Interpreting ISO 26262 without ambiguity is not always easy. Suppliers and integrators can read some aspects differently, creating confusion. Which is a problem since ISO 26262 has become so much a part of any discussion on automotive electronics that it has gained almost biblical significance. Yet most of us, even suppliers… Read More
Semiconductor Intellectual Property
Better Speech Recognition by Reducing Babble
I’ve become a bit of a connoisseur of voice-based control, so when Chris Rowen did a pitch on Babble Labs at Arm Dev Summit last month, I wanted to listen in. Chris was the CEO of Babble Labs, recently acquired by the Cisco Webex group where he’s now listed as VP Engineering of the Voice Technology Group. You should expect to see this… Read More
Powering the Next Generation of Hearables and Wearables with Chipus
Chipus is an interesting company. It’s been around since 2008 and focuses on mixed-signal ASICs, intellectual property blocks and IC design services. They are headquartered on the island of Florianopolis, which is described as the most dense startup ecosystem in Brazil. The company has substantial skills in analog and mixed… Read More
Agile and DevOps for Hardware. Keynotes at DVCon Europe
Paul Cunningham (Verification CVP/GM at Cadence) initiated our monthly Innovation in Verification blog to hunt for novel ideas in verification, breaking past the usual steady, necessary but undramatic pace of incremental advances. I attended a couple of sessions from DVCon Europe recently, and was encouraged to hear a couple… Read More
SiFive Expands RISC-V Technology and its Ecosystem at the Fall Linley Processor Conference
As the Linley Fall Processor Conference winds down, there are certain presenting companies that left a lasting impression. SiFive is one of those companies. On October 21, SiFive introduced the newest member of the SiFive Intelligence family of processor coresSiFive Intelligence family of processor cores, based on… Read More
Nvidia Arm Acquisition Talking Points
Before founding SemiWiki I competed with Arm on many different levels throughout my career and I have had various business dealings with them since. SemiWiki also published the definitive book on Arm: “Mobile Unleashed” which goes deep into the history of Arm and the top SoC companies (Qualcomm, Apple, and Samsung).… Read More
Sensor Fusion in Hearables. A powerful complement
I must admit I’m impressed with how CEVA is pulling together foundational solutions for advanced consumer electronics. This through their own technologies (DSP, audio, vision, neural nets) and a rapid pace of partnerships, investments and acquisitions. Off the top of my head, I remember recent announcements on Immervision… Read More
Arm Design Reviews add Mentor for Verification Review
Arm and Mentor Recently announced that the Arm Design Reviews program now offers Mentor help in verification design reviews. I talked to Paul Williams (Sr Consultant and Verification Practice Lead at Mentor Graphics) and Peter Lewin (Dir. Mktg at Arm Partner Enablement Group) to get more insight into Arm Design Services, particularly… Read More
Cache Coherence Everywhere may be Easier Than you Think
I attended one of the Arm partner events in Cambridge many years ago, when they first talked about the coherent hub for managing cache coherence. I was impressed, but the obvious question even then was how any non-Arm IP was going to hook into this hub. They had a solution, of course, the ACE interface, and I left satisfied. As is the … Read More
CEO Interview: Andreas Kuehlmann of Tortuga Logic
You may remember Andreas from his time at Synopsys, where he led the new Software Integrity Business Unit. He joined Tortuga Logic a couple of months ago to lead the company. Given his background in software security, I was eager to get a CEO interview. Andreas is a EE with background at IBM in the PowerPC and EDA. He directed Cadence… Read More
Should Intel be Split in Half?