Product category:
Design and Development Software
News Release from: The MathWorks | Subject: Fixed-Point Toolbox 2
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 17 April 2007
Software fixes floating point operations
Toolbox provides enhanced floating-to-fixed-point conversion capabilities and accelerated fixed-point Matlab algorithms that execute at compiled C-code speed.
The latest release from The MathWorks is Fixed-Point Toolbox 2, which provides enhanced floating-to-fixed-point conversion capabilities and accelerated fixed-point Matlab algorithms that execute at compiled C-code speed As a result, design engineers now have a cohesive workflow for optimising and verifying embedded algorithms entirely within Matlab, which speeds up design iterations and eliminates translation errors
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 22 Feb 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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Most embedded signal processing and control systems require fixed-point algorithms for implementation on digital signal processors (DSPs), microcontrollers, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).
A major challenge that embedded system designers face is maintaining the correct behaviour of an algorithm when converting it from floating-point to fixed-point representation.
Fixed-Point Toolbox provides tools for data logging and data-type override that streamline the conversion process and ensure consistent algorithm behaviour in both representations.
A new accelerated simulation mode in the toolbox increases the execution speed of fixed-point Matlab algorithms by factors of up to a thousand.
"Fixed-point development usually involves managing a design expressed in several different languages, such as Matlab, C, assembly and HDL".
"This is a time-consuming and error-prone process", said Dr Houman Zarrinkoub, Technical Marketing Manager at The MathWorks.
"Now, with the new version of Fixed-Point Toolbox, The MathWorks introduces a complete workflow that equips engineers with efficient tools to perform design validation and tradeoff analysis on fixed-point algorithms in Matlab".
Fixed-Point Toolbox also facilitates the use of fixed-point Matlab algorithms within Simulink for system simulation, system verification and automatic generation of embeddable C code.
Because the algorithms have the same fixed-point representation across Matlab and Simulink, design engineers can complete their designs in a single environment.
Fixed-Point Toolbox is available immediately for the Microsoft Windows, Unix, Linux and Macintosh platforms.
UK list prices start at GBP 700.
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