Xilinx® Virtex II-PROTM performance wins confidence of Barco for air traffic control component
SAN JOSE, Calif., March 15, 2004 - Xilinx, Inc. announced today that its latest Xilinx® Virtex-II ProTM Platform has been selected by Barco for use in the revolutionary ISONATM, the world’s first 2048x2048 air traffic control display station. The Barco ISONATM combines a high-resolution 2048x2048 LCD display with a high-performance Xserver for use in Air Traffic Control systems. It allows for a cost-effective and future-proof upgrade of air traffic control workstations by replacing traditional CRTs. Xilinx is the world’s leading programmable logic supplier.
Barco selected the Xilinx® Virtex-II ProTM Platform FPGA based on its embedded IBM PowerPCTM processor and its high performance fabric. Barco integrated the functions of multiple FPGAs and a discrete CPU onto a single Virtex II-Pro device, for a smaller mechanical footprint while maintaining the same high resolution viewing area. “We evaluated alternative solutions but the performance advantages of the Virtex-II Pro’s on-chip PowerPC, combined with flexible I/O standards, large numbers of I/O pins, and high performance fabric, made Virtex II-Pro the clear winner,” said Jeroen Debonnet, R&D Manager Traffic Management at Barco.“Acceptance of our hard embedded processor solution continues at an accelerated pace – particularly in the embedded market space,” said Erich Goetting, vice president and general manager of the Advanced Product Group at Xilinx. “Our significant penetration in the embedded market is a direct result of our unique architecture – designers can utilize the embedded PowerPC feature to build a host of embedded systems ranging from pre-configured general purpose controllers to complex computing machines running real-time operating systems.”
The Virtex II-Pro CoreConnectTM bus architecture also allowed Barco designers to closely couple proprietary and third-party IP, such as a custom DDR controller with built-in DMA arbitrator, with the on-chip PowerPC processing resources. This allowed large quantities of video data to be processed at high speed. In addition, the CoreConnect architecture allowed easy management of access to low speed and low performance system resources, freeing CPU time for high-priority, processor-intensive tasks.
Barco also found the high quantity of user I/O an advantage, with flexible I/O standards including differential signaling allowing LVDS video input and output for the 2048 x 2048 high resolution LCD panel. Designers were also able to implement on-screen display functions on-chip, with direct memory access to DDR RAM acting as video memory. SSTL-2 video inputs are also implemented inside the Virtex II-Pro FPGA.
About Barco
Barco, an international company headquartered in Kortrijk, Belgium, is active in three key areas of imaging technology. Barco designs and develops solutions for large screen visualization, display solutions for life-critical applications, and systems for visual inspection. Barco has a network of subsidiaries, distributors and agents in almost 100 countries. Barco is quoted on Euronext Brussels and is a BEL 20 and a Next 150 company. More info on www.barco.com.
About Xilinx Virtex-II Pro Platform FPGAs and Embedded Solutions
Based on their industry-leading capacity, performance, and cost-effectiveness, Xilinx Virtex FPGAs are the number one choice of designers worldwide. The Xilinx Virtex-II Pro and Virtex-II Pro X are the world's first and only FPGAs to offer integrated PowerPC embedded technology (including single and multiple PowerPC 405 processor cores) and integrated serial transceivers (up to 3.125 Gbps in Virtex-II Pro and up to 10.3125 in Virtex-II Pro X).
Providing designers the ability to easily develop, integrate, and debug their entire embedded system, Xilinx offers a fully integrated HW/SW development environment, Platform Studio, included in the Xilinx Embedded Development Kit (EDK).
The Xilinx embedded system solution is comprised of an extensive library of IP (over two hundred cores), application/reference designs, internal and third party provided tools, most widely used operating systems - including MonteVista Linux, WindRiver VxWorks, QNX Neutrino and development boards. Further ensuring first-time design success with its Platform FPGAs, Xilinx provides a variety of embedded design services, training and support.
About Xilinx
Xilinx, Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) is the worldwide leader of programmable logic solutions. Additional information about Xilinx is available at www.xilinx.com.
