Actel Delivers Development Kit for ARM7-Enabled FPGAs
Complete Environment Enables Easy Evaluation and
Development of ARM7-Based FPGA Designs
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., February 28, 2006 —
Actel
Corporation (Nasdaq: ACTL) today announced the availability of the CoreMP7
Development Kit, a complete hardware and software development environment
for the implementation of the company’s CoreMP7
soft ARM7 processor core. Providing users with everything needed
to quickly and easily evaluate and design FPGA-based system-on-chip (SoC)
applications, the kit includes the award-winning CoreMP7, the Actel
ARM7-enabled M7 ProASIC3 device and FPGA development tools.
“Leveraging the combination of FPGA flexibility, fast time to
market and industry-standard ARM7 processor technology, the CoreMP7 Development
Kit simplifies the evaluation and development of sophisticated SoCs,” said
Mike Thompson, manager, IP marketing at Actel. “This kit is a comprehensive
environment, including the tools required for assembly, simulation, synthesis,
layout, programming and debug as well as the interfaces and I/Os needed
to create a real-world, system-level design.”
Features of the CoreMP7 Development Kit
The Development Kit includes a standalone development board and the
CoreConsole IP Deployment Platform (IDP), the Libero Gold Integrated
Design Environment (IDE), GNU software tools and a CoreMP7 debugger.
In addition, a FlashPro3 programmer is optionally available to provide
programming and debug support for both the FPGA fabric and the ARM7 software.
Interfacing seamlessly, the CoreConsole IDP and the Libero IDE together
enable designers to assemble, simulate, synthesize, layout, program and
debug a CoreMP7-based system. To further ease ARM7 software program development
for CoreMP7, the CoreConsole IDP outputs a memory map and drivers that
can be utilized with the GNU software tools.
The board is available with either an M7A3PE600 or M7A3P1000 device
in an FG484 package, providing FPGA real estate for design implementation.
It also includes: Ethernet, RS232, USB and CAN interface connectors;
PHY interfaces; up to 150 user-defined I/Os for easy connection to other
systems and components in an application; and 2M SRAM and 2M flash memory.
Pricing and Availability
Available now, the CoreMP7 Development Kit is priced at $695. The kit
with the FlashPro3 programmer is priced at $795.
About CoreMP7
In partnership with ARM, Actel offers the 32-bit ARM7 family microprocessor
for use in its products free of license fees, greatly reducing the cost
of entry and increasing designer access to SoC development with the ARM7
family. Exploiting the benefits of Actel's flash-based architecture,
CoreMP7, the first soft ARM7 microprocessor core for FPGAs, is available
for use in ARM7-enabled versions of Actel's flash-based FPGAs.
About The ProASIC3 Family
Actel’s ProASIC3 family delivers 64-bit, 66MHz PCI performance
and is the industry’s first device with on-chip user flash memory.
The family helps to lower overall system costs by eliminating the need
for various components on the system board, reducing board space and
thereby increasing reliability, simplifying inventory management and
lowering total system cost by as much as 70 percent compared to similar
SRAM-based FPGA solutions.
About Actel
Actel Corporation is the leader in single-chip FPGA solutions.
The Company is traded on the NASDAQ National Market under the symbol
ACTL and is headquartered at 2061 Stierlin Court, Mountain View, Calif.,
94043-4655. For more information about Actel, visit http://www.actel.com.
Telephone: 888-99-ACTEL (992-2835).
Contact: Ferda Mehmet, A&R Edelman, 415.308.7877
