Imagination announces Minimorph development system for connected devices

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28 September 2011

Low cost ‘connected processor’ board connects to Flow technology portals, supports Flow APIs

Imagination Technologies, a leading multimedia andcommunications technologies company, announces the Meta HTP221-dp2'Minimorph', a highly integrated low cost ‘connected processor’ based systemdesigned to help engineers create the next generation of Cloud-connectedembedded and consumer solutions.

Minimorphis the first connected processor based development system targeted at enablingthe diverse applications using Imagination’s MetaFlow connected processor and Flowcloud technologies, enabling engineers to develop connected applications acrossa wide range of markets including home automation, security systems, smartenergy, healthcare and assisted living, connected/educational toys, industrialmonitoring and control, M2M and more.

By givingeasy access to not only highly integrated Meta-based hardware but also Flowclient and portal software frameworks, engineers using Minimorph can nowconfidently create applications for Cloud connected devices, gain experience withFlow technology, and migrate embedded, industrial and consumer productspreviously considered ‘stand-alone’ to take full advantage of Cloud-basedconnectivity.

UsingMetaFlow processors and Flow technologies, highly cost-effective ‘clientdevices’ integrating processor cores, high speed connectivity (e.g. Wi-Fi) and ultra-lowpower communications (e.g. for sensors and M2M) are combined with ready-to-use ‘Cloud-side’portal technologies and ecosystems using Flow APIs to create highly portable andupgradeable solutions.

Says Tony King-Smith, VP marketing, Imagination: “The rise of Cloudtechnologies is creating exciting new markets and discontinuities in existingones as all devices evolve to take advantage of connectivity.  New applications in healthcare, homeautomation, security, smart energy and elsewhere will all increasingly followthe trend of computing and smart phones and begin taking advantage of opportunitiesthe Cloud enables.

“Imagination's Flow technologyincludes highly integrated connected processor based licensable SoC hardware platformIP (intellectual property) together with a growing portfolio of processing andconnectivity options, complemented by a range of internet-based enablingtechnologies and a portfolio of cloud-based resources and services fromImagination’s ecosystem of partners. Minimorph is the first development systemthat allows engineers to develop complete production-ready solutions takingfull advantage of the hardware and portal benefits of Flow technology utilizingFlow APIs in a powerful and fully documented package.”

The Minimorph development platform is powered by MetaFlow processor technology, which combines multithreaded processing and always-available connectivity, and connects to the FlowWorld Cloud portal, Imagination’s configurable portal technology for enabling the connectionof devices to the Cloud. These two IPs underpin Imagination's Flow technology, a comprehensive IP platform,which establishes a new benchmark for connecting devices to the Cloud utilisingboth internet and broadcast channels.

The Meta HTP221-dp2 Minimorph development system beta programme isstarting now, and will be available for sale from November 2011 fromImagination Technologies for less than $200 in single unit quantities. Emailminimorph-info@imgtec.comto register interest in Minimorph and toreserve a system.

About Minimorph

With a small form factor of 10cm x 10cm, andcapable of being powered from the USB interface, the Meta HTP221-dp2 ‘Minimorph’offers a convenient and highly portable development platform based on the XenifTZ1090 SoC from Toumaz Technologies which uses Imagination’s Meta HTP 32-bithardware multi-threaded RISC and DSP CPU core and two Ensigma UCCP310multi-standard communications IP cores.

TheMinimorph development platform includes comprehensive tools and peripherals derivedfrom Imagination’s highly respected Codescape SoC development tool suite, toenable project development on leading-edge embedded technology that has shippedin millions of products worldwide.

Minimorph supports the evolving set of Flow technology’s powerful and growing, yetsimple to implement, APIs which will enable a diverse range of embeddedapplications supported by web services to be rapidly developed and deployed byImagination’s Flow ecosystem partners.

A richset of interfaces and peripherals including SD-card, HDMI, USB and Wi-Fi, plusheaders for a range of TV or radio tuners, make this one of the most powerfuland flexible development systems for multimedia and internet-connected embeddedsolutions.

Minimorph initially includes a port of thelatest open source Linux OS for Meta processors. It enables developers toaccess both the wealth of application and device support available for Linuxbased systems, and the real-time 32-bit DSP capabilities of the Meta processor.Other environments, including those based on the lightweight MeOS operatingsystem, are also possible.

The Minimorph SDK includes Codescape Debuggerwith Linux application debug support. It ships with working tutorials anddocumentation plus examples that familiarize developers with Meta’sarchitecture and DSP features.

Meta HTP221-dp2 ‘Minimorph’Specifications

•      400MHz (500MHz planned), MetaHTP221 32-bit, dual (GP and DSP) thread processor

•      Linux OS (MeOS RTOS on request;other OS planned)

•      Two Ensigma UCCP310communications processors support simultaneous Wi-Fi and TV/radio demodulation

•      RF support for 802.11bg Wi-Fi

•      I&Q ADC for TV and radiotuners, plus on-board  WLAN AFE

•      Optional baseband Ensigmasoftware support available for many radio and TV standards

•      384kB on-chip SRAM

•      XGA (1024 x 768) displaycontroller with 2D accelerator and video YUV plane

•      High quality audio subsystem withintegrated headphone amplifiers, multiple digital audio inputs and outputs –better than 96dB throughout and Class D output

•      USB 2.0 OTG interface

•      Multiple analogue/digital audioinputs/outputs

•      UART, SPI, SDIO, SD Card, I2S,I2C, transport stream

About Flow technology

FlowWorld is aconfigurable portal technology enabling the connection of devices to the cloud.Used alongside Imagination’s MetaFlow connected processor technology it enablesan end to end solution for delivery of services between service providers andusers through the cloud. Unlikeother portal technologies, FlowWorld’s unique ‘fit’ to the MetaFlowconnected processor enables a much higher degree of efficiency, consistency andutility for developing devices delivering real-time and ‘always connected’services. FlowWorld will deliver both baseline and enhanced services using aseries of APIs through which partners can centrally control and manage serviceconfigurations for any MetaFlow based connected product.

About Imagination Technologies

Imagination Technologies Group plc (LSE:IMG) – aglobal leader in multimedia and communication technologies – creates andlicenses market-leading multimedia IP cores for graphics, video, and displayprocessing, multi-threaded embedded processing/DSP cores and multi-standardcommunications and connectivity processors. These silicon intellectual property(IP) solutions for systems-on-chip (SoC) are complemented by platform level IP andservices, a strong array of software tools and drivers and extensive developerand middleware ecosystems. Target markets includemobile phone, handheldmultimedia, home consumer entertainment, mobile and low-power computing, andin-car electronics.Its licensees include many of the leadingsemiconductor and consumer electronics companies. Imagination has corporateheadquarters in the United Kingdom, with sales and R&D offices worldwide.See:www.imgtec.com.

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