One technological scenario signed by Stefano Zammattia, by Changes.
Generation after generation, Semiconductor manufacturers use processes by which it is possible to obtain more and more devices optimized in terms of cost, consumption and functionality. The problem is represented by the exponential of the construction costs that characterizes the transition from one generation to the next. To recover the investments made are both viable alternatives:
- sell the devices in high volumes, for mass applications (as mobile phones or tablet)
- create generic devices feature-rich applications that can meet the requirements of a large number of markets
The first option is not without risks: manufacturers should provide the features you want on time and at an appropriate price. Lose an opportunity of this kind can be a real financial disaster even for large companies. The second option is more secure but the addition of several features to a device, even if not used by the end customer, contributes to increased costs and power consumption.
Once developed the next generation of devices, or when the financial resources tend to be reduced, manufacturers are forced to stop the action of support or even render obsolete versions of the device that have not been successful commercial. Because industry standards and requirements of the market vary even greater speed, you need to update frequently both types of solutions, with a consequent increase in the speed of obsolescence. For system developers this means the onset of problems in terms of cost, life cycle of the product and maintenance, as they are having to rethink the architecture of the products based on the new devices.
More flexibility and less cost
The devices SoC FPGA, for their part, thanks to the presence of processors ARM kind of hard and IP solutions integrated FPGA, ensure maximum flexibility in all applications requiring high performance and / or functionality details. In this way, developers can take advantage of the dynamic reconfigurability of the FPGA structure to differentiate their products in a net, avoid the problems related to obsolescence and create a range of products that combine scalability, convenience and ease of maintenance.
The realization of a’IE interface (Industrial Ethernet) that supports multiple standards, when it comes to issues related to road safety, requires the development of a base where the IP module for industrial Ethernet can be replaced in a very simple way to support different standards. In many cases it is not required to re-design of the card, thus satisfying the requirements of the current production and giving the possibility (if provided for in the initial project) to perform field upgrades even after the release of the product. In many applications it is also possible to develop a single card which exploits the qualities of flexibility of the SoC FPGA devices to achieve the functionality required by a number of different final products, thus ensuring a more efficient use of design resources, a reduction in costs and an increase in the life cycle of products.
Compared to MCU, the SoC FPGAs provide better flexibility in design and offer more opportunities to differentiate products. Although devices MCU may appear at first sight cheaper, the adoption of an FPGA can provide significant savings to other parts of the product and during the entire life cycle of the same. Since the market requires the integration of multiple features and shorter and producers of MCU face development costs and support growing, designers can use the potential of the SoC FPGA to provide truly differentiated solutions, economic and equipped with cutting-edge features decidedly.
Attention to the application
To differentiate their devices from the competition, manufacturers are focusing on providing type devices application-specific accompanied by many features aimed at a small number of high-volume applications. To maintain a high number of components provided outside of these mass markets, manufacturers have committed to building type devices general purpose with several features in order to meet the needs of the largest possible number of sectors and applications.
The disadvantage of this approach is the fact that the integration of many features penalizes consumption. In other words, they have created a device that consumes more power SoC, is more "generic" and is not competitive, in terms of costs, compared to a device application specific. Even devices designed for a single application are not free from disadvantages. The connectivity requirements in the industrial field, for example, vary constantly and a device MCU to a certain point will no longer be able to satisfy the needs of the user. The obsolescence of the product and the development of a substitute is problematic that the MCU manufacturers have to deal with when the demand of these devices application-specific. The developers of end systems, for their part, must face all the problems related to the life cycle and maintenance as they are forced to review the architecture of the projects based on a new device.
Other advantages of the FPGA
In the example taken into consideration, namely that of industrial connectivity, the implementation of the protocol only requires the addition of IE stack IP suitable to the existing project. In many cases it is not required to re-design of the card, thus satisfying the requirements of the current production and giving the possibility to perform field upgrades. Many manufacturers have adopted a design approach based on FPGA often develop a single card that meets the needs of a number of different end products, thus ensuring a more efficient use of design resources, a reduction in costs and an increase in the life cycle of products.
If the MCU in general tend to be more economic, the cost of the BOM is not the only element to be taken into account. As well as the belief that the configuration of an FPGA requires the introduction of a greater number of project data. A more general analysis of the costs and the life cycle of the system reveals that a design approach based on FPGA undoubtedly involves a large number of advantages.