Archive : 1 June 2016 год

Responding to increasing demand for higher resolution video imaging systems, Synopsys has launched the EV6 range of vision processors. The cores are said by the company to offer up to 100 times the performance of the EV5 range, introduced in 2015.

Mark Thompson, senior product marketing manager with Synopsys’ DesignWare ARC processor group, said: “When we started working on vision processors in 2012, we weren’t clear where the market was heading. But demand has now taken off and the future is looking bright; for example, one automotive customer is looking to put 15 cameras into a car.”

The EV6 range will feature three devices which differ in the number of cores. “This gives scalability and the ability to design higher performance products in the future, ” Thompson contended. “While most companies are planning systems handling 720p or 1080p images, we are beginning to see the emergence of apps requiring 4K video. That contrasts with when we started design of the EV5 range, when everyone was talking about VGA graphics, not even 720p.”

According to Thompson, applications requiring 4K video include high end security, such as stadium surveillance, but he noted that demand from industrial users was not strong.

The EV61, 62 and 64 vision processors offer one, two or four vision CPU cores respectively, as well as a programmable Convolution Neural Network (CNN) engine. The CNN engine operates in parallel with the vision CPUs for accurate object detection, image classification and semantic segmentation. The EV6x processor family is supported by a programming environment based on common embedded vision standards, including OpenVX and OpenCL C, as well as Synopsys’ MetaWare Development Toolkit.

Each vision CPU includes a 32bit scalar unit and a 512bit wide vector DSP and can be configured for 8, 16 or 32bit operations. The four CPU variant delivers up to 620GOPS/s, while the optional CNN engine delivers up to 800MACs/cycle and supports image resolutions up to 4K.

“The CNN engine is close to hardware in terms of power efficiency,” Thompson pointed out, “but is fully programmable.”

Synopsys expects the cores to be used mainly for offline processing, for example in SoCs, but it notes some customers are planning to use EV6 cores in standalone processors.

The EV6 vision processors will be generally available in October 2016, with products featuring the cores expected to start appearing on the market early in 2018.

Author
Graham Pitcher

Source:  www.newelectronics.co.uk

You can now pre-register to attend EDS 2016. The show, made up of the Engineering, Electronics and Embedded Design Show, returns to the Ricoh Arena in Coventry on 19-20 October 2016.

Pre-registration is done through the show website, and guarantees your place to this great event. It is quick, simple and free to do.

2016 will be the biggest edition of the show since its launch in 2012, with more than 210 exhibitors confirmed and more than 5000 design engineers anticipated. Visitors will have the opportunity to choose from 24 keynote presentations brought together by the editors of market leading publications New Electronics, Eureka and Engineering Materials. Speakers are drawn from leading industry experts in design engineering.

This is the only show in the UK that caters specifically for design engineers from all disciplines, making it the 'must attend' event for the design engineering community. The packed exhibition hall will feature the latest technologies and British design innovations in the ‘Innovation Zone’, as well as three workshop theatres where visitors will hear about trends and issues driving their industry.

New in 2016 will be hands-on demonstrations of the latest Virtual Reality engineering design tools in the Interaction Zone. The Engineering Design Show provides a dynamic environment in which to interact with suppliers, customers and colleagues.

The conference and workshop programme will be confirmed shortly.

Keep up to date with the latest news from the show on Twitter by following @EngDesignShow and @ElecDesignShow.

Register for your free entry badge to EDS 2016 now.

Author
Tom Austin-Morgan

Source:  www.newelectronics.co.uk

Rohde & Schwarz has launched a competition to find the most innovative use for its recently announced Scope Rider, the rugged portable oscilloscope with lab performance. Ten shortlisted entrants will each receive a GoPro Hero4 silver camera to make a video of their idea, and the overall winner will receive a Scope Rider.

Steven Edwards, director Sales Operations & Marketing at Rohde & Schwarz UK, said: ”Since launching Scope Rider, customers have come to us with no end of really different ways in which they are using the instrument, so we decided to start a thorough search for the most unusual or innovative applications.”

To start the event, Rohde & Schwarz launched a Scope Rider into space. After a flight of two and a half hours at up to 32km in temperatures of -60°C, the instrument was still fully operational.

Edwards continued: “We believe the ruggedness, robustness and performance of Scope Rider will open it to a whole host of new applications. The team at R&S now want to see as many innovative ideas as possible.”

As a first step, entrants need to write a brief description of how they would use Scope Rider and post it online, here. A panel of Rohde & Schwarz judges will select the 10 most unusual or innovative entries and each will receive a runners-up prize of a GoPro Hero4 silver camera which is theirs to keep. They will also be provided with an R&S Scope Rider on loan and be invited to create their own two-minute video demonstrating the idea. Finally, one lucky winner will be presented with the star prize of a Scope Rider.

Entries are open from 1 June 2016 and the first stage will close on 1 August.

Author
Tom Austin-Morgan

Source:  www.newelectronics.co.uk