IP to play critical role in satisfying consumers

Industry pundits have hyped "the next killer app" as key to driving volume semiconductor shipments, but consumers have a different idea, claims MIPS boss John Bourgoin.

Industry pundits have hyped "the next killer app" as key to driving volume semiconductor shipments, but consumers have a different idea.

What matters most to them has become the killer experience from a broad range of lifestyle electronic devices, such as digital cameras and smart cards.

High-performance processor intellectual property (IP) will play a critical role, according to John Bourgoin, President and CEO of MIPS Technologies, at this week's Semico Summit, the annual gathering of semiconductor industry executives.

Bourgoin spoke as part of a discussion about applications that could drive the semiconductor industry back to the high volumes it enjoyed during the reign of the personal computer and cellphone sales phenomena.

MIPS Technologies licenses processor architecture and core IP (intellectual property) that is used in a wide range of popular lifestyle electronics such as digital cameras, digital TVs and set-top boxes.

"People want a killer experience on demand, any time, any place, in one room or on the move.

Whether it's delivered via TV, in an automobile or on a digital camera, what matters most is a user experience that includes high quality of service, an intuitive user interface, field-upgradeable features, security protection, and low cost", said Bourgoin.

For example, a user's HDTV experience should include not only HD viewing but features such as HD recording, web browsing and interactive sports viewing.

And programmes recorded on a personal video recorder in one room should be accessible at any time and from any room in the house.

"The challenge is to provide the kind of on-demand services that consumers want but at a price they are willing to pay.

It's nothing short of an engineering gauntlet when companies are racing against fierce competition and shrinking market windows to deliver a highly complex, high-performance, low-power system on a chip.

That's where our IP comes in.

Our programmable IP lets companies achieve that goal faster and at lower development costs than with old methods", said Bourgoin.

By licensing high-performance processor IP, SoC designers not only save time, money and resources; they can create a hardware/software solution that balances hardwired logic and software-programmable features to optimise the host processor, boost performance and give users the killer experience they want.

Back to top