[Technology Report]
Dev Kits Help Alleviate Those FPGA Design Woes
The latest crop of FPGA Kits brings novice FPGA designers up to speed much more quickly.
A PSoC programmer is included, too, making this a PSoC development platform as well as a Xilinx FPGA development platform. Free development software from Cypress Semiconductor and the Xilinx ISE WebPack come with the package. Overall, the kit provides the basics. Sample applications are limited, but what do you expect for $39? Overall, it’s an inexpensive platform for prototyping.
DLP Design’s $189 DLP-FPGA fits in the low-cost development group (Fig. 7). When I tested this module, I was impressed by its functionality (see “Ready To Rock FPGA Development,” ED Online 18270). It’s based on the Xilinx Spartan 3E and includes Xilinx’s free tool chain. The module alone costs about $110.
The DLP-FPGA comes with its own manual that covers the hardware. There’s also an introduction to ISE WebPack. As a result, developers can get started quickly—but, like the Avnet kit, it doesn’t offer detailed tutorials or training materials. Novice FPGA developers will need to expend some effort in getting up to speed. On the other hand, more seasoned FPGA developers will find the platform well-suited for experimenting as well as deployment, albeit in small quantities.
ENHANCING THE MODEL Most free tools in these kits, which nonetheless are robust, divide into two categories. The first is FPGA layout and design. The second, where appropriate, comprises software development tools for soft-core processors. You’ll also find a limited number of tutorials designed to provide a feel for the hardware and FPGA capabilities.
Developers looking for more advanced tools may turn to products like National Instruments’ LabVIEW and the Math- Works’ Matlab and Simulink. These choices provide high-level, model-based design interfaces that target software and FPGAs. LabVIEW and Simulink also are graphically oriented. Matlab is more of a textbased programming environment, though its output is often graphical. Translation of these designs into FPGA IP is automatic.
The hard part is getting it into the FPGA. In general, these tools have been set up to work with a limited number of evaluation or demo boards. It’s possible to link them to almost any platform, including products being developed, but this often requires another level of sophistication. This work is usually completed already for the software in the kits.
Yet this is the same kind of effort that will be required to move from this development environment to a target board that’s part of a product. So, it’s often useful to do this exercise on a kit with known characteristics before hitting the target.
Kits promise a faster start to projects and a solid prototyping platform. Some offer deployment capabilities. Choosing the right one can save time and money.
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