Embedded developers will continue to have a growing
number of choices when it comes to hardware
design, as new technologies like digital paper
displays such as the one from InHand Electronics
become more common (Fig. 1).
The expansion continues in all directions as the number
of cores and processor chips in a system grows significantly
and power requirements shrink. It is also getting easier to
evaluate new products using the latest development kits and
to deliver products faster by basing them on increasingly
sophisticated reference designs.
DEV Kits and Reference Designs
Silicon Labs’ array
of ToolSticks represents the flood of low-cost, USB-based
tools that have cropped up over the past few years (Fig. 2).
Complete with development software and sample applications,
developers can be up-and-running in an afternoon
with the latest chips. Companies like Silicon Labs and Texas
Instruments are opening these compact tools to a range of
plug-ins that are also ideal for engineers looking to expand
their education.
Reference designs continue to improve with platforms for
the hottest development areas such as Freescale’s Voice over
IP (
VoIP) M53281KIT, which is
based on the MCF53281CVM240
microcontroller (Fig. 3). Vendors
are
modularizing and fine-tuning
their platforms. For example,
Freescale’s processor is tied to
VoIP codecs, eliminating many
integration and licensing issues.
On the software side, look for
companies like Eridon to deliver
FPGAs into the hands of embedded
developers and programmers.
Its UnifiedLogic
system can generate a custom
real-time operating
system (RTOS),
developments, and
base software for any
Xilinx-based platform
including its own
modular uCard design
platform (Fig. 4).
Getting Smaller and Better
Motherboards
for x86 PCs
keep getting smaller
and faster, from VIA Technologies’
tiny Nano-ITX up to
SuperMicro’s X7QC3, which
uses the Intel 7300 (Clarksboro)
chip set to handle up to four Intel
quad-core Xeon processors (Fig. 5).
Modules and compact solutions like the
Nano-ITX are driving down size
and power use while improving
functionality.
Likewise, they are using the
latest interfaces, including
Serial ATA. IDE drives will be
harder to find. Meanwhile,
board standards like VPX
and Compact PCI Express are
taking advantage of the latest
high-speed interconnects. This
year will bring a host of new
offerings as new designs migrate
toward the latest technologies.
Similarly, the 3U form factor
is gaining ground due to its
ability to pack more processing
power. Of course, the VME and Compact PCI flavors are
going to get some competition from the MicroTCA crew,
which has finally locked down the standard. MicroTCA
is based on readily available AMC (Advanced Mezzanine
Card) modules like Emerson’s Kosai PM 322 (Fig. 6).
Multiprocessing and Streaming
Packing more into
a single board is second nature to graphics card vendors.
The AMD FireGL/FireStream 9170 and the NVidia Tesla
C870 were announced last year, and developers will finally
be able to take advantage of them in their designs (Fig. 7).
Of course, getting stream processing applications to use
hundreds of processing cores is still going to be a challenge.
The use of virtualization machine support will grow in
embedded applications now that the necessary processing
hardware is everywhere. Multicore programming challenges
will keep getting harder as the number of cores grows and
as new interconnect methodologies are introduced.
Designed to minimize programming issues, PCI Express
IO virtualization will emerge this year. Just don’t expect
mass migration or vast amounts of hardware. Still, the support
chips will finally arrive in time to make things interesting
in the server world.
Asymmetric multiprocessing will also see more traction in
modules and motherboards as specialized processors move
into sockets for standard processors. This includes products like XtremeData’s XD2000i,
which brings a Stratix III into an Intel
socket.
Changing Peripherals
Migration
to SATA and SAS hard drives will
force designers toward new systems (see
“Make Room For New
Storage Devices In 2008” at www.electronicdesign.
com, ED Online 17822). The
rising flash memory capacity will also
allow changes in embedded designs.
USB-based flash solutions will be even
more interesting this year.
Video will also experience growth
because of peripherals like National
Instruments’ NI Smart Camera (Fig. 8).
Two factors are coming into play: lowcost
cameras and high-performance
microcontrollers.
The NI Smart Camera can run
LabVIEW video applications directly.
This will let developers use systems that
handle the video processing for applications
like robotic obstacle avoidance
or object recognition without needing
to program all aspects of the system.
Larger or smaller, embedded system
design is getting more interesting.