Monday October 13 9:00 AM EDT
Company Press Release
New Texas Instruments Digital Signal Processing
Technology Transforms Concepts to Reality
HOUSTON, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN) (TI) disclosed today the
addition of the floating-point branch of its TMS320C6x digital signal processor (DSP) family, which
was announced in February. The TMS320C67x is the first DSP core to offer peak performance of
one billion floating-point operations per second (1 GFLOPS), which will enable applications
requiring powerful analysis such as space exploration, realistic virtual reality and next-generation
medical imaging.
TI's new 'C67x core offers ten times the processing power of current floating-point DSPs. With 1
GFLOPS performance, the 'C67x will perform one floating-point calculation every one billionth of a
second -- or roughly the time it takes light to travel one foot.
Devices based on the 'C67x core -- as part of DSP solutions with complementary devices like
mixed-signal/analog chips -- will shift the highest precision real-time applications of the future into
integral parts of our everyday lives.
''In the 15th anniversary of our first DSP, TI is proud to unveil technology that provides the power
for the electronics industry to forge ahead with exciting new DSP-enabled applications for the 21st
century,'' said John Scarisbrick, Senior Vice President, TI Semiconductor Group. ''With
performance at this level, opportunities are restricted only by the limits of the imagination.''
The floating-point 'C67x will remove limitations for performance-hungry markets like imaging,
graphics and audio. The 'C67x will enable applications like:
-- Telescopes with the power to discover new worlds too remote or tiny to
see using current technology
-- Classroom field trips to the Egyptian pyramids via virtual reality so
real children experience the look and feel of an ancient civilization
-- 3D graphics and voice recognition for personal computer interfaces,
helping users break through impersonal, flat monitors and applications
-- Entertainment and training featuring object interaction -- movement,
bounces and crashes -- mimicking the real world and immersing users in
new environments
-- Higher-resolution, more cost-effective medical imaging techniques,
enhancing diagnosis and availability in hospitals and clinics
With the introduction of the 'C67x, TI fulfills the promise of the world's most powerful and first fully
compatible DSP generation, the 'C6x. The 'C6x addresses all kinds of performance and processing
demands and maximizes customer investments in tools and code development.
TI offers electronics manufacturers a choice between fixed-point TMS320C62x and floating-point
'C67x and related devices and expertise. In addition, innovations like 'C67x help manufacturers bring
the benefits of next-generation applications to market faster than previously possible with the help of
easy-to-use development software and hardware from TI and its extensive third party network.
DSPs are specialized number-crunching semiconductors designed to analyze data in real-time -- or
as they occur in nature -- in a wide range of products. Current applications include digital cellular
phones, modems and a variety of other consumer and industrial electronics. Floating-point DSP
devices focus on fine-tuned accuracy and a tremendous range of numbers. By comparison,
fixed-point devices are like basic high-performance engines and floating-point like turbo-charged
racing versions. Each is uniquely suited to specific price and performance conditions.
Based on TI estimates, the average technology consumer already touches a DSP-enabled product
every ten minutes. TI projects the worldwide market for DSP solutions will grow more than ten times
to about $50 billion over the next ten years. TI will continue its leadership in this growing market
through innovations like the 'C67x.
Comments about new chip from SSPIF and 3L (Not part of press release)
"TI has once again demonstrated its worldwide dominance of the DSP
solutions marketplace by introducing the 'C67x at 10X today's
floating-point performance. Spectrum will leverage the experience it has
gained in the development of its high-performance 'C62x products to
bring Spectrum's 'C67x-based product line to market quickly. Spectrum's
'C67x system solutions will address the performance-hungry needs of
remote sensing markets."
Barry Jinks, President and CEO
Spectrum Signal Processing
3L Parallel C's multi-tasking features will allow users to move an
application, unchanged, from up to 10 current-generation floating-point
DSP chips to a single, much faster 'C67x -- reducing costs and board area.
Parallel C's multi-processor strengths enable a smooth progression to
tomorrow's very large scale DSP applications that will require several
'C67x parts working together."
Peter Robertson, Managing Director
3L Ltd. |
