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Taiwan's ITRI Licenses Improv's Configurable DSP Technology To Develop Single-Chip VOIP and MPEG-4 Platforms
BEVERLY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 1, 2001--
Improv Systems, a pioneer in configurable DSPs for communications
and media, today announced that Taiwan's Industrial Technology
Research Institute (ITRI) has licensed its technology as a means to
develop single-chip solutions for both voice-over-IP (VoIP) and MPEG-4
enabled products. The agreement provides ITRI with access to Improv's
methodology for developing designer-defined DSPs, software development
tools and its Jazz family of configurable DSP cores, which together
will form the platform used to integrate voice and video capabilities
with standard RISC microprocessors on a system-on-chip (SoC).
ITRI is a government-founded organization that promotes
technologies for insertion into a wide variety of Taiwanese companies,
many of which are seeking to extend the feature sets of networking,
computing and consumer electronic products. As part of the agreement,
ITRI will work with Improv to jointly develop reference platforms that
demonstrate integration of Improv's technology with a host
microprocessor (ARM or MIPS) executing protocol and signaling stacks.
The combined expertise and technology of ITRI and Improv will be used
to create application-optimized solutions that can be rapidly
integrated into new equipment. The key focus will be on providing a
number of implementation alternatives that use the same configurable
architecture and software base. In other solutions, IP licensing
models and the inflexibility of underlying hardware platforms
typically used limit this level of flexibility and efficiency. The
first two projects will be an integrated VoIP solution targeting
residential gateways and integrated access devices and an MPEG-4 media
engine for third generation wireless devices and PDAs.
Voice Over Packet Solutions
One aspect of the work ITRI will be performing is the development
of a complete voice over packet platform as an integrated SoC
solution. Specifically, ITRI will use Improv's Acappella suite of
technologies tuned for VOIP as the basis for the development work.
Acappella already supports a full range of voice codecs, including
G.711, G.726, G.723.1, G.728, and G.729 as well as G.168 echo
cancellation software.
``Improv's Acappella voice over packet solution is a comprehensive
offering of the DSP software and hardware components required for
emerging VoP products that can be readily expanded. In addition,
Improv provides a robust infrastructure for integrating and verifying
this solution in an overall SoC. ITRI will use this as a base to
create a complete solution for an integrated VoP platform that can be
rapidly integrated into home, business and infrastructure equipment,''
said David Liu, PhD., ITRI's Manager of Broadband Network Systems
Department.
Media Streaming
In addition, the two organizations will integrate Improv's MPEG-4
video codec technology into a robust video over IP solution. This will
provide companies that utilize the Jazz-based solution with a roadmap
to add Video over IP capabilities to their internet-enabled products.
The media layer used for the VoIP integration with host Internet
Protocol processing functions can be extended to provide the Video
over IP features needed for integrating MPEG-4 into new products.
``Our goal is to provide completely licensable, programmable, and
configurable solutions for emerging technologies such as MPEG-4 that
will drive the future Internet platform solutions,'' said C.Y. Liu,
ITRI's Director of Internet Platform Technology Division. ``Improv's
methodology of using designer-defined DSPs to create a flexible
platform is a very efficient way for us to create engines for internet
media capabilities.''
``This is an exciting agreement for Improv as it will not only
facilitate the development of important new application code for
emerging technologies such as MPEG-4, but also demonstrates the
benefits of our configurable platform and designer-defined DSPs for
developing highly integrated and extendable SOC solutions,'' said Cary
Ussery, president and CEO of Improv. ``We are looking forward to
working with ITRI's advanced engineering teams and helping them
assimilate this methodology into many of Taiwanese leading product
developers.''
About Improv Systems, Inc.
Improv Systems(TM), Inc. develops and licenses configurable DSP
platforms and application solutions for Voice-over-IP, Networking and
Emerging Media. Improv's Jazz DSP is a configurable DSP targeted to
consumer electronics and telecommunications markets. Improv's IP
offerings are supported by advanced software development tools, the
Jazz PSA Composer DSP design environment, and Rehearsal development
boards. In addition, Improv offers pre-designed applications solutions
to jump start product development efforts in communications and media.
Improv Systems has development centers in Beverly, MA, Santa Clara,
CA, and Rochester, NY, and direct sales offices in Paris and Tokyo.
Improv can be reached at (978) 927-0555 or at
http://www.improvsys.com.
About ITRI
The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) is a
non-profit R&D organization engaged in applied research and technical
service. It was founded in 1973 by the Ministry of Economic Affairs
(MOEA) of the Republic of China to attend to the technological needs
of Taiwan's industrial development. It has since grown to become both
a technical center for industry and an important arm of the
government's industrial policies. Today ITRI is a 6,000-person
operation organized under twelve research divisions serving a wide
range of new and traditional industries.
Contact:
Improv Systems, Beverly
Bob Bell, 978/927-0555
bobb@improvsys.com
or
Wired Island, Ltd.
Mike Sottak, 649/941-4218
mike@wiredisland.tc
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