Product category:
Programmable Logic Devices
News Release from: Altera Europe | Subject: Nios II Embedded Evaluation Kit, Cyclone III
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 04 March 2008
Kit eases FPGA embedded processing
The Nios II evaluation kit allows developers to launch example applications, such as networking and audio and image processing, with the touch of a finger.
Available now from Altera, the Nios II Embedded Evaluation Kit, Cyclone III Edition is a feature-rich, low-cost platform that provides a fast and simple "hands on" way for embedded designers to assess the Nios II processor, SOPC Builder system design software and their custom applications Combining a Cyclone III starter board and a touch-screen LCD in a unique plexiglass case, the Nios II evaluation kit allows developers to launch example applications, such as networking and audio and image processing, with the touch of a finger
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 27 Jun 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Handsets ease ticketing process
MAX IIZ CPLDs manage several peripherals in the P1200 handsets, including an RFID reader, an infra-red data association (IRDA) sensor, a Bluetooth interface and LED control.
Software upgrade provides speed boost
Customers using the 8.0 release to design Altera's 65nm Stratix III FPGAs on Windows platforms will see compile times reduced by up to 50%.
It also serves as an ideal development platform for software designers new to FPGA-based processors.
"This kit is designed to quickly and dramatically showcase the capabilities of embedded computing on advanced, low-cost FPGAs", says Chris Balough, Director of Altera's Software and Embedded Marketing.
"We've included a rich set of applications from Altera and our partners to show the power of Nios II processors, enabling designers to quickly put these designs to work within their own systems".
Further reading
Shrink to 40nm increases FPGA capabilities
The Stratix IV family has up to 680K logic elements, 2x bigger than Altera's Stratix III family, which currently comprise currently the largest FPGAs on the market.
FPGAs support serial gigabit interface
Stratix III FPGAs are the industry's first programmable logic devices able to support Gigabit Ethernet SGMII on LVDS pins.
The kit includes the Nios II Embedded Design Suite (EDS), a complete design suite for embedded software development, and several tutorials and design examples (with full source code), making it easy to develop software for the Nios II embedded processor.
Ten design examples from Altera and several embedded partners are included with the kit, showcasing many of the unique benefits gained by designing with FPGAs.
These examples include hardware acceleration of image processing applications and a remote FPGA update design that demonstrates how FPGA developers can update hardware designs over the Internet to add new product features or deliver bug fixes.
The Nios II Embedded Evaluation Kit, Cyclone III Edition lets designers experiment with a wide range of applications by providing a diverse array of memory and I/O interfaces, including: audio output, audio input, microphone input, composite video input, video graphics array (VGA) output, a PS/2 interface and RS232.
The board incorporates: an Altera Cyclone III EP3C25 FPGA with 25K logic elements; 32Mbyte of DDR SDRAM; 1Mbyte of SSRAM; 16Mbyte of Flash memory; a 10/100 Ethernet PHY; a 800 x 480 colour touch-panel LCD; and a Secure Digital (SD) card interface (with SD Flash card).
The kit also includes cables and accessories, a Nios II Evaluation Kit CD-ROM (with software tutorials and examples) and the Altera Complete Design Suite DVD featuring the Nios II EDS, Altera MegaCore intellectual property (IP) library, and Quartus II Web Edition design software.
The Nios II Evaluation Kit, order code DK-N2EVAL-3C25N, is currently available through Altera's online store, and is priced at US $399.
The comprehensive evaluation kit is designed to promote solutions from a broad range of Nios II development partners.
• Altera Europe: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Electronicstalk email newsletter
• Electronicstalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
