DSPs are high-speed, math-intensive, programmable integrated circuits or chips that are revolutionizing electronics in the '90s, much as the microprocessor did computers in the '80s. A DSP, which can add and multiply tens of millions of complex formulae per second, is 10 to 50 times more powerful than other computer central processing units (CPUs). Digital signal processing is the technology at the heart of the digital revolution.
"There's no doubt that DSPs will play an increasingly significant role in our lives, and students in universities today need to come out prepared to work with this type of advanced technology. What we've learned from the Challenge is that if we just put the technology into their hands, the students can design amazing new applications and learn DSP fundamentals in the process," said Torrence Robinson, TI's university program manager.
Jerome Johnson, a member of the U.S. finalist team and an electrical engineering sophomore at the University of Maryland, joined the project as a way to get hands-on training with DSP. "I see so many smart students who don't do well just because they have not had the training to solve problems on their own. That's one thing they don't really teach enough in school. So much of learning in schools is just straight memorization. This contest is a way for students to use the resources they have to design projects on their own."
The three winning entries, judged on their overall design creativity and applicability to real world needs illustrate how digital signal processing solutions will affect the way people live, learn, work and play. The winners include a video compression technique used to enhance videoconferencing systems from the U.S. team, a Doppler radar system used for weather tracking applications from the French team, and a motion picture restoration system from Singapore's team.
The motion picture restoration system will greatly impact the future of motion picture archives. "The restoration work involved in re-releasing Walt Disney's 1937 film 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' in 1993 took 18 weeks, with 60 workstation operators working three shifts, seven days a week," said Dr. Chong, Man Nang, lecturer, School of Applied Science, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and mentor for the Singapore team. "Our system greatly reduces the manpower needed because it automatically erases damaged areas and fills in spaces with existing pieces of the visual image." DSPs are in such products and applications as digital cellular phones, hard disk drives, modems and personal computer multimedia. Texas Instruments is the world's leading provider of digital signal processing solutions, with a 44 percent market share in DSP, according to industry analyst Will Strauss of Forward Concepts.
TI received entries from more than 230 teams representing more
than 700 students from 26 countries. Eight semi-finalist teams
were awarded US$1,000. Each of the three finalist teams won an
additional US$9,000 and the opportunity to compete for the grand
prize. The team chosen for the grand prize for the best DSP-based
design will win the remaining US$90,000 prize -- for a total of
US$100,000 -- that will be divided among the members of the winning
team. The grand prize winner will be announced in Atlanta on May
8 during live demonstrations of the three finalist projects.
Reader Inquiry: 1-800-477-8924, ext. 5300
Please refer to Profile #: SPR210
Search the Semiconductor News Release Archives
TI Home
Search
