AUGUST 5--Texas Instruments Inc. (TI; Houston, TX; www.ti.com) has unveiled its dual-core OMAP5910 embedded processor. This processor combines in a single device the real-time processing capabilities and low-power consumption of TI's TMS320C55x DSP core, the flexibility and scalability of a TI-enhanced ARM925 microprocessor, and ease of use through an interprocessor communication mechanism. By combining an ARM RISC processor (suited to orchestrating command and control) with a DSP (ideal for computation-intensive signal processing tasks), system performance can be optimized with specific tasks performed by the most appropriate device.
The OMAP5910 extends the advantages of the OMAP platform to new consumer, business, and industrial applications. It enables developers to program using leading operating systems such as Accelerated Technology Nucleus PLUS, Microsoft Windows/CE .net, Linux, Wind River VxWorks, and TI's DSP/BIOS real-time scalable kernel. Designers can deliver products to the market faster, using familiar tools, a standard application programming interface, and a seamless interface to the DSP through the built-in interprocessor communication mechanism. This mechanism eliminates the need for developers to program the RISC and DSP independently, reducing programming time and complexity.
The single-chip OMAP5910 also delivers system-on-a-chip functionality with peripherals including: 192 Kbytes of RAM, USB 1.1 host and client, MMC/SD card interface, multi-channel buffered serial ports, real-time clock, GPIO and UARTs, and an LCD interface. The OMAP platform is also supported by eXpressDSP software and development tools, including the Code Composer Studio for OMAP integrated development environment, and a portfolio of eXpressDSP-compliant algorithms from TI's third-party network.