highest possible speed. The new chips can be called a "chip on demand." In practical

    terms, this ability can translate to immense flexibility in terms of device functions. For

    example, a single device could serve as both a camera and a tape recorder (among numerous

    other possibilities): you would simply download the desired software and the processor

    would reconfigure itself to optimize performance for that function.

    vi

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    7/46

    Reconfigurable processors, competing in the market with traditional hard-wired chips and

    several types of programmable microprocessors. Programmable chips have been in

    existence for over ten years. Digital signal processors (DSPs), for example, are high-

    performance programmable chips used in cell phones, automobiles, and various types of

    music players.

    Another version, programmable logic chips are equipped with arrays of memory cells that

    can be programmed to perform hardware functions using software tools. These are more

    flexible than the specialized DSP chips but also slower and more expensive. Hard-wired

    chips are the oldest, cheapest, and fastest - but also the least flexible - of all the options.

    GENARAL PURPOSE PROCESSOR

    Processor technology relates to the architecture of the computation engine used to implement

    a system's desired functionality.

    General Purpose Processors: The designer of a general purpose processor or a

    microprocessor builds a programmable device that is suitable for a variety of applications to

    maximize the devices sold.

    Single Purpose Processor: A single purpose processor is a digital circuit designed to

    execute exactly one program.

    Application Specific Processor: An application specific instruction set processor

    (ASIP) can serve as a compromise between the general purpose processor and the single

    purpose processor. As ASIP is a programmable processor optimized for a particular class of

    applications having common characteristics, such as embedded control, digital-signal

    processing, or telecommunications.

    vii

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    8/46

    Using a general purpose processor in an embedded system may result in several design

    benefits. Flexibility is high because changing functionality requires changing only the

    program. Time to market would be low, and unit cost would be low in small quantities

    compared to designing your own processors. Performance may not be as great for some more

    computation intensive applications.

    Using a single purpose processor in an embedded system results in several design metric

    benefits. Performance may be fast, size and power may be small, and unit cost may be low

    for large quantities.

    Using an ASIP in an embedded system can provide the benefit of flexibility while still

    achieving good performance, power and size. Microcontrollers and digital signal processorsare two well known types of ASIPs that have been used for several decades. A

    microcontroller is a microprocessor that has been optimized for embedded control

    applications.

    Digital signal processors (DSPs) are another common type of ASIP. A DSP is a

    microprocessor designed to perform common operations on digital signals, which are the

    digital encoding of analog signals likes video and audio.

    We will be more concentrating on general purpose processors.

    Basic Architecture

    A general purpose processor consists of a data path and a control unit tightly linked with a

    memory.

    viii

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    9/46

    Datapath:

    The datapath consists of the circuitry for transforming data from and for storing temporary

    data. It consists of an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) capable of transforming data through

    operations such as addition, subtraction, logical AND, logical OR, inverting and shifting.

    The datapath also contains registers capable of storing temporary data. Processors are

    typically distinguished by their size, and we usually measure the size of the processor as the

    bit width of the datapaths components. Common processor sizes include, 4-bit, 8-bit, 16-bit,

    32-bit and 64-bit. The processor which we will be using for our robot construction is a 16-bit

    general purpose processor.

    ix

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    10/46

    In some cases a particular processor may have different sizes among its registers, ALU,

    internal bus or external bus. For example, a processor may have a 16-bit internal bus, ALU

    and registers, but have old 8-bits of external but to reduce the number of pins on the

    processor's IC.

    The control unit consists of circuitry for retrieving program instructions and for moving data

    to, from and through the data path according to those instructions.

    For each instruction the controller typically sequences through several stages, such as

    fetching the instruction from memory, decoding it, fetching operands, executing the

    instruction in the datapath, and storing the results. Each stage may consists of one or more

    clock cycles. A clock cycle is usually the longest time required for data to travel from oneregister to another.

    Memory:

    While registers server a processor's short-term storage requirements, memory server the

    processor's medium and long-term information-storage requirements. We can classify storage

    information as either program or data.

    Program information consists of the sequence of instruction that cause the processor to carry

    out the desired system functionality. Data information requests the values being input, output

    and transformed by the program.

    CHAMELEON CHIPS

    Highly flexible processors that can be reconfigured remotely in the field, Chameleon's chips

    are designed to simplify communication system design while delivering increased

    price/performance numbers. The chameleon chip is a high bandwidth reconfigurable

    communications processor (RCP).it aims at changing a system's design from a remote

    location.

    x

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    11/46

    These new chips are able to rewire themselves on the fly to create the exact hardware

    needed to run a piece of software at the utmost speed. an example of such kind of a chip is a

    chameleon chip. This can also be called a chip on demand Reconfigurable computing

    goes a step beyond programmable chips in the matter of flexibility. It is not only possible

    but relatively commonplace to "rewrite" the silicon so that it can perform new functions in a

    split second. Reconfigurable chips are simply the extreme end of programmability.

    The overall performance of the ACM can surpass the DSP because the ACM only

    constructs the actual hardware needed to execute the software, whereas DSPs and

    microprocessors force the software to fit its given architecture.

    One reason that this type of versatility is not possible today is that handheld gadgets are

    typically built around highly optimized specialty chips that do one thing really well. These

    chips are fast and relatively cheap, but their circuits are literally written in stone -- or at least

    in silicon. A multipurpose gadget would have to have many specialized chips -- a costly and

    xi

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    12/46

    clumsy solution. Alternately, you could use a general-purpose microprocessor, like the one

    in your PC, but that would be slow as well as expensive. For these reasons, chip designers

    are turning increasingly to reconfigurable hardwareintegrated circuits where the

    architecture of the internal logic elements can be arranged and rearranged on the fly to fit

    particular applications.

    Designers of multimedia systems face three significant challenges in today's ultra-

    competitive marketplace: Our products must do more, cost less, and be brought to the

    market quicker than ever. Though each of these goals is individually attainable, the hat trick

    is generally unachievable with traditional design and implementation techniques.

    Fortunately, some new techniques are emerging from the study of reconfigurable computing

    that make it possible to design systems that satisfy all three requirements simultaneously.

    xii

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    13/46

    Although originally proposed in the late 1960s by a researcher at UCLA, reconfigurable

    computing is a relatively new field of study. The decades-long delay had mostly to do with

    a lack of acceptable reconfigurable hardware. Reprogrammable logic chips like field

    programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) have been around for many years, but these chips have

    only recently reached gate densities making them suitable for high-end applications. (The

    densest of the current FPGAs have approximately 100,000 reprogrammable logic gates.)

    With an anticipated doubling of gate densities every 18 months, the situation will only

    become more favorable from this point forward.

    The primary product is a ground station equipment for satellite communications. This

    application involves high-rate communications, signal processing, and a variety of network

    protocols and data formats. Chameleon chips are chips whose circuitry can be tailored

    specifically for the problem at hand. Chameleon chips would be an extension of what can

    already be done with field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAS). An FPGA is covered with a

    grid of wires. At each crossover, theres a switch that can be semipermanently opened or

    closed by sending it a special signal. Usually the chip must first be inserted in a little box that

    sends the programming signals. But now, labs in Europe, Japan, and the U.S. are developing

    techniques to rewire FPGA-like chips anytimeand even software that can map out circuitry

    thats optimized for specific problems.

    The chips still wont change colors. But they may well color the way we use computers in

    years to come. It is a fusion between custom integrated circuits and programmable logic.in

    the case when we are doing highly performance oriented tasks custom chips that do one or

    two things spectacularly rather than lot of things averagely is used. Now using field

    programmed chips we have chips that can be rewired in an instant. Thus the benefits of

    customization can be brought to the mass market.

    xiii

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    14/46

    ADVANTAGES AND APPLICATIONS

    Its applications are:

    data-intensive Internet

    DSP

    wireless basestations

    voice compression

    software-defined radio

    high-performance embedded telecom and datacom applications

    Its advantages are:

    can create customized communications signal processors

    increased performance and channel count

    can more quickly adapt to new requirements and standards

    lower development costs and reduce risk.

    DESIGN STYLES

    ASIC design starts with an initial concept of the required IC parts. Early in this product

    conceptualization phases, it is important to decide the design style that will be most suitable

    for the design and validation of

    The eventual ASIC chip. A design style refers to a broad method of design circuit, which

    uses specific technique and technology for the design implementation and validation.

    Design style are broadly into custom and semi-custom design.

    xiv

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    15/46

    (1) Custom designs

    Custom designs, as the name suggests, involve the complete design to be hand-crafted so as

    to optimize the circuit for performance and/or area of given application. although this is an

    expensive design styles in volume production.

    (2) Semi-custom design:

    The semi-custom design style limits the circuit primitives and uses pre-designed blocks

    which cannot be further fine-tuned. These pre-design primitive blocks are usually

    optimized, well designed, and well characterized, and ultimately help rise the level of

    abstraction in the design. The pre-designed cells can be characterized and optimized for the

    various process technologies that library target.

    (a)Cell-Based Design:It can be based on standard-cell design, in which basic primitive cell are designed once and

    available in a library for each process technology or foundry used. Each cell in library is

    parameterized in terms of area, delay and power. These libraries have to be update

    whenever the foundry technology changed.

    (b)Array Based Design:

    In contrast to cell-based designs, array-based designs uses a prefabricated matrix of non-

    connected components known as sites. These sites are wired together o create the circuit

    required.

    (1)Classification Of Design Styles:

    xv

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    16/46

    (2)Classification Of Design Styles Of Semi Custom:

    FPGA

    One of the most promising approaches in the realm of reconfigurable architecture is a

    technology called "field-programmable gate arrays." The strategy is to build uniform arrays

    of thousands of logic elements, each of which can take on the personality of different,

    fundamental components of digital circuitry; the switches and wires can be reprogrammed

    to operate in any desired pattern, effectively rewiring a chip's circuitry on demand. A

    designer can download a new wiring pattern and store it in the chip's memory, where it can

    be easily accessed when needed.

    Not so hard after all Reconfigurable hardware first became practical with the introduction a

    few years ago of a device called a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) by Xilinx, an

    electronics company that is now based in San Jose, California. An FPGA is a chip

    consisting of a large number of logic cells. These cells, in turn, are sets of transistors

    wired together to perform simple logical operations.

    xvi

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    17/46

    FPGAs are arrays of logic blocks that are strung together through software commands to

    implement higher-order logic functions. Logic blocks are similar to switches with multiple

    inputs and a single output, and are used in digital circuits to perform binary operations.

    Unlike with other integrated circuits, developers can alter both the logic functions

    performed within the blocks and the connections between the blocks of FPGAs by sending

    signals that have been programmed in software to the chip. FPGA blocks can perform the

    same high-speed hardware functions as fixed-function ASICs, andto distinguish them

    from ASICsthey can be rewired and reprogrammed at any time from a remote location

    through software. Although it took several seconds or more to change connections in the

    earliest FPGAs, FPGAs today can be configured in milliseconds.

    Field-programmable gate arrays have historically been applied as what is called glue logic

    in embedded systems, connecting devices with dissimilar bus architectures. They have often

    xvii

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    18/46

    been used to link digital signal processorscpus used for digital signal processingto

    general-purpose cpus.

    The growth in FPGA technology has lifted the arrays beyond the simple role of providingglue logic. With their current capabilities, they clearly now can be classed as system-level

    components just like cpus and DSPs. The largest of the FPGA devices made by the

    company with which one of the authors of this article is affiliated, for example, has more

    than 150 billion transistors, seven times more than a Pentium-class microprocessor. Given

    today's time-to-market pressures, it is increasingly critical that all system-level components

    be easy to integrate, especially since the phase involving the integration of multiple

    technologies has become the most time-consuming part of a product's development cycle.

    To Integrating Hardware and Software systems designers producing mixed cpu and FPGA

    designs can take advantage of deterministic real-time operating systems (RTOSs).

    Deterministic software is suited for controlling hardware. As such, it can be used to

    efficiently manage the content of system data and the flow of such data from a cpu to an

    FPGA. FPGA developers can work with RTOS suppliers to facilitate the design and

    deployment of systems using combinations of the two technologies. FPGAs operating in

    conjunction with embedded design tools provide an ideal platform for developing high-

    performance reconfigurable computing solutions for medical instrument applications. The

    platform supports the design, development, and testing of embedded systems based on the C

    language.

    Integration of FPGA technology into systems using a deterministic RTOS can be

    streamlined by means of an enhanced application programming interface (API). The

    blending of hardware, firmware, application software, and an RTOS into a platform-based

    approach removes many of the development barriers that still limit the functionality of

    embedded applications. Development, profiling, and analysis tools are available that can be

    used to analyze computational hot spots in code and to perform low-level timing analysis in

    multitasking environments.

    One way developers can use these analytical tools is to determine when to design a

    function in hardware or software. Profiling enables them to quickly identify functionality

    xviii

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    19/46

    that is frequently used or computationally intensive. Such functions may be prime

    candidates for moving from software to FPGA hardware. An integrated suite of run-time

    analysis tools with a run-time error checker and visual interactive profiler can help

    developers create higher-quality, higher-performance code in little time.

    An FPGA consists of an array of configurable logic blocks that implement the logical

    functions. In FPGA's, the logic functions performed within the logic blocks, and sending

    signals to the chip can alter the connections between the blocks. These blocks are similar

    in structure to the gate arrays used in some ASIC's, but whereas standard gate arrays are

    configured and fixed during manufacture, the configurable logic blocks in new FPGA's

    can be rewired and reprogrammed repeatedly in around a microsecond. One advantages of

    FPGA is that it needs small time to market Flexibility and Upgrade advantages Cheap to

    make .We can configure an FPGA using Very High Density Language [VHDL] Handel

    C Java .FPGAs are used presently in Encryption Image Processing Mobile

    Communications .FPGAs can be used in 4G mobile communication

    The advantages of FPGAs are that Field programmable gate arrays offer companies the

    possibility of developing a chip very quickly, since a chip can be configured by software.

    A chip can also be reconfigured, either during execution time, or as part of an upgrade to

    allow new applications, simply by loading new configuration into the chip. The

    advantages can be seen in terms of cost, speed and power consumption. The added

    functionality of multi-parallelism allows one FPGA to replace multiple ASICs.

    The applications of FPGAs are in

    image processing

    encryption

    mobile communication

    memory management and digital signal processing

    telephone units

    mobile base stations.

    xix

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    20/46

    Although it is very hard to predict the direction this technology will take, it seems more than

    likely that future silicon chips will be a combination of programmable logic, memory blocks

    and specific function blocks, such as floating point units.

    It is hard to predict at this early stage, but it looks likely that the technology will have to

    change over the coming years, and the rate of change for major players in todays

    marketplace such as Intel, Microsoft and AMD will be crucial to their survival.

    The precise behavior of each cell is determined by loading a string of numbers into a

    memory underneath it. The way in which the cells are interconnected is specified by loading

    another set of numbers into the chip. Change the first set of numbers and you change what

    the cells do. Change the second set and you change the way they are linked up. Since even

    the most complex chip is, at its heart, nothing more than a bunch of interlinked logic

    circuits, an FPGA can be programmed to do almost anything that a conventional fixed piece

    of logic circuitry can do, just by loading the right numbers into its memory. And by loading

    in a different set of numbers, it can be reconfigured in the twinkling of an eye.

    Basic reconfigurable circuits already play a huge role in telecommunications. For instance,

    relatively simple versions made by companies such as Xilinx and Altera are widely used for

    network routers and switches, enabling circuit designs to be easily updated electronically

    without replacing chips. In these early applications, however, the speed at which the chips

    reconfigure themselves is not critical. To be quick enough for personal information devices,

    the chips will need to completely reconfigure themselves in a millisecond or less. "That

    kind of chameleon device would be the killer app of reconfigurable computing" These

    experts predict that in the next couple of years reconfigurable systems will be used in cell

    phones to handle things like changes in telecommunications systems or standards as users

    travel between calling regions -- or between countries.

    As it is getting more expensive and difficult to pattern, or etch, the elaborate circuitry used

    in microprocessors; many experts have predicted that maintaining the current rate of putting

    more circuits into ever smaller spaces will, sometime in the next 10 to 15 years, result in

    features on microchips no bigger than a few atoms, which would demand a nearly

    impossible level of precision in fabricating circuitry But reconfigurable chips don't need

    that type of precision and we can make computers that function at the nanoscale level.

    xx

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    21/46

    One of the most promising approaches in the realm of reconfigurable architecture is a

    technology called "field-programmable gate arrays." The strategy is to build uniform arrays

    of thousands of logic elements, each of which can take on the personality of different,

    fundamental components of digital circuitry; the switches and wires can be reprogrammed to

    operate in any desired pattern, effectively rewiring a chip's circuitry on demand. A designer

    can download a new wiring pattern and store it in the chip's memory, where it can be easily

    accessed when needed.

    Not so hard after all Reconfigurable hardware first became practical with the introduction a

    few years ago of a device called a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) by Xilinx, an

    electronics company that is now based in San Jose, California. An FPGA is a chip consisting

    of a large number of logic cells. These cells, in turn, are sets of transistors wired together to

    perform simple logical operations.

    Evolving FPGAs

    FPGAs are arrays of logic blocks that are strung together through software commands to

    implement higher-order logic functions. Logic blocks are similar to switches with multiple

    inputs and a single output, and are used in digital circuits to perform binary operations.

    Unlike with other integrated circuits, developers can alter both the logic functions performed

    within the blocks and the connections between the blocks of FPGAs by sending signals that

    have been programmed in software to the chip. FPGA blocks can perform the same high-

    speed hardware functions as fixed-function ASICs, andto distinguish them from ASICs

    they can be rewired and reprogrammed at any time from a remote location through software.

    CS2112

    RCP architecture is designed to be as flexible as an FPGA, and as easy to program as a

    digital signal processor (DSP), with real-time, visual debugging capability. The

    development environment, comprising Chameleon's C-SIDE software tool suite and

    CT2112SDM development kit, enables customers to develop and debug communication and

    signal processing systems running on the RCP. The RCP's development environment helps

    overcome a fundamental design and debug challenge facing communication system

    xxi

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    22/46

    designers.In order to build sufficient performance, channel capacity, and flexibility into

    their systems, today's designers have been forced to employ an amalgamation of DSPs,

    FPGAs and ASICs, each of which requires a unique design and debug environment.

    The RCP platform was designed from the ground up to alleviate this problem: first by

    significantly exceeding the performance and channel capacity of the fastest DSPs; second

    by integrating a complete SoC subsystem, including an embedded microprocessor, PCI

    core, DMA function, and high-speed bus; and third by consolidating the design and debug

    environment into a single platform-based design system that affords the designer

    comprehensive visibility and control.

    The C-SIDE software suite includes tools used to compile C and assembly code forexecution on the CS2112's embedded microprocessor, and Verilog simulation and synthesis

    tools used to create parallel datapath kernels which run on the CS2112's reconfigurable

    processing fabric.

    In addition to code generation tools, the package contains source-level debugging tools that

    support simulation and real-time debugging. Chameleon's design approach leverages the

    methods employed by most of today's communications system designers. The designer

    starts with a C program that models signal processing functions of the baseband system.

    Having identified the dataflow intensive functional blocks, the designer implements them in

    the RCP to accelerate them by 10- to 100-fold. The designer creates equivalent functions for

    those blocks, called kernels, in Chameleon's reconfigurable assembly language-like design

    entry language. The assembler then automatically generates standard Verilog for thesekernels that the designer can verify with commercial Verilog simulators. Using these tools,

    the designer can compare testbench results for the original C functions with similar results

    for the Verilog kernels. In the next phase, the designer synthesises the Verilog kernels using

    Chameleon's synthesis tools targeting Chameleon technology. At the end, the tools output a

    bit file that is used to configure the RCP.The designer then integrates the application level C

    code with Verilog kernels and the rest of the standard C function.Chameleon's C-SIDE

    compiler and linker technology makes this integration step transparent to the designer.

    xxii

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    23/46

    The CS2112 development environment makes all chip registers and memory locations

    accessible through a development console that enables full processor-like debugging,

    including features like single-stepping and setting breakpoints. Before actually productising

    the system, the designer must often perform a system-level simulation of the data flow

    within the context of the overall system. Chameleon's development board enables the

    designer to connect multiple RCPs to other devices in the system using the PCI bus and/or

    programmable I/O pins.

    This helps prove the design concept, and enables the designer to profile the performance of

    the whole basestation system in a real-world environment. With telecommunications OEMs

    facing shrinking product life cycles and increasing market pressures, not to mention the

    constant flux of protocols and standards, it's more necessary than ever to have a platform

    that's reconfigurable. This is where the chameleon chips are going to make its effect felt.

    The Chameleon CS2112 Package is a high-bandwidth, reconfigurable communications

    processor aimed at

    second- and third-generation wireless base stations

    fixed point wireless local loop (WLL)

    voice over IP

    DSL(digital subscriber line)

    High end dsp operations

    2G-3G wireless base stations

    software defined radio

    security processing

    "Traditional solutions such as FPGAs and DSPs lack the performance for high-bandwidth

    applications, and fixed function solutions like ASICs incur unacceptable limits Each

    product in the CS2000 family has the same fundamental functional blocks: a 32-bit RISC

    processor, a full-featured memory controller, a PCI controller, and a reconfigurable

    processing fabric, all of which are interconnected by a high-speed system bus. The above

    xxiii

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    24/46

    mentioned fabric comprises an array of reconfigurable tiles used to implement the desired

    algorithms. Each tile contains seven 32-bit reconfigurable datapath units, four blocks of

    local store memory, two 16x24-bit multipliers, and a control logic unit.

    BASIC ARCHITECTURE

    Components:

    32-bit Risc ARC processor @125MHz

    64 bit memory controller

    32 bit PCI controller

    reconfigurable processing fabric (RPF)

    high speed system bus

    xxiv

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    25/46

    programmable I/O (160 pins)

    DMA Subsystem

    Configuration Subsystem

    More on the architecture of RPF:-

    4 Slices with 3 Tiles in each. Each tile can be reconfigured at runtime

    Tiles contain :

    Datapath Units

    Local Store Memories

    16x24 multipliers

    Control Logic Unit

    The C-SIDE design system is a fully integrated tool suite, with C compiler, Verilog

    synthesizer, full-chip simulator, as well as a debug and verification environment -- an

    element not readily found in ASIC and FPGA design flows, according to Chameleon. Still,

    reconfigurable chips represent an attempt to combine the best features of hard-wired

    custom chips, which are fast and cheap, and programmable logic device (PLD) chips,

    which are flexible and easily brought to market.

    Unlike PLDs, QuickSilver's reconfigurable chips can be reprogrammed every few

    nanoseconds, rewiring circuits so they are processing global positioning satellite signals

    one moment or CDMA cellular signals the next, Think of the chips as consisting oflibraries with preset hardware designs and chalkboards. Upon receiving instructions from

    software, the chip takes a hardware component from the library (which is stored as

    software in memory) and puts it on the chalkboard (the chip). The chip wires itself

    instantly to run the software and dispatches it. The hardware can then be erased for the

    next cycle. With this style of computing, its chips can operate 80 times as fast as a custom

    chip but still consume less power and board space, which translates into lower costs. The

    company believes that "soft silicon," or chips that can be reconfigured on the fly, can be

    the heart of multifunction camcorders or digital television sets.

    xxv

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    26/46

    With programmable logic devices, designers use inexpensive software tools to quickly

    develop, simulate, and test their designs. Then, a design can be quickly programmed into a

    device, and immediately tested in a live circuit. The PLD that is used for this prototyping

    is the exact same PLD that will be used in the final production of a piece of end

    equipment, such as a network router, a DSL modem, a DVD player, or an automotive

    navigation system.

    The two major types of programmable logic devices are field programmable gate arrays

    (FPGAs) and complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs). Of the two, FPGAs offer the

    highest amount of logic density, the most features, and the highest performance FPGAs are

    used in a wide variety of applications ranging from data processing and storage, to

    instrumentation, telecommunications, and digital signal processing.

    To overcome these limitations and offer a flexible, cost-effective solution, many new

    entrants to the DSP market are extolling the virtues of configurable and reconfigurable

    DSP designs. This latest breed of DSP architectures promises greater flexibility to quickly

    adapt to numerous and fast-changing standards. Plus, they claim to achieve higher

    performance without adding silicon area, cost, design time, or power consumption. In

    essence, because the architecture isn't rigid, the reconfigurable DSP lets the developer

    tailor the hardware for a specific task, achieving the right size and cost for the target

    application. Moreover, the same platform can be reused for other applications.

    Because development tools are a critical part of this solutionin fact, they're true enablers

    the newcomers also ensure that the tools are robust and tightly linked to the devices'

    flexible architectures. While providing an intuitive, integrated development environment

    for the designers, the manufacturers ensure affordability as well.

    RECONFIGURING THE ARCHITECTURE

    Some of the new configurable DSP architectures are reconfigurable toothat is, developers

    can modify their landscape on the fly, depending on the incoming data stream. This

    xxvi

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    27/46

    capability permits dynamic reconfigurability of the architecture as demanded by the

    application. Proponents of such chips are proclaiming an era of "chip-on-demand," wherein

    new algorithms can be accommodated on-chip in real time via software. This eliminates the

    cumbersome job of fitting the latest algorithms and protocols into existing rigid hardware. A

    reconfigurable communications processor (RCP) can reconfigured for different processing

    algorithms in one clock cycle. Chameleon designers are revising the architecture to create a

    chip that can address a much broader range of applications. Plus, the supplier is preparing a

    new, more user-friendly suite of tools for traditional DSP designers. Thus, the company is

    dropping the term reconfigurability for the new architecture and going with a more

    traditional name, the streaming data processor (SDP).

    Though the SDP will include a reconfigurable processing fabric, it will be substantially

    altered, the company says. Unlike the older RCP, the new chip won't have the ARM RISC

    core, and it will support a much higher clock rate. Additionally, it will be implemented in a

    0.13-m CMOS process to meet the signal processing needs of a much broader market.

    Further details await the release of SDP sometime in the first quarter of 2003. While

    Chameleon is in the redesign mode, QuickSilver Technologies is in the test mode. This

    reconfigurable proponent, which prefers to call its architecture an adaptive computing

    machine or ACM, has realized its first silicon test chip. In fact, the tests indicate that it

    outperforms a hardwired, fixed-function ASIC in processing compute-intensive cdma2000

    algorithms, like system acquisition, rake finger, and set maintenance. For example, the

    ASIC's nominal speed for searching 215 phase offsets in a basic multipath search algorithm

    is 3.4 seconds. The ACM test chip took just one second at a 25-MHz clock speed to perform

    the same number of searches in a cdma2000 handset. Likewise, the device accomplishes

    over 57,000 adaptations per second in rake-finger operation to cycle through all operations

    in this application every 52 s (Fig. 1). In the set-maintenance application, the chip is

    almost three times faster than an ASIC, claims QuickSilver.

    THE power of a computer stems from the fact that its behaviour can be changed with little

    more than a dose of new software. A desktop PC might, for example, be browsing the

    Internet one minute, and running a spreadsheet or entering the virtual world of a computer

    game the next. But the ability of a microprocessor (the chip that is at the heart of any PC) to

    handle such a variety of tasks is both a strength and a weaknessbecause hardware

    dedicated to a particular job can do things so much faster. Recognising this, the designers of

    xxvii

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    28/46

    modern PCs often hand over such tasks as processing 3-D graphics, decoding and playing

    movies, and processing soundthings that could, in theory, be done by the basic

    microprocessorto specialist chips. These chips are designed to do their particular jobs

    extremely fast, but they are inflexible in comparison with a microprocessor, which does its

    best to be a jack-of-all-trades. So the hardware approach is faster, but using software is

    more flexible.

    At the moment, such reconfigurable chips are used mainly as a way of conjuring up

    specialist hardware in a hurry. Rather than designing and building an entirely new chip to

    carry out a particular function, a circuit designer can use an FPGA instead. This speeds up

    the design process enormously, because making changes becomes as simple as downloading

    a new configuration into the chip. Chameleon Systems also develops reconfigurable chips

    for the high-end telecom-switching market.

    A microprocessor adapting itself to the actual use and environment. Thats the way to keep

    the energy consumption of future mobile companions within limits and be flexible at the

    same time. Paul Heysters, who finishes his PhD-research at the University of Twente on

    September 24, developed a new type of processor. His Montium is a reconfigurable

    processor adapting itself towards low energy consumption. It is possible to get ten times

    better performance, with ten times lower energy consumption at the same time, according to

    Heysters. He did his research at the Centre for Telematics and Information Technology of the

    University of Twente in The Netherlands.

    Without energy-saving measures, they get real miniature stoves in your pocket, the mobile

    equipment of the future. They will be packed with a lot of functions, for which users need

    separate devices now. Including broadband mobile communication, GPS, navigation, camera,

    audio and video, ranging to full electronic driving license and passport. Fully profit from all

    these features means using a lot of energy. An application-specific chip (ASIC) would be the

    most energy-economic solution, but it is not flexible at all. Thats why Heysters chooses

    reconfigurability: he lets the hardware adapt itself to the use thats made of it. The Montium

    in animal world a rare chameleon species- is a processor that is capable of this. And it

    consumes far less power. Future mobile equipment has to, for example, be able to adapt to

    the network environment it is currently working is. Do you prefer a broadband connection

    xxviii

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    29/46

    and do you happen to be in a WiFi environment, than the chip will enable a WiFi connection.

    The approach Heysters chooses is a tiled one. His processor is not a huge generic one,

    capable of every possible task, but it consists of tiles that can be switched on or off depending

    on the desired function. Tiles are available for digital signal processing (DSP), for specific

    tasks and small general purpose processors. Every type of tiles is available in a repeated

    pattern.

    This approach is really different from developing an economic or mobile version of a

    regular processor, Heysters states. In those cases, usually some adjustments are made to the

    power supply voltage or clock frequency. But in essence, the processor still is highly

    overdimensioned for the tasks it has to perform. What Heysters proposes is changing the

    hardware architecture based on the algorithm. This works: in a complex task like calculating

    a fast Fourier Transform, the Montium performs ten times better than a generic processor for

    mobile use, while it consumes ten times less energy.

    Worldwide, there are efforts going on for these energy-saving strategies. The Montium

    approach can be succesful in this, according to Heysters. One of the true success factors is

    that good design tools become available: designers have to be able to do their work on a high

    level of abstraction, without having to bother about the hardware underneath. Promising steps

    have been made in the group Heysters is working in. Industry is interested in his approach,

    and in fabricating a prototype chameleon-chip consisting of nine Montium tiles.

    RECONFIGURABLE PROCESSORS

    A reconfigurable processor is a microprocessor with erasable hardware that can rewire itself

    dynamically. This allows the chip to adapt effectively to the programming tasks demanded

    by the particular software they are interfacing with at any given time. Ideally, the

    reconfigurable processor can transform itself from a video chip to a central processing unit

    (cpu) to a graphics chip, for example, all optimized to allow applications to run at the

    highest possible speed. The new chips can be called a "chip on demand." In practical

    terms, this ability can translate to immense flexibility in terms of device functions. For

    example, a single device could serve as both a camera and a tape recorder (among numerous

    xxix

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    30/46

    other possibilities): you would simply download the desired software and the processor

    would reconfigure itself to optimize performance for that function.

    Reconfigurable processors, competing in the market with traditional hard-wired chips and

    severaltypes of programmable microprocessors. Programmable chips have been in existence

    for over ten years. Digital signal processors (DSPs), for example, are high-performance

    programmable chips used in cell phones, automobiles, and various types of music players.

    While microprocessors have been the dominant devices in use for general-purpose

    computing for the last decade, there is still a large gap between the computational efficiency

    of microprocessors and custom silicon. Reconfigurable devices, such as FPGAs, have come

    closer to closing that gap, offering a 10x benefit in computational density over

    microprocessors, and often offering another potential 10x improvement in yielded

    functional density on low granularity operations. On highly regular computations,

    reconfigurable architectures have a clear superiority to traditional processor architectures.

    On tasks with high functional diversity, microprocessors use silicon more efficiently than

    reconfigurable devices. The BRASS project is developing a coupled architecture which

    allow a reconfigurable array and processor core to cooperate efficiently on computational

    tasks, exploiting the strengths of both architectures.

    We are developing an architecture and a prototype component that will combine a processor

    and a high performance reconfigurable array on a single chip. The reconfigurable array

    extends the usefulness and efficiency of the processor by providing the means to tailor its

    circuits for special tasks. The processor improves the efficiency of the reconfigurable array

    for irregular, general-purpose computation.

    We anticipate that a processor combined with reconfigurable resources can achieve a

    significant performance improvement over either a separate processor or a separate

    reconfigurable device on an interesting range of problems drawn from embedded computing

    applications. As such, we hope to demonstrate that this composite device is an ideal system

    element for embedded processing.

    Reconfigurable devices have proven extremely efficient for certain types of processing

    tasks. The key to their cost/performance advantage is that conventional processors are often

    xxx

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    31/46

    limited by instruction bandwidth and execution restrictions or by an insufficient number or

    type of functional units. Reconfigurable logic exploits more program parallelism. By

    dedicating significantly less instruction memory per active computing element,

    reconfigurable devices achieve a 10x improvement in functional density over

    microprocessors. At the same time this lower memory ratio allows reconfigurable devices to

    deploy active capacity at a finer grained level, allowing them to realize a higher yield of

    their raw capacity, sometimes as much as 10x, than conventional processors.

    The high functional density characteristic of reconfigurable devices comes at the expense of

    the high functional diversity characteristic of microprocessors. Microprocessors have

    evolved to a highly optimized configuration with clear cost/performance advantages over

    reconfigurable arrays for a large set of tasks with high functional diversity. By combining a

    reconfigurable array with a processing core we hope to achieve the best of both worlds.

    While it is possible to combine a conventional processor with commercial reconfigurable

    devices at the circuit board level, integration radically changes the i/o costs and design point

    for both devices, resulting in a qualitatively different system. Notably, the lower on-chip

    communication costs allow efficient cooperation between the processor and array at a finer

    grain than is sensible with discrete designs.

    ADVANTAGES OF RECONFIGURABILITY

    The term reconfigurable computing has come to refer to a loose class of embedded

    systems. Many system-on-a-chip (SoC) computer designs provide reconfigurability

    options that provide the high performance of hardware with the flexibility of software. To

    most designers, SoC means encapsulating one or more processing elementsthat is,

    general-purpose embedded processors and/or digital signal processor (DSP) coresalong

    with memory, input/output devices, and other hardware into a single chip. These versatile

    chips can perform many different functions. However, while SoCs offer choices, the user

    can choose only among functions that already reside inside the device. Developers also

    create ASICschips that handle a limited set of tasks but do them very quickly.

    xxxi

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    32/46

    The limitation of most types of complex hardware devicesSoCs, ASICs, and general-

    purpose cpusis that the logical hardware functions cannot be modified once the silicon

    design is complete and fabricated. Consequently, developers are typically forced to

    amortize the cost of SoCs and ASICs over a product lifetime that may be extremely short

    in today's volatile technology environment.

    Solutions involving combinations of cpus and FPGAs allow hardware functionality to be

    reprogrammed, even in deployed systems, and enable medical instrument OEMs to

    develop new platforms for applications that require rapid adaptation to input. The

    technologies combined provide the best of both worlds for system-level design. Careful

    analysis of computational requirements reveals that many algorithms are well suited to

    high-speed sequential processing, many can benefit from parallel processing capabilities,

    and many can be broken down into components that are split between the two. With this in

    mind, it makes sense to always use the best technology for the job at hand.

    Processors are best suited to general-purpose processing and high-speed sequential

    processing (as are DSPs), while FPGAs excel at high-speed parallel processing. The

    general-purpose capability of the cpu enables it to perform system management very well,

    and allows it to be used to control the content of the FPGAs contained in the system. This

    symbiotic relationship between cpus and FPGAs also means that the FPGA can off-load

    computationally intensive algorithms from the cpu, allowing the processor to spend more

    time working on general-purpose tasks such as data analysis, and more time

    communicating with a printer or other equipment.

    RECONFIGURABLE COMPUTING

    When we talk about reconfigurable computing were usually talking about FPGA-based

    system designs. Unfortunately, that doesnt qualify the term precisely enough. System

    designers use FPGAs in many different ways. The most common use of an FPGA is for

    prototyping the design of an ASIC. In this scenario, the FPGA is present only on the

    xxxii

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    33/46

    prototype hardware and is replaced by the corresponding ASIC in the final production

    system. This use of FPGAs has nothing to do with reconfigurable computing.

    However, many system designers are choosing to leave the FPGAs as part of the production

    hardware. Lower FPGA prices and higher gate counts have helped drive this change. Such

    systems retain the execution speed of dedicated hardware but also have a great deal of

    functional flexibility. The logic within the FPGA can be changed if or when it is necessary,

    which has many advantages. For example, hardware bug fixes and upgrades can be

    administered as easily as their software counterparts. In order to support a new version of a

    network protocol, you can redesign the internal logic of the FPGA and send the

    enhancement to the affected customers by email. Once theyve downloaded the new logic

    design to the system and restarted it, theyll be able to use the new version of the protocol.

    This is configurable computing; reconfigurable computing goes one step further.

    Reconfigurable computing involves manipulation of the logic within the FPGA at run-time.

    In other words, the design of the hardware may change in response to the demands placed

    upon the system while it is running. Here, the FPGA acts as an execution engine for a

    variety of different hardware functions some executing in parallel, others in serial

    much as a CPU acts as an execution engine for a variety of software threads. We might even

    go so far as to call the FPGA a reconfigurable processing unit (RPU).

    Reconfigurable computing allows system designers to execute more hardware than they

    have gates to fit, which works especially well when there are parts of the hardware that

    are occasionally idle. One theoretical application is a smart cellular phone that supports

    multiple communication and data protocols, though just one a time. When the phone

    passes from a geographic region that is served by one protocol into a region that is served

    by another, the hardware is automatically reconfigured. This is reconfigurable computing

    at its best, and using this approach it is possible to design systems that do more, cost less,

    and have shorter design and implementation cycles.

    Reconfigurable computing has several advantages.

    xxxiii

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    34/46

    First, it is possible to achieve greater functionality with a simpler hardware design.

    Because not all of the logic must be present in the FPGA at all times, the cost of

    supporting additional features is reduced to the cost of the memory required to store

    the logic design. Consider again the multiprotocol cellular phone. It would be possibleto support as many protocols as could be fit into the available on-board ROM. It is

    even conceivable that new protocols could be uploaded from a base station to the

    handheld phone on an as-needed basis, thus requiring no additional memory.

    The second advantage is lower system cost, which does not manifest itself exactly as

    you might expect. On a low-volume product, there will be some production cost

    savings, which result from the elimination of the expense of ASIC design and

    fabrication. However, for higher-volume products, the production cost of fixed

    hardware may actually be lower. We have to think in terms of lifetime system costs to

    see the savings. Systems based on reconfigurable computing are upgradable in the

    field. Such changes extend the useful life of the system, thus reducing lifetime costs.

    The final advantage of reconfigurable computing is reduced time-to-market. The fact

    that youre no longer using an ASIC is a big help in this respect. There are no chip

    design and prototyping cycles, which eliminates a large amount of development effort.

    In addition, the logic design remains flexible right up until (and even after) the product

    ships. This allows an incremental design flow, a luxury not typically available to

    hardware designers. You can even ship a product that meets the minimum

    requirements and add features after deployment. In the case of a networked product

    like a set-top box or cellular telephone, it may even be possible to make such

    enhancements without customer involvement.

    RECONFIGURABLE HARDWARE

    Traditional FPGAs are configurable, but not run-time reconfigurable. Many of the older

    FPGAs expect to read their configuration out of a serial EEPROM, one bit at a time. And

    they can only be made to do so by asserting a chip reset signal. This means that the FPGAmust be reprogrammed in its entirety and that its previous internal state cannot be captured

    xxxiv

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    35/46

    beforehand. Though these features are compatible with configurable computing

    applications, they are not sufficient for reconfigurable computing.

    In order to benefit from run-time reconfiguration, it is necessary that the FPGAs involved

    have some or all of the following features. The more of these features they have, the more

    flexible can be the system design. Deciding which hardware objects to execute and when

    Swapping hardware objects into and out of the reconfigurable logic Performing routing

    between hardware objects or between hardware objects and the hardware object

    framework. Of course, having software manage the reconfigurable hardware usually means

    having an embedded processor or microcontroller on-board. (We expect several vendors to

    introduce single-chip solutions that combine a CPU core and a block of reconfigurable logic

    by years end.) The embedded software that runs there is called the run-time environment

    and is analogous to the operating system that manages the execution of multiple software

    threads. Like threads, hardware objects may have priorities, deadlines, and contexts, etc. It

    is the job of the run-time environment to organize this information and make decisions

    based upon it.

    The reason we need a run-time environment at all is that there are decisions to be made

    while the system is running. And as human designers, we are not available to make these

    decisions. So we impart these responsibilities to a piece of software. This allows us to

    write our application software at a very high level of abstraction. To do this, the run-time

    environment must first locate space within the RPU that is large enough to execute the

    given hardware object. It must then perform the necessary routing between the hardware

    objects inputs and outputs and the blocks of memory reserved for each data stream. Next,

    it must stop the appropriate clock, reprogram the internal logic, and restart the RPU. Once

    the object starts to execute, the run-time environment must continuously monitor the

    hardware objects status flags to determine when it is done executing. Once it is done, the

    caller can be notified and given the results. The run-time environment is then free to

    reclaim the reconfigurable logic gates that were taken up by that hardware object and to

    wait for additional requests to arrive from the application software.

    The principal benefits of reconfigurable computing are the ability to execute larger

    hardware designs with fewer gates and to realize the flexibility of a software-based

    solution while retaining the execution speed of a more traditional, hardware-based

    xxxv

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    36/46

    approach. This makes doing more with less a reality. In our own business we have seen

    tremendous cost savings, simply because our systems do not become obsolete as quickly

    as our competitors because reconfigurable computing enables the addition of new features

    in the field, allows rapid implementation of new standards and protocols on an as-needed

    basis, and protects their investment in computing hardware.

    Whether you do it for your customers or for yourselves, you should at least consider using

    reconfigurable computing in your next design. You may find, as we have, that the benefits

    far exceed the initial learning curve. And as reconfigurable computing becomes more

    popular, these benefits will only increase.

    ADVANTAGES

    When a particular software is loaded the present hardware design is erased and a new

    hardware design is generated by making a particular number of connections active while

    making others idle.

    It is possible to get ten times better performance, with ten times lower energy consumption

    at the same time, according to heysters. He did his research at the centre for telematics and

    information technology of the university of twente in the netherlands.

    Can create customized communications signal processors

    Increased performance and channel count

    Can more quickly adapt to new requirements and standards

    Lower development costs and reduce risk.

    Reducing power

    Reducing manufacturing cost.

    xxxvi

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    37/46

    DISADVANTAGES

    Inertia engineers slow to change

    Inertia is the worst problem facing reconfigurable computing

    RCP designs requires comprehensive set of tools

    'Learning curve' for designers unfamiliar with reconfigurable logic

    COMPARISON WITH DEDICATED HARDWARE

    Asic provide ultimate Performance but fail in Time-to-market and Unable to satisfy the

    Need of flexibility.

    Reconfiguration versus Dedicated hardware -Higher performance, Lower cost and lower

    Power consumption.

    xxxvii

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    38/46

    WHAT IS THE ADVANTAGE OF ASIC?

    Asic-like performance with programmable systems

    Asics typically get 100x better performance per unit area than microprocessors

    Application-specific memory systems in a programmable chip

    Transform memory references into communication

    Create natural division of programs into regular and irregular blocks

    xxxviii

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    39/46

    DESIGN PROCESS OF CHIP

    In designing process , an initial idea describes the charasteristics of a circuit:which

    wire will bring what information and which wires will get results.this is then refined

    into an architectural design that shows the major functional units of the circuit and how

    they interact.each unit is then designed at a more detailed but still abstract level.the

    final refinement converts this schematic specification into an integrated circuit layoutin whatever semiconductor technology will be used to build the chip.

    xxxix

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    40/46

    CONCLUSION

    These new chips called chameleon chips are able to rewire themselves on the fly to create

    the exact hardware needed to run a piece of software at the utmost speed.an example of

    such kind of a chip is a chameleon chip.this can also be called a chip on demand

    Reconfigurable computing goes a step beyond programmable chips in the matter of

    flexibility. It is not only possible but relatively commonplace to "rewrite" the silicon so

    that it can perform new functions in a split second. Reconfigurable chips are simply the

    extreme end of programmability.

    Highly flexible processors that can be reconfigured remotely in the field, Chameleon's

    chips are designed to simplify communication system design while delivering increased

    price/performance numbers.

    The chameleon chip is a high bandwidth reconfigurable communications processor

    (RCP).it aims at changing a system's design from a remote location.this will mean more

    versatile handhelds.

    Its applications are in, data-intensive Internet,DSP,wireless basestations, voice

    compression, software-defined radio, high-performance embedded telecom and datacom

    applications, xDSL concentrators,fixed wireless local loop, multichannel voice

    compression, multiprotocol packet and cell processing protocols. Its advantages are that it

    can create customized communications signal processors ,it has increased performance

    and channel count, and it can more quickly adapt to new requirements and standards and

    it has lower development costs and reduce risk.

    xl

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    41/46

    A FUTURISTIC DREAM

    One day, someone will make a chip that does everything for the ultimate consumer device.

    The chip will be smart enough to be the brains of a cell phone that can transmit or receive

    calls anywhere in the world. If the reception is poor, the phone will automatically adjust so

    that the quality improves. At the same time, the device will also serve as a handheld

    organizer and a player for music, videos, or games.

    Unfortunately, that chip doesn't exist today.

    It would require

    flexibility

    high performance

    low power

    and low cost

    But we might be getting closer. Now a new kind of chip may reshape the semiconductor

    landscape. The chip adapts to any programming task by effectively erasing its hardware

    design and regenerating new hardware that is perfectly suited to run the software at hand.

    These chips, referred to as reconfigurable processors, could tilt the balance of power that

    has preserved a decade-long standoff between programmable chips and hard-wired custom

    chips.

    These new chips are able to rewire themselves on the fly to create the exact hardware

    needed to run a piece of software at the utmost speed.an example of such kind of a chip is a

    chameleon chip.this can also be called a chip on demand

    Reconfigurable computing goes a step beyond programmable chips in the matter of

    flexibility. It is not only possible but relatively commonplace to "rewrite" the silicon so that

    it can perform new functions in a split second. Reconfigurable chips are simply the extreme

    end of programmability.

    If these adaptable chips can reach a cost-performance parity with hard-wired chips,

    customers will chuck the static hard-wired solutions. And if silicon can indeed become

    xli

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    42/46

    dynamic, then so will the gadgets of the information age. No longer will you have to buy a

    camera and a tape recorder. You could just buy one gadget, and then download a new

    function for it when you want to take some pictures or make a recording. Just think of the

    possibilities for the fickle consumer.

    Programmable logic chips, which are arrays of memory cells that can be programmed to

    perform hardware functions using software tools, are more flexible than DSP chips but

    slower and more expensive For consumers, this means that the day isn't far away when a

    cell phone can be used to talk, transmit video images, connect to the Internet, maintain a

    calendar, and serve as entertainment during travel delays -- without the need to plug in

    adapter hardware

    REFERENCES

    BOOKS

    Wei Qin Presentation , Oct 2000 (The part of the presentation

    regarding CS2000 is covered in this page)

    IEEE conference on Tele-communication, 2001.

    WEBSITES

    www.chameleonsystems.com

    www.thinkdigit.com

    www.ieee.org

    www.entecollege.com

    www.iec.org

    www.quicksilvertechnologies.com

    www.xilinx.com

    xlii

    http://www.chameleon/http://www.chameleon/http://www.thinkdigit.com/http://www.ieee.org/http://www.iec.org/http://www.quicksilver/http://www.chameleon/http://www.thinkdigit.com/http://www.ieee.org/http://www.iec.org/http://www.quicksilver/
  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    43/46

    FAQS

    What is chameleon chip?

    What is the need of chameleon chip?

    What is Reconfigurable processor?

    What are the application of chameleon chip?

    What is FPGA?

    How can it use for the work stations?

    What is the need of reconfigurable processor?

    GLOSSARY

    FPGA : Field Programmable Logic Array

    ASIC : Application Specific Integrated Circuit

    GPP : General Purpose Processor

    RCP : Reconfigurable Communication Processor

    API : Application Programming Interface

    xliii

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    44/46

    SEMINAR GUIDE INTERACTION REPORT

    xliv

    Phase Interaction Remarks

    Topic Decision

    Resource search

    Compilation of resources

    Abridged report

    Rough draft

    Intermediate draft

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    45/46

    xlv

  • 8/4/2019 Chamelion Chip

    46/46