MEN Micro: New graphics modules offer embedded flexibility, FPGA compatibility

MEN Micro’s P18 and P 518 graphics controllers operate over a wide industrial temperature range of–40 to 85 °C (-40 to 185 °F).

Embedded system designers are always on the lookout for graphics controllers that provide flexibility to configure application-specific functions in field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Two new choices from MEN Micro Inc. are P18 (PC•MIP) and P518 (PMC) mezzanine cards—for systems based on either Intel or IBM PowerPC architectures. P18 and P 518 can be applied with VMEbus, CompactPCI, and PXI architectures, or in stand-alone compute platforms.

在一个onb提供相同的图形功能oard Altera Cyclone FPGA, the P18 (PC•MIP) and P518 (PMC) modules provide 16 MB frame buffer connected to the FPGA using a 16- or 32-bit data bus (at 133-MHz). These modules include a graphics controller preloaded into the FPGA, analog and DVI digital video outputs, and a low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS) interface for thin-film transistor (TFT) displays. A 48-MHz oscillator supplies the graphics clock. Each module consumes less than 1 W of power.

Onboard FPGAs act as 32-bit PCI targets for either 33- or 66-MHz PCI buses. Typical application-specific functions that embedded designers can integrate into the FPGA using P18 and P518 controllers include video compression, 2-D/3-D graphics algorithms, rendering, and pattern recognition. Non-graphics functionality, such as digital I/O interfaces also can be loaded into the FPGA, says the company.

While graphics controller chips have useful lives measured in a few years, their intellectual property (IP) cores can be supported significantly longer. “Deploying graphics functionality in an FPGA ensures long-term availability frequently required in industrial embedded applications,” says MEN Micro Inc. president, Ernest Godsey, P.E.

P18 (PC•MIP) and P518 (PMC) controllers are sold in the U.S. through a manufacturer’s representative network. Pricing starts at $747 for either module.

—Frank J. Bartos, executive editor, Control Engineering, fbartos@reedbusiness.com

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