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A new digital signal processor from Texas Instruments brings the benefits of floating-point processing to high-volume DSP application markets.
Suggested resale price for the TMS320C32 is $9.95 each in high volume. This marks the first time DSP system developers can gain the system cost, time-to-market and performance advantages of designing with a floating-point processor at the cost of a comparable fixed-point design.
This attractive pricing also allows designers of typically non-DSP applications to enter the DSP system arena.
The TMS320C32 allows product engineers to employ the same floating-point DSP technology used for easy research and development prototyping, eliminating the customary, time-consuming switch to fixed point for commercial deployment.
"The 'C32 brings a particularly attractive set of performance capabilities, architectural features and design tools to a class of applications and products that previously could only be cost-effectively implemented with fixed-point DSPs" said John Cooper, TI's DSP marketing manager.
The device already is providing benefits at Symbol Technologies.
"With the 'C32, we can now design higher performance hand-held 2-D bar code scanners and reduce our system cost at the same time," said Hal Charych, engineering director at the Bohemia, N.Y., company.
"The enhanced memory interface allows us to reduce our system cost, and the lower power dissipation gives us a product that is light-weight, more portable and has a longer battery life."
Other 'C32 applications include professional and consumer audio, video games, telecommunication equipment, digital printers and copiers, industrial, motor control and automotive applications.
To lower system costs, the 32-bit TMS320C32 architecture uses enhanced memory management and data-packing features to enable the flexible use of 8-, 16- or 32-bit wide memory architectures, maximizing memory-system efficiency. In addition, the 'C32 architecture features two new low-power modes, plus an on-chip, two-channel DMA coprocessor for data movement to maximize the CPU performance.
The TMS320C32 device will be available in 40-MHz, 50-MHz and 60-MHz versions.
Suggested resale pricing for the 40-MHz (40 MFLOPS) TMS320C32PQFP will be $9.95 for volumes greater than 250K units per year, $15 each for 100K to 250K units per year, and $25 each for 5K units per year.
The 40-MHz and 50-MHz 'C32 are scheduled to begin sampling first quarter 1995. The 60-MHz 'C32 is scheduled to sample in second quarter 1995. Volume production is scheduled for third quarter 1995.
March 1995, vol. 12, no.2