IMEC, Arteris, CoWare, and Mentor Graphics Collaboration Zeroes in on Multi-Mode Multi-Media Ambient-Intelligence Platforms
MUNICH, Germany—(BUSINESS WIRE)—March 6, 2006—
At today's opening of the DATE conference, IMEC
announced that it has extended collaborations with CoWare while adding
Arteris and Mentor Graphics to its multi-mode multi-media (M4)
research & development program. Based on these cooperations, new
design concepts and a practical hardware & software and verification
platform are developed for highly-efficient and flexible
multi-processor platforms that enable the creation of future
ambient-intelligence environments.
Based on low-power, software-defined radio technology and flexible
multimedia codec technology, future M4-based terminals will adapt
automatically to their surroundings and enable seamless multimedia
services experience to the end user, independent of the available
radio system.
Using CoWare's proven platform-based ESL design solutions and
IMEC's experimental software tools, the two research teams define and
optimize integrated design flows for multi-standard wireless and
multi-media platforms based on multi-processor systems on chips
(SoCs).
The collaboration with Arteris enables IMEC to architect the M4
on-chip communication infrastructure for the new generation of
multi-format multimedia devices, handling high bandwidth traffic in
multiple-processors platform. This technology choice allows the
creation of multi-processor platforms that can be scaled down to
accommodate even smaller manufacturing efficiencies in the future.
The newly established collaboration with Mentor Graphics gives
IMEC access to powerful emulation technology that will speed up the
verification process of its demonstrators significantly.
"With Arteris, CoWare and Mentor joining our M4 program, IMEC is
creating an open research platform where leading companies developing
embedded systems or services for ambient intelligence jointly tackle
the research challenges by tight research cooperation," said Rudy
Lauwereins, Vice President Design Technology for Integrated
Information and Communication Systems at IMEC. "By bringing together
the different companies in the value chain we will accelerate
innovations in designing wireless embedded systems."
"The IMEC M4 program is an ideal application for the Arteris
Network on Chip(NoC) approach as it requires leading-edge performance,
scalability and the ability to quickly and efficiently integrate and
re-use IP from multiple sources. We are pleased to be part of this
collaborative effort and work with leading design tool suppliers such
as CoWare and Mentor to enable an NoC communication methodology for
IMEC," stated Charlie Janac, Arteris Chairman and CEO.
"The M4 partnership has been a great vehicle to further tighten
the strategic relationship between IMEC and CoWare," said Karl Van
Rompaey, CoWare's Chief Technical Officer. "CoWare's ESL design
solutions are successfully deployed in IMEC's M4 design flow. The M4
project allows us to efficiently share research results and validate
our products on multi-media applications and multi-processor
architectures of the future."
"The M4 project at IMEC is a great example of research in-step
with industry needs," said Eric Selosse, Vice President & General
Manager, Mentor Emulation Division. "IMEC's vision for its M4 platform
is coupled with their recognition that prototypes must be proven so
that they may be adopted by industry. Emulation with VStation gives
IMEC the power to prove their technology and is scalable to meet the
expected requirements as the M4 platform design size grows."
About IMEC
IMEC is a world-leading independent research center in
nanoelectronics and nanotechnology. Its research focuses on the next
generations of chips and systems, and on the enabling technologies for
ambient intelligence. IMEC's research bridges the gap between
fundamental research at universities and technology development in
industry. Its unique balance of processing and system know-how,
intellectual property portfolio, state-of-the-art infrastructure and
its strong network of companies, universities and research institutes
worldwide position IMEC as a key partner for shaping technologies for
future systems. As an expansion of its wireless autonomous
microsystems research, IMEC has created a legal entity in the
Netherlands. Stichting IMEC Nederland runs activities at the Holst
Centre, an independent R&D institute that develops generic
technologies and technology platforms for autonomous wireless
transducer solutions and systems-in-foil.
IMEC is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, and has representatives
in the US, China and Japan. Its staff of about 1400 people includes
close to 500 industrial residents and guest researchers. In 2005, its
revenues are estimated to be close to EUR 200 million. Further
information on IMEC can be found at http://www.imec.be.
About Arteris
Arteris, SA, provides Network on Chip solutions to transport and
manage the on-chip communications within complex System-on-Chip (SoC)
integrated circuits, increasing performance, reducing number of global
wires, with lower power utilization while enabling the most complex,
IP-laden designs.
It allows chip developers to implement efficient and
high-performance Network-on-Chip (NoC) designs, overcoming limitations
of traditional layered or pipelined bus-based architectures. Arteris'
technology is scalable in terms of the number of IP blocks designers
can network, as well as with deep submicron silicon manufacturing
processes. The NoC solutions are compatible with existing design flows
and with IP interface standards.
The Paris-based company operates globally with offices in Boston
and San Jose, California. Arteris has raised more than $12 million in
equity investment from an international set of venture capitalists,
including Crescendo Ventures, Techno Venture Management and Ventech.
More information can be found at www.arteris.com.
About CoWare
CoWare is the leading supplier of platform-driven electronic
system-level (ESL) design software and services. CoWare offers a
comprehensive set of ESL tools that enable electronic companies to
"differentiate by design" through the creation of system IP including
embedded processors, on-chip buses, and DSP algorithms; the
architecture of optimized SoC platforms; and hardware/software
co-design. The company's solutions are based on open industry
standards including SystemC. CoWare's customers are major systems,
semiconductor, and IP companies in the market where consumer
electronics, computing, and communications converge. CoWare's
corporate investors include ARM Ltd. (LSE:ARM)(Nasdaq:ARMHY),
Cadence Design Systems (Nasdaq:CDNS), STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM),
and Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE). CoWare is headquartered in San Jose,
Calif., and has offices around the world. For more information about
CoWare and its products and services visit http://www.coware.com.
About Mentor Graphics
Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq:MENT) is a world leader in
electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products,
consulting services and award-winning support for the world's most
successful electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in
1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of about
$700 million and employs approximately 4000 people worldwide.
Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road,
Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777; Silicon Valley headquarters are
located at 1001 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, California 95131-2314.
World Wide Web site: http://www.mentor.com.
Contact:
IMEC
Katrien Marent, +32 16 281 880
Email Contact
or
Maestro Marketing & PR (for IMEC)
Barbara Kalkis, 408-996-9975
Email Contact
or
Arteris, SA
Philippe Martin, +33 1 61 37 38 40
Email Contact
or
Wired Island, Ltd.
Mike Sottak, 408-876-4418
Email Contact
or
CoWare, Inc.
Mindy Palmer, 408-392-8513 (Marketing Communications)
Email Contact
or
Armstrong Kendall, Inc. (Public Relations for CoWare)
Jean Armstrong, 503-672-4680
Email Contact
or
Mentor Graphics
Larry Toda, 503-685-1664
Email Contact
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