IRIS unveils PCI Express based re-configurable solns

RICHARDSON, USA: IRIS Technologies Inc, based out of Richardson, Texas, with offices in the bay area in California, has released a set of high performance reconfigurable boards and system solutions targeted at multiple verticals.

IRIS boards and systems are targeted at algorithm acceleration, system and sub-systems prototyping, co-processing and off-loading of processing tasks, data acquisition and processing, signal processing and general purpose computing. IRIS will release a set of engines that work on these boards in the near future and is working to integrate boards in standard tool flows.

Gautam Kavipurapu of IRIS said, "The approach here is to let the user decide what they want, they can pick from the options available and build a custom system of their own for use in various applications." He said "IRIS started this effort after it's own experience from 2000 to 2004 when it struggled to build systems and sub-systems and Hardware In Loop (HIL) testers, rapid proto-typing platforms and real time simulation and emulation environments for co-developing hardware and software for complex systems. The first generation had boards that were built on 64-bit PCI interfaces for internal use. This generation of boards and systems uses the PCI Express interconnect. This is a culmination of IRIS IP developed from 2000 to 2004 and evolution in interconnect technology," he added.

IRIS bundles third party software with its boards and system for users to get up and running out of the box. Its systems and boards will not require the user to learn new software flows, languages or toolsets but they can use an already familiar set of tools and design flows. The boards are available with PCI Express x4 interfaces now and will soon have variants with PCI Express x8 interfaces.

IRIS has tied up with semiconductor, software and system vendors and is looking for an applications software vendor to provide a one-stop solution for end users in various verticals. The lower total cost of ownership (TCO) numbers that are a consequence of the ability of the end user to re-purpose the system is an added benefit.