Actel ProASICPLUS FPGAs Selected by General Vision for Image Recognition Engine
Actel's Secure, Distributed Block RAM Architecture and Upgrade Path
to Higher Densities Proved Crucial in Selection Process
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., February 22, 2005 —
Actel Corporation
(Nasdaq: ACTL) today announced that the company's flash-based ProASICPLUS field-programmable
gate arrays (FPGAs) were chosen by Petaluma, Calif.-based General Vision
for use in the company's novel CogniSight ™ image recognition engine
technology. CogniSight can be used to synthesize the color, shape and
texture of visual objects, learn these signatures with a set of parallel
silicon neurons (NeuroMemory), and then recognize identical or similar
objects to produce a response. This "generic image recognition" technology
targets applications in medical imaging, remote sensing, factory automation,
automated security/sentry, defense video tracking, image content mining
and human system interfacing.
Actel's single-chip ProASICPLUS devices were selected for
the CogniSight "neural network" embedded processing engine for a number
of key reasons. Based on a massively parallel processing architecture,
General Vision's design required a scalable FPGA family that could serve
as a secure integration platform and offer multiple embedded RAM blocks
that could be configured for distributed pattern recognition. Moreover,
because the proprietary image recognition technology targets high-security
and mission-critical applications, a "load-upon-reset" architecture,
typical of SRAM-based programming algorithms, was not an option because
of security concerns. The Actel ProASICPLUS devices were the
obvious choice for this application.
"While we have used FPGAs in earlier designs, the distributed RAM block
feature in Actel's ProASICPLUS family was very important for
our next-generation image recognition controller and a prime reason for
its selection," said Guy Paillet, partner in General Vision. "And because
the controller, which performs the pixel pre-processing for our neural
network chips, needed to accommodate a range of image recognition applications,
it was important that we were able to scale the memory blocks yet keep
the FPGA package size and I/O the same, from 150,000 to as many as 1-million
gates. All of these constraints were met with the ProASICPLUS family."
"General Vision's role in advancing the state of the art in image and
pattern recognition technology is well documented in the industry," said
Dennis Kish, vice president of marketing at Actel. "We are very pleased
that the seminal features and benefits of our ProASICPLUS architecture
were able to match exactly the critical design requirements of this innovative
image recognition engine from this pioneer."
About ProASICPLUS
The ProASICPLUS family consists of devices ranging from 75,000
to 1 million system gates. The combination of a fine-grained, single-chip
ASIC-like architecture and nonvolatile flash configuration memory makes
Actel's ProASICPLUS offering a strong ASIC alternative. The
devices are live at power-up, low power, highly secure, immune to neutron-induced
firm errors, and require no separate configuration memory, all characteristics
shared by ASICs. The ProASICPLUS architecture and design methodology
support popular FPGA and ASIC tool flows, reducing time to market and
permitting designers to migrate easily between FPGA and ASIC solutions.
Unlike SRAM-based FPGAs that must be programmed by off-chip memory,
the ProASICPLUS devices are built on a nonvolatile flash fabric,
which retains the design even when in a powered-down state, making them
live at power-up and eliminating the need to be reconfigured from an
external device during the power-up sequence.
About General Vision
General Vision is developing and licensing a generic image recognition
engine, CogniSight, based on proprietary pixel processing and parallel
associative memory invented by Guy Paillet and jointly developed and
patented with IBM Corp. also known as ZISC® (Zero Instruction Set Computer).
General Vision was founded in 1987 by Anne Menendez, which Guy Paillet
joined in 1999. The company is closely held and focusing on advancing
the image recognition technology out of the traditional computing path,
but instead inspired by biological model and massively parallel processing.
Internet: http://www.general-vision.com
About Actel
Actel Corporation is a supplier
of innovative programmable logic solutions, including field-programmable
gate arrays (FPGAs) based on antifuse and flash technologies, high-performance
intellectual property (IP) cores, software development tools and design
services, targeted for the high-speed communications, application-specific
integrated circuit (ASIC) replacement and radiation-tolerant markets.
Founded in 1985, Actel employs more than 500 people worldwide. The
Company is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol ACTL
and is headquartered at 2061 Stierlin Court, Mountain View, CA, 94043-4655.
Telephone: 888-99-ACTEL (992-2835). Internet:: http://www.actel.com.
Contact: Stephanie Mrus, Actel Corporation, 650.318.4614
