Mentor Graphics has revealed that Fujitsu Kyushu Network Technologies ( Fujitsu QNET) has chosen the Catapult C Synthesis tool for use in its design tool environment to implement complex algorithms in hardware that were previously processed by a processor implemented on LSI.
The company claims that Fujitsu QNET was able to cut power consumption by using the Catapult C Synthesis tool to create a hardware accelerator for mobile voice processing algorithm versus running in software. The resulting silicon implementation yielded a reduction in power consumption of 83%.
According to the company, this was made possible by the ability of the Catapult C tool to find the optimal trade-off between power, performance and area, in this case, implementing a design meeting voice performance requirements while running at a lower clock frequency than the previous implementation using a processor.
Fujitsu QNET is also expanding its use to a host of application areas including image authentication and wireless processing systems. It is now aiming to deliver significant performance improvements to its image recognition systems by accelerating features previously processed on dedicated DSPs and implementing them in custom hardware.
The company said that Catapult C tool’s ability to synthesise high-performance RTL from its original C programs is a key enabler for Fujitsu QNET to create differentiated products.
Hiroaki Yamashita, manager of development division at Fujitsu QNET, said: “Fujitsu QNET was able to reduce power consumption and improve design performance of our LSI by implementing the RTL circuit from ANSI C++ program that describes complex algorithm, and Catapult C Synthesis was a key tool in achieving our success.
“By the results we’ve seen and the experience we’ve gained, we believe we can help our customers achieve higher performance and higher added value in their system development, and significantly reduce development cost and time to market.”
