Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Analog Devices' Latest Blackfin Family Provides New Levels of System Performance and Embedded Security for Automotive Applications

Blackfin Processor Family Meets the Challenges of Designing Electronics for Multimedia, Networked Automotive and Industrial Applications

NORWOOD, Mass. -- Targeting the increasingly demanding requirements of embedded automotive and industrial applications, Analog Devices, Inc. (NYSE: ADI) is introducing its newest series of Blackfin[R] processors: the ADSP-BF54x family (ADSP-BF542/BF544/BF548/BF549). The Blackfin ADSP-BF54x family features a balance of increased I/O and memory bandwidth, on-chip memory, and integration of CAN and MOST system peripherals to deliver high performance and cost-effectiveness to industrial and multimedia/networked in-vehicle automotive applications. The BF54x family also embeds new Lockbox[TM] Secure Technology that protects developers' software code, which represents the valuable intellectual property that differentiates their products.

"Analog Devices' newest Blackfin processor family brings developers more of what they need to design performance-hungry and connectivity-ready electronics, making it ideal for manufacturers of automotive electronics as well as industrial manufacturers, particularly those designing applications requiring field upgradeability," said John Croteau, general manager, Convergent Platforms and Services Group, Analog Devices, Inc. "The Blackfin processor is unmatched for enabling these products because of its blend of signal- and control-processing multimedia support. The software flexibility is critical for automotive applications in particular because media formats and communications standards inevitably change in the time it takes applications to go from concept to the highway."
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Increased System Performance Drives Convergent Applications

"System performance has become a crucial enabler for in-vehicle electronics because audio, video, and hands-free communication continue to intensify processing demands," said Peter Kohlschmidt, director, Development Infotainment, Audi AG, Ingolstadt. "The Blackfin processor has proven a good fit for our audio head units."

Operating at speeds up to 600MHz, the new ADSP-BF54x family doubles the internal bus bandwidth of Blackfin to 532 Mbytes per second to meet the demands of system peripheral integration. This internal bandwidth is matched by up to 260Kbytes of on-chip memory. Additionally, the high-performance processing is complemented by a rich set of integrated peripherals that reduces system cost and development risk by minimizing the need for external components. High Speed USB on-the-go (OTG) with integrated PHY, ATAPI controller, and NAND flash controller are just a few of the peripheral options on the ADSP-BF54x family. Up to 152 general-purpose I/O ports are also supported. Furthermore, these new Blackfin processors offer a MXVR (Media Transfer) interface that easily integrates automotive telematics and infotainment systems with vehicles through a MOST network.

The ADI CROSSCORE([R]) software and hardware development tools that support other Blackfin Processors support the ADSP-BF54x family. These tools include the award-winning VisualDSP++([R]) integrated development and debug environment (IDDE), emulators, and EZ-KIT Lite([R]) evaluation hardware.

Automotive Leadership in Telematics and Infotainment Systems

A different processing profile characterizes today's automotive telematics and infotainment systems because multimedia content standards are changing constantly, threatening to out-date automotive electronics before the vehicle even hits the road. With its outstanding system performance and rich set of integrated peripherals, the new code- and pin-compatible Blackfin ADSP-BF549, which includes CAN (Controller Area Network) and MOST (Media-Oriented System Transport), is a platform capable of addressing a wide scope of applications such as audio/video rear seat entertainment systems (RSEs), digital radios, driver assistance systems, navigation head units, and hands-free phones.

Industrial Focus

The new Blackfin family is ideal for a wide-variety of industrial applications where field upgradeability, local storage and display capabilities are critical. Target markets include factory automation, wireless instrumentation, wireless telecommunications radios and switching, and security systems where the signal processing performance and rich peripheral set of the Blackfin BF54x family works to differentiate the end application.

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